Category: Writing practice

Lost Your Creative Flow? Here’s How to Find It Again–and Keep It Going

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We’ve all been there before. Staring at a blank page in a freeze, unsure where or how to start writing. Or you’ve taken a break from your writing and lost momentum in your work-in-progress. Even just starting a routine writing session can feel like a sludge through mud.

In those moments, you realize you’ve lost your creative flow and you wonder if you can ever get it back.

Call it a creative mojo or being in the zone or having a zen moment, creative flow occurs when you enter a state of total immersion, when all outside stimuli fade into the background, and all that’s left is you and your creative work. It’s that moment when you feel most productive and innovative. It’s when you become most in tune with your essence and where you feel most alive.

Like all good things, creative flow can come to a crashing halt. When that happens, you can feel lost, unsure how to get it back.  

When you lose your creative flow, think about why it’s happening. Maybe you’re feeling stressed about the project you’re working on, which can make you feel blocked and unproductive. Do you have too many distractions and interruptions in your daily routine? Then it’s time to do something about them to limit their impact on your creativity.

Whenever I lose that flowing feeling, I try one of the following techniques to find it again. While they may not work for everyone, they’re worth a try.

1. Turn off your electronic devices. Shut off the TV or radio. Close out any apps you use, and put your phone away. Just sit alone with your story idea and let your imagination work with it. Then when you’re ready, begin to write. I prefer writing longhand with a pen and paper because the ideas seem to flow more easily from my brain to my hand and onto the page.

2. Do a brief warm-up exercise. Just like singers warm up their vocal chords before a live performance or an athlete runs sprints or rides a stationary bicycle to loosen their muscles before a game, writers need to warm up their writing muscles too. Writing is a different kind of performance. The page or screen is our stage. Working with a prompt, freewriting one whole page, or writing in your journal are ways to warm up your creative muscles. Once you’re warmed up, you might find your creative energy flowing.

3. Seek a quiet, secluded place to write. To be at my best, I need a quiet place to work, to think and to create. I try to limit distractions as much as possible, though I will answer only the most urgent emails, phone calls or texts. Similarly, I remove any clutter from my desk because I believe a messy desk clutters my creative thinking. If you’re used to working in a busy coffee shop (good for you), but you’re not finding your flow, try writing in a quieter environment and limiting distractions.

4. Write in short bursts. Any people seem to believe that you need several hours to get into your creative flow. But sometimes less is more. When you know you’ve only got 20 free minutes, sometimes you can get more done in that short time than if you had an entire morning. With a longer session of two or three hours, there’s a tendency to stare at the page, take more breaks, answer messages or do research. Sometimes it can seem that you get less done in longer writing sessions because of the constant switching up of tasks. It’s easy to get restless and bored too. Start with a 20-minute session, then if you’re flowing well you can always extend your writing time.

5.  Seek support from fellow writers. Every creative person loses their flow at some point. Just ask any writer, artist or musician. They’ve all figured out how to get it back too. So ask friends and fellow writers how to get back into the creative flow. We can all learn from each other.

6. Read what you’ve written before. The writing could be from your previous session to get you caught up to date, or it could be something you published previously. Reading your work can put you in a success mindset and inspire you to keep writing. Sure, you might be tempted to make some edits in your work-in-progress, but that’s a sign that your brain is kicking into high gear. It’s revving the creative engine. When that happens, you’ll be ready to start writing.

7. Use pen and paper. I’ve mentioned this technique in Tip #1. I find writing longhand with pen and paper to be the fastest, easiest route to connecting with your creative self. When I write on a screen, I’m more tempted to stop to read what I’ve written, to make corrections or to look up some important detail on the internet—all deterrents to creative flow.

Here are a few tips from other writers:

8. From Copy Posse, identify your most creative time of day. When do you feel most productive? Is it early morning? Late afternoon? Before bedtime? We all sense when we feel our best, physically and mentally. If it’s possible for your schedule, block out that creative time of day and put it in your calendar. Then make time during those periods to take advantage of your natural creative flow.

9. From The Young Writer blog, practice self-care. That means getting enough exercise, eating right and getting proper sleep. When you feel well physically, you’re able to tap into your creative flow more quickly because it flows more naturally. You won’t have to work as hard to get it back, and you’re less likely to lose it at all.

10. Also from The Young Writer and perhaps most important of all, have fun. Avoid overthinking your writing. Simply relax and enjoy the process of creating. When it stops being fun, then you need to consider whether it’s time to stop writing (but hopefully, you won’t).

Remember creative flow is an ideal experience that we’d all like to achieve the moment we sit down to write. But truthfully, it’s not realistic to expect it to happen at a moment’s notice. Sometimes you have to work at it, and hopefully, these tips will help you.

Creative flow occurs in fits and starts; that’s the nature of it. When it comes, savor the feeling it gives you and use its energy to your advantage.

