Reading time: Less than 3 minutes “Fail” is one of the most dreaded four-letter words. But it shouldn’t be! Here’s why you should overcome the fear of writing failure… When I worked in daily newspapers, in the early 1980s, I wrote and edited my stories on a computer. This was shortly before desktop computers were […]
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Did you know you could rewire your brain? And doing so might just be the first step you need to take to become a better writer… I’ve always been deeply fascinated by the human brain. Perhaps never more so than following my two strokes in 2002 and 2007. Despite having
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Reading time: Just over 2 minutes When making your holiday plans, think about the neuroscience of willpower and writing before taking your break… I’m a sucker for free shipping. In fact, that’s why there’s never any shipping charge for my own book. So, when I bought a bunch of Amazon titles for Christmas recently, it thrilled me to realize I
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Here’s a new verb: to satisfice. And let me explain why you should satisfice your writing… When my triplets were born in 1994, I knew I needed help. That said, we didn’t want to hire a nanny. We had no space in our house for one. As well, my
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Have you ever thought of the value of self-talk? I’d always seen it as a liability but there are ways in which it can help you… I adore open-area offices. When I started working in a newsroom 30 years ago — with a hundred reporters and editors, each with
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes For some people perfectionism and writing go together like salt and pepper or a hammer and nails— you don’t have one without the other. Here’s some advice on how to fix that…. I injured my arm while making Hollandaise sauce, about six weeks ago. It took me a while
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Please don’t think me a zealot but today I’m going to tell you why writers should meditate… You may wonder why, shortly after waking up every morning, I head upstairs to my office and lie down on the floor and cover myself with a blanket. You’d think, after seven hours of sleep, I wouldn’t
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you ever considered how much influence doubt may have on your writing? It could be one of your secret enemies — although, in truth, it’s relatively easy to turn it into a friend. I have a new companion. Or, at least, a new recognition of a longtime acquaintance. Its
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Many of our excuses for not writing might sound convincing, if we don’t think about them too much. But when it comes right down to it, the only person we’re hurting is ourselves. Check out this list and see if any of these excuses for not writing are ones
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you have a half-finished manuscript collecting dust in a bottom drawer? A half dozen articles you’ve started but never managed to wrap up? Here are five tips that will help you learn how to finish your writing. In the deliciously-titled fantasy novel, Miss Peregrine’s Children Home for Peculiar Children author
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