The Writer's Workout

The advice on writing routines is endless and contradictory. Many aspiring novelists will be familiar with the idea that you must  write every single day, preferably at the same time of day, and hit the same word count. Spend some time digging for it and you will surely find the opposite advice too—don’t force yourself to write when you don’t feel like it because if you don’t like doing it, you won’t do it at all. Contradictory advice becomes frustrating when you feel like yo

Burnout is a familiar feeling in any creative profession, especially as a writer. Crafting elaborate worlds or working to develop their characters' psyches fully can take up a lot of brain space. All the everyday stress of life, personal relationships, jobs, and school can also add to that mental load.  Life’s chaos can affect any number of people. I want to be clear: burnout is nothing to be ashamed of . There are ways to deal with it, and you may even use it to your advanta

Stuck in a rut? Trying to unclog those pipes of inspiration is a job in itself so pick a number between one and thirty. These quick prompts are designed to pull you out of your block so you can fly through your WIP. Imagine that your favorite animal appeared outside your window. What would it do? What would it see and experience? Using a page from a story you enjoy, try some blackout poetry! Write about a day (any day) in your life.  Draw a comic! Find a random word generator

Let’s face it: writing fiction, also known as filling a blank page with a wondrous, moving story, is hard.  It’s building an entire world from scratch, sometimes several worlds. Far too many potential writers give up before they begin just because of how daunting it can be… but it doesn’t have to be that way. The idea of writing is full of obstacles like comparison to other writers, work and family obligations, a perceived lack of time, and, of course, self-doubt. But if you

Reading is important. Yeah, that’s a real shocker, I know. It’s a fundamental skill not just for writing, but for everything . For this...

One of the many beauties of the writing community is its diversity. Writing connects people across different genres, ages, nationalities,...

For this Back to Basics mini-course, we’re talking about your writing process. Each Back to Basics course includes a challenge at the end...