The main barrier to writing is not a lack of ideas but a lack of time. Our lives are packed to the brim with important and urgent things to do. But, don’t wait for the perfect writing opportunity to arrive – you must find it. Learn how to find time to write, discover how other people schedule their writing and try these simple exercises to find time in your over busy schedule. [click to continue…]

When author Liz Flanagan wanted to learn how to write young adult (YA) fiction she spoke to some of the best YA novelists in the world. Now a YA writer herself with two books published and a Carnegie Medal nomination under her belt, she reveals the advice that stuck.

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When Jackie Buxton was diagnosed with cancer, she did what she always does when life presents her with a challenge: she started writing. Author of award-winning book Tea & Chemo, Jackie shares her 7 best tips on how to write a memoir and develop a piece of life writing. [click to continue…]

Why is being prolific so important for long-term success as a writer? And how can you develop your own creative process so you can be more prolific? That’s what Joanna Penn of the Creative Penn podcast asked me. Here’s an edited extract of the interview where we discuss how to be prolific. [click to continue…]

Writing sprints provide boundaries which in turn, give you clarity and focus. The idea behind them is to move your project forwards quickly over a short, intense burst of time. A sprint’s not so very different from a writing splurge or binge, but it’s more focussed and less stress-inducing. It follows a direction and has some simple, tried and tested rules which means you start off right. So, here is your 7-step training plan for running a personal writing sprint to turbocharge your progress.  [click to continue…]

Everyone has their own method of coaxing their creative gene out of the bottle – but the myth still lingers that true creativity only appears when the mind is set free from constraint and allowed to wander. Whilst it might work for some, research now proves that to be creatively productive requires you working within boundaries and creative limits. Setting limits on your creativity sharpens up your thinking and makes you more productive long term. But how do you limit creativity without limiting it?

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So – you’re committed. Your New Year’s resolution is to write. But whether you want to kickstart your blog, finish that manuscript or get that burning idea out of your head – you need a plan. After all, you won’t want your 2019 writing resolution to go the same way as 92% of other resolutions (ie. the wrong way). So, here’s our practical, 9-step guide to making sure your writing resolution sticks in January – and beyond.  [click to continue…]

Until about six months ago I loved writing but always found it an agonising process. This might sound odd for someone who earned their living by writing and who has kept a journal for thirty years. But it’s true. I was so gripped by ‘not good enough’ worries that I found it painful to write and my writing practice suffered as a result. But I was driven to do it. I love writing, but it was almost a form of torture punctuated by enough waves of blissful creativity and flow to be addictive. [click to continue…]

Starting out in any career is going to be tough – and academia’s no different. But the interim findings of our study into scholarly writing practice suggest that early career researchers – those in years one and two of their career – find it particularly tough and that’s something that could impact their publishing productivity and wellbeing long term. [click to continue…]