In a world of hot-takes and kneejerk reactions, how do we introduce a little nuance? How do we reclaim critical thought and—yes—creativity?
Writing Your Book Already?
Want your book to be as good as it can possibly be? These articles are all about writing skills, editing like a pro, and how to write with a little more outrageous flair.
Asking The Right Questions
Knowing what questions to ask when you start to write your book is the hardest part… We spend so much time looking for answers, we rarely stop to think if we’re asking the right questions. And sometimes we don’t know which questions to ask at all…
Writing for Joy
Right now we could all use a little more joy, and fun, and space to do something just for ourselves, just because we want to.
Not because it will be useful or profitable or productive, necessarily.
But for the sheer joy of it.
Back in the 80s Without the Shoulder Pads
If you make a mistake, people will forgive you, especially if you put it right. If you make a mistake and then disappear, you’ll be considered a douchecanoe.
Choose Rage
Choose rage. Choose a tantrum. Choose a big shouty rant.
Because in a world of “positive vibes only,” scented candles, and a monomaniacal focus on finding the bloody joy in every shitty thing that happens, sheer incandescent rage can be quite the fun ride.
Your Nonfiction Book Table of Contents—Burlesque Style
Ever seen a burlesque show?
Burlesque is all about the tease: fun, dancing, a little bit naughty…
Think of your Table of Contents like a burlesque dancer. Stick with me, I promise I’ll make this metaphor make sense…
This blew my tiny mind
Have you ever read something that, when you think about it later, is obvious – but at the time, it blows your mind?
100 lbs lost – real self found
Whatever you want to achieve, it’s what you do every single day that counts, not the one-off grand gestures.
Stop Trying to Find Your Voice
We want to be good writers, right? *Great* writers? Entertaining writers? Writers that move people? Then write.
You already have a voice, and the only way to find it is to use it.
Bestseller Badge Balls
In a world of hot-takes and kneejerk reactions, how do we introduce a little nuance? How do we reclaim critical thought and—yes—creativity?
There’s a row on the internet
Much as it’s tempting to just set fire to the world and start again, that’s probably not practical
10 Ways To Choose Your Book Title
Your title is one of the most critical parts of your book. If you write a crap title, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of your book is, most people won’t read it…
5 good minutes is enough ⏲️
I don’t know about you, but my days are incredibly full.
The future is a myth
If we’re not telling the truth, there’s no point in writing… don’t let pride get in the way of your truth.
Lusty Books: The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing a Book
Michael Stipe was right, eh?
Oof. What a few days, eh?
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
You are not a sofa
Stop. Breathe. Listen.
Then pick a thing and do it.
The horrors of tight jumpers
It’s soooooooooo crucial for us to write about our experiences and tell our stories.
Start from the End, My Friend
One of my fave writing quotes is from E. L. Doctorow:
“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
This is true… And also—
Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing—How to Decide
Thinking about publishing but not sure what route to take? Traditional, with agents and royalties and advances and fame and fortune? Or *whispers* self-publishing? And is that even a REAL book anyway? Read this…
Proud of Yourself? The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing a Book
If we’re not telling the truth, there’s no point in writing… don’t let pride get in the way of your truth.
Peel your eyes
Writing is a source of great anxiety to a lot of people – including me, sometimes. Just because I’m a writer doesn’t mean I have all my shit together.
The Magical Shitty First Draft
It’s a magical talisman, the first draft. It allows us to let go of our self-consciousness, let go of expectations, and play. And from it, we can make the thing we want to make.
Waterboarded at the dentist
What are you willing to endure to get what you want?
How I stopped drinking alcohol
Since Christmas 2018, I’ve probably had fewer than 20 alcoholic drinking occasions – and when I have had a drink, it’s generally been one small one.
And it hasn’t been a struggle.
On Finding Mudita
Of all the negative emotions, after shame, I think envy takes the biscuit: it seeps into everything we look at and it keeps us stuck.
A Nice Cup of Tea
What do you want your new world to be like?
Your life? Your business? Your relationships?
Should You Imitate Your Favourite Writers?
Imitate away—just don’t beat yourself up when you don’t sound like they do. Read this article to find out what to try instead…
Write Your Book’s Introduction In 3 Simple Steps
Think of your introduction as a sales letter for the rest of your book. Your reader is thinking, subconsciously, “What’s in it for me? Why should I give up my valuable time to read this book?” You need to convey that in your introduction. Here’s how…
How Gluttony Could Derail Your Book
Too much of anything is a bad thing – and that goes for writing, too. Gluttony can squash your book. Don’t let it…
How to Choose a Book Coach
The short, sweet, and comprehensive guide to choosing a book coach who understands how to get your Big Book Idea out of your magical brain and onto paper
On Keeping a Notebook
This is a sonnet to laziness, idleness, loafing—a spirited rejection of the Puritan Work Ethic and all it implies. Read on and discover why idleness should be part of YOUR life.
? Haunted by horrific howlers
Writing a book isn’t just about the writing; it’s about the details, too. The fine points that mark you out as a professional. Stuff your readers may not notice on a conscious level, but if you get it wrong, they’ll feel it. They’ll know.
Why your projects are always late…
Whether your project is a giant railway infrastructure, a cottage renovation, or writing your book, it will inevitably take way too long and cost much more than you budget. It’s because you suffer from the planning fallacy — with a healthy dose of optimism bias and overconfidence thrown in.
Did you go to finishing school?
I have a quick tip for you: remember that writing a book is like falling in love.
Why aren’t you achieving your goals?
