A few writers have asked if I think they should use Scrivener — a word processing program and management system designed for writers — so I thought I’d tell you how I used it. Scrivener helped me organize my scenes and sections (my novel doesn’t have chapters) and it was very helpful. I didn’t start… [Read More]
How do you start writing?
When you sit down to write, how much time do you give yourself to practice? I mean the off-record stuff: writing exercises and warm ups. Now think of the way dancers or musicians interact with their art. The performance, the finished piece, is the culmination of hours of practice: boring warm ups, weird experiments, and… [Read More]
What to do when the zest wanes.
Writing practice gives us a chance to write without judgment (or even reflection). Writing for ten minutes a day, warming up, doing Daily Prompts, or even morning pages — this is like an athlete stretching before a game, or a singer vocalizing before a performance. Necessary. Fundamental. A way to love and care for your… [Read More]
Why should I write by hand?
I’m very pleased that so many people have signed up for the Daily Prompts this January! I’m especially happy to share them this year — they’re all brand-new, and we even gave them a spiffy new look on our Instagram account. This new year, I’m generally feeling a renewed and pleasant invitation to write together… [Read More]
How to do a self-directed writing workshop. Part 1/2
I’m reading widely and pleasantly this winter, making my way through a nice fat stack of (mostly) novels. I’ve put myself on a self-directed writing workshop, and there’s no end date. The goal: to learn all that I can from everything that I’m reading. My only rule is that the process of the reading itself… [Read More]
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