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Four quick tips to increase your NaNoWriMo word count
Today is day 21 of National Novel Writing Month—the month where passionate writers the world over take the challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. If you’re a bit short or behind in your...
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How to organize your writing notes and observations
As writers, we train ourselves to be observant. We eavesdrop on conversations, notice our surroundings, and observe those around us. We become detectives for our art. We constantly make notes and file...
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Become a prolific writer by harnessing creative flow
A landscape painter friend asked me yesterday if I’d ever studied the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. My friend described how when he goes out into nature to paint, he enters a surreal state of mind...
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Create a playground for your imagination with these four attributes
“The impulse to create is like the impulse to breathe,” says author Rikki Ducornet, a contributor to the imaginative, playful book, Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fictionby...
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One of the best things about writing: The element of surprise
One of the best things about writing is the way it surprises me, the way I sometimes look back on something I’ve written and think, “Did I write that?” This element of surprise reminds me that so much...
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Holiday gift ideas for the writer in your life
Can you believe it’s December, already? It seems like the year has flown by. Today, my son asked me what I wanted for Christmas. My response, “You know me–anything related to writing is great!” So,...
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Last-minute gifts that help writers capture their best ideas
Ideas are a writer’s currency. If you’re looking for a writerly gift for a friend or even yourself, here are three ideas for gifts that spark and preserve your best ideas. Aqua Notes – Waterproof...
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How to write your annual holiday letter
It’s time to don your Christmas socks, brew a cup of tea, and write your annual holiday letter. For tips and ideas, check out these past posts. In The holidays are upon us: Tips for writing a letter to...
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Celebrate your family history this holiday season with the “Do You Know? scale
If you’re writing a memoir or family history, holiday family gatherings are good times to learn more about your family history. As I wrote the draft of my memoir, I turned to my knowledge of family...
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Writing poetry as a way to explore the unspeakable
In this short video, Poet Adrienne Rich discussed love, poetry, and reading at the 2001 ChilePoesia. She said, “…it’s in the writing of the poem that you find what you’re not saying and it’s in the...
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Take a break from holiday madness to watch a cat video
Holidays are happy, stressful, and sometimes tiring. So how do you deal with the ups and downs? I like to take a break and watch a cat video. Some of my favorites are about Henri, the French...
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Busting the writing myth of “not enough time”
When I get overly tired, I tend to do dumb things like walk into walls, trip going up the stairs, or bump my toe into a hard piece of furniture. Little things. Annoying things. The day after Christmas,...
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My 2014 personal writing theme revealed
I can’t help it. I love the idea of a fresh new notebook, a new year to see what is possible. A clean slate. I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but I like having a theme that helps me move through...
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How to reclaim your life and energy for your art
In my last post, “Busting the writing myth of ‘not enough time,’” I wrote about author Heather Sellers’ belief that this concept of not having enough time is really a misdiagnosis of what ails us as...
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How blogging about writing craft helps my writing (and makes me happy)
Some writers say that blogging is a waste of time. They think it’s better to spend writing time on their current work, whether it’s a novel, poem, short story, or essay. Blogging about writing may not...
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Why slow, easy gains beat fast and furious for writing success
Since my life pretty much revolves around writing and reading, it’s only natural that I see just about everything through that lens. So when I read blogger James Clear’s post last week about...
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Four tips to defeat your writing funk
Sometimes my brain circuitry feels like it’s got a short in it. It went on vacation and left me home. Or it’s buzzing and I just can’t settle down. Or, I’m just stumped about what direction I should go...
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How to break out of the writing doldrums
In Carly’s post, “Four tips to defeat your writing funk,” she shares some tips for what to do when you get stuck in your writing project. Her ideas prompted me to share a few of my own. Goodness knows...
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How total immersion can help you finish your novel
At a raw food retreat I attended in 2004, raw food guru and author David Wolfe said two things that have stuck with me through the last ten years. This post will discuss the first principle. My next...
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Do you have screen apnea? Breathe deeply to enhance your health and creativity
I’m always happy if I can put myself into a writing trance, shut out distractions, and find my focus. But I figured out something about myself. I sometimes forget to breathe. Literally, I find that I’m...
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