Let me ask you again: why aren’t you achieving your goals? Do you know what’s missing? Which tiny beetle steps you need to take?
Writer’s Block Is A Big Hairy LIE
Have you ever been stuck? Staring at the Blank Page of Doom in despair?
Yep, me too.
Have you ever blamed it on “writer’s block”?
Yep, me too.
Here’s the thing, though: there’s no such thing as writer’s block.
It’s a made-up myth, a lie we tell ourselves to get out of doing the work.
Time Travel & Proof that Humans Don’t Change
There are some people who do not have a fear response. In the face of danger, they laugh and run towards it (literally).
The morning monster cure
If you want to write your book, you need to build a good writing habit or you’ll never manage it.
What are you struggling with? What feels horrible?
What if, instead of saying you’ll write 500 words a morning, all you have to do is make a cup of tea, open your document, and scribble down what you’re going to do next?
Make it easy and make it attractive.
15 Reasons to Write a Book
Ever thought about writing a book but never quite got started? You’re not alone.
Here are 15 reasons why I think you should write a book in 2020…
Are We Sleepwalking Through Life?
Just because I got elbowed in the face once in Primark doesn’t mean everyone who shops in Primark is an arse. Just because I got elbowed in the face once in Primark doesn’t mean everyone who shops in Primark is an arse. Repeat until I believe it.
Do you know how I rationalised that ugly little belief? By telling myself I don’t shop in Primark because it’s unethical and because I want my clothes to last for more than two washes. (Both those things are also true, it’s just not the true reason I don’t like Primark.)
Resistance Is Futile, Or, The War Of Art
One of the best books I’ve read on how to beat resistance and procrastination is The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield. Here’s my review…
Deeper not wider
It’s incredibly tempting to throw everything you have at your courses and products and articles… but how about, instead, you go deeper and narrower?
Atomic Habits: My Book of the Year in 2019
Want to know how I’ve gone from a chaotic cranefly who couldn’t get out of bed to a 6 am person who writes every day and sometimes eats like a healthy adult?
Why the World Needs Your Book
Photo by Tom Podmore on UnsplashIf you’re considering not writing your book this year, think again. If you’re tempted to put it off for any reason—please think again. The world needs your story. If you are any kind of a misfit—if you don’t fit into the straight, white, male, cis-het, neurotypical, elite world, or if you have a message and
What do you want to do?
Don’t let anyone shame you into ridiculous productivity.
Don’t be pushed into doing more than you want to.
It’s okay not to be okay.
29 People, Places, and Things to Inspire You
Feeling uninspired? Well, inspiration comes from within ourselves—but we have to go outwards to find it. This article contains a bunch of stuff that I love—hope you love some of it too!
Getting mad at your future self
We’re basically a bundle of habits, good and bad.
Which means every single action we take is a vote for the person we want to be.
Turn Off Your Reader
If you’re suffering from a writer’s block, could it be your inner reader? Let’s find out…
New year new…?
Within the haze of end-of-year parties and admist the overindulgence of the festive feasting period glows an ember.
The glimmer of an idea.
The hope that perhaps this year will be different.
Maybe this will be the year we’ll write our books or run that marathon or start that business or go after that big contract.
The 67,000 mile-an-hour Book
We all have the same amount of time in the days, weeks, months, years.
So why do some people get tons of writing done, and others struggle to make any progress at all?
How To Outline Your Business Book Lightning Fast
Let me ask you again: why aren’t you achieving your goals? Do you know what’s missing? Which tiny beetle steps you need to take?
This is your brain ? on knowledge
Are we asking the right questions?
I don’t always ask good questions. I ask obvious ones.
Like, “Why do I always procrastinate?”
You Can’t Edit a Blank Page
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” — Jodi Picoult
Well yes, Jodi, that’s true of course. I 1,000% agree with you.
But it’s easier said than done, amiright?
When I’m sitting there in front of my blank page, head buzzing with static, fighting the urge to clean the bathroom or peel all the skin off my lips, this statement always makes me feel like shit.
So let’s sort it out.
Are you a shenanigator?
Seth Godin calls it making a ruckus. Which I like.
But I call it being a shenanigator.
Choking the onions
I’ve put off weeding that veg bed for a bunch of reasons, none of them good. And so I’ve wasted more time worrying about the onions than it took me to just do the bloody weeding.
? long train journeys are the best
The thing about tiny beetle steps is, eventually they add up to great big leaps.
We get hung up on the great big leaps. We strive for massive improvements, to become an overnight success, and wish for miracles to happen fast.
How to Write About Yourself (Without Sounding Like a Canoe)
“Aargh! I hate writing my about page!”
Yep, we all do, toots. We all find it tough.
How do you strike that careful balance between “hilarious, kind, and helpful” and “obnoxious douchecanoe”?
Tricky.
Luckily, I have a quick tip for you
Beaker is in da houzzzzzzzzzz
Don’t let anyone shame you into ridiculous productivity.
Don’t be pushed into doing more than you want to.
It’s okay not to be okay.
Filling Your Bucket
Back in March 2020, it was like the entire world took a giant swig from the DRINK ME bottle, as we hurtled down the rabbit hole. I.e. the world shrunk. And individually, I shrank. Like many people, I retreated into my head, made a blanket fort, and hid there… and I stopped writing. I had nothing to
A ridiculously small pin-head
Our Inner Dickheads hate change. They love the status quo (not the band).
There’s no point trying to silence that voice, either; it won’t go away. It’s a part of you.
Start Writing Your Book Today
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