Practical Tips To Help You Push Through Writing Challenges

I recently met a writing goal that I've been working towards for about 3 weeks.  I'm so excited that I finally got it done!  But that excitement didn't come easily.  When I first knew that I needed to complete this particular project, I thought it would be simple and quickly accomplished.  I was dead wrong.

I agonized over it for weeks.  Many days, I stared at an empty Word document while searching every corner of my brain for the right words to write.  Nothing.  Crickets.  Empty thoughts.

I became so discouraged, and disappointed in myself for not being able to expediently or efficiently conquer this simple task in the time-frame I originally predicted.  "I know I'm a good writer.  I don't understand why something this simple is so challenging for me"  I thought to myself as I clinched my teeth and fists, and looked towards the heavens.

Understanding that giving up was not an option and I had to get the project done, I knew that pushing through my mental roadblocks was a must.  I also had to realize that although I may be good at what I do, that does not guarantee that every writing task I take on or deem simple is going to come easy for me.   

The same applies to you as a new writer.

Every time you sit down to write is not going to be an easy, breezy task.  You will face challenges.  But that's no reason to question your ability as a writer, or become so frustrated that you give up.

As a Christian, prayer is always my saving grace whenever I find myself facing challenges.  As a Christian writer, it's no different.  Asking for God's help when writing becomes a challenge is a given for me, but there are also practical things that I turn to whenever I find myself stuck.

1. Research the topic.  Google is often my best friend.  With one click, there is loads of information on whatever topic I need.  It's okay to look at other examples of what you're trying to do.  It doesn't mean that you plagiarize anyone else's work, but seeing other samples can serve as a bit of inspiration, and give you a clearer picture of how to complete your task at hand.  Use the internet to your advantage.
2. Ask for help.  Asking for help doesn't always come easy for me; however, I'm learning that, if you just ask, others are willing to help you.  If you have other writer-friends, especially those with years of experience, ask them to help you.  Pick their brain for tips and ideas to help you stretch your mind.  Soliciting help does not discredit you as a writer, neither does it diminish the greatness of your gift; it actually makes you better.
3. Keep writing.  Whatever you do, don't stop writing.  Even if your thoughts don't seem to come together, keep writing.  It's okay to take a break; I recommend it.  Taking a break gives your mind time to relax and refresh.  But after a short recess, get back to brainstorming and writing down your thoughts.  Eventually it will all come together.

Writing is a journey, and it's filled with ups and down.  Today you may feel creative enough to pen book after book after book, and tomorrow you may feel like just writing your name is a challenge.  But that's okay.  It's good to be challenged, because it pushes you beyond your current level of comfort.  So the next time you find yourself challenged by a writing piece, don't fret...just pray, research the topic, ask for help, and keep writing.

Happy Writing!

10 Golden Rules For Writers

I came across an article about rules for new writers, and thought it would be beneficial to those who read the blog.  I agree with all of them, and actually govern myself by them, as well.  I hope you enjoy the list and find the rules to be helpful in your writing journey.

*Source: www.selfgrowth.com
*Author:  Elaine Currie 




Golden Rules For Writers - Things you need to know before you begin.

Rules govern everything we do in life; even if those rules are of the unwritten kind we abide by them and expect other people to do the same. Why should writing be any different? It isn’t. These rules are the basis for good writing. If anyone tries to tell you that rules are made to be broken, remember that you have to learn those rules before you try to bend them or break them otherwise you are just being sloppy, not radical.

The following rules are essential if you want people to take you seriously.

Be yourself
Write from the heart or the head or the gut, depending upon the type of writing you are doing. Never try to imitate somebody else’s style, no matter how much you might admire it, you will always appear fake. Find your own unique style, your own voice.

Know Your Subject
Write on topics you know about. Although that sounds obvious you don’t have to look very far to find masses of people publishing articles when it is clear that they have very little idea about their subject matter. This type of writing appears thin, limp and unconvincing even to the untrained eye. You should aim for writing which has substance; a rounded, healthy thing with a life of its own. Make the effort to research before you publish. If you can’t get to the library, there is always the internet. There is no excuse for trying to foist a poorly researched article on your readers. Do you want your readers to point you out as someone who does not know what s/he is talking about?

Be interested
Write about things which interest you. If you are not interested in your subject matter, you have little hope of catching the interest of your reader. If you are in a situation where you simply have to write about a subject which holds no real interest for you, try at least to find an original angle; this could stimulate you as well as your reader. If you cannot spark an interest in your subject, your writing will be flat and boring.

