Do you write by hand in a journal or notebook? Do you compose first drafts on yellow legal pads? Does your desk hold pens and pencils crammed into coffee cups, into spinning organizers, or jumbled in drawers? If you answered yes to any of the above, it’s a sure bet you like to create the old-fashioned way: using a pen or pencil to lay down, in your unique penmanship, one word after another. You let words flow from your mind … Read More »

Since the pandemic and forced time at home, I frequently turn to my writing for comfort and creativity. My composing was going so well for a few weeks, writing chapter after chapter for a new book in record time. Then it ceased. Silence. I became incredibly withdrawn. The virus continued to spread, but my writing groove diminished. After weeks of moping around, I finally took action to uplift my mood and my writing from a dark place. Challenge Accepted I … Read More »

Writer’s block sucks. There’s nothing worse than longing to put words to paper, motivation oozing from every pore of your body, but there’s no inspiration to launch those words into fruition. The frustration is palpable, bitter on the tongue. It’s hard enough to find those fleeting moments of euphoric drive, but to lose those to writer’s block is not only piercing defeat, but a mournful tragedy. What if I told you I had a sure-fire way to get over writer’s … Read More »

Have you ever wondered whether writer’s block is really real, whether it is a true psychological problem that many writers, including myself, often claim thwarts their attempts to freely write their hearts out on the page? I have. What does writer’s block feel like? It feels like a wall, some say, that blocks their path on the writing road, prevents them from moving around it to the other side where they’ve traveled before when they wrote. They say “We want … Read More »

Ask any writer for writing advice and most often you’ll get one of two words of advice. First, show, don’t tell. There are hundreds if not thousands of books and blog articles dedicated to this sage adage. The second piece of advice, however, often gets taken with that proverbial grain of salt – if you want to be a good writer, you need to read! Got it. Good writers read. But, what does that mean? With everyone gathering up their … Read More »

The economics and financial strains of our global pandemic crisis cannot be avoided. We’re all feeling it. If we’re fortunate enough to be employed, our situations have still changed. Many of our day jobs have transitioned to remote-location jobs. Except for journalists, by and large, writing has always been a remote job, so many of us already had a knack for adapting. If you write fiction, you may have already been able to write your stories without ever leaving home, … Read More »