Nancy Christie's Blog, page 40

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 9: Generate Some Good Karma.

Day 9 —Generate Some Good Karma.

You’re feeling miserable about your work, about your progress or lack thereof, about the dream you had of someday being a successful writer that now seems so far-fetched that it’s not even visible.

Oh, my. This is one of those really bad writing days. What do you do? Unplug the computer? Set fire to your manuscript? Consider another line of work because you can’t see this one bearing any fruit?

I have a completely different idea: generate a little good karma. Get...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 8: Stock Your Inspiration “Toolbox.”

Day 8 — Stock Your Inspiration “Toolbox.”

Sometimes the writing well runs dry. You are sitting there, pen at hand or keyboard at fingertips, all ready to write except…

Except nothing happens. It’s frustrating. It’s aggravating. And it’s happened to all of us.

What do you do now? Reach for your inspiration “toolbox”—writing tools that inspire you. This can be anything from music and artwork to fragrances or activities. I have a box full of odds and ends that I acquired on trips, at flea markets ...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 7: Beat the Procrastination Proclivity.

Day 7 — Beat the Procrastination Proclivity.

Do you suffer from procrastination when it comes to your writing? Ben Franklin’s advice to never put off until tomorrow what you can do today applies to writing as well.

It’s all too easy to say that you’ll write tomorrow because today you are too busy/too tired/ too uninspired, but that sets a bad precedent.

Instead, stop making excuses for why you aren’t writing and start writing at least a little each day to create the habit.

Having a written sched...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 6: Join a Writing Community.

Day 6 — Join a Writing Community.

Many writers, no matter how much they enjoy the experience of writing, also feel the loneliness that comes with it if they aren’t part of a community of other writers.

Writing requires a certain amount of solitude so you can concentrate on the task at hand. At the same time, being in your own space all by yourself can lead to a sense of isolation.

Writing is a solitary activity but that doesn’t mean you need to be a solitary writer. In How to Overcome Loneliness...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 5: Accept the Reality of Rejection.

Day 5 — Accept the Reality of Rejection.

Isaac Asimov said that “rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil – but there is no way around them.”

The fact is that all writers, not just you, experience rejection in one form or another. What determines your writing “life expectancy” is how you handle it.

Don’t waste time and energy being angry or disheartened.

In Rejection Is an Enormous Part of a Writer’s Life, Alex...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 4: Focus on Successes.

Day 4 — Focus on Successes.

Writing successes can take many forms. They can be an acceptance by an editor, publisher or agent.

But successes can also be completing a project, writing about something that challenged you emotionally or technically, exploring a new genre or form of writing, or being brave enough to submit your work to others to read and critique.

Every writer has his or her own definition of success—something I wrote about in How Writers Measure Success — 15 Authors Share Their Tho...

Thoughts on writing and life for January 2021

On my Living the Writing Life podcast, I share some of my thoughts on writing and life for January: how recognizing our own vulnerability can push us to find our courage and continue to move forward with our writing and with our life.

You can listen to the podcast here:
Thoughts on writing and life for January 2021

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 3: Create a Writing Space.

Day 3 — Create a Writing Space.

Large or small, permanent or temporary, in your home or at a public space, it doesn’t matter where your writing space is, only that it exists.

Having a physical space that is devoted to your writing identifies it as something that also deserves figurative “space” in your life.

Granted, not everyone has the luxury of a separate room as their writing space, especially since, due to COVID-19, houses are more crowded than ever with kids being home-schooled and adults ...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 2: Establish a Writing Routine.

Day 2 — Establish a Writing Routine.

The muse doesn’t enter unless the door is open. And the way to open that door is by creating a writing routine—ideally spending at least 30 minutes a day devoted to your craft.

Don’t think a half-hour is enough for a useful writing routine? Wondering what you can do in that short timeframe?

In 30 minutes, you can:

Outline an essay or article. (Check out 4 Ridiculously Easy Steps to Write a Good Outline for Your Articles by Bamidele Onibalusi.)
Develop a scen...

31 Days of Rut-Busting Tips For Writers—Day 1: Set Your Writing Goal.

Day 1: Set Your Writing Goal.

Your writing goal can be starting a major project (a book, for example), making a career move (becoming a freelance writer) or improving your writing or marketing skills.

How do you decide what goal works for you? Brainstorm a bit on what your writing skills are, how much time you can reasonably devote to your goal and what other obligations can affect your success at achieving it. While it’s good to dream big, your goal must be rooted in reality.

Establish short- a...