Expecting rejection isn’t defeatist, it’s understanding the reality of the industry. Literary agents may like your story, but they need to love it; to obsess over your characters and plots; to have an editorial vision for it. Agents can’t (or at least, don’t want to) pitch projects to editors without having a deep-rooted belief in the story.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that when so much is out of our control, there are still things we can control (like writing!). Here are my best tips on how to take control of your writing and persevere as you work towards your writing goals.
Busy would be an understatement to describe my current situation, and one thing keeps getting put on the backburner… my writing routine. If you also feel like your day job is starting to slowly replace your writing routine, don’t let it! Here are a few tips on how to keep your writing routine on the front burner.
Writing anxiety can prevent just about anyone from completing work, partaking in class, or even sharing pieces with people. It can be exhausting to deal with, but there are a few tips on how to overcome writing anxiety.
I don’t know about you, but self-care can be a challenge for me. It’s an oft-neglected part of our busy lives anyway, and then you add writing goals, and self-care moves ever further down the list of priorities. For the sake of all of us (myself included!), I’m here today to share my best self-care tips for writers.
Because I interact with many writers, I have a feeling that more than one person reading this right now is either experiencing their own dry spell or knows what it’s like. So I’d like to share with you some of the things that have helped me get back to writing after a dry spell, in hopes that they’ll be helpful for you now or in the future.
Ten years ago, I woke up with an idea. An idea I wasn’t sure how to make room for amidst other priorities. I wrote in starts and stops. Hills of progress. Valleys of neglect. Until one day, I emerged with a 85,000-word first draft.
If you want to get your project written, you have to prioritize actually writing. Do your plot outline. Push the crap off your desk. But don’t get stuck getting ready to write instead of putting down one word after another.