Writers are the masters of procrastination – it’s far simpler to type a search term into Google than it is to write the first line of a novel. We all procrastinate – but you can overcome it with practical strategies. So stop putting off your dreams and reward your future self, says Bec Evans.
Read More
Writers’ block: two words that strike fear into every writer. But for the past 11 years every November a website has come to the rescue. National Novel Writing Month was founded in 1999 by US-based freelance Chris Baty and 20 other writers. Aimed simply at getting words on the page, it sets participants a target of 50,000 words written by the end of the month, and provides forums and exercises aimed at overcoming writer’s block. It has an impressive success rate: of the 165,000 participants in 2009, over 30,000 crossed the 50,000 word line at the end of November.
One of those who participated in 2008 was creative writing graduate Julia Crouch, who had hit a wall. It helped more than she expected: before Christmas the books that came out of NaNoWriMo won her a three book deal with Headline. Her début, the psychological thriller Cuckoo, is published in March. Here she explains how NaNoWriMo helped.
Tom Evans is the author of Blocks: The Enlightened Way to Clear Writer’s Blocks. Follow him on Twitter at @thebookwright. #4: The Fear
Read MoreIt’s kind of natural to fear the unknown. For many of us, this fear can start at an early age and remain with us for most of our lives. When it comes to writing your book – or specifically not-writing your book – it can be somewhat debilitating.
Read MoreThe best way to avoid failure is not to try in the first place. Nobody can have a dig at you for the quality of your writing, or the number of copies of your book you have sold, if you haven’t written it. The same holds true for a new invention, product or service in business.
Read MoreThe fear of ridicule is really common. The best way to avoid being ridiculed for your writing is not to write anything at all. Our unconscious minds protect us from harm by inventing loads of ways for us to avoid being ridiculed. The simple way around this is to start writing and ‘publishing’ small bits of work and discovering that you don’t get shot down in flames.
Read More