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

Sometimes the universe is a kind and generous place, handing us a word so perfect it demands our reverence. May I present to you… SPUDDLE . “Spuddle” is a verb from the 17th century meaning “to work feebly or ineffectively, often because your mind is elsewhere or you haven’t quite woken up yet.” Another definition puts it this way: “to be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing.” I don’t believe anything has ever resonated with me more. While this meaning of the wo

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

It seems that neurodivergence has been trending lately. Which is interesting because being neurodivergent isn’t exactly a new thing. But like many human dimensions that have existed for centuries, we didn’t always have a name for it.  I don’t claim to be an expert on the history of the term, but a cursory internet search suggests the word “neurodivergent” has been around for only 15 or so years. Then in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic thrust the term into the limelight as iso

How well do you know your character's emotional depth? Digging deep into a character's emotions is important for a writer because it...

It's finally happened. The words are spilling forth, ink's spraying everywhere and/or keys are clicking at a pace too fast to hear as...