Punctuate proudly
Don’t be one of those people who pretend they don’t think punctuation matters: it does. Ask yourself this: if these people really believe that, why do they bother to punctuate at all? Why don’t they just write on and on without any dots or commas? That, surely, is more logical than putting in dots and commas in the wrong places. The truth is, they are too lazy to learn the rules and think they can get away with this by brushing punctuation off as unimportant. Punctuation has had a very bad time over the last forty years or so but I believe it is about to undergo a revival. These things go in cycles and it seems that punctuation is about to have its day at last. Correct punctuation could be the new black. If you don’t believe this, how do you explain why so many thousands of people bought “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”? Even if you have no interest in creating elegant prose, you should learn about punctuation . Without it your writing will at best be difficult to read and at worst not make sense. You will be left wondering why people are laughing at your serious work.

Respect the apostrophe
I know, I know, this is part of punctuation. I happen to think that apostrophes have spent so long being either ignored or abused they now deserve a mention of their own. I can cope quite well with commas and full stops appearing in the wrong place but an incorrectly inserted apostrophe makes me see red. Why do so many people insist on using the apostrophe when they clearly have no idea of its function? Beats me. An improperly placed apostrophe is to writing what a huge, ugly wart is to the nose on a beautiful face. Cruel people will point and laugh at you. You think I am exaggerating? If I am part of a minority on this point, why did so many people buy “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” that it became Book of the Year? Perhaps they thought it was a story about a panda.

Get great grammar
The rules of grammar are not difficult. In the olden days even little kids were taught grammar at school. One good thing about the rules of grammar is that they don’t keep changing so, once you learn the rules, they will stand you in good stead for the whole of your writing career. Along with punctuation, it is grammar which determines whether or not your writing makes sense. If you don’t know the rules, you will not know if your writing makes sense but other people will, believe me. (Back to pointing and laughing again.)

Spell well
You need to be able to spell in order to write properly. If punctuation is the putty in your windows, spelling is the bricks out of which your house is built. You will probably find this hard to believe but spelling used to be taught in schools in the olden days. You should not rely entirely on the spell checker on your word processor: it is only a machine trying to guess what word you have scrambled. If you are not sure about a word, look it up in a dictionary: it never hurts to know the correct meaning of words as well as the correct spelling. Never forget that spell check will take your words out of context: if you type “He sold his soul to Santa”, you can’t blame the spell checker for not knowing your really meant “Satan”. People would snigger cruelly if you failed to correct this.

Keep to the point
Never make the mistake of padding out your writing with unnecessary or irrelevant details. Keep to the subject announced in your title, after all, the title is probably what attracted the reader in the first place. If the body of your work does not relate to the expectation aroused by the title, the reader will feel tricked and nobody likes that feeling - your reader will move on to read somebody s/he can trust.

Read and revise
Boring but essential. However much we enjoy the writing process, reading the end product over and over and making changes is not what we want to be doing. We would rather be starting the next article which is bubbling up in our brains but we have to read, re-read, revise and revise again. It is easy to make mistakes when writing something over a long period . If you do not correct your mistakes before publication, you will lose the trust of your audience. (I never got over the fact that one of my favourite authors accidentally changed the date of birth of a main character half way through a novel. How could I ever believe in his people if they had moveable birthdays?) If you were a carpenter, you would not offer your customer an unfinished piece of furniture. The author should not dream of offering the reader an unpolished piece of writing.

Sleep on it
Don’t be in a rush to publish your work the minute it is finished. Let it rest. If it is ready for publication, it will still be ready tomorrow but, if it is not quite ready, you will have given yourself a chance to make a final amendment. This is particularly relevant when you are writing shorter things. If you have spent months redrafting a novel, you are likely to know if you have satisfactorily completed the final draft but it is easy to knock out and send off short items such as articles or letters and then regret our haste. There is always scope for improvement and what looks like a work of art in the evening glow, might not appear so well in the harsh morning light.

Pay attention to detail
If you do not pay attention to detail, you will not discover your errors and there will be plenty of people out there who will be delighted to pick out and highlight the smallest error. Some people just can’t help themselves: it is the way they are made (the way I react when a menu offers me a choice of “Salad’s” - salad’s what?). Other people are just waiting to see you trip yourself up. Don’t give them the satisfaction: get things right before they start pointing and you will have the last laugh. If you have realised that this paragraph is number eleven of my top ten and are already laughing - Well Done! If you did not notice - see what I mean?

Happy writing!

4 Simple Tips To Keep You Motivated To Write

Motivation is not always a constant, especially as a writer.  Because writing is mostly a creative endeavor, there will be times when you feel like you can write for days on end; however, there will also be times when you simply don't feel like writing.  For whatever reason - perhaps a lack of creativity, or the busyness of life - your motivation plummets, and the last thing you want to do is sit at the computer and peck away...again.

As someone who has been writing for a few years, I still have those days.  However, I know that if I don't stay motivated to write, my work would never get done.  And if I want to continue to build my business and career as a professional writer, then I have to push myself even when I don't necessarily feel enthused about doing so.

