5 Ways to Turn Off Your Inner Editor and Get More Writing Done

By Janice Hardy

Our inner editor is an enemy to our muse—here’s how to shut it up.

I think writers would get a lot more written if there was a "first draft keyboard" without a delete or backspace key. 

Sure, those first drafts would be a mess, but we’d be free to just type and let the words flow without the ability to fix them—so there’d be no inner editor telling us to go back and tweak them.

It’s only natural to want to write the best draft possible, but sometimes the creative process needs to be set free to get anywhere. 

Constantly stopping to tweak or fix a word can sap our creative energy and lower our productivity.

5 Ways to Fight Your End-of-Year Writer’s Fatigue

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The end of the year can be exhausting, but you can beat it.

December is both a fun and a rough month. The holidays and festivities keep everyone busy and smiling, but that constant string of tasks and events wears on a person—especially us writers. It can be hard to write when all our energy is going to prepping, handling, and enjoying the holidays.

It’s also the end of a potentially long year of “I need to hit X goal.” You wanted to revise that novel, write that novel, publish that ebook, go on that book tour, revamp your website, and so on and so on…. 

This is the last few weeks to complete those goal(s) and the pressure is on. However, the motivation to actually do it is likely waning or missing.

The end of the year makes you want to push hard to finish all the things you wanted to do that year—even if there's no way you can possibly do it.  

The Benefits of a DIY Personal Writer’s Retreat

By Jodi Turchin, @jlturchin

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Getting away from your regular writing routine can shake up your muse and boost your productivity. Jodi Turchin shares tips on how to create your own writing retreat.

Jodi Turchin is a Young Adult novelist represented by Dawn Frederick at Red Sofa Literary. She’s also a photographer, a high school English teacher, an adjunct college professor, and a former actress and director.

Website | Twitter

Take it away Jodi…

Word Count Is Not the Only Metric for Productivity

By Spencer Ellsworth, @spencimus

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Putting too much focus on word counts can derail a writer from what really matters—the story. Spencer Ellsworth shares thoughts and tips on how to be productive without stressing over word counts.

Spencer Ellsworth is the author of The Great Faerie Strike from Broken Eye Books and the Starfire space opera trilogy from Tor. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children, and would really like a war mammoth if you know a guy.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Take it away Spencer…

How to Stay Motivated and Keep Writing

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: A lack of motivation is a vicious cycle—the less motivated we are, the worse we feel, which only kills our motivation further. Laurence MacNaughton shares tips on how to stay motivated and keep writing.

Like the rough draft of a novel, life doesn't follow a carefully planned outline. Bad things happen. Circumstances change. Life gets overwhelming. At some point, you may realize that you've stopped writing. And the idea of getting started again looms over you like a sheer cliff that's impossible to climb. How can you ever get motivated to finish that book?

Don't worry. Every writer has been there, at one point or another. The writers who become successful are the ones who find a way to overcome obstacles and finish their novels. You can be successful too, and here's how.

Apply the Tools of Corporate America to Improve the Writing Life

By Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev, @MayonnValchev

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: Authors are small business, and applying a business mentality to our writing can benefit us. Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev shares how to use corporate tools to become a better writer.

Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev lives in Georgia with her family and is represented by Sara Megibow of KT Literary. Her debut novel, The Leopard Behind the Moon, is a magical realism for the middle-grade reader – a warm, sweet, beautiful story about friendship, healing, grief, community…and more than one intruding, talking animal. Publication by Greenwillow/HarperCollins is planned for September 2021.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Take it away Mayonn…

How to Write More in Less Time with Voice Recognition

By Jenna Harte

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: As dictation software has gotten better, more and more writers are using it to increase their productivity. Jenna Harte shares tips and advice on how to start "speaking" your book 

Jenna Harte is a fan of romance and murder, usually mixed together. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries, the first of which, Deadly Valentine, reached the quarter-finals in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She’s also the author of the Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery Series and the Southern Heat contemporary romance series. She owns SwoonworthyHEA.com an online community for people who love to read and write romance, and is the host of Illicit Liaisons, where each week she and her guests discuss the good, the bad and the naughty of romance fiction. She is currently launching Write with Harte, a podcast and other resources for romance authors. When she’s not writing about passion or murder, she lives in central Virginia with her husband, and geriatric cat, Peaches. Keep up-to-date on all the passion and mayhem at her website.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube

Take it away Jenna...

The Best Writing Tool You’ve Never Heard Of

By Dario Ciriello, @Dario_Ciriello 

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: If you're looking for a way to be productive without distractions, Dario Ciriello shares his experience with the Alphasmart Neo. 

