NaNoWriMo Practice

Failing Into Practice

I do not remember the source of this story. A middle-aged woman, distraught, goes to the village wise woman. “I fear my husband no longer desires me!” she says. “He has not lain with me for months, and I do not know what to do!” The village wise woman says, “Listen carefully, for here is …

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NaNoWriMo Practice

Writing After NaNoWriMo

This is it. The big and final day, and there are many out there who are ignoring all the calls of “CYBERMONDAY” and are simply looking feverishly at two numbers: their word count and the time of day. The former is growing and the latter is shrinking and the level of stress for each individual …

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Love NaNoWriMo

This is Why I Love You, Writer

Even though there’s still four whole days left of NaNoWriMo, this is the last Friday. And on Fridays I write about love, so this is my last chance to tell you why I love you. I do. I don’t care if you’re 20 words or 65,354 words into your NaNoWriMo journey right now. I frikkin’ …

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Life NaNoWriMo

Torturing Your Imagination

“Don’t write for others. Don’t write for yourself. Write to fill the page.” – David McKee, Story (one of many great finds on Scribd). This is a continuation of the idea of getting out of your own way. It technically applies to all writing, though there’s a different kind of alchemy when you’re applying it to …

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NaNoWriMo Practice

A Net to Catch the Muse

What is your muse net? In other words: how do you catch ideas? If you don’t have something in place, I promise you, you are losing a lot of ideas. I’m not saying you need to have a whiteboard in the shower (unless you do) but there’s a reason that pocket notebooks are such a big thing, …

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Love NaNoWriMo

Write What You Love While You Can

I am not one to romanticize writing, especially as a profession. While I’m a big fan of Do What You Love as well as Follow Your Passion, I’ve agreed to not harp on that for at least a while (especially since other people like Mark Manson are doing it for me). But the idea that you can …

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courtesy DanielSTL via Flickr CC
Life NaNoWriMo

Getting Out of Your Way

You have not chosen the story. The story has chosen you. – Steven Pressfield, The Authentic Swing One of the questions that came up from people who had hoped to do the NaNoWriMo webinar was one word: Plot. They were having trouble with it. I had another colleague say the same thing to me as we talked …

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NaNoWriMo Practice

Practical Procrastination for Potential Productivity

“Man plans, the Gods laugh.” There are many variations on this theme, but it feels especially relevant today. I had planned on doing a “NaNoWriMo Booster” webinar to help people mid-month super-charge their writing. Unfortunately my body decided “nope, time to get the flu, instead!” My energy levels have depreciated to where I’m basically able …

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Love NaNoWriMo

5 Ways to Love a NaNoWriMo (or any) Writer

We’re well past the first week, and you’re getting an idea now of what the rest of the month is going to be like. I’m not talking abou you, Writer, but your partner. Yes, you, Writer’s friend/lover/spouse/child/parent. “Manic” is often a word people like you – the companions of writers –  use to describe behavior of …

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Life NaNoWriMo Uncategorized

5 Hard Questions for an Easy 2000 Words

  The most dangerous stories we make up are the narratives that diminish our inherent worthiness. We must reclaim the truth about our lovability, divinity, and creativity…Tell your dangerous story. – Brené Brown, Rising Strong This is kind of a sneaky Life post. Because yes, it is focused on NaNoWriMo, and yes, it will give you a …

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