Career Planning Tips for Aspiring Authors

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I jumped into my fiction writing journey with hope in my heart and my fingers crossed. I didn’t have a clear idea where I wanted to go once I started writing though. But even if I did know, I didn’t have a map or a compass that told me how to get there. I simply jumped into the deep end of the pool and hoped something would come of it.

When I started writing in earnest, I didn’t know whether it was a new career path or a hobby to keep me entertained while I looked for work. It’s one thing to say “I’ve always wanted to be a writer.” It’s quite another to actually formulate a plan for getting there.

Some writers do plan their writing careers. Others, like me, slip into it gradually, more as an experiment rather than a conscious career choice.

Most professional writers will tell you that it’s a good idea to have a plan, something concrete to guide you along your writing journey. A plan helps you visualize your writing goals so you have a picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish. Without it, you might as well spin your wheels.

So that begs the question. Should aspiring authors have a career plan? If so, what does that plan include? How do you know what you want to accomplish, and how long you expect it to take? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before embarking on your writing journey.

Do you have a plan for your writing career? Have you mapped out what you want to accomplish and how to get there? Would you do anything differently?

If you think a career plan is right for you, here’s what you might include.

A vision of success. Take a few moments to visualize what you want your writing career to look like. What do you want to accomplish? What does success look like to you? What does it mean to be a successful author? Try to be as detailed as possible. You have to know what the end game looks like in order to get there.

Your goals. If your vision is the end game, your goals are the wheels to help you get there. Be specific. For example, don’t just say you’ll write every day. Instead, say that you’ll write 1000 words a day six days a week, which is more specific and more achievable. Focus on things you can control, such as your output and time spent on writing activities.

Your timeline. Some career experts suggest having a five-year plan, no matter what career you choose. Then working backward from your end goal (or vision) at the five-year mark, set goals at intermediate points, such as annual or every six months. Put goals in the order of how you want to achieve them. For example, completing a fiction writing course might occur earlier in your timeline than publishing a short story.Having a timeline can help you determine if you’re on track to meet those goals, or if you have to reset the timeline.

The road map. How do you plan to achieve your goals? What steps do you need to take to move forward? For example, do you need to brush up on your writing skills? Do you need to build a network of fellow writers? Do you need to find out how to craft a work of fiction?

Fantasy author Holly Lisle suggests finding a model author to follow. Read every one of their books, and study them for how their writing progressed over time. Learn all about their work methods. See if any of them will work for you. 

Find a support network. Writers might work alone, but they need the support of family, friends and colleagues too. Make sure that your spouse, kids, roommates are on board with your new career plan. Make sure they give you the space and time you need to do your writing.

Starting a writing practice isn’t always easy, especially over the long haul. Here are some additional tips for planning your writing career. .

* Pace yourself. Burnout is very real, writes Heather Webb at Writer Unboxed blog. Meeting deadlines, especially those enforced from outside yourself, like an agent, editor or client, can zap you of your energy. “When writing begins to feel like a chore, it’s time for a time out to regroup. Writing will come back. Your love of storytelling won’t go anywhere,” says Webb.

* Be flexible. Real life can get in the way of your writing. Webb advises writers to be flexible in all aspects of the writing business—your schedule, with story ideas and with your career path. Don’t be afraid to pivot when you need to. If one genre doesn’t seem to be working for you, switch to another.

* Define what success means to you. If you were a successful author today, what would it feel like? How would you behave? Dress? Treat others? Treat your work? Success won’t look or feel the same way to everyone. Define success on your terms.

* Don’t let your negative inner voice or ego become the loudest voice. Drown it out with your own positive energy. Similarly, avoid author envy. It’s tempting to compare yourself with other writers, especially those whose work you admire, but that serves no useful purpose. Focus on becoming the writer you are meant to be.

* Most important, be sure to write as often as possible. You learn most about the craft by actually sitting down and writing. Once you start, you won’t want to stop.

Having a career plan isn’t mandatory for success. But it can help you clarify your goals and map out a path for achieving what you want. It’s one more tool to add to your writer’s toolkit.

Measuring Your Progress as a Writer

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A writer-friend recently asked “How do you know you’re making progress as a writer?”

I’m somewhat baffled by this question because I’ve never stopped to ask myself that same question. I’ve never thought about my own “progress.” I simply assumed that writing is about continuous improvement, that the more you write the better you’ll get.

But I don’t think there’s a clear cut answer to my friend’s question. It’s difficult to answer.  After all, what does progress really mean?

Progress can mean different things to different people. For some, progress means how their writing is improving. Writing progress is subjective, which makes it harder to measure. What is good writing for one person may not be that way for someone else.

For others, progress means how close they are to reaching some end goal, like finishing a manuscript. That’s easier to measure because it’s an actual, tangible result.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself regarding your writing progress:

* Am I writing every day, or at least on a regular basis?
* Do I have a clear idea of my end goal for my work-in-progress? Can I visualize what it will look like?
* How does your current writing compare to earlier efforts?
* Are you satisfied with the results so far? What would you like to do differently?

