Okay, this is one of those “learn from my fail” posts. This week I (re)learned that sometimes I really overestimate how long it will take to complete a writing-related task. That short story final polish I’d put off for a couple of day because it seemed like it might take a few hours? I figured [...]
Archive for the 'writing process' Category
in which i realize i have no idea how long some things take
terry brooks on writing
Why didn’t someone tell me Terry Brooks wrote a book on writing? Just starting to read it, but it looks promising (and way more fun than that Norman Mailer book on writing). Here’s a little tidbit: The writer Walter Mosley wrote a few years ago in an article that appeared in the New York Times that [...]
ok cupid’s wisdom for writers
I just read this post by Georgina Bruce, an up-and-coming writer I admire, and it made me think of this research done by the online dating service OK Cupid on “The Mathematics of Beauty.” Bruce said this about an experience she had with a bad review of her writing: I once read a review about [...]
instant writing workshop fix: odyssey podcasts
I’ve been listening lately to a number of these Odyssey podcasts, which are recorded snippets of craft lectures from the Odyssey workshops by various instructors. My personal favorite so far is Carrie Vaughn‘s talk on “setting goals and building a writing career,” which is all about understanding the things you can control vs. the things [...]
getting into the flow state 101
I’m reading Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (the back cover advises that’s pronounced “chick-SENT-me-high”) and am so far (about halfway through) finding it really useful. The flow state is all about being highly focused and engaged in an activity, and though a few people never achieve that state, most [...]