Wondering how to choose your next writing project from among every note you've ever scrawled sideways in a journal? This is a place where writers often find themselves circling. And by circling I mean stuck. Can science help us here? Social science fascinates me, I must admit. Sometimes I have to read it twice (3x?) […]

I’ve just landed back at home this week from over a month of work-related travel. I love my work but I’m not gonna lie: four weeks of travel still feels like a few weeks too many. The last week was part vacation and my daughter was able to join me at a game reserve in […]

I’ve written before about how annoying I find the (not so?) subtle pressure writers face to be writing daily to be considered "real writers." But I do believe in the power and necessity of writing consistently, which in my world comes down to scheduling ideally both Short and Long writing sessions each week. Here are […]

Do you ever find yourself writing entire paragraphs or sections of your latest writing project in the oddest of places, only to be frustrated when you’re unable to capture the absolute genius of your ideas on paper? Why is it that the ideas and sentences that glistened so brightly at one point in the day […]

 Here in Ottawa, Canada where I live, it’s summer. The lilacs have faded, the peonies have all dropped, and now the roses and lilies are blooming in the gardens around town.  In the early evenings when I walk Mr. Darcy, the air smells like barbeque and I can hear music playing, the sound carrying across […]

You want to write. You want to finish books and get them out into the world. And yet… Weeks or maybe even months have passed and you’re no closer to finishing your latest work-in-progress. It’s still IN progress, only now maybe there’s a layer of dust on top of the box you keep your manuscript […]

Busy Women On Writing Books This is the the fourth instalment in a new interview series on writing, profiling women writers who’ve written and published books while also working, parenting, volunteering, caring for family, attending school, and ALL OF THE THINGS. For this week's interview, I'm pleased to introduce you to Lori McNulty. Lori McNulty is […]

Where do you find writing inspiration? If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m obsessed with helping you stay motivated and connected in your writing life. One way I do this for myself is by reading about the writing lives of writers I admire. I know that I have to find […]

Last week, I wrote about how to shift some of your unhelpful thoughts about writing. Today, I thought we could practice this with another frequent thought that comes up for writers in the early stages of their writing journey… “I’m not a Real Writer.” Depending on how used you are to catastrophizing, you might find this thought shows up […]

Beta readers refer to the initial readers of your manuscript. They’re people you ask to give you feedback on what's working and what isn't, and they're often doing this for you as a favor, perhaps with you swapping work and giving them feedback as well. Make sure you have a completed first draft of your […]

Humans think just over 6000 thoughts a day. That’s a lot of thoughts!  And for writers, 80% of them are probably some form of “my book is shite.” We have a tendency to think all our thoughts are true. But understanding that our thoughts are ephemeral AND that they can be changed is a huge step […]

Look! Squirrel! Distracted is my middle name. Or maybe it’s more of a problem than phrasing it that way let’s on. As in: “Hello, my name is Rhonda and I am distracted." But in all caps: DISTRACTED. Not all the time, but I do watch for the signs. Today, before sitting to write I did […]