With these responses in mind, If you’re as baffled as I am by this question, here are a few suggestions for gauging your progress as a writer.

  1. Define what you mean by progress. What does it look like to you? Are you trying to reach a certain goal with your writing, such as a work count per day or complete an essay within a week? Or are you trying to measure the improved quality of your writing?
  2. Visualize the end result. What does your end goal look like? Visualize what you want to achieve. If you want, create a visual to inspire you. Sketch a picture or make a collage. Then put those pictures on a bulletin board or somewhere where you can see it every day. Let the picture inspire you to keep working toward your goal.
  3. Create a timeline. On that timeline, mark the starting date of your writing, whether that’s for a particular project or your overall practice. Also mark the ending date of that project. In between, mark periodic points which can designate review point. For example, you might have a timeline from January to December with each month marked off in between. Each month, you can compare where you are currently on your project with where you were the previous month.
  4. Mark the milestones. Celebrate every small victory. Whether that’s completing a chapter in your latest work-in-progress, finishing a writing course, or meeting your daily writing goals for an entire month, do something to commemorate the occasion.

For example, if you’re trying to monitor how often you write, use a calendar and put a star on each day that you complete a writing session. By the end of one month, see how many stars you’ve earned. If there are stars on only half of those days, then you know you have work to do.

When you take the time to assess where you are now and how far you’ve come, you’ll know what steps to take next.

Measuring the quality of your writing is a different animal. Quality is more subjective. What reads well for one person may not work for another. Likewise, writers are a notorious difficult bunch, often judging their work too harshly. However, if you’re truly concerned about the quality of your work and whether you’re getting better at expressing your ideas, there are several things you can do to gauge your progress.

1. Compare current and previous drafts. If you’re working on a piece with several drafts, you can read the current version and compare it to the first and rough draft of it. That will tell you if the story is developing the way you envisioned. Or read a recent work and compare it to something you wrote when you first began writing, say five or eight years ago. See how it has changed over time. Is it more descriptive? Does it have the right amount of narrative and dialogue? Is there too much emotion, or not enough?

2. Read your work out loud. By reading it out loud, you’ll notice words or phrases that don’t seem to fit or you’ll stumble over long sentences and tricky phrases. The mistakes will become more obvious. Then go back and revise.

3. Get feedback from an objective party. Hire a professional editor, recruit beta readers or work with a writing coach who can provide insights about the quality of your writing and provide suggestions for improving it.

4. Take a writing class. With an instructor to guide you and classmates to read your work, you’ll get plenty of feedback that can help you refine your writing.

5. Read widely. That means reading a variety of genres and authors which will expose you to different writing styles. You learn to write by reading as much as you can.

If you’re focused on improving the quality of your writing, progress will be difficult to measure. Each project is different, and you may tackle it at different points of your life and bring to it different experiences. So you may write beautifully one day while you might lost your creative mojo the next.

Whether you want to improve the quality of your writing or you want to create a tangible product, one thing remains true: progress occurs when you write as often and as consistently as possible.

So to truly make progress as a writer, keep writing!

How Rituals Can Inspire Your Best Writing  

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Sitting down to write may be the hardest thing to do when you don’t have a clear idea what you plan to write. Or perhaps you have the writing blahs where writing process doesn’t excite you. In those times, it might be helpful to develop a writing ritual.

 Writing rituals are a set sequence of actions that put you in the proper frame of mind for your writing session. They usually involve words, gestures and revered objects or symbols similar to what you might see for a religious or community ceremony, such as a child’s baptism. Simple actions like lighting a candle, listening to a particular piece of music, burning incense or doing a brief meditation can all be part of a ritual.

Most important, rituals set the tone, opening up mental and emotional space so you can write. They’re intended to create mindfulness and spark creativity.

I must confess I do not have a writing ritual. I usually don’t have a problem getting into the proper mindset for writing. But I can see how they can help other writers who may be stuck staring at a blank page.

Who needs writing rituals?
 * People who are stuck in a current work in progress
* People who want to begin a writing practice but don’t know what to write about and fear the blank page in front of them
* People who want to keep creative ideas flowing

Rituals shouldn’t be confused with routines, which are a set of actions designed to move toward a particular goal, such as finishing a chapter or producing a certain number of words on the page. They can involve a set of steps to get your writing session started or setting up your physical surroundings, such as making a cup of coffee or tea, clearing your desk, getting your notes together, and using a particular pen to write, writing at the same time and in the same place every day, etc. Routines deal with the physical surroundings and logistics of your writing sessions and are usually done every day. 

What routines lack, however, is mindfulness. Their focus is on the mundane tasks that make your writing session possible. But rituals bring intention and awareness to the activity, inviting imagination to open up for you.

Rituals are transformational, explains Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (which admittedly I have not read) as interviewed by Vox. “Rituals create and mark a transition towards a different kind of mental and emotional state.” They create a state of awareness that you can’t get from routines.

