Want to spend time procrastinating from writing, yet still feel like a “writer?” Do a Google Image or Pinterest search for writing space. You’ll find a mouth-watering assortment of home offices, libraries, cozy nooks overlooking forests, you name it. We all dream of having the perfect space for crafting our works, but maybe that’s […]
creativity
Should You Really Get Up Early to Write?
I’m a little tired of reading about successful people who rise and write for hours before daybreak. How about you? I’m filled with admiration for their work ethic and discipline. But it’s not my process, nor is it necessarily yours. And for reasons grounded in neuroscience, waking early to write might work against you. Writing first […]
Managing the Muse
I wake for some unknown reason in the early, still-dark morning. A quick glance at the clock reveals that it’s 5am, so I settle back into bed, willing myself to sleep. I want and need those next two hours of slumber. As I try to resume where I left off, an idea for a blog post pops into […]
Where Do You Go for Inspiration?
Tracking Your Muse’s Favorite Hangouts What are you doing when the ideas start flowing in your brain? Where do new insights strike? When you sit down and the writing is fluid and productive, where have you been in the hours and days preceding? Those are the places that your Muse thrives. The Muse is a short-hand label for those […]
What Inspires Your Writing?
Getting To Know Your Muse Inspiration may appear in dreams. New ideas or complete phrases might pop into your head when you’re doing the dishes. Or, you’ll be in the shower when you suddenly think of a wonderful approach for something you’re writing. Our best ideas seem to come from places beyond our intentional control. That’s probably why the Greeks personified inspiration in the […]
Shut Your Monkey: A Book to Keep You Writing
Have you ever told yourself that you weren’t good enough to try something new or difficult? Do you put off writing that book because you doubt that you do anything worth reading? And even if you managed to complete something major, have you felt like an imposter? Often our biggest barriers are internal, and finding a path around them can be […]