What Keeps You From Writing? A few weeks ago, before the election, I chatted with a neighbor about two local rent control initiatives on our ballot. As someone who worked with people evicted by landlords in our over-heated housing market, she had valuable perspective into two competing ballot measures. She wanted to share her ideas […]
Writing
Sell More Books with Less Social Media [Book Review]
Authors face a veritable gauntlet of online book marketing advice. Deciding which strategies to follow can be overwhelming. (See last week’s post on avoiding decision fatigue when publishing your book.) When it comes to book promotion and social media, much of the advice follows the model “this worked for me (or author x), so it should work for […]
Protect Yourself from Author’s Decision Fatigue
Californians face 17 state-wide propositions on the ballot in this election, on issues ranging from marijuana legalization to hospital fees. As diligent citizens, we need to wade through the pros and cons of each, read commentary, and do research, while resisting the temptation to vote no on everything or abstain from voting. Voting in California is all […]
Productivity for Creative People by Mark McGuinness [Review]
How do you schedule your writing time each day? How much time do you spend handling emails? What happens when you get a backlog of other work – do you put aside the writing altogether? The distractions of daily life can derail writing, stealing the time, focus, and attention you need for creative work. In his […]
Does Loss Aversion Prevent You From Writing?
“I want to write a book, but I’m worried about how long it will take to recoup the investment of time and money. And what if I never do?” “I started on a book, but another interesting project popped up, so I’ve stuck it in a drawer for the future.” Do either of these statements sound […]
Writing in the Workplace: Abstract Concepts
Abstract concepts encapsulate many ideas into one word. Shoes and boots become footwear. The set of politicians includes local mayors as well as heads of state. Mothers and fathers are, more generally, parents. Abstractions are absolutely essential for achieving any of the following goals with your writing: Making conclusions or inferences based on varied evidence Demonstrating mastery of complex topics […]