Procrastination by any other name…

Have I been procrastinating? Judging by the date of my previous post, apparently so. Or maybe I could call it prioritizing. I’ve been writing, gardening, working on my genealogy project, capturing spring things with my camera … all desirable activities, but not productive when it comes to writing a blog post. A recent question about Writer’s

Taking my own advice…

I attended a ‘Lobby Night’ presentation by my writers’ group last night — a very worthwhile event, but as I drove home in the descending darkness I realized how scratchy my eyes were. Unfortunately I had left writing this post until the end of the day and when I opened my laptop to begin, I

The Writer’s Eureka Moment

. Sometimes it’s writer’s block, sometimes mental exhaustion or impossible expectations, that drag us to a standstill. A lethargy sets in that smothers ambition and overshadows everything with its ‘I’ll-never-get-out-from-under-this-cloud’ sense of gloom. If you haven’t experienced it, you likely know others who have. The thing is, it feels as if it will never end,

Whose fault is it when writing stutters to a stop?

Words rush ahead, fling themselves onto the page and dare you to keep up. At least, that’s the way it seems when writing is going well. Scenes flash by in HD, rippling across the mind’s eye as the story unfolds. As much as I love those days, they aren’t typical of my writing life. Many

Surging and Waning Words

I’m writing, then not writing, then writing again. It’s the usual story – fitting the writing process into the reality of other aspects of my daily life. The NaNo challenge is into its twentieth day. The statistics are piling up. I’m past 32,000 words. (If you want to track my progress click on the NaNo

Guest Blogger Jordan McCollum on Beating Writers’ Block

I’m delighted to welcome Jordan McCollum today. Jordan is talented in several areas but what we have in common is a passion for writing. She is an aspiring novelist, writing “mysteries to fall in love with, romance to keep you in suspense”. Today she shares some ideas about that dreaded enemy, writers’ block. – CG

Writing Delay Tactics Revisited

Yesterday Rachelle Gardner gave her readers an opportunity to share how they use (or don’t use) social media such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and how they cope with the resulting time drain. Responses ran from those who interact via blogging but see anything else as a waste of time, to those who utilize every

Take a Cue from the Boy Scouts and Be Prepared

News reports about Swine Flu in Mexico now spreading throughout North America have many nerves on edge.  There is talk of an impending pandemic. Fatalities have occurred in Mexico City but elsewhere the strain is apparently much milder. Still, bulletins are being circulated about how to minimize the risk of contagion and what to do

A Daily Dose of Motivation

Everyone has an opinion about how to combat Writer’s Block. Whether believing it’s a mythical non-entity or a super-size monster, experts are quick to offer suggestions for overcoming a writer’s inability to make words materialize on the monitor.   The one I like best? “Just sit down, put pencil to paper (or fingers on keys)