writing

Quick Link: Inner Conflict in Fiction

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Having depth in your characters makes them more believable and having them face conflict makes them more interesting.  At Live Write Breathe, Janalyn Voigt gives us examples of conflict that will help you develop your characters and then throws in a little psychology too. Check out the whole series!

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Inner Conflict in Fiction

Inner Conflict in Fiction (Conflict in Fiction, Making it Real Series, Part 4)

Comforting patientUnderstanding the dynamics of inner conflict in psychology can help you create believable characters who tap into emotions common to us all.  Portraying inner conflict believably in fiction requires that we understand its ways and means. In this article, we’ll cover the four models of inner conflict in psychology, with examples from my own writing.

This post is a continuation of “Tap the Psychology of Conflict in Your Fiction,” which I recommend reading first.

1. Choosing Between Two Positive Outcomes

Your character needs to choose between two equal desires that are mutually exclusive, resulting in tension. The stronger the opposing desires and more serious the consequences, the harder the struggle.  Giving your character traits that deepen the conflict will make it even more compelling. ‘You can’t eat your cake and eat it, too’ is an expression that perfectly frames this sort of problem. In psychology, this is called the approach-approach conflict.

Example

Such a dilemma arises in DawnSinger (Tales of Faeraven, book 1) because the hero, Kai, who has sworn to protect the High Queen of Faeraven, will be freed from his pledge at her death. Since that event seems imminent, both Kai’s parents press him not to bow his knee to the heir of Faeraven who will take over the high throne at his mother’s death but to take over the responsibilities of heir to their kingdom in the absence of his missing older brother. The consequences of refusing them are that his parent’s kingdom is likely to be absorbed into a neighboring one.

The new High King will be an untried youth, and Kai’s loyalty to the High Queen, love of the life he leads in her service, and drive to fulfill his duty, sometimes at the expense of relationships, makes this a gut-wrenching decision for him.

Read the full post on Live Write Breathe

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: Making Magic: 6 Steps for Creating A Magical System

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Wave your magic wand and read these tips from Carol Gray, from the website Dead Darlings, on how to set up a magical system that makes sense in your literary world.

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Making Magic: 6 Steps for Creating A Magical System

Happy Girl In A Witch'S Costume And Witch'S Broomstick

March 1, 2016

 

Conjure, enchant, shape-shift, or summon—endless possibilities exist in the world of magic. Cast a spell, fight a dragon, wave a magic wand, but don’t forget the ruby slipper, the mermaid, and the unicorn. And then there’s time travel and scrying and divination—the options can easily overwhelm. Luckily, the talented Mark Fogerty, in his GrubStreet class on Worldbuilding, offered six steps to creating a magical system that can help manage all these choices. Here’s my version of Mark’s list.

1. Define the Magical System. What is your magic and how does it work? Now don’t panic. It’s okay to be vague at this point. Think about the Force in Star Wars. Obi-Wan Kenobi described it as “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” 1 This sounds good but does anybody really know what he’s talking about?

According to Rainbow Rowell, it’s okay not to fully understand your magic. In talking about her latest book, Carry On, she said, “I would get stuck and have to remind myself that I don’t really know how the magic works in my favorite fantasy stories. I don’t really know how the Force works . . . I get really confused if I talk specifically about the magic in Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. I try not to get too bogged down about how it works . . . I just try to be consistent.” 2

Read the full post on Dead Darlings

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Quick Link: 3 Tips for Seamless Scene Setting

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Today we travel to Writers In The Storm, where not only do they have a great blog name but Sonja Yoerg cheekily shares tips on using your environment to help bring depth to your character.

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Hikers at sunset3 Tips for Seamless Scene Setting

February 17th, 2016

Sonja Yoerg

Lost in Space. Remember that TV show? No? Sigh. It aired in the 60s and featured a family in Jiffy-Pop space suits roaming the galaxy in an attempt to return to Earth. I mention it because, as fun as that show was, you don’t want your characters lost in space. In fact, you want to pin them to a specific spot on the map, put them in a headlock and give them a noogie while you’ve got them there.

Settings aren’t just hang-outs for your characters. Let’s talk about ways to put your fictional places through their paces.

