How do you make time to write in the midst of a busy schedule? Whether it’s poetry, short stories, memoir or novels you love writing, the challenge  is always the same: finding the time. Here’s 10 tips for anyone who loves writing, to help you keep the creative juices flowing no matter how busy you may be. Keep a creativity journal, and jot down ideas whenever and wherever they occur to you. A sudden idea for a short story… a line for a poem that appears out of nowhere… a fascinating detail about a passer-by you think would work for a character… get used to jotting down ideas whenever they occur. Keeping a notebook in your bag or a file on your phone is [...]

As we move towards spring, here is a brand new creative writing prompt to inspire your creative processes! Choose a comfortable place in which to write, and take care to read all the instructions below before you begin. If you follow the prompt carefully, you may have a complete short story – or piece of flash fiction – by the time you are done. “Finally, I Told Them the Truth.” Write for 30minutes, beginning with this creative writing prompt. Try to stay in scene for at least the first few paragraphs, introducing your main character and the people in their life as they prepare to tell ‘the truth’. Remember that we pique the interest of our readers by continually offering them ‘hooks’, so don’t be [...]

In October 2023, I signed a two book deal with Bookouture in London, England, The first book was due at the end of this month, and this morning, I delivered the completed manuscript to my editor, with 3 days to spare!  I’m not sure how much I’m permitted to share about the book or its title at this point in the process, so instead, I’m sharing a few thoughts about what it’s like to write a novel to a deadline. In short, I LOVED it. But it’s not for everyone. In October, this book existed only as a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline, and thirty or so sample pages. On every single day since then I’ve spent 2-4 hours on the book… in addition to my regular [...]

At the moment, I’m writing to a deadline; my historical novel must be delivered in 8 weeks. This is a new and wonderful experience for me – attempting to write 2,000 words per day as a minimum, as I slowly inch my book towards completion. And through this process, I have discovered the addictive wonders of the Flow State. If you write, or you play music, paint, read - or engage in any number of creative and introspective activities -  there’s a good chance you have experienced the flow state already. I know I have. But never day after day, for weeks on end. And I’m loving it. What is a flow state? It’s that magical place you sink into, when you become so completely [...]

One: “Don’t be ‘a writer’ but instead be writing. Being ‘a writer’ means being stagnant. The act of writing shows movement, activity, life. When you stop moving, you’re dead. It’s never too soon to start writing, as soon as you learn to read.” (from an interview excerpted in The Daily Princetonian, 1958) Two: “Don’t write for money but for pleasure. It should be fun. And it should be exciting. Maybe not as you write, but after it’s done you should feel an excitement, a passion.” (from an interview excerpted in The Daily Princetonian, 1958) Three: “There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error.” (from a 1956 interview with The [...]

It’s common knowledge that successful screenwriters have several hard and fast rules they try to adhere to, in the hope of success. If you are starting to write a novel, there’s a great deal you can learn by exploring these rules. And if you have already written a novel, testing your work against these rules is a great way to identify structural problems with your story. Enter a scene at the last possible minute, and get out as soon as you can. I know from my work as an editor that as writers, we have a tendency to amble towards story, and we are also not the best judges of when to bring a story to an end. Apply this rule to your scenes, chapters [...]