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago and bemoaning my recent complete inability — or should I say lack of interest — in getting words on paper. Beyond the usual procrastination and displacement activity common to us all, I tried to defend my laziness with a number of pathetic excuses.

First, working as a freelance editor exacerbates my already dire tendency to edit as I write.

When I do try to write, everything from names to esoteric technology demands a quick detour onto the Internet, which I confess I enjoy a great deal more than writing.

Don’t Fall Prey to The Dark Side of Good Writing Habits

By Shanna Swendson, @ShannaSwendson

Part of The Writer’s Life Series 

JH: Building good writing habits is a great idea, but be wary of changes that negatively affect other aspects of your life. Shanna Swendson discusses the dark side of even good habits. 

Shanna Swendson earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas but decided it was more fun to make up the people she wrote about and became a novelist. She’s written a number of fantasy novels for teens and adults, including the Enchanted, Inc. series and the Rebel Mechanics series. She devotes her spare time to reading, knitting, and music. Her next release will be the paranormal mystery Interview with a Dead Editor, coming October 1. 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Take it away Shanna…

Why You Should Edit That Last Scene Before Moving On

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Editing what you wrote in your last writing session can help jump start your next writing session.

There’s common writing wisdom advocating to just keep moving forward when writing a first draft, and not stop to edit what’s already been written. I think this advice is a little too broad to be useful, and misses out on something important to writers.

Momentum.

Starting a writing session isn’t always easy. On good days, we know exactly what we want to write and can dive in without thought. On not so good days, we stare at the screen and it takes us forever to get those first pages down.

Many writers even recommend “morning pages” for this very reason. You write before you sit down to write. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s the practice of stream-of-consciousness, free writing for a set amount of time. The idea is to wake up your mind and creativity. (Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way is the go-to book everyone talks about if this sounds interesting to you).

Navigating (and Writing in) a Corona-Colored World

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy 

It's not easy getting back to a normal writing routine when everything else isn’t normal. Here are some things to help you find your writing mojo again. 

Apologies to all for the last few months. I haven’t been posting much because, like most of the world right now, I’ve been distracted and and fighting to be productive in any way. I had to let a few things slide, and blogging was one of them.

The last five months have been challenging for me and my family. I have two members of my household at high risk of death if they get sick with COVID, so we’re been in full-on lockdown since March. We’re fortunate to all work from home anyway, so it hasn't been too hard to shift to staying put all the time.

We’ve all had good and bad days, and struggles over various aspects of self-quarantine. I think some of the struggles came from the uncertainty of when this would be over and the hope that all we had to do was sit tight and wait it out.

Well, there’s no “waiting it out” anymore.

4 Free Must-Have Writing Apps

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Finding the right software for the right job isn't easy, but what we write with can make a difference in how productive we are. Laurence MacNaughton shares four great (and free) writing apps every writer needs.

Writers can't afford to mess around with software unless it actually helps you write better and faster. As a writer, my livelihood depends on producing results on a daily basis. With that in mind, I've put together a short list of apps that every writer desperately needs.

Shockingly, Google Docs, Evernote, and Grammarly didn't make it onto my list. But some surprising ones did.

The apps below are the real deal. I use them every day. They are either free, or offer a generous free trial period. That way, you don't have to spend a dime to start becoming a faster, better, and happier writer, starting today.

Time to Evaluate Your Planning Process: Change Can Be Good

By Aliza Mann, @AlizaMannAuthor

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: Changing your writing process might take trial and error before you get it right. Aliza Mann wraps up her productivity series with tips on evaluating your process changes.

Ever since she was a small child, Aliza Mann loved to tell stories. It started in the backyard of her family’s home in Atlanta, Georgia. There weren’t a lot of children in the neighborhood, so she would spend hours making up fantasy worlds where everything was perfect and everyone was loved. After her parents decided to relocate to Detroit, Michigan, things changed. In her new home, she learned words like recession, layoff and was personally introduced to a world completely opposite of the life she’d known. As hard as life’s lessons can be, she busied herself by reading anything she could get her hands on. In high school, she would fall in love with literature and alas, romance. From the moment she opened the cover of a historical page turner, she found herself hooked. With eyes wide and a smile on her face, she devoured as many novels as she could find and she dreamed that she could write like that too. Maybe. Like most childhood dreams, she soon found that they could be pushed to the side and categorized with a label that read, ‘One day…’

One day finally came, when she found herself laid off from her day job. As things happen, this set back helped to segue her back onto the writing path. She found herself starting a novel which will probably never see the light of day, but gave her more joy than she’d ever though possible. Today, while it’s been some years since her last layoff and she is actively working in the public sector, she balances her love of writing a great story between two pseudo-adult children, a fabulous son-in-law, a granddaughter, and the man of her dreams. A true book nerd, she is almost always reading and for sure, writing the world in a way that shows its true beauty, served with a heaping side of happily ever after.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | BookBub | Instagram |

Take it away Aliza…

3 Best Productivity Apps to Write Faster

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Getting more done in less time is something pretty much everyone wants to do these days (and not just writers). Laurence MacNaughton shares three apps that can help you achieve that goal.