When I think of rituals, I think of a ceremony. Rituals are often connected to faith or community, like attending church or practicing yoga once a week. While routines are performed every day, I don’t think rituals can or should be done every day, but perhaps once a week or once a month to reclaim your focus. Rituals are separate from your writing routine and should be treated differently.

“Writing rituals help us nurture habits that are essential to our creativity,” writes Nicole Bianchi at The Writing Cooperative. She shares the rituals of some famous authors, including Jack Kerouac and Neil Gaiaman, although by their descriptions they sound more like routines rather than rituals.

When designing your own writing ritual, consider what types of actions will put you in the proper frame of mind to write. What can you do to create the mental and emotional space to write?

Examples of writing rituals:
* You might play a certain piece of music that inspires you and puts you in the mood to write.
* You might enjoy a cup of coffee while staring out the window for 10 minutes, allowing your mind to flow freely.
* You might do some freewriting or journaling if you mind is troubled and prevents you from thinking and writing clearly.
* You might light a candle and sit still in meditation.
* You might do a 10-minute yoga session which can help bring mindfulness into your activities. Yoga can help unlock whatever is stuck within you.

Whether you follow one of these examples or you create one of your own, writing rituals can signal the transition into a more mindful state that prepares you to be your creative best.   Do you agree or disagree? Do have a special writing ritual? How has it helped you with your writing?

Tips for Re-Setting a Writing Practice

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It always happens. When the Christmas holidays roll around or client assignments drop in my lap, my writing practice suffers. I haven’t looked at any of my personal writing projects in nearly six weeks, haven’t picked up a pen to draft any new stories or blog content. It frustrates me that I can’t be more productive. But that’s what happens when you’re trying to do too many things at once.

Now that it’s January, it’s time to “get back in the saddle,” as they say. With the decorations put away and assignments completed, I need to get back to work. My work. My writing practice. So how do I reset my routine?

Fortunately, Reedsy offered a timely webinar about productivity, and their experts provides exercises and pro tips that may be helpful in jumpstarting my routine.

Tip 1: Set a year-end goal. Close your eyes and imagine that it’s next Christmas, you’re with your family and friends celebrating some milestone with your writing. Perhaps you finished a draft of a new novel. Or you finally signed on with an agent. How do you feel about what you accomplished? What does the end result look like and feel like? Where do you want to be with your writing? If you can imagine it, you can accomplish it.

Tip 2. Begin with small steps. With the larger year-end goal in mind, think about how to get there. What small step can you take within the next week or month to reach that goal? What small step can you take in February, March, and so on? That small goal might be something like writing for 30 minutes each day, or a word count goal, like 500 words or one page a day. When you put one foot in front of the other, you eventually reach your destination.  

Tip 3: Be consistent with your practice. Make time to write, and write every day if you can. Writing every day sets up a new habit. When I got a batch of assignments in November and December, I neglected that daily habit, and lost momentum. Now it’s a struggle to get back to where I was before the holidays. Don’t let that happen to you. In hindsight, I should have simply scaled back on my writing routine rather than give it up altogether.

Tip 4: Create a ritual before beginning each writing session. The ritual will get you in the proper mindset. It could be something as simple as closing your eyes to imagine the words on the page, saying a short prayer to your creative muse or lighting a candle. However, don’t check emails or the internet before your session, or you will get lost in the mundane details of work and quickly lose your focus.

Tip 5: Be aware of the obstacles and distractions around you. Some obstacles are external and can be easily addressed. Maybe there’s a stack of dishes in the sink or an important phone call you need to make. Reedsy suggests taking 10 minutes to tidy up the kitchen and make that important phone call, otherwise it will bother you enough to prevent you from writing. If the dog needs to go for a walk, maybe have another family member or a neighbor take them out. There are internal distractions too, such as negative self-talk. In those instances, it might be helpful to talk to a friend or write in a journal. Find a way to release those negative thoughts before they poison your writing practice.

Tip 6: Deal with procrastination. This is my own bugaboo problem. Procrastination can kill any brilliant story idea you might have. What is procrastination really but an avoidance tactic? So ask yourself–what are you trying to avoid? Why are you trying to avoid it? Is it the fear that what you write will be horrible (bad news: the first draft usually is). Is it because you have no idea what to write about and you don’t like staring at a blank page? The easy fix for that is writing prompts which can jumpstart your imagination and get ideas flowing again.

I’ve been procrastinating on a novel I’ve been editing/rewriting for the fourth time. It’s been a long slog, and I’m tired of looking at the story. So I’ve been avoiding it because I hate the editing process—of cutting copy and moving scenes around. I’d much rather be writing something fresh and new. My point is procrastination happens to every writer, and it’s usually a sign that you’re avoiding something in your practice that you’d rather not do. Figure out a way to work through what you need to do, then do it.

