On Writing

Reading Time: 9 minutes An ambition to write or edit a book without clear and quantifiable goals and a path to achieve those goals — whatever that looks like for each of us — is just a wish. And wishes don’t write drafts. Getting back on track doesn’t need to come with a headache, though.

Reading Time: 8 minutes If you find yourself spinning your writerly wheels without gaining traction, it may be time to step back from the project at hand. But this doesn’t mean you stop writing. Instead, it’s time to learn about storytelling, content structure, or other aspects of writing from life itself.

Reading Time: 7 minutes We’re just over halfway through National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and if you’re anything like the authors with whom I work, you may be hitting that mid-novel slump. And getting beyond the slump becomes the primary goal. So, how do you keep writing when the writing is hard?

Reading Time: 4 minutes One of the most common bits of advice given to authors is to humanize their characters. Give them flaws. Dreams. Fears. Desires. Yada, yada, yada. But if you’ve filled out character profile sheets, you know how little value this piece of advice actually provides.

Reading Time: 5 minutes We subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and gather the best posts for you every single Sunday. This week there’s plenty of advice about staying motivated through NaNoWriMo.

Reading Time: 3 minutes Whether it’s imposter syndrome that has you down, the stress of balancing writing against all the other things we do each day, feeling a lack of inspiration, or something else, I want to help you get out of your own way so you can complete your story and gain that coveted sense of achievement of having crossed off “write a book” from your bucket list.

Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever sat down with your computer or your notebook, fingers or pen poised at the ready as you set forth on your storytelling adventure, yet the words refused to flow?

Reading Time: 5 minutes We subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got 83 articles, podcasts and videos about motivation, writing, and business and marketing for authors.

Reading Time: 10 minutes National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner and many of us are ideating or planning for the big 50K. But if you find yourself doing anything at all except what you want to get done within the next week and a half, check out these articles about balancing priorities and meeting goals and pick up a few tips to get through writer’s block, too.

Reading Time: 11 minutes We subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, read about how to make your characters more human.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got lots of prep advice for NaNoWriMo, and how to sell books on your backlist — more than 100 brand-new links total.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got lots of advice about getting ready for NaNoWriMo.

Reading Time: 11 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got lots of advice about running Kickstarters and Amazon categories — as well as over 100 other articles, podcasts and videos about productivity, writing, and marketing.

Reading Time: 11 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got lots of advice about outlining and plotting.

Reading Time: 12 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got motivational advice, writing advice, marketing advice, and discussions of Amazon’s new AI policies.

Reading Time: 11 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. Lots of advice this week on honing character craft through impactful dialogue, emotionally resonant arcs, and complex relationships.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. We have 90 links this week, covering every topic imaginable, with quite a bit about AI.

Reading Time: 10 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. Lots of advice this week about AI.

Reading Time: 8 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. Today’s list has 73 articles, podcasts and videos that cover pretty much anything an author needs to know, from staying motivated, to creating scenes, to marketing books.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 180 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we’ve got advice about punctuating dialogue, writing scenes — and using AI for marketing and editing.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 175 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. We have 90 brand-new links this week to articles, videos and podcasts to help you be more motivated, more productive, and more successful.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 175 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 175 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. We have 86 links this week, covering every topic imaginable.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 175 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, we got an interview with Brandon Sanderson where he talks about the future of publishing — and what he thinks about AI.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 175 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best posts from this previous week for your edification. This week, lots of great tips for creating a writing habit, plus practical advice for using AI to help your marketing — and your writing.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 175 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. This week, we’ve got some great videos from the 2023 AuthorTube Writing Conference.

Reading Time: 10 minutes I subscribe to more than 170 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. This week, we’ve got all about deep point of view, the pros and cons of using ChatGPT as a writing coach, and more than 90 other advice articles.

Reading Time: 8 minutes I subscribe to more than 170 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. This week, learn about impostor syndrome, self-kindness, and how to set better goals.

Reading Time: 9 minutes I subscribe to more than 170 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. This week, more conversations about AI, but also the usual good advice about writing, publishing, and staying motivated.

Reading Time: 7 minutes I subscribe to more than 170 writing advice sites and YouTube channels and lovingly pick the best advice from this past week for your edification. Some excellent marketing advice this week.