When New York Times best-selling author David Weber suffered a terrible accident and broke his wrist into 57 pieces, it might have ended his writing career forever. But instead, he adapted by using software that ended up helping him write faster than ever before.

How is this possible?

Sometimes, changing how you do things can make you more productive than you ever dreamed. There’s a lesson in there for all of us.

Probably every writer alive wants to be faster and more prolific. The sooner you can finish your book, the better. If you want to be a professional writer (or heck, even if you just want to finish your novel this year), you need the right tools for the job.

Here are three free or low-cost productivity apps that can help you write faster and finish sooner.

Don't Finish: Ways to be a More Productive Writer, Part 3

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Sometimes leaving things unfinished is exactly what you need to boost your productivity. 

Being a productive writer isn't about doing everything right, but about finding the tips and tricks that work for you. Sometimes you need to do something that feels counter-intuitive, but it's that shift in thought that shakes up your process and changes the way you work.

This first article in this series is on finding the right time and place to write. The series continues with more on preparation, not re-reading too much of the previous session, and leaving yourself notes. Today in my "Be a More Productive Writer" series, it's all about priming the pump.

Tip number three on being a more productive writer:

End your writing sessions in the middle of a sentence.

Writing in the Time of Covid-19

By Jodi Turchin, @jlturchin

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: There world is a challenging place right now, and stress can easily sap a writer's creative energy. Jodi Turchin shares tips on writing in the world of Covid-19.

Jodi Turchin is a Young Adult novelist represented by Dawn Frederick at Red Sofa Literary. She’s also a photographer, a high school English teacher, a former actress and director, an Independent Scentsy Consultant, and a Younique presenter.

Website | Twitter

Take it away Jodi…

Kick the Social Media Addiction

By Bonnie Randall

Part of The Writer's Life Series 

JH: Social media has its uses, but when it sucks away our lives, joy, and creative energy, it doesn't do any writer any good. Bonnie Randall shares some scary numbers on what social media can do to your writing and your life.

Even as I write this, the ensuing hypocrisy is not lost on me: most of you will all be reading it off a screen, and will have likely arrived her via some social media platform; Facebook, Twitter, or the like.

Nonetheless:

I have arrived at a writing resolution for 2020 that’s been a long time coming, and a longer time needed. My own addiction to social media is a problem, and I’ve known it for a while—but it is not until now, with a few lofty fiction goals[1] in my near future, that I have actually wanted to make a change.

A Guide to Creativity and Time

By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoach

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: The "creative well" is an apt metaphor for writers, and when we don't take care of ourselves, the well dries up and our writing suffers. Today, Rochelle Melander shares tips on keeping your creative well full.

Rochelle Melander is a certified professional coach, experienced book strategist, and the author of eleven books, including, Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity. She provides solutions for people who feel stuck, overwhelmed or confused by the writing and publishing process. She is the founder of Dream Keepers, a writing workshop that supports children and teens in finding their voice and sharing their stories.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Take it away Rochelle…

Writers: How to Ditch Distraction and Focus

By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoach

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: “Get more done” is a goal for pretty much every writer I know. There’s so much on our plates that sometimes it feels as though we’ll never see the finish line of anything. Rochelle Melander is back in the lecture hall today to share tips on avoiding distractions and keeping focused.

Rochelle Melander is a certified professional coach, experienced book strategist, and the author of eleven books, including, Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity. She provides solutions for people who feel stuck, overwhelmed or confused by the writing and publishing process. She is the founder of Dream Keepers, a writing workshop that supports children and teens in finding their voice and sharing their stories.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Take it away Rochelle…

Why Writers Should NEVER Carry a Notebook

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: The right tool for the job applies to writers, too. And sometimes, the right tool can make all the difference in our productivity. Laurence MacNaughton takes his monthly place at the podium today to share one of his go-to tools for keeping track of his notes and story ideas. For all you NaNoWriMo'ers...this would be very handy come October when you're planning your November novels (and pair well with a certain plotting book, too!).  

Before I became a published author, I used to carry around a writing notebook in my back pocket. You know the kind I'm talking about: the little black book that tells the world you’re a Serious Writer. But that little notebook is a big mistake, I eventually learned. Here are three reasons why you should ditch it, and what you need to keep in your pocket instead.