Tip 7: Change the narrative of your writing life. So what that you may never have been published before. You can be published this year if you work toward that goal. Don’t let past disappointments and failures define who you are as a writer. Focus on your successes and build on them. Focus on the things you can do rather than what you can’t. For example, if all you can do is write 100 words a day, then write 100 words a day. Don’t berate yourself for not writing 1000 words like most other people you might know. You know your circumstances best, so work within those parameters. As Tim Gunn always says, “Make it work!”

Hope these suggestions help you re-set your writing practice. Here’s to a productive and successful 2024. Happy writing!

10 Gifts for Writers and Creatives

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Dear Readers,

Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading The Regal Writer this past year. Hope you found inspiration and encouragement from my stories.

If you’re as busy as I’ve been these past few weeks, you probably have found it difficult to find quiet time for your writing practice. But even 15 minutes a day is better than nothing. So even amidst the holiday celebrations and work obligations, hope you can squeeze in some writing time and keep those creative juices flowing.

I’m taking a short break from The Regal Writer for the next month or so to work on several client assignments and enjoy the holidays. Look for fresh content on this blog in early 2024 as well as a new slate of writing prompts.

As a send-off, I’d like to leave you with the following gifts that can help you make the most of your writing practice, both now and well into the New Year.  My gifts to you include:

The gift of time – In our hectic lives, may you always find a few minutes each day to write.

The gift of place – May you always have a quiet place to think, plan, dream and fantasize about your next story.

The gift of abundance – May your mind teem with so many creative ideas that you don’t know where to begin writing them.

The gift of imagination — May every story idea that comes from your imagination reflect a new and interesting way of looking at the world.

The gift of productivity – May you acquire the right tools when you need them to help you stay productive and consistent with your writing practice.

The gift of education – May you find the right books, courses, webinars and conferences to build your knowledge and skills about writing.

The gift of good health — Your health is important. Without good health, you cannot accomplish what you set out to do.

The gift of self-confidence – May you share your writing with calm self-assurance that this is your best effort, and may self-doubt stay away from your door.

The gift of inspiration – May your writing inspire others and bring joy and light to readers. Furthermore, may you feel inspired by your own writing so that you will want to continue with your practice.

The gift of love and friendship – May you be surrounded by people who support you and your writing, and who share your love of the written word.

Remember, writing is a gift too. The more you share that gift with others, the more joy it will bring to them and to yourself.  

Be well, be kind. See you in 2024!

The Seven Scariest Excuses People Make to Avoid Writing

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This is a repost from several years ago. The information is just as helpful and pertinent today as it was then. As always, thanks for reading, and keep writing.

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably made a myriad of excuses for not getting any writing done – lack of time, fear of failure, too busy, no privacy, nothing to write about, etc.

Below are the seven most common excuses I’ve heard people use to explain why they aren’t writing. I call them the Seven Deadly Excuses because I believe they can kill a person’s writing practice before it has a chance to flourish. Many of these excuses are influenced by negative messages and assumptions you might have heard since childhood. By reframing these messages and taking positive action, those fears can diminish over time.

Excuse 1: “I don’t have time to write.”
A lack of time is the most common excuse people make about not writing. If this is your biggest fear, chances are your writing practice has never gotten off the ground, or you write in fits and starts. You always talk about wanting to write, but you never do anything about it.

The problem isn’t that you don’t have time to write, but the expectation of how much time is needed for writing. If you expect a writing practice to take up two, three or four hours every day, that is unrealistic. No one has that kind of time. With full-time jobs, clients to take care of, families to raise and other important responsibilities, there’s little time left over for writing.

The truth is, you don’t need hours at a time to begin writing. When you’re just starting out, only 10 or 15 minutes a day will suffice. For example, while working as an attorney, A Time to Kill author John Grisham set a goal of writing one page per day, roughly 200 words, and he got up a half hour early each day to achieve that. Grisham shows it is possible to fit writing into your schedule.

Excuse #2: “I’m too busy.” 
When you say that you’re too busy to write, what you may actually be saying is that writing is a low priority compared to other responsibilities, such as a work, school, taking care of kids or aging parents, etc. Who has time to begin a writing practice when all these other priorities compete for your attention?

Perhaps you learned in childhood that school work and household chores came first before you could do anything else, whether that was watching TV or playing with your friends. Writing became a low priority.

But maybe it’s time to rethink those priorities. Maybe it’s time to make writing a higher priority than before. When you make writing a priority, you’ll find it’s easier to begin a regular writing practice. If all you need is 15 minutes a day, that’s time well spent, no matter how busy you are.

Excuse 3: “My writing isn’t good enough.”
From the moment you put pen to paper, your writing probably won’t be very good. First drafts never are good. That’s true for most writers, including successfully published ones. Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale, writes as many as 10 drafts of each novel, according to her website. Experienced writers understand that the first draft is simply the starting point that you can build on.

If you continually tell yourself that your writing isn’t good enough, ask yourself why you feel that way. Is it not good enough for publication? For other people to see? Once you understand why you feel you’re writing isn’t good enough, you can take steps to rethink your approach to writing.

