Authorpreneur. If you are an author in this digital age, then you have a comprehensive understanding of what this term means. Authorship today is truly an exercise in entrepreneurship. For most of us, even traditionally published authors, we have to do a lot of our own marketing. We run our own blogs, manage our own... Continue Reading →
Writers: How to Use Psychology to Make Your Characters Memorable
How many times have you read a book and fallen head over heels in love with a character because something about them just resonated with you? On the flip side, how many times have you read a book and found you wanted to smack the main character upside the head because they were so irredeemably... Continue Reading →
Setting Goals for Your Writing Projects
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry If you’re a planner addict like me, then you know what I’m talking about when I say that each morning when I’m writing out my daily task list and decorating it (yep… I do that), one of the things I like to... Continue Reading →
What I Do to Live an Intentional Writing Life
Being a writer in today’s digital climate means being not only an author, but an entrepreneur and business owner as well. We authors are wearers of many hats, and most of us know what it’s like to manage our own social media profiles, create our own e-newsletter distribution lists, organize our own promotions and giveaways,... Continue Reading →
An Update on My Writing Space
Five years ago, I purchased a three-bedroom, raised bungalow that was in dire need of cosmetic repairs. It was my little fixer-upper, and she and I were going to get to know one another while I made her beautiful once again, while learning how to play with power tools. Five years on, and my little... Continue Reading →
Why I Am Nixing My Social Media Activity
Today, I make an announcement. A declaration. A promise to myself: I am giving up on the Almighty Social Media machine. Yes, I am well aware of the irony of this statement… which I am addressing on my blog, and will be posting to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (and which, thanks to this nifty little... Continue Reading →
Mathing, Visualization and Celebrity Tricks (or: How My Brain Works When Writing)
Math. I am no good at it. Nay—I suck. I’ve slipped below suckage at math and generally stagnate at the point below which suckage can eke its slurpy, slimy function. My newly-minted teenager, my “wee man,” on the other hand, is scary brilliant with numbers. Last year, when his class performed timed math tests, the... Continue Reading →
Authors: Why Reading is Also Your Job
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” — Stephen King I read voraciously as a kid. From an early age, I indulged in the joys of immersing myself in words and the worlds they create. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The... Continue Reading →
“Neglect Everything Else” – What Time Management Looks Like for Writers
If you’re a writer and you’re reading this post, then you know that being a writer is darn hard! Relying on yourself to set your own deadlines and priorities, and then to hold yourself to them, is no walk in the park. It’s hard to carve out your own time amongst all the other things... Continue Reading →
How to Become Overwhelmed by Too Much Writing Advice
It starts by staring at your blank page, or at your daily task list, or at your calendar with its inalterable deadline, and acknowledging that you have absolutely no motivation to dig in and git’er done. So to the Google you go, in search of listicles and how-tos and productivity hacks that you hope will... Continue Reading →