1. Relax your reader.

First and most obvious, readers will relax once they know where they are and what sort of a world to expect. Nail down the location with few accurate strokes and you’re one step closer to being able to lead your reader by the nose. (And that’s what you want, after all: dominion over readers!)

Unless the mystery of the setting is part of the story, it’s best to bang the stake in the ground right away. These words appear in the first paragraph of my latest novel, Middle of Somewhere: “Yosemite, wilderness, backpacking, adventure.” Yeah, I’m subtle like that.

Read the full post on Writers In The Storm

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

3 Major Types of Rewrites, and the Big Mistake to Avoid with All of Them

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Do you know the different types of rewrites needed for a successful story? Lauren Sapala does a great job of explaining the three major types and how to manage each of them on her blog. Check it out and let us know if you have any hints or cool hacks for rewrites.

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male writer journalist pen paper shield3 Major Types of Rewrites, and the Big Mistake to Avoid with All of Them

One of the first things a writer learns is about the power—and the challenge—of the rewrite. For those writers who assume that everything Ernest Hemingway wrote flowed perfectly out of his pen on the very first try, the illusion is shattered. The more experience a writer gains, the more they know that rewriting is part of the process for all writers. But that doesn’t mean that rewrites still aren’t confusing, overwhelming, or just plain difficult. They most definitely can be all of those things. What can really be helpful is for writers to back up, look at a map, and make sure they’re not going in the wrong direction.

After you finish your first sloppy draft, you can expect to move through a few different phases of rewriting. Here’s a quick overview of the Big 3:

Cutting/Fleshing
This type of rewrite will benefit the most from critique group feedback or editorial suggestion. Your beta readers can pretty easily tell you which character descriptions were a bit skimpy, and what passages went on and on…and on…and ended up being way too verbose. Fleshing out characters and scenes can be fun, and cutting can sometimes be painful. This is where that old saying for writers came from: “Kill your darlings.” It means that sometimes there will be sections you fell in love with, but that just don’t technically work, are redundant, or don’t align with the rest of the narrative. Regardless of your love for these particular lines, if multiple beta readers are pointing out the same issue and suggesting you cut them, they probably need to go.

Read the full post on laurensapala.com

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Writing 101: Let’s Talk Dialogue

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Working on my dialog was my Nanowrimo 2015 focus, beyond writing the 50k words of course. I applaud every author that can manage dialog. After a while I start going a little crazy because how many times had I used the word “said”. Kaitlin Hillerich address “said” fatigue among other important dialog points in her article on Inks And Quills. What are your strategies for dealing with dialog?

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Writing 101: Let’s Talk Dialogue

"I think we should sell everything and invest in racing llamas."
“I think we should sell everything and invest in racing llamas.”

~ Kaitlin Hillerich

Dialogue is a tricky little beast when you’re a new writer. From punctuation to making it sound realistic, there’s a lot that can go wrong. When done well, dialogue can be a true delight for the reader and make a story shine. But mess it up and, well…it can really put a damper on things.

Today, we’re going to look at some dialogue basics to get you started off on the right track. If you’re confused about punctuation, speech tags, or the difference between spoken and written dialogue fear not–keep reading and we’ll tackle them together!

Behind on the Writing 101 series? Click to catch up! Part 1 (The Fundamentals of Story), Part 2 (Writing Term Glossary), Part 3 (Creating a Successful Hero & Villain), and Part 4 (Unraveling Tension, Conflict, and Your Plot).

What is Dialogue?

Dialogue is the spoken words between two or more characters, which is signaled with quotation ” ” marks. Most of your story will consist of dialogue. Dialogue not only moves your story along, but it also helps reveal who your characters are.

However, dialogue in fiction is not the same as dialogue in real life. When we write dialogue for a story we are actually creating an artistic imitation of real speech.

Why? Because no one would want to read real-life dialogue. In real speech, people stammer, um and uh, talk over and interrupt each other, get distracted, forget what they were going to say, bring up random stuff, chit chat about the weather… Trust me, no one wants to read that! It would be a mess.

