Bryan Collins's Blog, page 105

Avoid Decision Fatigue Before It Slays Your Creativity

‘I just can’t be bothered.’

‘I’m just too tired.’

‘I don’t have the energy today.’

Haveyouevermadethese types of excusewhenit’stimetowrite or to create?

If you have, don’t beat yourself up. It’s natural to procrastinate about a decision when you’re tired.

In a 2009 study, Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University, carried out an experiment whereby he asked students to sit next to a plate of fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies.

He gave permission to some students to eat the co...

The Curious Link Between Productive Writing and White Lies

Do you enjoy telling lies?

Do you have a little something on the side?

Are you cheating?

If want to become a more productive writer, you should.

Let me explain:

New writers sometimes feel paralysed because they are not an expert in their chosen topic or because they can’t think of a good or original idea.

After browsing Amazon or the shelves in a local bookstore, it feels like everything has been said, the best books are already published, and there are no good ideas left.

There are, but you...

The Weekly Review: Your Secret To Becoming a More Productive Writer

When was the last time you took 30 minutes out from your week to review how your writing is going?

Would you like some perspective over how your writing is progressing as a whole?

Is there a way of figuring out what you need to do next and what you should stop doing?

There's a simple strategy that can help you answer all of these questions and gain some control over your writing.

It's called the weekly review.

I learnt about the weekly review several years ago from David Allen (the author...

From Author to Freelancer: How to Profit From Your Writing

You’ve had the dream since you were a little child.

You kept it a secret from everyone and held on to it while you grew up.

Your dream was that one day your story would be read by thousands of people. Your characters would be locked in the minds of people from all over the world.

You would be instantly famous.

Or, if anything, your novel would be published, sold and you could finally make a living from your writing.

And with the internet and self-publishing available, it’s becoming easier tha...

Read the Results of My Reader Survey

The results of my reader survey are in

Surveys are a great way of finding out what your readers want, for discovering if you’re writing about the right topics, and for getting new ideas for your writing projects.

They’re particularly useful for non-fiction writers who are invested in helping readers.

These aren’t the only reasons why I ran this survey. I also wanted to find more out about the people who read Become a Writer Today.

I wanted to find more out about you.

If you took part in my s...

With Great Writing You Can Win Every Time

Great writing does at least one of four things.

It entertains, educates, informs or inspires readers.

A news story is informative because it tell the reader something important about a current event.

A tutorial is educational because it explains to readers how to accomplish a task.

A short story is entertaining because it gives the reader a place to which they can escape from their troubles.

A self-help book is inspirational because it shows readers how they can change their lives for the bet...

Stop Searching For Your Writing Voice, Do This Instead

Have you found your voice for writing?

Wait!

What if were to tell you going in search of your voice is a fool’s journey?

When I first started writing non-fiction, I spent a lot of time trying to find my voice.I worried about writing in the first person and about using personal stories in my work.

I tried to figure out how much of myself I should inject into my articles and how much I should hold back.

And I mimicked the style of other writers I admire.

Here’s the problem with my approach:

I s...

7 Tools For Finding New Writing Ideas in an Emergency

To maintain the interest of your followers and attract new followers, you need to produce engaging and useful content on a regular basis. Unfortunately, coming up with writing ideas can be a major challenge.

After all, before you publish a single blog post you must…

Find topics that are timely and relevant to your readers Conduct research Create and publish your post Promote your content Get your audience involved in discussions about your posts Share your content

To make things more comp...

A Foolproof Guide to Completing a Big Writing Project

From blogs to articles and social media posts, short-form content is in demand and popular.

But sometimes, short form doesn’t work.

Whether you study and have to complete an essay or try to write a book, writing long-form content is a challenge on its own.

”What is so challenging about it?”, you may ask.

Look:

Far from every writer can create 2,000-word content, compelling and insightful to read. Many platforms prefer posting short-form content as it’s ideal for striking the audience and ge...

Is LeadPages Worth It? Find Out In This Review

Updated:November 29, 2015

Do you want to create a landing page for your book?

Would you like to increase the number of people who subscribe to your blog?

Is LeadPages worth it?

I’ve spent the last few months trying to answer these questions.

I don’t like spending time coding or tinkering with the back-end of my website. I’d rather spend my time writing and building relationships online.

Earlier this year, I triedLeadPagesfor 30 days. I wanted a tool that would help me increase email sign-ups...