by Katie Clark After a three-year slide into brain fog and loss of focus, the inability to function in my daily life, ever-increasing areas of pain for no apparent reason, a fatigue so deep that it felt like all the iron had been taken out of my blood, and aContinue Reading
Following the pattern I established a couple years ago, I’m sharing my favorite books of 2019. Though I’ve listed 10+ books in the past, this year I found only six that stood out. I believe I read just as many over the course of the year, but in going backContinue Reading
My first sweet romance was self-published in March 2019. It’s exciting to have two books self-published already this year, but even though the books are doing well, I still struggle with self-doubt. I dabbled with writing in the past few years, but this year decided it was time to takeContinue Reading
How do you start your writing day? If you’re like most people, you might begin by firing up your computer and hopping onto the Internet. Your purpose may range from interacting on your social media feeds to reading the news to conducting research for a writing project. Sounds innocuous enough,Continue Reading
I would say my biggest challenge is being low income, as a result of writing even though my novels don’t generate enough income to justify the time/energy investment. Self-promotion is also a big emotional challenge. My low income status (very small social security check) is a threat to my abilityContinue Reading
Whatever your experience as a writer, there are certain things you learn along the way. Perhaps the most famous lesson is to “develop a thick skin.” We’re told early on that we need to embrace criticism so we can learn to be better writers, no matter how difficult it isContinue Reading
The two greatest challenges for me are self-doubt and finding the mental energy to write after being tapped out from a day’s work. I put in 10-12 hour days at a physical and emotionally challenging job, and some days I can’t even decide what to have for dinner when IContinue Reading
Where were you as a writer 10 years ago? What was important to you then? And how does it compare to what’s important to you now? I got to thinking about this the other day after watching a TED talk by Dan Gilbert called “The Psychology of Your Future Self.”Continue Reading
by Lisa Steele-Maley I began writing very soon after my Dad died, trying to make sense of what he and I had just been through together and hoping to write my way to some sort of understanding of how to move forward with the new experiences and insights I hadContinue Reading
When is your best writing time? You probably have a pretty good idea of how you’d answer that question, but new research suggests you may be wrong. Particularly if you’re looking for a creative solution to a plot problem or a new idea for a story—some sort of creative insight—youContinue Reading
Author Linda Osmundson shares her true story behind her children’s book, “Papa’s Changes.”
Are you signing up to win NaNoWriMo this year? It’s a big challenge—write 50,000 words before November comes to an end. There are a lot of tips out there to help you rise to the challenge, but there’s one thing more than any other that will determine whether you succeed:Continue Reading