writing life
our free resources on all things writer and author life
Do writers need ‘thick skin’?
If there’s one piece of writing “advice” that really gets our hackles up, it’s the idea that writers need to have a thick skin. A lot of us understand, at least [...]
Tips For Getting Back Into Writing After a Break
We’ve all been there before. Something comes up in our life, we stop writing, and when we’re finally ready to open up our manuscript again, we are stuck. Returning back to the [...]
Finding Your Ideal Reader (and why it’s important!)
When you’re daydreaming about your book being in your readers’ hands, who do you envision holding it? Who would your book speak to the most?Maybe it’s a younger version of you. Maybe [...]
Writing Isn’t Always Fun
There’s a reason our online writing program is called Tenacious Writing. We may love writing, we may love our books, we’ll keep progressing and moving forward, but that doesn’t mean it’s always [...]
Overcoming My Fear of the Blank Page
I have spent most of my years as a writer struggling with the blank page. I used to face horrible paralysis when I sat down to write new words. I would procrastinate. [...]
Can you be ambitious and anti-hustle?
Growing up, I was taught that being ambitious meant hustling. In my mind, hustling became synonymous to working hard. Ambitious meant you wanted to achieve big goals and accomplish big things. [...]
Is it worth making art when the world is falling apart?
As this article is being written, there’s so much going on— and has been going on—in the world. Meta illegally scraping books for AI, the end of the ceasefire in Palestine, and [...]
Writing What Matters: Starting with your “Why”
Writing a book is really difficult. It takes heart, energy, and lots of time. It's a process of personal creation that often takes deep courage to invite critique into, even when we [...]
Setting Goals Free From Shame
With another year coming to a close, it is that time once again where our social media feeds peddle hustle-culture narratives driving us to set ambitious writing goals and lofty word counts.It [...]
Do writers need ‘thick skin’?
If there’s one piece of writing “advice” that really gets our hackles up, it’s the idea that writers need to have a thick skin. A lot of us understand, at least [...]
Tips For Getting Back Into Writing After a Break
We’ve all been there before. Something comes up in our life, we stop writing, and when we’re finally ready to open up our manuscript again, we are stuck. Returning back to the [...]
Finding Your Ideal Reader (and why it’s important!)
When you’re daydreaming about your book being in your readers’ hands, who do you envision holding it? Who would your book speak to the most?Maybe it’s a younger version of you. Maybe [...]
Writing Isn’t Always Fun
There’s a reason our online writing program is called Tenacious Writing. We may love writing, we may love our books, we’ll keep progressing and moving forward, but that doesn’t mean it’s always [...]
Do writers need ‘thick skin’?
If there’s one piece of writing “advice” that really gets our hackles up, it’s the idea that writers need to have a thick [...]
Using reaction progressions to “show” on the page
Reaction progressions are a four part formula based on the natural order of how humans respond to stimuli. Using this chain of responses as a tool will help make it easier for you to “show” your character’s responses effectively and deepen the impact of your prose.
Where to Start Your Story
You’ve built out your characters and their backgrounds. You know the major plot points of your story. [...]
