Harnessing Your Creativity

Harnessing Your Creativity

Twice a day your creativity goes into over­drive, and you may not be taking advantage of it. The moment you wake up in the morning and just before you go to sleep at night your brain is sleepy and pliable and, most importantly, creative. This state is a scientifically...
How do you prepare to write?

How do you prepare to write?

Writers are usually split up into two groups: Plotters and Pantsers. Plotters plot their work before they begin to write—and sometimes in such excruciating detail they’ve basically already written the book but in outline form (I once knew an author who wrote a 40 page...
How fast can you write to keep to a deadline?

How fast can you write to keep to a deadline?

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. ” Douglas Adams We all hate deadlines, right? Well, aside from Douglas Adams, most people hate deadlines. But there are some who absolutely love them. When I began working with a new...
Getting the Timing Right

Getting the Timing Right

Timelines will kill you… as a writer… in your novel. Let me clarify this. When you are writing a book (and, I’m sorry to say, this happens a lot more with pantsers than plotters) and focused on what needs to happen next to a) advance the plot; b) develop the...
Going into the Backstory

Going into the Backstory

Sometimes when you’re writing a novel, things just begin to get… stuck. You aren’t quite sure where your characters are going. Maybe you don’t know how they’ll grow, or what is holding them back from doing so. It’s at times like this that it’s best to go back to the...
The Perception of Time

The Perception of Time

There are some days when every time you look at the clock, it hardly seems to have moved at all. The day drags and just takes forever to get over with. And yet, there are other days when you’re so incredibly busy that the entire day is gone in the blink of an eye and...