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You Are a Real Writer: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Owning Your Creativity
Almost every writer has been there at some point: sitting in front of your work in progress, telling yourself everything you write is absolute garbage and wondering just how long it’s going to take everyone else to see what you so clearly do—that you’re not a real writer.
Imposter syndrome is the feeling that an individual is a fraud—that they’re pretending to be something they’re really not—coupled with an overwhelming worry that others will recognize that they’re incompetent and call them out for being frauds. When imposter syndrome has its grip on you, it can paralyze you and leave you unable to make progress with your writing.
Stop Procrastinating and Write Your Damn Book!
One of the biggest struggles for writers is procrastination. Whether you’re still in the planning and outlining phase, working through your first draft, or firmly in the revision phase, if procrastination has a hold on you, it can feel incredibly difficult to overcome. But here’s the sneaky thing about procrastination: it doesn’t always look like something we can control. Procrastination can look like being too busy with other tasks that we can’t not do.
How Do You Define Success as a Writer?
One of the very first questions I ask new book coaching clients is, “What does success look like to you?” I’ll admit, I sometimes second guess myself when I ask this question. After all, isn’t it obvious what success as a writer looks like? Aren’t we all supposed to be aiming for traditional publishing deals with a Big 5 Publisher, reaching #1 on the NYT Bestseller’s List, and having movie rights to our stories auctioned off to the highest bidder? But this is exactly why I ask—because sometimes, often even, this isn’t the definition of success the person sitting across from me has in mind for themselves.
3 Tips to Make Your Romance Characters More Relatable
I don’t know about you, but nothing turns me off more than a romance novel where the characters feel too perfect. While I of course want the characters I’m reading about to be likeable so I can root for them to end up together, I also want them to feel like they could be real people.
Being Intentional to Crush Your Writing Goals
My word for the year in 2024 was “intentional.” And while I had the best intentions (for lack of a better word 🤷🏼♀️) when I set that as my word, I know I failed miserably at carrying that out in any meaningful way in my business and my writing life.
So, this year, I’m trying again. Even though I kept the idea of intentionality in the back of my mind throughout 2024, one thing that became very clear while doing my December reflection work was that last year was really anything but intentional.
Why I’ll Continue Supporting the NaNoWriMo Challenge
With November just around the corner, it’s natural that I’ve been thinking a lot about NaNoWriMo lately and, given the continued controversies that keep piling up against the organization, what my thoughts about potentially participating again are.
5 Steps to Succeed as an Indie Author
I recently spoke with my local library about being a speaker for their Indie Author Day event coming up in November, and it got me thinking about last year’s event. While I was excited for this event, two of the three speakers last year were traditionally published authors, and while I’m an advocate for both traditional and indie publishing, it was disappointing that these authors weren’t able to answer many of the questions those in the audience had about becoming an indie author. One of the big questions asked was “how can an indie author be successful?”
Indie Author Interview: C. D’Angelo
It’s my absolute pleasure today to share my interview with C. D’Angelo, the award-winning author of three indie novels, The Difference, The Visitor, and her newest release today, The Gift. I worked with C. on The Visitor, and it’s been amazing getting to know her and watch her success the past few years. As an indie author to now three published novels (who also has a full-time career outside of writing), I thought she’d have some great insight to share with us today about writing and her process.
Why I Love Women’s Fiction (But Hate The Name)
Women’s Fiction is one of my favorite genres. It’s the one I write and am published in, and it’s one of my favorite genres to work with as an editor and book coach. I love the rich stories women’s fiction encompasses and the relatability of those stories. But when I published my debut novel this past spring, I heard from a lot of the men in my life that they weren’t sure they’d be able to relate to the story or sharing surprise that the story resonated them despite its label as “women’s fiction,” at which point I would have to go into a lengthy explanation about what women’s fiction actually is and how it isn’t only for women.
There’s No Wrong Way To Be A Writer
I recently wrote a post for Jane Friedman’s blog about adding meaningful words to lean manuscripts, and in that post, I shared that I struggled early on with the fact that I wrote lean when most of the advice I came across for revisions involved cutting words, not adding them. I became self-conscious of my short drafts and worried I was doing this whole writing thing wrong. After all, if I were a real writer, wouldn’t I have too many words to share, not too few?
