Do you want it BAD enough?
I know so many aspiring authors who are paralyzed by fear they aren’t good enough. They spend their time worrying their prose style just doesn’t hack it, their story-telling chops are weak, they’ve chosen the wrong point of view, they should have gone with the other story idea, etc. etc. They’re so worried they aren’t…
M School Influences – The Writing Coach 028
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. Later this month, my new action thriller M School will be released. In this special episode of The Writing Coach, I discuss the books,…
Who Said it Would Be Easy?
Aspiring authors will say things to me like, “My writing isn’t coming along as easily as it should be.” They’ll say, “Something’s wrong: I’m just not having fun working on this book anymore.” Sometimes they’ll even take the lack of productivity or the absence of fun to mean they should stop writing. Stop writing? Woah,…
Why Writers Need to be Tightrope Walkers
I’ve never been a fan of “balance”. When I gave up on the government-recommended “balanced diet” and instead ate an unbalanced diet that consisted primarily of vegetables and meet, I lost weight, gained muscle, felt healthier, and performed athletically at a higher level. That’s just one example of why I’ve always believed obsessive focus and dedication is…
What’s Your “Voice of Fire”?
I’m lucky to live in Ottawa, Ontario, home of Canada’s National Art Gallery. In 1989 the newly opened Art Gallery purchased a work by abstract painter Barnett Newman titled, “Voice of Fire”. Originally created as a commission for Expo 67, a celebration of Canada’s centennial, the painting is 18 feet long and consists of three…
How to Write Faster: 5 Books to Speed Up Your Writing Productivity
In my recent article, How to Become a Freelance Writer, I argued that the faster a freelancer writer can produce work, the more money they will ultimately make. It’s not any different for fiction authors. The more books you write and publish, the more books you will sell, and the quicker you will build your author…
Why Scrivener Isn’t the Answer You’ve Been Looking For
As a writing coach, it’s a rare week that goes by without someone asking me whether or not they should purchase Scrivener. Here’s my response: Scrivener is a fantastic program for writers and novelists. In fact, a mobile app version was just released that makes it an even more useful writing tool for authors on the go. So,…
Why Your Writing Never Works Out the Way You Plan
The dichotomy between plan and execution can be a difficult and frustrating concept to come to terms with. In fact, I’m certain it’s why many people give up on artistic endeavors like writing a novel. Part of the process of turning pro, as an author or writer, involves coming to terms with the fact that…
Don’t Make Your Book More Important than It Is
There’s a major roadblock that stops many aspiring authors from finding success. I see it time and time again with my coaching clients. They take their book too seriously. These aspiring authors believe that, once completed and published, their novel will define who they are; nay, it will define their very value as a human being. They…
Why It’s NOT Too Late for You to Become an Author
A coaching client of mine recently confessed she fears she might be too old to launch her writing career. She’s in her early 30’s. I assured her that she was not too old. And neither are you. A career as an author isn’t like professional sports, or modeling, or becoming a pop star. You’re chances of…
