A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about how, really, the only writing ritual that works is opening the file and starting to write. There’s no magic mug to drink from, or a systematic routine that will all of a sudden have you flinging words at the page. You just have to do […]
This is an embarrassing confession from a writing coach, but last fall I got blocked on a project. I was working on the rewrite of a novel for my agent. She and her staff had given me excellent revision suggestions and I was excited about them. But part of it involved giving the protagonist more […]
You’ve revved up your brain, planted your butt in the chair, and now you’re ready to write. I sometimes envision this moment as that of a piano player: you place your fingers on the keys, expecting great music to pour forth….and nothing happens. You freeze. You don’t know what to write. Or the words won’t […]
I’ve been out of sync with my writing lately. (And my blog posts, too, as you may have noticed.) Off my feed, unchained from my computer, thinking about things other than my writing. I’m best when I write every day, or close to it. I get into a rhythm and it becomes just something I […]
So, you have a book…or an article…or a story that you’d like to write. (Right? Because otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.) And you need to get that book finished, that story done. How to accomplish such a thing? How to make room in your schedule to get it written? To my mind, there are […]
(My inspiration for this post comes from a list penned by Anne Wayman.) What’s on your desk? My computer, a small Dell laptop A cat (just about always) A yellow legal pad with notes on it Two books about writing The little journal in which I keep my to-do lists and make […]
Here is one thing I have learned for certain in the gazillion years I’ve been writing: that resistance always has meaning. Always, always, always. It is up to you to figure out what that meaning might be. But here’s the deal: once you do figure it out, then you can explore it. And get over […]
My outdoor writing space It is hot here in Portland, mid to upper 90s all last week and more of the same this week, with temps predicted to reach into the 100s by the weekend. We usually get some hot hot weather during the summer, but this is very early for a heat wave and […]
Sometimes I like to tell myself stories, say, when I'm doing the dishes (which my husband might claim is rare) or putting on my make-up and drying my hair. And it occurred to me recently, that a couple of my favorite stories fell into the category of colleagues doing Stupid Writer Tricks. (Because, in the […]
One of the best books I've read this year is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. He spent a few years studying habits, how people form them, and how they can un-form them, and then distilled his findings into this book. You'd think it would be about as exciting to read as watching […]