Here are a few tips that help keep me motivated to write:

1. Commit to your craft.  Everyday, commit at least 30 minutes - or more - to writing.  Whether you feel like doing it or not, do it anyway.  Anything that you're not committed to is less likely to become a priority in your life.  If you don't make writing a priority, it will be pushed further and further down on your list of things to commit real time to.  Before you know it, you'll fail to make time to focus on your craft altogether.  So, to ensure that you stay on top of maximizing your potential as a writer, make it an important part of your daily routine.  Whether you're an article writer, or you're working on a book, commit to write everyday...rain or shine.
2. Set goals.  Writing goals are important, and correlates with the previous tip.  Setting goals helps you to be accountable.  If you're a blogger, set a goal of how many posts you'll make on a weekly basis.  If you write articles, decide the amount of articles you'll submit within the month, and give yourself a deadline.  Or if you're writing a book, give yourself a specific word-count or decide how many chapters you'll write during the course of the day.  Set these goals and stick to them.  As a writer, especially freelance, no one is standing over you to ensure that you get your work done.  You're your own boss, so you are responsible for holding yourself accountable.  It can be challenging at times, but work towards disciplining yourself until becomes routine.  It helps a lot.
3. Keep your eye on the prize.  Whatever your reason for writing, there's an end result you seek; it may be a book, or having your work published in major magazines.  If you keep the result you desire at the forefront of your mind, it can help you to remain motivated in your quest.  Failing to be consistent in your writing, makes it harder reach your desired result. 
4. Reward yourself.  After you've remained diligent to committing time to write and sticking to your daily/weekly/monthly goals, reward yourself.  It's important that you acknowledge your achievements, because it helps in keeping you motivated.  If there's a sweet treat, cute pair of shoes, or some other luxury you've been dreaming about, make it the incentive for getting your work done in a timely manner.  I love treats, so this tip is almost always the perfect persuasion for me to stay focused.  Always celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how great or small.

A lack of motivation, if left unattended, can prove to be detrimental to your career as a writer.  Although I believe every writer experiences times when the creativity seems to disappear, I think following these few simple tips will help you keep your writing at a constant.  And the more you write, the better you'll become.

Happy Writing!

Discovering Your Personal Writer's Mission

As a new writer, I felt lost.  I knew I had a passion to pen words, but I had no clue where I actually fit.  I had a plethora of questions.  What type of writer would I be?  Should I be serious or comic? Would I write about life?  About motherhood?  Fiction? Marriage? Politics? Should I choose one genre and stick to that one alone?  Who would be my target audience?  Should I write solely for women?  Men?  Children?  I was all over the place.

After racking my brain and stressing myself out over my million questions, I came up with something that calmed all of my anxieties, and set the foundation for me as a writer.  I call it My Writer's Mission:


I will be the type of writer who is passionate about what I do, and writes from my heart no matter the subject, and I will fit wherever I am received.  I will be myself, and allow my unique personality to shine through the words that I pen.  I will write about whatever moves my heart and will encourage, educate, and empower those who read it, and I will not force my pen to create words I do not believe in.  I will not put myself, or my abilities, into a box, but will allow my creativity as a writer to take my readers to places they're mind will always remember. That's the type of writer I'll be - one that is passionate and pure.


With that mission embedded upon my heart, I embarked upon my endeavor as a writer with a solid foundation, and it has proved to keep me grounded and focused.

A lot of times, especially in the world of the arts, it can be overwhelming when trying to figure out where your unique craft fits, or how you will present it.  If you're anything like me, you'll go back and forth in your mind over-thinking and over-analyzing every little detail.  And, if you're not careful, you'll end up completely lost when it comes to the direction of your writing.  You don't want that to happen, because it's likely that you'll find yourself producing work that you're really not passionate about.  And when your heart isn't into what you do, you won't get the best results.

As a new writer, I urge you to discover your personal writer's mission.  Think about what you like to feel when you read others' work.  You don't want to mimic anyone, but it can serve as a starting point for discovering what you'd want your readers to experience as they read what you've written.  Don't limit yourself to one genre of writing; but by the same token, don't venture out into an area where you totally lack knowledge.  There's nothing worse than a writer who has no clue of what they're talking about.  It will leave your audience confused and dissatisfied with your work, and also discredits you as a writer.  You never want that to happen.

Once you set your writer's mission, don't allow anyone or anything to deter you from it.  Be confident in who you are as a writer, and allow your passion for the craft to direct you.  Your writer's mission will set the tone for all that you do; it's your foundation. With a solid foundation, you're able to build your career as a writer with integrity and intelligence.  You can't go wrong with that.

Happy Writing!