Curation Corner: 9 Ways to Chip Away at Writer’s Block
Category Archives: advice for writers
Curation Corner: Quotes to inspire writers
Writer’s Digest shares this collection of 185 quotes they featured throughout 2021.
Some of my favorites…
“I wish I’d written more and worried less.” —Meg LaTorre from “Breaking In”
“Don’t live or write in a bubble. My creativity is fueled when I talk with other creative people.” —Melissa Croce from “Breaking In” [I have to work on this one. TH]
“A good twist should never leave the readers feeling tricked.” —Simon Gervais from “Twisty Business”
Challenge: Find at least one quote that can serve as bulletin board material.
Curation Corner: focusmate.com
I just finished a short Getting Our Creative Minds Back for 2022 session hosted by Jill Badonsky.
One resource she shared: focusmate.com–Where life gets done, together™
Here’s a helpful four-minute video overview from the University of Waterloo.
Highlights:
— 3 free sessions per week. No credit card required.
— clear community guidelines
— use of behavioral triggers to achieve a flow state:
Pre-commitment
Implementation intentions
Social pressure
Accountability
Specificity in task definition
If you feel mired in procrastination and self-doubt, why not give it a try?
My first appointment is this coming Friday. Will let you know how it turns out.
Reminder: No affiliate links. Just thought it might be something that might help you crank out the next best seller/mega-corporation/cinematic masterpiece.
Curation Corner: Jane Friedman always delivers value
I was reading Jane Friedman’s weekly Electric Speed and thought to myself, “Self, why haven’t you shared this on your blog?”
And Self said, “Because you’re sometimes a clueless shlub, that’s why.”
Well, the conversation went on and on with back-and-forth accusations of too much time spent baking scones and watching Leave It to Beaver to escape the realities of 2021 and my wife calling a therapist–any therapist available on a Sunday morning–and, well, you get the point. There’s so much useless drivel out there, you surely don’t need any more of it seeping into your already frenzied state…which, by the way, is exactly what I’m doing right now, so you should probably add a pernicious [when’s the last time I used that word?] comment below…
Based on the above ‘departure’, Jane Friedman–publisher of Writer’s Digest, by the way–would probably beg me to never, ever again mention her name on this blog. But hey! ‘The price of fame’, right? And really, if she didn’t share good content, she wouldn’t have been included here, right?**
Good content like:
— Doodle Ipsum (Customize your own doodles and post/share/admire/submit to The Louvre/make NFT’s out of them [I guess.]
— Forvo (“All the words in the world. Pronounced.”)
— Fellow writers’ at-the-desk stretches [reader contributions]
Hope these help. Go sign up for Jane F’s newsletter. No affiliate $$ motive here, no nothing. Just hope you find some value.
**So it’s her fault!
Curation Corner: Wealth of Writer’s Digest Freebies
As I cruised the Writer’s Digest website for other resources, I came across this page of free downloads. [Signing up for their newsletter is requested, however.]
Some of the topics:
— Cheat Sheets for NaNoWriMo
— Plot Development: Charts and Tips for Outlining and Plotting a Novel 1
— 4 Amateur Mistakes Every Writer Should Avoid
Hope these help.
Curation Corner: Considering NANOWRIMO?
Further affirming a recent post‘s message…
Writer’s Digest offers this PDF of 30 writing prompts and six essays of advice and inspiration to help veterans and newbies get the most out of the annual challenge.
Hope it helps.
Curation Corner: Write something.
WRITE SOMETHING
Write.
Improve.
Post.
Repeat process.
Do this enough and you can overcome your fear of writing, which is a most accurate explanation for ‘writer’s block’.
Thank you, Seth Godin. Here is his ‘Top 100’.
More Seth Godin posts about writing and creating…
** Advice for Authors
** You Should Write an Ebook
** Quieting the Lizard Brain
Writers: Embrace failure.
When I came across a page online with the same message, I immediately thought about us writers. (I’ve probably even used the image before.)
I explored the topic more deeply here, including a link to Enjoying the Fun of Failure.
Curation Corner: Time for some advice…or not.
So, let me give you a little advice… ;-|
5 Pieces of Common Writing Advice You Should Absolutely Ignore
A few comments:
Some folks have written complete books on item #1.
Sometimes that longer word just does the work much more effectively.
We’ve all heard about that ‘filthy first draft’ [I prefer the alliterative version.]. But knowing there is a massive clean-up operation ahead often steers me anywhere but there.
The best piece of advice came at the end: “use the wisdom that works for you and discard the rest.”
Keep putting words on the page! Unless, of course, it’s one of your off-days. Or you don’t feel like ‘showing, not telling’. Or you prefer to simply ‘not edit” period/ever/I’ll smack anyone who suggests it!’ vs. ‘edit-as-you-go to’!
There now, wasn’t that helpful?
Curation Corner: 30 uses for those half-used or blank notebooks
Lots of good ideas in Shelby Abrahamsen’s
30 FUN AND EFFECTIVE WAYS
TO USE A BLANK NOTEBOOK
You’ll see some of my favorites in the intro graphic.
Plus, there is something non-threatening to picking up a half-used notebook and diving in with your latest brainstorm. Just my observation…
Word Inventions 
