Discover the power of self-trust and how it can transform your writing journey. Uncover the benefits of writing with intention and direction as we explore the fundamental questions every writer should ask themselves. Learn how writing with purpose can help you build self-trust, connect with your audience, and express your passion in a meaningful way.

Unlock your true potential as a writer. Join us on this transformative journey to discover the importance of self-trust and how it can elevate your writing. Read more now!

Every great story has a protagonist—a hero or heroine at the heart of the plot. But what makes that protagonist truly compelling? It’s not just their deepest desire; it’s also the obstacles they face along their journey to achieving that desire. As a fiction writer, one of your key goals is to create a story with believable characters who have obstacles they must overcome. These obstacles should be both internal and external, as it adds depth and complexity to the story. Internal conflicts are the psychological issues – such as self-doubt or inner turmoil – that prevent your protagonist from obtaining their deepest desires. External obstacles are tangible blocks – like job loss, financial status, or relationships – that keep them from achieving what they want. Let’s explore how these types of conflicts can drive your story forward!

Are you an aspiring author with an unfinished manuscript? Or have you dreamed about writing a book for years but haven’t been able to commit the time to make it happen? You're not alone! Many people hear a little voice in their head that whisper lies and keep them from pursuing their writing goals. It could be anything from “you don't have enough time,” or “I’m too old, it’s too late,” or “who are you to think you can write a book?." In this blog post, I want to talk about how these lies can stop us dead in our tracks - and how we can confront them and move forward. If you find yourself making excuses instead of tackling your lifelong goal, read on - maybe it's time for change!

Lots of people have a secret (or not so secret) dream of writing a book. But fear or self doubt often derails those dreams–fear that they don’t have enough time, fear that they aren’t good enough to write a book, or fear of ridicule or failure, fear that they don’t have anything interesting to say or that their idea is silly. But it is possible to overcome these fears and take the steps necessary to turn our dream into reality. Read below for common fears that prevent people from realizing their writing dreams and how to overcome those fears.

Our captain drives the boat toward a cluster of other boats and we discover there are two humpbacks swimming beneath the surface. One approaches our boat and swims underneath it, showing us the magnitude of its body compared to our small vessel. Then, an enormous fin breaks through the water, towering above our boat. We can see all the detail of the animal’s “propulsion system,” including the barnacles that line up along the ridge of the fin. The whale slaps its fin on the water repeatedly, and it seems playful.

“Sometimes they are trying to slap the barnacles off their fins, and other times they are trying to impress a female,” our guide explains.

“Mission accomplished,” I answer. “This female is impressed.”

In today’s world of on-demand services and instant access, people are presented with more distractions than ever, making it a challenge to stay focused on tasks, personal goals like writing a book or completing NaNoWriMo, and more. Midlife writers are not the only ones who struggle with focus. But attention management and focus are more important than time management when it comes to achieving your writing goals. This article offers tips and tricks for regaining your attention when you’ve lost your flow and ways to improve your focus and flow.

Do you pass the hallway of forgotten projects when you enter your house? Are there dozens of unfinished manuscripts, book outlines, essays, or blog posts on your hard drive? If you leave a lot of the things you start unfinished, whether or not you realize it, this habit could be hurting you and stealing some of the satisfaction that comes with getting older and accomplishing our dreams. So, it’s especially important in midlife to learn how to finish what you start.

Signs that fear of vulnerability might stand between you and your desire to write. Maybe you think you’re too old to write? Or you worry you might not be good enough. Maybe you fear the thing you also crave? We want connection with others, especially in midlife, but that’s vulnerable, isn’t it?

Do you ever feel like a fraud? Like you’re not really qualified to do the things you do or the things you want to do-like write a book? If so, then you might suffer from imposter syndrome. Many people experience some form of imposter syndrome, which is a form of fear that causes them to doubt their abilities and accomplishments. And this can be particularly troublesome for writers or people who want to write. Writers who get started later in life or in midlife can be particularly sensitive to imposter syndrome.

Need a gift for a writer, author, book nerd or literary type? Check out these ideas.

According to the New York Times, about 200 million people say they want to write a book someday. And based on loose statistics and a little extrapolation, about one billion people worldwide keep journals or have kept journals in the past.

Thinking of my 50s as Day four of a vacation helped me find my voice as a fiction writer. It also gave me the courage to push through to the end of the first draft of my first novel and the courage to start the long process of revising.

Blurbs are important because they can demonstrate to agents that you have credibility, they increase a salesperson’s comfort in taking a chance on your book and they to? help readers make a confident buying decision. They are like a testimonial or a stamp of approval.

Filter words and phrases put distance between the reader and the scene you are writing. They create a situation where the reader’s experience is “filtered” through the character’s point of view. You don’t want that.

The best writers know how to write clear, concise sentences and how to trim long sentences to more readable lengths. They also know how to express themselves with long and short sentences that are free of unnecessary words and redundancies.