To really see the difference between real and written dialogue, take a look at this piece of dialogue I’ve transcribed from an interview with Doctor Who actor David Tennant:

Read the full post on Inks And Quills

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Under Development: Writing That First Novel

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On her site Fiction University, Janice Hardy,  has some great basic advice including point of view, structure, and plotting as well as what not to sweat. I know I learned a lot. This article is a great overview, but she also offers deep cuts on the subjects you want to learn more about. Well worth your time! What advice would you give to newb writers?

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Under Development: Writing That First Novel

 By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Work In Progress Sign Held By Construction WorkerThis week’s Refresher Friday takes an updated look at what to worry about (and not) when writing that first novel. Enjoy!

Writing can be a daunting task, but it can be even more daunting for those who know they want to write, but just aren’t sure how to start. What do you focus on first? Should you worry about how publishable the idea is? What’s the fuss about query letters, and do you need to write one?

It can make you crazy.

Here’s my advice for anyone who’s brave enough to pick up the pen and start writing. These elements can help you build a strong foundation on which you can develop your skills. They also applies to those who are still trying to get their writing legs under them.

Read a Lot

One of the best ways you can develop your writer’s ear is to read widely, both in your genre and market and without. You’ll start seeing (and hearing) how to put together sentences and what makes a great dramatic scene. It’ll also familiarize you with your genre, let you see what else has been done, and make it easier to spot cliches. When you find a book that particularly wows you, analyze it and figure out why it appeals to you so much.

(Here’s more on analyzing our favorite books)

Write a Lot

The only way to practice writing skills is to write. Don’t worry about how good or bad the work is, just get it down. You have to start somewhere, and while you skinned your knees learning to walk, you’ll make mistakes and fall down as you learn to write. But every time you put words together, those words get better and you grow as a writer.

Now for the more specific stuff, because that’s what you really want to know, right?

Read the full post on Fiction University

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How to Write a Fight Scene (in 11 Steps)

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They say write what you know but what if you are doing something that you have no experience with? For example a really intense fight scene, because all fights scenes should be intense. On the Better Novel Project, breaks down what makes a good fight scene. What are your tricks for a gripping fight scene?

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How to Write a Fight Scene (in 11 Steps)

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I recently received this e-mail about fight scenes:

Do you have any advice for creating a fight? I am writing an action/fantasy novel, and I am inexperienced with this particular type of scene. Thank you for any advice you may have! -Sara

Thanks for the question, Sara! I agree that its tough to “write what you know” when most of us have never been in a life-or-death physical brawl with a fantasy villain.

Let’s lay out the blow-by-blow action in these three fight scenes to see what similarities we can find:

  • Harry Potter’s fight against Quirrell/Voldemort in Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone (Ch. 17).
  • Bella Swan’s fight against James (the tracker vampire) in Twilight (Ch. 22).
  • Katniss Everdeen’s fight against Clove (District 2 girl tribute) in The Hunger Games (Ch. 21).

What Actually Happens in a Fight Scene

Read the full post on Better Novel Project

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Seducing Your Readers

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adds some serious heat over on Kill Zone. You might be familiar with the story being broken up into three acts: Set-up, Confrontation, and Resolution? Robert asks why not look at it as Seduction, Foreplay, and Climax. I think my monitor is melting after reading his post.  Hubba hubba!

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Seducing Your Readers

Lips Showing Nervous WomanLet’s talk about sex.

Those of you who are uncomfortable with the subject, feel free to bail out now. I’m likely to get pretty raunchy.

Still with me? I thought so.

When we make love, most of us have a particular goal in mind: that moment when your entire body seems to stem from one central point, when every nerve-ending tingles wildly as fireworks assault your brain. That moment, of course, is orgasm, and anyone who has experienced one (or two or three)— especially with a willing and enthusiastic partner (or two or three)— knows that it can be an exquisitely pleasurable sensation.

But are all orgasms created equal? Of course not. The quality of our orgasms is directly related to the quality of the fun and games that precede them, not to mention our emotional bond with our partner, and our willingness (or unwillingness) to surrender ourselves fully to the moment.

So what, you’re probably wondering, does any of this have to do with writing?

YOUR WILLING PARTNER

Writing is an extremely intimate act. In his book, On Writing, Stephen King describes it as a form of telepathy. You put your thoughts on paper, and days, months, or even years later, someone reads your mind.