Instead of berating yourself for not writing well, make a plan to keep improving. Read authors whose work you admire, so you can learn from them. When you write something, ask for feedback. Avoid squirming when you receive their feedback. Constructive criticism can help you spot recurring errors. Most important, write, write, write.

Excuse 4: “I don’t know what to write about!”
Do you suffer from blank page syndrome – the act of staring at a blank page or computer screen with no idea what to write about?  Or when you do come up with a story ideas, do you dismiss it as uninteresting?

When faced with a blank page, you may be overlooking the best source of story ideas: personal experience. You have plenty of life experience to draw from, so explore those events from your past to adapt to your stories. One way to access this reservoir of life experience is with writing prompts. You can find hundreds of prompts on sites such as  Writer’s Digest and DIYMFA.com.

Excuse 5: “I don’t have a private space to write.”
If you share a home with a spouse, three children, a dog and two cats, it may be difficult to find a quiet, private space to write. Others believe that without ideal circumstances, such as a desk and comfortable chair, their favorite coffee mug and favorite pen, they’re just not able to write.

You need to ask yourself if the problem is an actual lack of space, or the expectation that you need a lot of space to write. I’ve drafted blog posts on breaks at work, on buses and trains or while waiting for appointments. If you wish you had ideal surroundings and your current environment is far from ideal, you may be waiting forever to start writing. The truth is, your environment does not need to be perfect to begin writing.

Excuse 6:  “I’m afraid to fail.”
Another common excuse writers make is “What if I fail?“  The answer depends on how you define failure. What does failure look like to you? Not getting published? Not finishing your current work-in-progress? Not having anyone read your work? Not having anyone take your writing as seriously as you do? Everybody has their own definition of failure, but in reality, there is only one true failure: not writing at all.

To remove that fear of failure, it might be helpful to start small and work your way toward bigger projects. Start with stories of 100 words, then increase it to 200 words, and so on. Every week or so, add to your daily word count. When you reach these smaller goals, you gain confidence in yourself and you achieve small successes that you can build on.

Excuse 7: “What if I’m successful?”
While fear of failure is common among writers, others suffer from a different malaise:  fear of success. “How can anyone be afraid to succeed?” you ask. You’d be surprised at how many people fear success, myself included.

Fear of success might manifest as an unfinished project – or two, or three or ten. You have several projects in various stages of completion but never seem to finish any of them. In your mind, finishing one of them means you’ve achieved success. Then you worry about what happens when you finish that project. Perhaps you edit your piece over and over again, never fully satisfied with what you’ve written – a useful delay tactic preventing you from finishing your work.

If you fear success, then you may need to rethink what success means to you. What does it look like? It may look and feel differently to you than to your spouse or your best friend. Are you defining success on your terms or someone else’s?

When you define success on your terms, there should be no reason to fear it because you’ve defined it based on real, concrete and meaningful terms. It’s when you follow the path of success that others have defined for you that can strike fear in you. Write  according to your definition of success, not anyone else’s.

When you take steps to conquer your fears, the writing life won’t seem so scary.


Find your writing superpower

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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On your writing journey, you’ll develop a full range of editorial skills from writing dialogue to creating an imaginary world for your characters. Conversely, those newly-developed skills may be more on the administrative side, such as managing tasks and making the best use of your time.

Some skills must be learned, while others seem to be born within us. I call those natural abilities superpowers. A writer’s superpower is that one aspect of writing that they are better at than any other skill.

If you’ve been writing consistently for a while, you may notice that you have a knack for doing certain things, almost by instinct. Those skills emerge organically from within. That superpower comes about with consistent practice.

And if you don’t think you have a writing superpower? Don’t worry. It’s there somewhere. You just haven’t discovered it yet.

Allison Tait, who writes children’s’ books, has this advice for developing writing superpowers in kids, but I think her advice works just as well for adults. She writes: “I encourage kids to identify one superpower and use it to give them confidence to keep writing. Because when you’re confident that you’ve got at least one thing going really well, then it’s much easier to take risks with writing and to try different things.”

Writing is a risk, but to be successful at writing, you have to experiment to see what works for you. Writing forces you to dig deep within yourself and release all the old, stagnant feelings you have buried there. It’s about exposing yourself to others, who may not like the person you reveal yourself to be. It takes courage to write, especially when you know how high the stakes may be and that readers may not like what you create. But still you continue to write—because you love to write.

How do you find your own superpower? By being consistent with your writing practice. Write as often as you can. That’s how you discover your special skills, your superpowers.  

There are other ways to find your superpower, such as: 

  • Being curious about the world and the people you encounter every day.  
  • Reading widely in all genres, even non-fiction.
  • Experimenting with different writing styles.
  • Immersing yourself in creative environments and in nature.
  • Learning about your craft by taking classes and attending webinars.

