Having an organized way to keep track of your submissions to literary magazines, agents and writing contests means no oopsies in front of people you admire and greater sanity for yourself.
Read moreIs your work ready to be submitted?
Not even Shakespeare moved forward with his first draft. Before submitting your work anywhere, slash that story to bits. Delete lazy words. Remove the boring scenes and puffy over-explanations that we all write when caught up in that ever-alluring inspiration.
Read morePinpoint your excuse for not writing
What's keeping you away from doing the hard work of staring down the blank page? It only helps to better understand how our minds work, where we find energy and inspiration. Let's start with a list.
Read moreImprove your writing by revisiting past projects
Yesterday, I did something I never could have anticipated. When I hit a point in my current writing project where I felt stuck and stilted, I dug out a piece I put to bed a few weeks ago. I reread it.
It bolstered me. I felt awe in the creative process and appreciation in my ability to write what I meant to write. And then I wrote, wrote, wrote fueled by the proof that yes, I can do this. I've done it before. I'll do it again, and now.
Read moreAre you looking in the wrong place for validation?
When you sit down to write, it could all go south. OR. Or. It could be amazing. You get to choose where fear lands, and let's just agree right now that your writing is more important. Push fear off a cliff, friend.
Read moreTop grammar mistakes (aka all those rules you forgot)
You don't have to be a Grammar Master to be an incredible storyteller. You can weave a yarn, but maybe you have trouble conjugating verbs. No worries! Here are a few oft-forgotten grammar rules to improve your writing.
Read moreFeed your writing with inspirational breaks
Besides reading the work of authors you admire, there are, of course, ways you already know to grow your writing. And then there's perhaps my favorite way, the one that feels like a loophole and appeals to procrastinators: Do anything else.
Read moreWhere are you in your writing?
For the last six months, I've committed myself to a running practice. It's an evolution, as is any new practice, and I read today how new runners should start where they are instead of looking at the end goal — say, running a marathon. Creatives are so hard on and expect so much out of themselves, wanting to publish their first novel before they've written a word. What would it feel like if instead, you took only today, and focused on making time for writing instead of finding time?
Read moreConfessions of creatives who cope with fear and confidence
Does it feel uncomfortable to call yourself an artist? Writing is a form of art, of course, yet it can make a writer squirmy to think of his/her work as art.
I spoke with four fellow writers about how they cope with fear and confidence in their creativity. I hope, like they did me, their words help you feel less alone.
Read moreHow my work improved after a public writing break
For October, my favorite of months, I took a break from writing publicly. And I received this huge gift, which is that I learned how to be tender with myself and not criticize what I previously would have called mistakes. As Mary Oliver writes, I finally knew what I had to do, and began.
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