How to Dig Deep to Show Your Character’s Thoughts & Emotions
One of the reasons I love reading fiction is the opportunity to jump into someone else’s point of view and experience their reactions to story events right along with them. I strongly believe this is what causes so many readers to lament that “the book was better than the movie” in most cases. Readers crave that connection with your characters—particularly your main character—so, as writers, it’s in our best interests to utilize these opportunities to do so to our advantage. One of the comments I regularly write as a developmental editor is encouraging the writer to “dig deep” and “show us your character’s thoughts and emotions here.”
Finding Time To Write As A Mom To Young Kids
I came across an Instagram post the other day from a fitness coach that said any fitness coach who tells a mom to young kids that “we all have the same 24 hours” should be disregarded immediately. And as a mom to a toddler, that resonated with me and made me feel seen. The idea that we all don’t have the same 24 hours has been running through my mind since reading that post. Prior to becoming a mom, I went to the gym 5 days a week, waking up before the sun to get to the gym before heading to the office. I loved my routine and gained energy and motivation from my early morning gym sessions. But since having my son, I’ve struggled to find a good routine and rhythm for my workouts.
How to Find the Right Developmental Editor for Your Novel
While many writers recognize that working with a developmental editor can help strengthen their story and bring it to the next level, I often see posts in writing groups from writers who aren’t sure where to find one or how to determine if they’re the right fit for them and their project. The truth is, finding a developmental editor who is a good match for you takes some effort, but it’s worth it to ensure you’re working with someone who is professional, understands your genre, and will leave you feeling excited about revising your novel rather than defeated.
3 Tips to Overcome Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is something most writers struggle with at some point, whether for a day or two or extended periods of time. It’s that agonizing feeling of being unable to get words down on the page, despite feeling as though you’re trying everything. Writers used to talk about writer’s block as though it was some plague that hit them and was out of their control. But more recently, there’s been a shift in the way we view writer’s block. It’s become clear that writer’s block is actually a symptom of something else, and that something else is typically within the writer’s control (even if it doesn’t feel that way).
Self-Editing Tips for Fiction Writers
While I’m a huge proponent of working with a developmental editor, I also strongly believe the best way to make the most of that investment is to get your manuscript in the best shape you’re able to on your own before handing it off to an editor. This is important because if your editor needs to spend time addressing issues that you could have fixed on your own, that’s time away from deeper aspects of the manuscript that you may not have seen or may not have known how to address.
How Becoming a Mom Changed My Writing Life
When my husband and I decided to expand our family and have a child, we knew a lot of things would change in our life. We prepared for the sleepless nights, the changes to our weekend schedules, and the hit to our disposable income. And while I had some vague idea that my writing life would change as well, I had a pretty good routine down prior to becoming a mom and wasn’t too worried that I wouldn’t be able to adapt.
3 Reasons You Want to Work with a Book Coach
I see a lot of posts in online writing groups asking about book coaches and wondering if they might benefit from working with one, and inevitably several other writers chime in to say that they don’t need to work with a book coach and doing so is a waste of resources. And while it’s absolutely true that no writer needs a book coach, it’s also true that working with one can be beneficial and helpful.
3 Reasons You Need to Celebrate Your First Draft
Writing a novel can be a long process that takes an incredible amount of energy, motivation, and time. It can sometimes feel like reaching the final “the end” will never get here, that we’ll be stuck in revision mode forever. Because of this, it can feel a little anticlimactic to celebrate reaching the end of a first draft. If we know anything about the writing process, we know there’s a mountain of work still ahead of us. But finishing a first draft is a huge accomplishment, and no matter what still awaits us, it’s so important to take a moment and celebrate.
How to Write a Novel With a Full-Time Job
According to a recent survey, 81% of those surveyed said they want to write a book someday. That’s a lot of people who dream of writing a book! But the reality is many of those who want to write a book never start, and even fewer ever finish a manuscript. That’s not because they’re lazy—most likely, it comes down to the realities of life. We need money to live, and writing a novel is not financially lucrative.
Why Filter Words Hurt Your Writing
Overusing filter words is one of the most common issues I find when completing developmental edits. The good news is, once you know how to recognize filter words in your own writing, they’re generally a pretty simple fix. But if you don’t know what filter words are or how to identify them in your writing, they can have a rather big negative effect on your manuscript.