    There are numerous possible superpowers you could discover. Here are a few that I’ve recognized in myself and in other writers. You may discover different superpowers of your own.

Idea Generator. Some writers can come up with plot lines almost at will, while others knock their heads against a brick wall looking for inspiration. For these idea generators, writer’s block is a foreign concept.  They have notebooks with story ideas and notes for the next work-in-progress. No sooner have they completed one story that they’re ready to write the next one.  

Task Master. Most writers have numerous unfinished manuscripts sitting in a desk drawer collecting dust. Not the Task Finisher, who manages to finish every project they begin. They seem to have a clear idea how their story will end, and even if they don’t, they keep working at it until they do. This is one superpower I wish I had.

Time Manager. Some people love routine and schedules; others don’t. The Time Manager can set a schedule and follow it to a T. They just know how to make the best use of their time to meet deadlines and get the most work done within a certain time frame.

Writing Warrior. It takes courage to write. A writing warrior isn’t afraid to get words down on the page and doesn’t second-guess themselves about how the story will unfold. The warrior trusts that whatever comes out on the page is the story they are meant to tell.

World-building Visionary. With a vivid imagination, world-building visionaries can see an entire new world in their mind and then describe it in rich detail. This is what makes science fiction and fantasy writers so unique. If J.K. Rowling wasn’t a world-building visionary herself, would any of us be able to experience Hogwarts the way Harry Potter did?

Conversation Analyst. An ear for dialogue and the audacity to listen in on other people’s conversations without guilt can turn an average writer into a conversation analyst. They can detect the emotional undertones, the wording choices, vocal accents and mannerisms that make the conversation real, and then emulate those details in a carefully crafted dialogue.

Technical Translator. Some people have a knack for understanding technical lingo. They can read a technical manual then “translate” the instructions into plain English that others can understand. This superpower is especially helpful when writing non-fiction, but you might use it for describing scenes involving a scientific or technological method.

Sensory wizard. Though we are all born with five senses—taste, touch, smell, hearing, and seeing, only  a blessed few have the ability to write descriptive prose involving those senses so that readers feel and see and taste it too.

Emotional Caretaker. Few writers have ever been able to touch my heart and soul with their words. I’m not talking about descriptive writing, but emotional writing. The simplest words can be filled with so much emotion and drama that they make readers feel something within themselves, make them cry, or send chills down their spine.

Self-editing Guru. Writing the first rough draft is the easy part. Editing is where the hard work begins. The self-editing guru can edit their initial draft and rewrite scenes without second guessing themselves. By the end of the second or third draft, they have a publishable book, while other writers are still slaving away on a fourth or fifth round of edits because they question whether the story is good enough.

So which superpower do you have? Which one do you wish you could develop further? Or do you have a superpower that’s not on this list? Share with me in the comments.

Using Meditation to Make Yourself a Better Writer

~ The Regal Writer ~ 1 Comment
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There are numerous ways to improve yourself as a writer—attending conferences and workshops, pursuing an advanced degree, writing every day, reading books about writing, among other things. But there’s one more way to become a better writer that is often overlooked.

Meditation.

Yes, meditation offers numerous benefits for writers. For example:

* Meditation can help calm the mind and slow down your thoughts, which can help you think more clearly. You might see solutions to your plotting problems that you didn’t notice before.

* Meditation can help you get in touch with your inner self, to access thoughts, ideas and emotions you might have buried.

* Meditation can help you feel less stressed when faced with writing deadlines, blank pages and a daunting writing process. It can help you deal with writing anxiety.

* Meditation can boost your confidence so you feel more comfortable tackling difficult tasks or working out of your comfort zone.

Granted, meditation take practice. But with a little time—no more than 10 minutes a day—your daily mediation practice can help you stay focused and calm, and help you access the most creative part of yourself. That can result in better writing and better stories.

What is the connection between meditation and writing?

With meditation, your mind calms. A calmer mind opens a gateway to creativity. It’s like unlocking a door and gaining access to a room who have always wanted to enter but was never available to you. Meditation also reveals aspects of yourself that you might have unintentionally kept hidden, aspects that come forth with your writing.

What writing won’t do….

Unfortunately, meditation can’t help you do a lot of things, like clear up a messy desk so you can write. It can’t improve your technical writing skills, such as grammar and punctuation. It can’t give you more space in your schedule so you have more time to write. These tasks are still up to you to do.

Meditation also can’t cut out the negative feedback you might receive about your creative talents, BUT it can help you deal with negative feedback with greater equanimity. You can still accept the comments but with a calmer mind, negative feedback won’t throw you off your game. It’s like having an invisible coat of armor around yourself; any negative comments will simply roll off your shoulders.

How to begin a meditation practice

As I mentioned, all you need is 10 minutes a day to quiet your mind. The easiest place to begin is in your own home. If it’s possible, find a place that is quiet and free of noise and distractions, such as your bedroom. Sit in a chair with your feet planted on the floor, or sit cross legged on the floor. Try not to sit on the bed as you might be tempted to lay down and nap!

