by Chris Smith | Jul 1, 2020
Writing routines, plans and strategies work for writers because they reduce the mental energy involved in finding the time to write or making yourself focus. They help you do the thing you want to do with less stress and anxiety – and long term that helps you...
by Bec Evans | Jun 23, 2020
Over the years we’ve answered many hundreds of questions from all types of writers. On the surface, a scholarly writer might not have much in common with a playwright, but underneath they are often thwarted by the same constraints on their time, plagued by...
by Chris Smith | May 19, 2020
You want to feel proud of your writing – of course you do. High standards are admirable. Attention to detail is necessary. But as Voltaire said, “the perfect is the enemy of the good”. When diligence tips over into perfectionist nit picking, guilt...
by Chris Smith | May 12, 2020
Everybody writes differently but one thing’s the same. The writers who have a more balanced, easier and less wrung-out relationship with writing have all developed some kind of personal system to keep them going and to stop them from stalling. Before lockdown I used...
by Chris Smith | Apr 28, 2020
If you’re safe and well, lockdown might seem like the perfect opportunity to write – all that time you never had – but in reality, keeping your focus can be tough. There are new interruptions and we get distracted by anxious thoughts. If you want to...
by Chris Smith | Apr 15, 2020
The idea behind a writing sprint 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 migraine-inducing. It follows a direction and...
