I don’t know about you, but my days are incredibly full.
Just Getting Started?
These articles are all about what to do if you're just starting out on your Author Adventure: planning, preparation, and dealing with your Inner Dickhead.
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…
The 8 Deadly Sins of Basic Ass Nonfiction Books
People worry a lot about writing a boring-ass book.
And when I say people, I mean me. I worry. About everything, all the time—but specifically, right now, about writing a basic-bitch book.
Check out these 8 mistakes to avoid…
The Two Voices in Your Head
Want to know why we say things to ourselves we’d never say to others – and how we can be a little kinder to ourselves?
Smooshing the propaganda machine
Words in print have a weight and a resonance that words spoken out loud lack…
Take it like a writer
Criticism and feedback can feel like eating kiwi fruit with the skin on: uncomfortable, even painful, leading to shortness of breath.
But only for a few minutes. Maximum 7 minutes. Then I have to pull myself together and crack on.
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.
Future You Will Thank You
If we wanna do a thing, we have to make time for it.
And look: I don’t hold with this idea that we all the same 24 hours in a day.
We all have 24 hours, for sure—unless you’re reading this on Mars or something in which case HI PLEASE CONTACT ME BECAUSE WE NEED TO TALK.
But our 24 hours are not the same. I don’t have children or a third job.
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.
Representation Matters and So Does Your Story
Representation matters and our stories matter, not only because our stories help other people like us to feel seen and understood, but because they improve people’s wellbeing and literally save lives.
Are you a shenanigator?
Seth Godin calls it making a ruckus. Which I like.
But I call it being a shenanigator.
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?
Did you go to finishing school?
I have a quick tip for you: remember that writing a book is like falling in love.
How To Think Up Your Big Book Idea
The flash of inspiration you’re waiting for? It ain’t gonna happen. It is a myth; a myth that has stopped good writers from writing since humans first scratched their shopping list on the cave wall…
Why I Haven’t Written My Book Yet…
Why haven’t I written my book yet?
I have my reasons. Here are 26 of them…
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.
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.
How Do You Come Up With All Your Ideas?
Ever look at those snazzy business owners in your inbox and on the internet and wonder how on earth they come up with all their stories, emails, articles, and podcasts? Wonder no more—you can do that too.
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
Commit no nuisance
Our whole society is geared to keeping us quiet, keeping us in line, and not making a fuss.
The Messy Middle vs Sexy Hot Takes
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?
Throwing Grammar in the Bin?
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.
Writing lessons from Beetrice ?
Remember this next time you’re stuck. Remember it when something threatens to derail your plans to write. Be more like Beetrice, focused on writing your book.
31 Writing Tools to Get Your Book Done
There are approximately 927,833 writing tools out there to choose from, and the choice can be bewildering.
So this week, I’m sharing a quick rundown of all the writing tools I use and a brief writeup of why I use them and where you can find them.
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
Don’t rely on your friends
It’s up to us to persuade the right people that our books are worth investing in.
Nobody else is going to do it for us – and that’s a really cool position to be in because it means we’re in charge of our own destiny. We get to make our own successes (and failures) without relying on (or blaming) others.
The Virtues of Idleness
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.
Waterboarded at the dentist
What are you willing to endure to get what you want?
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…
? we need tiny beetle steps not giant leaps
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.
? The lowdown on lockdown ?️
6 top tips for working from home.
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.
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.
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.
The Splendour Of Hard Things
We think that unless we can make giant leaps forward and see enormous and sudden improvements in what we’re doing, we’re not doing anything.
It’s hard to keep going when keeping going is hard (and boring).
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?”
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?
Never has pain felt so exquisite
Yesterday morning, I rigged my shiny new trapeze – the birthday gift my wonderful husband gave me back at the end of March, 4,380 years ago – and hung upside down from my feet.
Sloth: Every Day Is Like Sunday
Michael Stipe was right, eh?
Oof. What a few days, eh?
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
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.
What if…?
“What if we made the door?” I said… When life throws you bathroom door quotes for £656, make your own damn door. My husband and I are—well, I’d like to say halfway through renovating our 400-year-old cottage but honestly I think we’ll die of old age before we’re done. So let’s just say we are mid-project. Currently
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
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
Maybe Your Imposter Syndrome is Right
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.
3 top tips to get book reviews on Amazon
You’ve written a great book, you’re getting wonderful feedback on it, people are contacting to tell you how they’re getting on and how much they love the book, and yet on Amazon… it’s crickets.
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?
Recruit friends to help you
Habits are easier to keep when people are cheering you on.
My Fave Piece of Terrible Writing Advice
People worry a lot about writing a boring-ass book.
And when I say people, I mean me. I worry. About everything, all the time—but specifically, right now, about writing a basic-bitch book.
Check out these 8 mistakes to avoid…
the 1%-ers
We think that unless we can make giant leaps forward and see enormous and sudden improvements in what we’re doing, we’re not doing anything.
It’s hard to keep going when keeping going is hard (and boring).
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.
Writing Advice from Professor Sir Terry Pratchett
10 pieces of writing advice from my favourite author. Don’t be put off by his fiction status; this is relevant to all writers everywhere.
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.
That escalated fast…
Well, that escalated fast.
Honestly, I’ve been thinking and mulling over and wondering what to write (and resisting the urge to make terrible jokes because too soon?).
So today I’m going to share what I’m doing while the world goes into lockdown.
A Nice Cup of Tea
What do you want your new world to be like?
Your life? Your business? Your relationships?
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!
? Dead before you even start
Attitude is everything. Everything I do happens inside my head before it happens outside: and that goes for business and life.
Writing Advice from Neil Gaiman
Every now and then I like to grab a favourite writer of mine (metaphorically speaking I do not assault authors) and share some writing advice I love.
This week: Neil Gaiman!
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).
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…
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—
Start Writing Your Book Today
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