Think about it. With a simple arrangement of words, you have the potential to pull your audience into your mind where they can be stroked and fondled and toyed with— sometimes gently, sometimes rough. The result is often a partnership so strong and emotionally satisfying that neither of us ever wants to let go.

Who of us here can forget those times when we’ve read a book we didn’t want to end? And when the end did come, we felt drained, elated, and thoroughly satisfied, much like we do after a night of unbridled passion.

Getting to that place wasn’t an accident. The writer of the book—at least in most cases—didn’t merely fumble his way toward climax. If he (or she) did his job, every step was carefully choreographed to lead us around the third act corner toward the final pay-off. And the quality of that pay-off is related to one important thing:

Read the full post on Kill Zone

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

10 Writing Lessons I Learned While Creating Self-Editing Success

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Today I am sharing with you a post from The She’s Novel Blog by Kristen Kieffer, who can’t take a bad picture. Kristen shares with us some insights that she gathered while doing research for her next course. Full disclosure Kristen and I have no relationship, I just really liked this article and thought you would too.  While reading the one insight that stood out for me is number 3 – The Importance of Publicizing Your Progress.  I know that I should and it would help me be accountable for big task. Read the article and let me know what you think, or if there was one insight that stood out for you.

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10 Writing Lessons I Learned While Creating Self-Editing Success

Emergency jobHey, friends. Long time, no see.

It’s been just over a year since I launched She’s Novel, and in all that time I don’t think I’ve ever been away from the blog for so long. Three weeks, y’all. How crazy is that? I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve missed it.

But where have I been? In full-blown creation mode, that’s where!

As many of you know, my first full-length e-course–Self-Editing Success–launched for pre-sale last weekend (hurray!). Since that time, I’ve spent every waking hour creating content for the course.

With 6 modules, over 35 videos, and countless worksheets, I’ve hardly had a moment to spare. But today, I’m back! And so I thought I’d get a bit more personal than usual here on the blog and share with you 10 different writing lessons I learned during the creation of my Self-Editing Success e-course.

You see, I didn’t just take the information in my head and slap it onto a bunch of slides to create the course. I spent months researching different editing topics, analyzing bestselling novels , and chatting it up with you lovely readers to make sure I included everything you need to know in order to revise your manuscript for success.

And along the way, I learned so much about writing for myself. New techniques, truths about the editing process, and mistakes and myths that far too many writers believe. Today, I want to share all of those things with you so we can both continue to grow as writers.

So let’s get started!

In the process of creating Self-Editing Success, I actually learned three new techniques for completing productive edits and holding yourself accountable. Let’s talk about that.

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1. The Two Approaches to Editing

From the planners vs pantsers debate alone, it’s painfully obvious that there is no right way to write a novel. Even if they follow certain patterns, every writer has their own unique process for bringing their stories to life.

One thing that never occurred to me though? That some authors don’t edit their manuscripts linearly!

My experience with editing has always been to start at chapter one and work my way through the entire manuscript, making changes to either the story or the writing itself depending on my current draft. This was a lengthy process of course, often taking me six months or more, but it was always worth it in the end.

But while chatting it up with some writers on Twitter back, I was surprised to learn that not all writers edit in such long drafts. Some choose to focus on a single issue at a time (e.g. fixing plot holes or eradicating flowery language) and jump around to make those edits happen.

Read the full post on The She’s Novel Blog

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How to Write What You Don’t Know

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So you are writing an article or a book and there is a subject matter that you would really like to add, but you don’t know very much about it and don’t want to come off sounding like a newb. Amy Gustine over on Literaryhub has some great tips on how to research like a pro.  What are your secret hacks for researching?

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How to Write What You Don’t Know

Research conceptFebruary 10, 2016 By Amy Gustine

One day I decided to stop letting fear prevent me from trying to write certain stories, specifically the fear of not knowing things. I didn’t disavow my penchant for realism, or deny the importance of accuracy. Instead, I resolved to find out what I could achieve with research. It began as a dare to myself, and also a kind of surrender to life’s limitations. I can’t always afford the time or money to do on-site research and there are places I wanted to go in my stories—Gaza, 19th-century Poland—that no amount of either would take me to.

