I'm a big fan of drawing ekphrastic inspiration from other art forms to inform my own creative writing, and in a stroke of luck (though maybe not for my husband), I recently rediscovered some of my teenage musical theater obsessions. As such, I thought I'd bring up one of my favorite elements to borrow from the world of music—the leitmotif.
Read MoreStop Being Your Own Bottleneck: How to Break Free of Perfectionism and Send Out Your Work
We’ve all been there. We ask ourselves, and our writing mentors, “How do I know when the work is done?” We agonize over all this and hate ourselves for it. We know that we need to find a way to accept that “pretty good and done” is better than “perfect and never done,” but we just can’t seem to snap ourselves out of our perfectionist tendencies.
This post helps to break the cycle.
Read More4 Ways to Be More Creatively Productive at Your Writing Desk
I want to begin by asserting that it is not absolutely necessary that every writing session be focused on cranking out new words. There’s something to be said for creative play. Some of the greatest melodies of the twentieth century came from talented musicians noodling around on their guitars for an afternoon! However, if you’re up against a deadline or you’ve had several writing sessions in a row that you could call a wash, here are four ways you might be able to bribe yourself into creative focus and productivity.
Read MoreAsk the Editor: "Help! I have too many book ideas!"
Do you have too many book ideas and too little focus? How will you ever complete one project if these shiny, new concepts get in the way?
In this blog post, explore the pros and cons of being a multi-concept writer and learn four ways to work around this “good problem to have.”
Read MoreSometimes, It’s Not About You: A Pep Talk
In case of rejection, dear writer, might I offer you this pep talk?
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