[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] Life is full of decisions, and they can eat you up if you let them. Where should we eat for dinner? Should I apply for that job on the west coast or not? What color socks should I wear with my new shorts? Many times we get caught up quibbling…
Tag: writing productivity
The Pareto Principle for Super Productive Writing — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] You might be familiar with the Pareto Principle, named after Vilfredo Pareto and which basically says, “Eighty percent of your results will come from just 20% of your effort.” In other words, about four out of five things that you do — or four out of five hours you spend…
Try Early-Bird Writing to Conquer the World — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] No matter how enthusiastic you are about your career, you can’t work all the time or your health and personal relationships suffer. That’s why we have weekends and hobbies. But what happens when your hobby starts to take over all your free time and causing you stress? Hobby Anxiety It seems…
Write Faster, Die Happier — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] One of the insights that NaNoWriMo has imparted to the writing community is that it’s possible to write fast. I mean, if you’d have told me a few years ago that I could write a novel — even “just” a first draft — in a month, I would have clutched…
Try Early-Bird Writing to Conquer the World — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] Little kids the world over and from time immemorial have been graced with the wise advice of their elders. When it comes to getting ahead in life, the counsel usually goes something like: “The early bird gets the worm!“. It’s trite and overused and yet … we still hear this…
Timeboxing for More Productive Writing — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] If there is one common wish among authors, and especially among authors who hold down non-writing jobs, it is simply to have more time to write. The Most Precious Resource? How many times have you said to yourself something along the lines of, “I could finally finish my novel if…
Use Batching to Reclaim Your Writing Time — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] There are tasks we all complete each day or each week that, while important, are not really material to getting more words on the page. Most of these duties don’t take a lot of time on a per-unit basis, either, but they can be disruptive to your creative workflow. Among…
Eat Your Writing Frogs First — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” — Mark Twain (via BrainyQuotes.com) Veggies-cum-Frogs I wish I had been familiar with this quote…
Set a Writing Goal EVERY Day — Quick Writing Tip
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] When I was a junior in high school, our student body president was a preppy, cocky senior who was annoyingly sure of himself. I was not a fan of his style in general. At our fall academic honors banquet, this student was the keynote speaker, and most of his talk…
Which Point of View Is Best – First Person, Second Person, Third Person?
One of the first questions you need to answer when starting your new novel is which point of view you plan to use. It’s a choice that could affect everything from your voice to your individual plot points, so you need to consider it carefully. Most of the time, for most authors and most storylines,…