For me self-doubt has been a major hurdle. It took me six years from the time I started writing my mystery Kat Out of the Bag to when I signed a publishing contract. For the first few years I kept it a dark secret that I was writing a book.Continue Reading
When you started out as a writer, you had a strong love of writing. You loved putting words together, stringing together plotlines, visiting exotic settings, and spending time with your characters. But then somewhere along the way, something happened. Your love of writing started to subside. The stars disappeared fromContinue Reading
by Laurie Buchanan With non-fiction, the author is writing about tangible, verifiable facts. If they need to research the topic further, they can search online. However, with fiction, the characters and storyline aren’t preexisting; every aspect of what the author’s writing is coming out of their head, their imagination—the storyContinue Reading
Overcoming self-doubt is your most important job as a writer. Don’t think so? Answer one question: Do you believe that with hard work, determination, and persistence, you can succeed in achieving your writing goals? Your answer determines your fate. You may not believe that. Success depends on other factors likeContinue Reading
When authors ask me how to pick a book title, I tell them to brainstorm a few options first and then get feedback. Unfortunately, many authors skip the second part of that recommendation. I get it, because I’ve been tempted to skip feedback too. But I’ve published several books now,Continue Reading
When I lost my job, got cancer and my mom died, it finally pushed me to pursue my dream of writing, but I had no idea if I was any good. I think that was one of my biggest emotional challenges as a writer. I know a lot of writersContinue Reading
As winter drags on, even the happiest writers can become depressed writers. I felt it coming on in mid-November: that sluggish, tired feeling that often plagues me during these cold, gray months. Some people refer to it as “SAD” (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but for many of us, it’s not aContinue Reading
Fear was always the biggest challenge. I keep a Fear Journal. Every time I can’t write fiction, I process the feeling by figuring out which of the fears are getting in my way today. Up until I got a chronic disease, I worked for and trained to be a researchContinue Reading
How can you grow your readership? You’re a good writer. You have the awards or the reviews to prove it. But something’s not working. Your books aren’t selling as much as you’d like. Your email list isn’t growing and your readership has stagnated. What would propel your writing career toContinue Reading
Creativity is such an amoebic thing. It moves and grows, shrinks, contracts, spins and warbles in a constant tidal motion. Fortunately, I’ve never suffered from writer’s block but have felt overwhelmed at times by a story. Not sure what to do, insecure about my ability to plot. Will people likeContinue Reading
Facing writing difficulties is something every writer must do. How you face them determines whether or not you succeed. No matter what struggles you may be having—and we all have them—one thing is true: If you want to make progress toward your writing dreams, you have to get clear onContinue Reading
I didn’t tell very many people I was writing for a long time because I didn’t want to have to talk about not getting an agent, not finding a publisher, not selling any books…admitting I wasn’t succeeding at my effort to become a published author. Then, when I finally didContinue Reading