If we’re not careful, the negative thoughts in our minds can outnumber the positive ones. It’s a downward spiral no one likes riding. Hard to dismount.
Simple affirmations help. I love post-it notes. Paper ones, or the computer apps that supply them.
If you’re a writer, you’ve likely heard advice that one of the best ways to improve your craft is to read. It’s true! But the way you read matters. How can you read and discuss books with a writer’s eye, so you get more out of the experience?
I’ll start with the bad news.
Much of what you’ve heard about daily routines is more fictional than the stories you’re writing. Everyone seems to have their own “key” to productivity: motivation, willpower, passion, and big goals being the most common.
While these all have the vague ring of truthiness, you’ve probably noticed that, in practice, the results of such methods are inconsistent to nonexistent.
Fortunately, there’s a simple cure.
Habits.
Many fantasy writers love world building—sketching out maps, cataloguing pantheons, and crafting magic systems. But when it’s time to write a story set in that world, they often struggle to translate their fantasy worldbuilding lore into narrative. This is understandable. After all, how do you fit an entire world into a book—and tell a compelling story at the same time? The answer, paradoxically, is to start small.
Even after you finish a book it can be hard to repeat the process. Today, author Noel Stark shares how 100 Day Book accelerated her book writing process to help her finish drafts faster.