Shut off your phone or leave it somewhere where you can’t get to it. Remember, with only 10 minutes for your practice, you don’t want to waste it worrying about your phone.

Once you are settled in place, close your eyes. Begin by breathing deeply. Focus on your breath. Each inhale and exhale will feel like a pendulum swinging back and forth. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

Your breath becomes a mantra that your mind follows. Your thoughts might still race, but when you notice it, let them go. Don’t dwell on them. Let them roll past like an insect flying past a window. When you feel ready, open your eyes. Note how you feel. You may feel nothing the first day, or the first week. You may feel it didn’t make a difference at all. But your efforts will pay off eventually. If anything, because you slowed your breathing, you might feel calmer and clearer.

As you gain more experience, you can try more advanced meditation exercises or lengthen your sessions. You can also try some apps, but I usually find them more of a distraction. Still, you can find one that works for you.  

Here are a few things to keep in mind about meditation:
* Be patient. Don’t expect results overnight. In fact, you may not notice any significant changes in several days or weeks. But stick with the program. Quieting the mind has a cumulative effect. It will build over time.

*Be consistent. Practice your meditation a little bit every day. Because of its cumulative effect, it’s important to be consistent with your practice.

* Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone is different. Each person will experience meditation in their own way. Find what works best for you.

With a little bit of effort, you can make meditation a part of your daily routine and it can be a valuable part of your writing practice.

Give Yourself Writing Credit

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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It can be a real drag to be slaving away on a lengthy piece of writing for months or even years. It’s even harder when you’re doing it in relative invisibility. There’s no one around to cheer you on when you get stuck, no one to urge you toward the finish line (unless you have a spouse or best friend living with you). There’s no one to help you celebrate small successes you experience along the way, like hitting the 10,000-word mark on an 80,000-word novel or finishing a chapter. When you’re focused on the next goal, the next chapter, or the next deadline, you might forget to pat yourself on the back for the work you’ve put in.

Experts (both writing and psychology) say it’s important to give ourselves credit throughout a project, not just at the end. Delayed gratification is a no-no. It’s not just to keep you motivated, but to acknowledge the hard work and grief you’ve gone through during the writing process. Since most writers work in isolation, no one else sees how you toil behind the scenes. No one witnesses the blood, sweat and tears you pour into your work to get it published.

By setting up a credit system for reaching certain milestones, you can take time to appreciate the work you’ve done so far. You can feel good about what you’ve accomplished while you’re accomplishing it. No need to wait until the bitter end to pat yourself on the back. Who wants to wait that long before receiving any kind of acknowledgment of your hard work?

Giving yourself credit plays off the concept of “What’s rewarded gets repeated.” When you acknowledge that you wrote 5,000 words in one week, how likely are you to repeat that effort the following week? Of course, you’ll want to keep performing at that high level. As the words pile up on the page, so do your rewards.

The rewards should be small things, like giving yourself a day off from writing or taking a day trip somewhere. They don’t have to cost anything either, like playing with your favorite pet or re-watching a favorite movie. In fact, waiting until the end of the project for a larger, more indulgent reward, something that could be a splurge, like dinner at a hot new restaurant or a massage.

There are a few guidelines for giving yourself credit:

  • Refrain from food-related credits, which can sometimes be unhealthy and ruin your diet.  
  • Keep credits small and budget-friendly. Save the bigger splurge for when you complete your project.  
  • Consider hobbies and activities that you enjoy that you don’t get to do very often, like dancing or spending an afternoon at the library.
  • Don’t put off cashing in your credit. Take it the moment you reach your milestone.

So what types of credit should you give yourself?

  • Re-reading a favorite book
  • Re-watching a favorite movie
  • Going for a hike or walk in nature
  • Going for a bike ride
  • Going to a matinee movie
  • Visiting a museum
  • Buying fresh flowers for your work space
  • Dancing in your living room
  • Taking a day off from writing
  • Spending an afternoon at the library, bookstore or coffee shop
  • Spending time with your pet
  • Spending time with a friend you haven’t seen in a while

Here’s another fun thought, shared by book coach Jessica Conoley. Use fun, colorful stickers to decorate your calendar. Every time you meet a goal, say finishing a chapter, put a sticker in your calendar on the date of completion. Or your goal might be to write 1000 words a day. Every day you reach that goal, put another sticker on the calendar. Over time, you see how many stickers you’ve collected as “credit” for the work you’ve done. You may not see all the words you’ve written toward your finished manuscript, but the stickers in your calendar can show you how far you’ve come.

As writers, we all work hard, often in isolation. Few people see the hard work we put into our craft. Taking time to give ourselves credit isn’t frivolous. It’s a way to acknowledge that our work is worthy of recognition, even if we’re the only ones to see that progress.

So how do you acknowledge your hard work? What special rewards to you give yourself for reaching your milestones in a longer project?