Category: motivation
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Friday’s Findings: Goals or Systems?
I’ll be honest with you. I did not achieve my writing goals this year. I have no one to blame but myself. Being the end of the year, I thought about how I could do better in the year to come. So, I consulted with my friend, a book called The Atomic Habits. I’ve discussed The Atomic…
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Friday’s Findings: Five things I’ve learned in five years, part 2
A few weeks ago, I named five things I learned about the writing craft in the last five years, which are things about the actual writing process. As I came up with that list, I serendipitously came up with items that didn’t relate directly to the craft but to the writing life. These would be…
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Friday’s Findings: Never stop learning
Never stop learning your craft. I’m a little surprised that some people I know who like to write aren’t interested in further training. I guess I understand. but I like taking online classes about writing fiction. I have to be careful, because I don’t want learning to replace actual writing. Writers can spend a little…
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Friday’s Findings: Will I do NaNoWriMo This Year?
That photo of the guy contemplating NaNoWriMo may be a bit melodramatic, but it’s a feeling many of us can relate to. Since 2008, NaNoWriMo has been a journey of self-discovery for me. It’s shown me the strength I possess as a writer, pushing my brain, body, and sanity to the limit. It’s proven that…
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Writing Garbage
“When you’re stuck, and sure you’ve written absolute garbage, force yourself to finish and THEN decide to fix or scrap it – or you will never know if you can.” – Jodi Picoult Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-and-green-shirt-holding-yellow-plastic-bag-3746342/
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Friday’s Findings: Were You Meant to Be An Author?
“Finish the novel. Then write another one. And then, write another one … If you give up after your first book, you were never meant to be an author.” – Ted Dekker Writing Blog Highlights: Photo by Kuntal Biswas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sunflower-20796646/
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Friday’s Findings: A Writer’s Notebook
“Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.” -Will Self Writing Blog Highlights: Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-spiral-notebook-beside-orange-pencil-544115/
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Daydreaming and the Writer
“You have to actually write. Daydreaming about the book you’re going to write someday isn’t writing. It’s daydreaming. Open your word processor and start writing.” -Andy Weir Photo by Rhalf Ryan Gejon: https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-with-blindfolded-eyes-5674427/
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Friday’s Findings: Doing Whatever It Takes
The title of today’s blog entry refers to an update on my writing progress. I’ve been stuck for several weeks. I’ve been having trouble finishing even one scene. I decided to take action. In my science fiction novel, my characters spend about twenty scenes on a planet called Zonvillon. I had already written a couple…
Andrew M. Friday 