How to combat your inner writing critic and stop worrying
It’s perfectly normal to question your own writing abilities and to worry that you’re not up to the job. But when those questioning voices shout too loudly, pessimism and procrastination can take hold. There is a way to quieten your inner writing critic and manage the...
How to write a short story – 8 expert tips
Short story writing might be a popular way into long-form writing fiction but don't mistake short for easy. Here, prize-winning short story writer and novelist Rachel Connor, shares her eight best coaching tips teaching you how to write a short story - from beginning...
A beginner’s guide to entering NaNoWriMo
Autumn is loved particularly by writers: the smell of wood smoke, plastic Halloween decorations, warm chai lattes… and, of course, National Novel Writing Month. But if you’re new to writing, or have just been too embarrassed to ask — what exactly is NaNoWriMo? How do...
How NaNoWriMo changed my life by novelist Julia Crouch
From draft zero to published author, Julia Crouch wrote her first novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). She shares her life-changing experience with us and offers advice on how to find the time to start writing, beat procrastination, get productive...
The 5 biggest mistakes NaNoWriMo writers make
In a mad dash to make it to the 11:59, November 30th finish line, writers must use as many underhanded (and over handed) tactics they can think of to overcome their inner critics and write 50,000 words to earn a place in the hallowed National Novel Writing Month...
How to develop a publishing strategy and advance your academic career
You might think you have a publishing plan for your PhD but what if it's the wrong one for you and your academic career? Academic publishing expert Simon Linacre, director of international marketing and development at Cabells, argues that being strategic is about...
How academic writers stay productive with Helen Sword
Helen Sword is a guru in scholarly writing circles. She's spent a decade finding out what makes academic writers tick and publishing evidence-based books and articles about various aspects of scholarly writing and publication. Whilst her research has focused on...
The planning fallacy: Why you miss your deadlines and how you can stop
If you've ever missed a deadline the planning fallacy may well be the culprit. It's the tendency we have to underestimate the time it will take us to complete something - whilst knowing full well that similar tasks have taken longer in the past. It's based in an...
How writing scholars write: productivity tips from the best of the best
How do writing scholars – people who write about writing, teach writing skills and research writing behaviours – get down to write themselves? To find out we spoke to academic Christine Tulley, author of a new and original Paris Review-style book on scholarly writing,...
How to be a prolific academic: The writing strategy of superstar scholar, Adam Grant
It's official, being a highly prolific academic is the best indicator for scholarly success. Research looking at the careers of 2,800 of the world's top scientists found that those who published the most papers also had the biggest breakthroughs and accumulated the...
The surprising creative hobbies of superstar scholars – and what you can learn
The path to excellence in any field comes through hard graft – that’s true. But research finds that scholars at the very top of their game are also highly prolific, deeply curious, with multiple, unrelated (and often quite bonkers) creative hobbies. So, if you want to...
How to be a more productive academic writer – 6 findings from research
How do you become a productive academic writer, scholar or researcher? At Prolifiko, we’ve been working with The London School of Economics’ Impact blog to explain the findings of our research into academic writing. This is what we found. Today, scholars are under...