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?
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.
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.
Commit no nuisance
Our whole society is geared to keeping us quiet, keeping us in line, and not making a fuss.
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.
Don’t write like you speak!
In today’s video, I ramble on about why writing like you speak is dumb and leads to badly written books.
You are not your business
You are not your business. You are not your art.
Take the criticism. Allow the reaction. Then examine it carefully.
Is there a lesson you can learn and use to improve? Take it.
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.
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.
Information water-cannon overload
Does going online feel a bit like you’re being water-cannoned with well-intentioned but overwhelming information?
Living with purpose
My purpose is to write. To share my stories and other people’s stories – especially those people whose voices are muffled and marginalised. People who stand up for humanity and thoughtfulness and against oppression and cruelty and blind adherence to a doctrine that makes no sense.
Just be yourself okay?
Our brains are wired that way, to always see the bad – the problem – rather than the good. It used to keep us alive back when we lived in caves.
? 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.
? ? ? Tell me about yourself
“Tell me about yourself”
Four little words guaranteed to strike terror into most people’s hearts, especially if we’re standing in front of a roomful of people.
Michael Stipe was right
Michael Stipe was right, eh?
Oof. What a few days, eh?
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
Waterboarded at the dentist
What are you willing to endure to get what you want?
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.
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
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.
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…
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…
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.
What you’re feeling is normal
I wanted to share a few things that might help you navigate what you’re feeling right now, including some of the ways I’m feeling
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 horrors of tight jumpers
It’s soooooooooo crucial for us to write about our experiences and tell our stories.
?Do you have a reader magnet? ?
Your book is just the beginning…
It’s not enough to have a book out there (although that is AWESOME obviously) – it needs to work for you.
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.
A Nice Cup of Tea
What do you want your new world to be like?
Your life? Your business? Your relationships?
? The lowdown on lockdown ?️
6 top tips for working from home.
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?
Roast potatoes for brains
Post-festive-sludging and I feel like my head is stuffed with roast potatoes.
I am struggling to form a coherent thought, let alone write about one.
This is extraordinarily vexing to someone who writes for a living.
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.
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.
Make the Uncomfortable Comfortable
There are some people who do not have a fear response. In the face of danger, they laugh and run towards it (literally).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Did you go to finishing school?
I have a quick tip for you: remember that writing a book is like falling in love.
You are not a sofa
Stop. Breathe. Listen.
Then pick a thing and do it.
Like Wholesome Cocaine for Your Soul
None of us has any control over a global pandemic or other people’s behaviour or thoughts or actions. I don’t think we’ve ever lived through a time of such uncertainty. And yet I was trying to control it anyway. Perhaps you were, too. That’s what humans do; we try to control stuff.
Which is, quite simply, exhausting.
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.
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).
How Talking To Your Clients Helps You Beat The Blank Page
Ever had insomnia? Not just a little trouble sleeping, but the twitchy, panicky, staring into the void teetering-on-the-edge of madness insomnia?
Every now and then, it feels like you’re poised on the knife-edge of sleep—so you grab at it, wildly, desperately, only to feel sleep slip away, leaving you grinding your teeth.
To me, that’s what the Blank Page Of Doom feels like sometimes. When I have the seed of an idea I can’t quite hold onto—or too many ideas, boiling across my brain too swift to catch.
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.)
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.
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?
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
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?
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.
One 3-star review ⭐⭐⭐
Our brains are wired that way, to always see the bad – the problem – rather than the good. It used to keep us alive back when we lived in caves.
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.
Forward to normal
What do you want your new world to be like?
Your life? Your business? Your relationships?
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.
Daffodils aren’t supposed to be anxious
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.
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?”
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…
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).
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…
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.
Start Writing Your Book Today
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