by Elizabeth Wheeler Writing after retirement wasn’t something I was thinking about when I left the workplace. After all, I had been writing for decades as a public relations and marketing professional. (My portfolio included newsletters, annual reports, marketing materials, speeches, columns for newspapers, and many more items.) I envisionedContinue Reading
You know it’s a good idea to spring clean your house, but have you ever tried to spring clean your mind? Research shows that spring cleaning your space can help reduce stress, boost immunity, improve your mood, prevent injuries, and lead to more relaxing sleep. Spring cleaning your mind canContinue Reading
The biggest emotional challenge of being a writer is willing myself to do the writing. If I don’t just do it, I can’t accomplish any goals. So within that I guess there has to be depression, lack of motivation, anxiety, a feeling of being overwhelmed, a sort of paralysis arisingContinue Reading
April is National Poetry Month. According to the Academy of American Poets (AAP), which launched the celebration back in 1996, this year (2021) marks the 25th anniversary of the day established to remind us all of the role poets have to play in our culture. You may be one ofContinue Reading
When I retired from a successful dancing career back in May of 2011, I did so thoughtfully, and prayerfully. I’d been a professional dancer for twenty-six years, and I needed a change. I loved to write as a teen, but when I sat down to pen something significant, something thatContinue Reading
Work-life balance often seems like an unattainable goal for writers. We must fit writing into the spaces between our jobs, family, and communities, and those spaces can be super small. To find an audience for our stories, we must also build platforms and regularly engage in marketing activities. We wantContinue Reading
For me, one of the biggest emotional challenges of being an author is that of maintaining confidence in myself and my work. I know we all experience moments of crippling doubt at times. It has the power to halt all progress. There is such excitement when a new story ideaContinue Reading
Any writing problems that you’re experiencing right now could be caused by writer’s anxiety. Don’t think so? Before you dismiss it out of hand, answer the questions below. What is Writer’s Anxiety? Writer’s anxiety is described as having feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical symptoms like increased blood pressureContinue Reading
Like many of people writing fiction, I have a background writing non-fiction for my day job. Over the years I’ve written lots of business reports, market overviews and policy outlines for public bodies, some published, some very definitely for internal use only. I’ve always wanted to write fiction, but afterContinue Reading
As an author, it helps to know what your target audience wants from you. This may apply somewhat to the books you write, but even more so to the content you post on your author platform. What kind of material is likely to get your readers to pay attention? AreContinue Reading
The biggest physical challenge for me of being a writer is stopping long enough to do the things I know will improve my health. I get on tangents with stories and don’t want to take a break until I see how the scenes will unfold. If I’m not careful, theContinue Reading
Are you in need of a course correction in your writing career? It’s not always easy to tell, but here’s a thought for you: You may need it more often than you think. Why You Need a Course Correction More Often Than You Think I read one of the lastContinue Reading