Staying consistently motivated with your writing is absolutely key when it comes to finishing a novel. Finding ways to show up and write even when life gets in the way (or we just don’t feel like it!) is all part of making writing a priority and growing as an author, but it’s not always easy to focus.
Read MoreIt takes most of us a fair amount of time to finish writing a book. When you're writing alongside a job or other commitments, it isn't a project you can sprint through in a weekend, fuelled by that initial buzz of 'new idea' energy.
Read MoreSeeking feedback is a quick way to grow as a writer. It helps us figure out what is and what isn't working with our story, without all the second guessing we get when we're writing solo.
Read MoreAll the writing advice out there mentions reading at some point. It makes sense after all, most of us start writing because we love books and want to make one of our own!
Read MoreSomething I've been asked recently is how to actually come up with ideas for the scenes in your book. Lots of us start off with this tiny seed of an idea, and go on to flesh it out with some main characters and a basic plot.
Read MoreI make a plan for just about every piece of writing I do. For a blog post, it's often just a series of bullet pointed notes or a few key headings to direct my writing, but for a full novel it's a much more in depth outline of the plot and characters.
Read More30 days of writing, 50,000 words - impossible? It does sound totally overwhelming, but taking part in NaNoWriMo is one of the fastest ways to go from 0 words to a finished first draft.
Read MoreWriting a book is a pretty big undertaking, and as a project it brings up all sorts of worries, doubts and questions before we even type that first line. Do we have a good enough idea?
Read MoreHave you heard the saying, 'Everyone's got a book in them'? I actually googled the phrase when I was writing my ebook, Deep Roots, and found that the majority of articles popping up in response were all about why not everyone should write a book, which was disappointing because I totally disagree.
Read MoreNational Novel Writing Month (often shortened to the catchy 'NaNoWriMo') is a month long virtual writing event and 30 day challenge, which takes place every year in November (and there are also sessions in April and July).
The aim is to write 50,000 words over the course of 30 days (around 1,666 per day), which is practically enough for a finished first draft (depending on what genre you write).
Read MoreSelf-belief is such an important thing to develop as a writer. When it comes to making a start on a big project like a book, submitting or sharing work (with the potential for criticism or rejection), or even just in having the will to keep at it when the words are slow and difficult, a strong sense of self-belief can give you the resilience you need to keep going.
But how do we cultivate that belief in the face of self-doubt, impostor syndrome and all the other wobbles and obstacles that pop up as part of the writing process?
Read MoreMost larger writing projects require a certain amount of research, whether you're planning a novel that needs some historical accuracy, or preparing for a piece of non-fiction that needs some up-to-date theory behind it. Understandably, this kind of work can quickly end up spiralling out of your control. Before you know it, you're months into a writing project, with pages and pages of research and no idea how to begin using it.
Read MoreI've found that creating a writing routine can be a great step in establishing writing as a regular habit and consistent part of your day-to-day. For me, it's been an important way to really commit to writing fiction, to get myself to show up to the page even on the hard days, to make that real progress with my manuscripts. Starting a writing session with the right mindset is the key to spending less time making excuses and more time writing, and shaping positive rituals and routine around your process can be one way to do this.
Read MoreWhen we're taking those early, tentative keystrokes into the world of writing, how do we know when we've earned the right to call ourselves a writer? It's something I certainly encountered when I was starting out with novel writing, and it's something I keep seeing pop up in conversations online. It seems like we attach a level of expertise or status with the title of writer, which makes it difficult to give it to ourselves when we still feel very much beginners.
Read MoreWhen it comes to committing to a big writing project like a novel or book, I totally understand that feeling of resistance that pops up for lots of us. Doubt and fear play a role, definitely, but one of the more surprising obstacles can be a sense of guilt. How can we overcome this guilt and seek out a mindset which acknowledges the value in nurturing our creativity?
Read MoreLong term writing projects (like a novel, or even a collection of short stories or essays) can be very daunting before we take that leap and actually make a start. Like looking up at a mountain when you’re stood at the bottom, all you can see is the sheer scale of the work before you.
Read MoreWe've all had that feeling of the perfect idea arriving at exactly the wrong moment. Maybe you've just got into bed, maybe you're about to get off the bus and head into the office, maybe the timer for dinner is going off.
But what if you could find a way to catch all of those ideas when they pop up, and get them filed away and organised appropriately?
Read MoreOne of the most important things we can do for our writing is to give it time. Uninterrupted, focused, committed - and yes, a little selfish - time.
Why then, does it feel difficult to make that time? Why do so many of us (myself included), find it difficult to protect our dedicated writing time? Perhaps we feel silly, maybe it's self-indulgent or foolish to pour all of that time and energy into a hobby that might seem frivolous or intangible to some?
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Ahh, the comfort zone. It's safe and easy, and most of us are guilty of lingering there a little longer than we should at times. I don't think a little bit of sitting in that comfort zone is all bad, but when it comes to creativity, it's not something we should rest in forever. The comfort zone is familiar and repetitive, minimising stress - so it can be really useful if you need to refocus on some of that personal enjoyment of your creative process.
Whether it's a workshop, festival, conference or convention, there's a creative event around for just about every interest area or specialism. There's Creatival, Hay Festival, the London Illustration Fair - to name just a few.
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