Burnout’s a thief. Here’s how to steal back your passion. — Almost ten years ago, I published my first novel. It was the kind of novel that flowed through me as I wrote. It was also free and clear of all the writing rules I’ve learned since. I started it with waking from a dream (Seasoned writers know this is probably…

#1. BookTok — Recently I wrote about the time a book club read my book, invited me to attend their meeting, and then told me all the things they hated about it. Fun times. You can read about that at the link below: A Book Club Hated My Novel, And I Was There While They Tore It Apart They had lists of reasons, y’all.writingcooperative.com And even though it wasn’t fun to hear a bunch…

They had lists of reasons, y’all. — I’d been warned before the book club meeting. “They don’t usually read romance,” the host told me. And yet, I went in hoping that the book I wrote would shake loose that hidden part of them that roots for love to conquer all. The first warning sign (I mean, after…

Most people fail to do this. — In another episode of life with the struggling writer, we have Crissi Langwell, procrastinator extraordinaire and filler of all time pockets. This last week was not much different than any of the others. My full-time job took up most of every day. A few freelance jobs were nearing deadlines. …

Life can be the ultimate teacher. — When I was young, my dad took my sister and me to a swimming hole in Glen Ellen, CA while my mom stayed home with our toddler sister. Once we’d had our fill, my sister and I stayed in just our swimming suits as we traveled the windy road back…

Because we were all beginners once. — Back in 2019, I wrote my very first article here on Medium. I had no idea what I was doing, but I felt so passionate about the subject, I wanted to share it with a wider audience. I’d been reading articles here for a while, so I had an idea…

Let’s get you back into your flow. — When the project you’re working on just isn’t flowing the way you want it to, you may need to step away from it for a moment. But don’t just stop writing. Writing prompts are an excellent way to get your mind unblocked and encourage creativity once again. Here are a…

Tim Denning’s list is fine, but I think it’s incomplete. — Tim Denning posted a crowdsourced story about things you need for a better life, with ideas people shared on Twitter. You can read it below: Here Are the Cheat Codes to a Better Life Crowdsourced from the internetbetterhumans.pub TLDR: The list includes pursuing your goals in private, a spouse/partner, a dog or cat, daily writing, surrounding yourself with people you admire, doing with…

If you want to improve your craft, let these books show you how it’s done. — In his book, On Writing, Stephen King wrote, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” As an avid reader, I take King’s…