Welcome to a new year! By now, we’re over a full week in, which means you’ve either already failed your new year resolutions, are back to the tried and true rational of “I’ll start tomorrow, next Monday/week/month…” or you've managed 9 days fulfilling every new habit that you've set! It’s human nature to grow, improve, …
Even the most organized writer who puts words on the page and completes their writing to-do list every day runs into delays that drag out the process of penning a book. Such obstacles can test the biggest optimist, and as much as we’d like to think we’re in control of them, the hard truth is …
Continue reading Writing Delays: What You Can’t Control And The One Thing You Can
It’s often said that no one can be a harsher critic of a writer’s work than the writer themself. Not only are we the first readers, judges, and fans of our work, but we’re also the ones that tell ourselves that it sucks. Most of the time that’s right after we’ve typed “The End” and …
Continue reading 3 Essential Reminders For When (You Think) Your Manuscript Sucks
While the key to being an excellent writer is practice, practice, practice, getting that practice can be tough. It requires a regular writing habit, which can be hard to forge and easy to drop when life gets in the way. Even if you can consistently write, distractions and interruptions can waste precious writing time. When …
Just like handover notes will help when coming back to a project after time away, taking stock as you move from one year to the next is a great habit to get into. It also helps shift you into the right head and physical space to achieve your writing goals, with a reset if you're …
Continue reading Taking Stock: Resetting To Hit Your Writing Goals
Recently, I received some feedback from beta readers after sending them what seemed like the millionth version of my latest WIP. Already up to draft 9, I was hoping this was the one where I’d ironed out the problems raised in the previous round of feedback. I had not. The issues were still there, and …
Continue reading What To Do When You’ve Made A Mess Of Your MS
Well, you did it. You took that spark of an idea, fleshed it out into an entire book, edited the last page for the last time, and finished one final read-through. The book is done. At least it should be. As proud as you were, there was a little voice in your head as you …
Continue reading Editing Tips: What To Check When It Feels Like Something Is Missing
As writers, we’ve all had those moments when it’s been hard to sit down and write. It could be because other responsibilities have kept us away from our writing desks, or illness has sidelined us. Then there are those times when we’ve been able to write and we just… don’t. When that happens, it’s down …
Continue reading How To Stop Self-Sabotaging Your Writing Progress
Not too long ago I received a notice from WordPress that I’d published my 200th blog post. In case you’re wondering, that post was the 7 Step Old Manuscript Review Plan, and it’s an example of the blogs I love to write. My faves are about being organized, as that’s what gets me in the …
K.M. Allan 