writing life
our free resources on all things writer and author life
Overcoming Perfectionism
We’re told that perfectionism is a good thing. We’re told it’s a trait to brag about when we’re in a job interview to showcase just how hardworking and detail-oriented we are. We’ve [...]
Healing From Burnout
Burnout sucks. It’s an unrelenting exhaustion that has you feeling completely zapped of energy. Your creativity, which has been running on fumes for miles, has officially petered out in the middle of [...]
Toxic positivity in your writing life
Toxic positivity is crippling your writing life. There's a belief becoming more pervasive in the writing community that you must always stay positive and never let anything negative affect you or [...]
Feedback should NEVER feel like this
You did it. You sent pages off to your writing group or critique partner or beta reader... and they finally responded. You're both terrified and excited to see what they thought. [...]
6 Tips for NaNoWriMo Success
It’s almost November which means it’s almost time for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short)! NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 words during the month of November (roughly [...]
How to Hire The Right Editor or Coach
Writers need outside eyes on our stories. External feedback will identify what we’re doing well, and where our stories need work. Working with a professional editor or book coach is one [...]
How to Plan a Magical Revision
You finished your first draft! That is a huge accomplishment. Do you know how many people in the world wish they could say that? Do you know how many unfinished [...]
Don’t Write Your Book Alone
A few years ago, I learned a hard lesson about writing alone. As an introvert, I tend to keep my words close to the chest until they feel “ready” to share [...]
What kind of editing do you need?
Editing, rather than drafting, is usually the hardest and most time-intensive part of writing a book, especially since there are so many stages. Knowing what kind of editing you need, based on [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Top 5 Reasons Stories Fall Flat (+ how to fix them!)
When stories fall flat, it’s often because readers are missing something. Even if they don’t consciously recognize it, [...]
Writing Isn’t Always Fun
There’s a reason our online writing program is called Tenacious Writing. We may love writing, we may love [...]