I took up the task of researching from afar in a spirit of experimentation and learned that it was like most undertakings—you have to pick two: cheap, good, or fast. You can’t have all three. I always choose good and cheap, which means I’m not fast. Ninety-five percent or more of what I learn doesn’t make it into the story, but because I enjoy learning, and I suspect that everything is tied together, this doesn’t trouble me. It shouldn’t trouble you either, unless you’re in a hurry, and then you better pick a different profession.

To write what you don’t know, try these strategies: 

Read the full post on Literaryhub

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Using Ebooks to Understand Story Structure

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Today we visit Jamie Gold, paranormal author extraordinaire. My 8th grade English teacher would often talk about stories needing woof and weave. The terms refer to old fashion weaving on a loom. You need the woof, the long threads, to define and hold the structure and then the weave, the threads that pull it all together until you have a complete product. Jamie discusses the need for story structure, which is like the woof and provides a base for your tale to be woven on. How do you organize your story structure?

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Using Ebooks to Understand Story Structure

Fractal Structureby Jami Gold on February 11, 2016

When we’re on the writing learning curve, we have to learn so many aspects of the craft that we can become overwhelmed. We have to learn how to develop characters, follow grammar rules, include settings and emotion, etc.

One aspect that many writers struggle with is learning story structure. Story structure refers to how we can organize a story so it creates a satisfying experience for readers.

If we’ve ever had a friend try to describe a movie, book, or a real-life event and they keep rambling or going off on tangents, we understand the importance of a good structure for making a story enjoyable. A story that goes off the rails will be confusing (“Wait, who was that character again?”), boring (“Sorry, I zoned out for a second.”), or worse.

On the other hand, we might have a friend who can make their daily check of the mailbox sound like an adventure. We just know there’s going to be a point to their story, so we remain enthralled with every twist and turn.

In other words, good story structure is an important element of good storytelling. While our friend could use good story structure and still be bland in the storytelling, it’s harder to imagine a well-told story that rambled or went off on distracting tangents or dragged on too long, etc.

So let’s take a look at how we can better understand what story structure is, and how we can learn from other stories how to use it in our own…

Read the full post on JamieGold

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Start Strong or Lose Your Readers

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Over on DigitalBookWorld, has some interesting data about reader habits. The really interesting takeaway is that you have about 50 – 100 pages to get your reader hooked. I am curious if this is different from paper books? I would think so. With eBooks it is so easy to delete the file off my voyage, where as with a paper book there is something physical that nags at you. At least that is how I feel about the paper books stacked up on my night stand. Then I think of some of the classics, that take a while to get started. How would they fair today? Thoughts?

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Start Strong or Lose Your Readers

Stack Of Books Flying From Computer Shows Online LearningIn the first post in this series, I introduced the notion of the “Internet of Bookish Things” to describe how (e)books were now nodes on the Internet that could record how books are being read. And in last week’s post, “Reading Fast and Slow – Observing Book Readers in Their Natural Habitat,” I began exploring what we can learn about readers using this new “superpower.” Today we will continue this exploration by looking at how the attention of readers decays while progressing through a book.

One of the data points we record at Jellybooks is how many chapters a reader finishes. Reading fiction is a very linear activity in which you start at the beginning of the novel and, following the story arc, read until you reach the end. You don’t usually hop in and out of chapters as you would do in a non-fiction book or textbook, and reading analytics bears that out.

However, what if the novel doesn’t grab your attention? What if you get bored? Reading analytics can measure that, too!

The way we display this is through a completion graph. To facilitate comprehension by authors and editors, the graph is deliberately structured like a Table of Contents (TOC), listing each chapter in the book. Next to each chapter is a horizontal bar graph in blue showing the percentage of readers who read that chapter (or substantial parts of it). The grey bars show front- and back–matter (introduction, dedication, prologue, epilogue, copyright page and so on) that are organized as chapters but are not part of the main narrative. As readers progress, the percentage drops off, showing that readers lose interest and even stop reading.

Below I’ve included two real-life examples of books. For confidentiality reasons, the actual chapter descriptions have been removed and replaced with numbers (as well as F and B for front- and back-matter). I can’t take the chance of you guessing what book is being shown, but rest assured that this is real data from real books being read by real humans.

