Why do writers quit? Years ago, I attended a writing workshop. The writers in that room were all good. I read their work. About a year later, I followed up with them, and here’s what got me. Almost all of them had stopped writing. I found that really heartbreaking becauseContinue Reading
If you’re making writing career mistakes, I want to spare you some of the years I lost. Picture this: Years of your life wasted, stuck in your first book, completely invisible to readers. And why? Because you ignored four simple pieces of advice. I know because I ignored them, andContinue Reading
Most of us have this fantasy around famous author confidence. We think, One day I’ll sign that contract, I’ll see my book in bookstores, and then I’ll finally feel like a real writer. We think success creates the confidence. But brain science suggests it often works the other way around.Continue Reading
How do we handle too many story ideas when every one of them feels urgent, exciting, and somehow more promising than the one already sitting in front of us? Let me ask you something. How many story ideas are sitting on your laptop or in your notes right now? BeContinue Reading
Do you ever have that sinking fear that you’re going to pour years of your life into your writing only to get absolutely nothing in return? No sales. No awards. No readers. Just wasted time. Maybe you worry that the publishing industry is just too saturated right now, or thatContinue Reading
How great writers improve—do they really need to, or do they just have the talent to begin with? When you sit down to write and it’s just not working, do you secretly worry that maybe you just don’t have it? That natural-born genius that the great writers seem to have?Continue Reading
Are you desperate to finish your novel? You know the one. You love the characters and the concept, but every time you try to get back to it, something more important comes up. You tell yourself you’re just busy. And that’s probably true. But deep down, you know that’s notContinue Reading
The emotional writing life can feel like a very high rollercoaster. One week you get a great review and you feel on top of the world, like maybe this writing thing is finally working. The next week you get a one-star review, sales dip, and suddenly you’re questioning everything. HighContinue Reading
If you feel like the only way to write your novel is to clear big blocks of time, your backstage brain is about to become your new best friend. If you’re trying to write a book while working, caregiving, or raising little kids, you already know how hard it isContinue Reading
When you stop writing, it usually feels like the most reasonable, grown-up choice you can make. Life gets overwhelming, the schedule explodes, and most writers do the same thing. We push the writing aside, promising that we’ll get through the chaos first and then come back to the writing whenContinue Reading
If you’ve ever secretly believed that writing should be easy, that could be the reason you’re struggling. Somewhere along the way, you were probably told that writing should feel effortless, that if you were really a writer, the words would come easily. But that belief is a lie, and it’sContinue Reading
When you don’t feel like writing, it can feel like you’ve failed before you’ve even typed a word. You have to write. You want to write, but your brain just hits the brakes. What if I told you there’s a psychological trick that top writers use to shatter that feelingContinue Reading