Writing and Publishing

Writing Gremlins, Part Two: Increasing Your Writing Power

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

Gremlins are the cruel, cunning embodiment of the limiting thoughts that hold writers back. The first step toward vanquishing yours is to consciously notice its presence. This skill takes practice and is worth developing because it shifts power to you, the observer, and allows you to choose a proactive response.

I'm in a coffee shop as I write this column, staring blankly at the pastry case, making no progress.

Read Doug's entire article Writing Gremlins, Part Two: Increasing Your Writing Power

Visualize This: How to Dream Your Writing Future

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

Ever had one of those surreal moments when you realize you've become the person you once imagined? You don't fit the original vision exactly, but there are similarities you can't ignore: you've optioned your screenplay, agents are calling and you can almost afford that European vacation. Somewhere in the past you envisioned this future--or some version of it--and here you are now, flesh and blood proof.

Read Doug's entire article Visualize This: How to Dream Your Writing Future

Rejection Logic: How to Bounce Back When Your Writing is Denied

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

If you're a writer, then you're a conscious human being. If you're a conscious human being, then you've felt the sting of rejection. Therefore, if you're a writer, you might as well stay in your pajamas all day and mope around semi-conscious drinking mojitos.

Logical or not, writers dread rejection, and it's sidelined more of us than the most insidious cocktail.

Read Doug's entire article Rejection Logic: How to Bounce Back When Your Writing is Denied

Power Tools for Writers, Part One

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

Whether you're building a house or writing crime novels, it helps to have a good set of tools. Handsaws are great for some jobs, but mitering roof beams with elbow grease is murder. For the big stuff, and for extra muscle on small jobs, it helps to power up.

Like carpenters, writers have to plan, construct, problem-solve, improvise, repair, and fudge angles--and the tools we use make a difference in the quality of our workmanship.

Read Doug's entire article Power Tools for Writers, Part One

Free Analysis of Your Writing Skills

Creative Writing Institute is Offering a FREE Analysis of Your Writing Skills. To get yours, go to http:/www.creativewritinginstitute.com

Writer's Block and the Blank Page: 8 Tips for Breaking the Ice

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach says:

When I tell people what I do, I usually get a blank stare--the same one I'm aiming at my computer screen right now as I try to come up with a topic for this article.

Life coach for writers? Sounds great. What is it?

Like ice cream, or writing a novel, it's a tough thing to explain, and adjectives don't do it justice.

Read Doug's entire article Writer's Block and the Blank Page: 8 Tips for Breaking the Ice

Cool Blue You: Fearlessly Sharing Your Writing

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

Love is hot, and for some writers, showing work to loved ones feels like leaping into flames. You send your writing to countless agents. You post it online for anonymous millions. But when your spouse or partner asks to read it, spontaneous combustion.

Read Doug's entire article Cool Blue You: Fearlessly Sharing Your Writing

Writer's Block and the Blank Page: 8 Tips for Breaking the Ice

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach says:

When I tell people what I do, I usually get a blank stare--the same one I'm aiming at my computer screen right now as I try to come up with a topic for this article.

Life coach for writers? Sounds great. What is it?

Like ice cream, or writing a novel, it's a tough thing to explain, and adjectives don't do it justice.

Read Doug's entire article Writer's Block and the Blank Page: 8 Tips for Breaking the Ice

Writing Gremlins, Part Two: Increasing Your Writing Power

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

Gremlins are the cruel, cunning embodiment of the limiting thoughts that hold writers back. The first step toward vanquishing yours is to consciously notice its presence. This skill takes practice and is worth developing because it shifts power to you, the observer, and allows you to choose a proactive response.

Read Doug's entire article Writing Gremlins, Part Two: Increasing Your Writing Power

Writing Intuitively, Part Three: Intuition Developed

Doug Kurtz, Our official Writing Coach Expert says:

Writers use intuition in all kinds of situations, from deciding what to write, to making plot decisions, to following creative urges that make no logical sense. Intuition is always trying to lead us to the right destination, and to get there we must learn to follow it.

Read Doug's entire article Writing Intuitively, Part Three: Intuition Developed