Read the full post on DigitalBookWorld

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When to Give Up On Your Work-in-Progress (and When to Keep Going)

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Here is something I think everyone struggles with, especially since writing is so fluid. You can always edit and rewrite, so when do you stop and move to another story that has more potential? Over on Aliventures, Ali has some good guidelines on how to deal with writing indecision.  How do you decide what to work on?

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When to Give Up On Your Work-in-Progress (and When to Keep Going)

Time cubeThis post was inspired by a discussion a while back in the Writers’ Huddle forums.

Have you ever given up on a writing project part-way through – perhaps after months or years of work?

I’ve abandoned plenty (three novels and two blogs, at the last count). I’ve also stuck with others even when I thought of quitting.

If you’re currently struggling with a major project and trying to decide whether to give up or stick with it, here’s what to do.

Don’t Destroy Anything Completely

This probably goes without saying … but don’t burn your novel manuscript and delete all the files or wipe your blog out altogether, however terrible it might seem might now.

If nothing else, you’ll want to look back in five or ten years and see how far you’ve come as a writer.

But there’s also the possibility that you’ll pick up the project at a later stage – perhaps when you’ve mastered new aspects of the craft and you can fulfil your vision for it.

So, hang on to what you’ve got, then decide whether you’re going to give up the project (at least for the foreseeable future) or plough on with it.

Read the full post on Aliventures

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Top 10 Confused English Words [U-Z]

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Over on Daily Writing Tips, Maeve Maddox (what a great name!) gives us her top 10 confused English words, the final chapter. I have to admit that growing up in Massachusetts weather / whether were difficult for me because they both sounded like “wheatha”. I had the same problem with father and farther. What are your confused words?

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Top 10 Confused English Words [U-Z]

Puzzled Confused Lost Signpost Showing Puzzling ProblemHaving come to the end of the alphabet with my series of “words often confused with one another,” I find myself hard-pressed to come up with a final set of ten for the remaining letters, U-Z. I can’t think of any for U or Z, but here are some for V, W, and Y.

1. vane / vain / vein
All three sound alike and speakers know what they mean when they say them. The confusion arises with the spellings.

INCORRECT: A cupola sat astride the angled wedge of the rooftop, sporting a beautiful gold colored weather vain.
CORRECT: A cupola sat astride the angled wedge of the rooftop, sporting a beautiful gold colored weather vane.

INCORRECT: If we cut one of our vains what chance do we have to live?
CORRECT: If we cut one of our veins what chance do we have to live?

vane noun: a blade that rotates

vain adjective: 1. hopeless: “She continues to harbor a vain desire to write a novel that will make her rich.”
2. having an excessively high opinion of one’s own appearance, attainments, qualities, or possessions: “He is especially vain about his hair.”

vein noun: the tubular vessels in which the blood is conveyed through the animal body.

Check the rest of the post and the whole series on Daily Writing Tips

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Stop Making Excuses And Write A Book

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Today’s post is from the Bookbaby Blog, dated January 19, 2016 by Jim Dempsey.  In the post Jim, analyzes the excuses we make for not starting to write your book, or edit it, or in my case finish it. It is a good read, so check it out and let me know what you think in the comments. What is holding you back from doing what you want to to do?

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Stop Making Excuses And Write A Book

The start of a new year is a good time to finally commit the time and energy to write a book. But first, ask yourself one important question to find out if you really have what it takes to be a writer.

When people ask what I do and I say I’m a book editor, they tell me they’d love to write a book some day, once the kids are grown up, when they have more time, or if only they were good enough. Some people have already given up trying. They say, “I suppose if I really wanted to write, I’d have done it by now.”Excuses File Contains Reasons And Scapegoats

But that’s just another excuse. That argument assumes we all fall naturally into what we want to do, when in fact it’s much more natural to find an excuse not to do it.

We all makes excuses. It’s a part of what we do. And the first step to making a commitment to finally writing a book is to recognize the excuses and to stop them getting in the way of your dreams.

Writing is an adventure

Inventing excuses is your mind’s way of protecting you, from keeping you from taking risks or using up too much precious energy. In evolutionary terms, that makes sense, but the excuses your mind invents can also keep you from enjoying some of life’s greatest adventures, of which writing a book is surely one.

Read the full post on Bookbaby Blog

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