Tag: writing process

A Writer’s Confession

Seana Moorhead 2 Comments

I confess.

I failed at my goal. In my last blog, I discussed how I had started a new habit of writing for 15 minutes every day.  I did it faithfully for about four weeks and then I missed a day, then a second day. I felt miserable and reminded myself to restart but it didn’t happen. Another month went by and I did not write once.  A failure. And it seemed like such a good idea!

I have long admired those people who tackle a huge project by taking small steps every day.  It seems like such a sensible method to complete a big project – whether it is renovating a room, weeding a garden or writing a novel.  But I fail at this method every time I try.  Instead, I lurch from binge tackling of a project to long periods of stagnation until I pop into another binge round.

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Summertime And The Livin’ Is…Easy?

Tracey Richardson Leave a comment

I hear constantly from fellow writers that they have trouble carving out time to write. Or they have the time, but they’re often swamped by writer’s block.

I seem to be the opposite. I have lots of time (in theory at least) to write and I rarely have writer’s block (too many years of being a writer, both as a newspaper journalist and as a published author, have mostly inoculated me against this).

At the moment, I’m trying to give myself a writing break, mostly because the timing is perfect. I handed in my latest manuscript to my publisher in late May and there’s no rush to start another novel. I busied myself this spring with a sizable freelance writing project and other paid work. Summer is here now and, well, that’s the perfect time to kick back and enjoy, right? Read more

Everyone else is a Better Writer than Me – And other Fictions I Tell Myself

Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

I imagine that all those published authors and prolific writers sit down at their computers and just let it flow out of them. Sure, they may have to edit a bit, but they never have to struggle for the words, they’re in the zone. Then because I do struggle, I take this as a sure sign I musn’t be a real writer. It’s just another example that I’m faking it, I’m a “wanna-be”.

Because in my head, everyone else’s life is perfect, especially if you’ve already published a book! Then something comes along to burst that bubble and make me realize, no, this is tough for all writers. Each of us has a process but the most important part of that process is: bum in seat, hands on keyboard, social media shut-off. Read more

My Guilty Writing Fuel

Tracey Richardson Leave a comment

For most of us writers, doing the thing we love most entails planting our butt in a chair for hours on end. Not only are we physically inert, but our minds wander too. Writing is tedious work; boredom can easily set in. That’s when many of us feel the need for a little assistance to keep us focused and fueled.

Coffee, tea or…

By “assistance” what I really mean is a pleasant little diversion to keep us from going completely bonkers while we’re writing our next opus. And often, this diversion is a guilty pleasure, such as chocolate (one of God’s wonders for sure!), coffee (again, nectar from the Gods), tea, candy, or smoking for famous authors such as Patricia Highsmith, Oscar Wilde and George Orwell. Read more

Forgive and Give Yourself Permission

Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment

I recently completed the Muskoka Novel Marathon for the third time, which, considering we raised over $30,000 to support adult literacy programs, is amazing, but this year that marathon was at times, a painful struggle. As I reflect, sitting on my deck, watching my cats make peace after an earlier squabble, I realized that I as well needed to forgive. To forgive myself for poor writing and to give myself permission to write, even poorly. Read more

Your Novel is Hiding in the Garden

Seana Moorhead Leave a comment

I hear you. There’s no time to write. Job. Kids. Cook dinner. Garden. Walk dog (or play with cat). Dishes. Laundry. Drive kids to hockey / dance / theatre / do kids paper route because it seemed like a good idea months ago. Go to work.  Then all the other optional things: play piano; run chicken barn; paint; sing songs; construct glorious garage / workshop & orchard (that would be me); pick up dirty socks (all of us). Job (again!). Stop.

What if I suggest it is not about lack of time, but lack of Read more

Research for the Fiction Writer

Courtney Denard Leave a comment

As an agricultural journalist (my full-time writing gig), I am researching all of the time. It’s actually one of the first steps I take when laying out a new piece and I truly enjoy the process. I sometimes even pretend to be a sleuth-solving detective who can’t rest until she finds the exact piece of information she’s looking for. The harder the better; I like a challenge.

That being said, I don’t have a tonne of experience researching as a fiction writer so when I was up to host the May 2017 Ascribe Writers meeting, I chose to do a little more digging on the topic.

Here’s what I found. Read more

Resistance Training in Writing

Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

Every word I’ve written has taken the slaying of a dragon to get to the page. The dragon is my resistance to writing that rears its ugly head each and every time I try to fool myself that I can write, or that I should write instead of the multitude of other tasks that lie undone. I don’t know what it’s like for other writers, how many face this resistance, but I know there’s a few of us.

I’m always left asking myself, Why do I want to do this if my inner self is always shouting, No? What makes me wake up at an ungodly hour, or shun social events, phone calls; so I can write, push against this resistance? If only I was at the gym, I’d be looking great by now. Read more