The Practice
The Practice covers what it actually takes to keep showing up— the daily habits, mindset shifts, and overcoming self-doubt that go along with writing a novel over months or years. These posts are for motivation, building a sustainable writing routine, working through perfectionism and stuck points, and treating the writing itself — not just the finished book — as worth your care. Drawing on fifteen-plus years of coaching novelists through complete manuscripts, this is where to start if consistency, not craft, is what’s standing between you and a finished draft.
Write the Book You Most Want to Read
There’s a piece of advice I keep coming back to, and I gave it to a client recently when she worried that her novel—ambitious, sprawling, decades in the character’s lives—might be too much. Too historical. Too personal. Too big.
I told her: write the book you most want to read. If it doesn’t exist yet, go[…]
Your First Writing Love Shapes Your Voice (And That’s a Good Thing)
There’s a moment early in almost every serious writer’s development when they fall in love with another writer’s work so completely that it rewires how they think about sentences.
For me, it was Raymond Carver.
I was reading him religiously — story after story, the spare declarative sentences, the working-class interiors, the way he could make you[…]
Why a Daily Writing Habit Makes Writing More Enjoyable
The surprising relationship between daily practice and creative fulfillment.
“The last two stories I wrote were really fun,” a client told me recently. “I really enjoyed doing them.” Then she paused. “So I’m thinking, well, what would be really fun to do next? That’s what I want to do is have fun writing.”
This writer had[…]
When Scene Work Becomes Instinct
What happens when a writer stops fighting the immersive approach and starts trusting it.
Many fiction writers struggle to move from checklist writing to immersive scene work — and the shift often changes not just their prose, but their entire writing experience.
“I’m relaxed,” a writer told me during our recent session. “I’m not trying[…]
Writing in Scene: Why It Makes Fiction More Engaging (and More Fun to Write)
The surprising relationship between scene work and creative joy.
Many fiction writers struggle with scene vs. summary — defaulting to information dumps instead of putting readers inside lived moments.
“That’s more fun to write than a list of information,” a client said after rewriting his opening chapter. He’d just discovered something that transforms the writing experience: staying[…]
Your Character’s Secret Superpower: Being Present
A writing craft technique for fiction writers who want stronger, more immersive scenes.
Here’s a superpower you can give your character that readers instinctively respond to:
The ability to stay fully present in every scene.
No internal static.
No constant analysis.
Just clear, grounded attention to what’s happening right now.
The temptation is to explain everything through internal thought. But often,[…]
Lean Into the Discomfort: Why You Need to Accept That You’re Writing a Novel
Many fiction writers struggle with slowing down scenes and committing fully to the novel form — especially during early drafts and revision.
I was coaching a writer recently who’d been working on her Antarctic research station novel for years. She’d done extensive research, developed compelling characters, and had a strong grasp on her[…]
Writing as Nutrition: Feeding Your Creative Health
What happens when you go on a creative fast—and why coming back matters more than never leaving
Many fiction writers struggle to maintain a consistent writing practice during stressful seasons — and learning how to return to your routine is often more important than perfect discipline.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about using[…]
Self Over Writing Project
How writing can serve you first, and your book second
Sometimes the most important thing about writing isn’t the writing itself—it’s what the writing does for you as a person navigating the chaos of daily life.
Many fiction writers struggle to maintain a consistent writing practice during stressful seasons — and learning to treat writing as self-care[…]
How to Thrive in Novel November Without Burning Out
Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting a webinar for writers gearing up for Novel November (formerly NaNoWriMo, conceptually). Thanks to ProWritingAid for hosting the event and sponsoring Novel November. We had about 160 people show up live, and I have to say—the energy was fantastic.
How to End Your Writing Day
Every writing coach knows the classic advice: “Stop writing while you know what happens next.” (Check out my past blog post that dives into this advice). It’s solid guidance that prevents writers from staring at blank pages the following day. But after years of coaching writers, I’ve learned that this advice, while[…]
The Two-Step Dance in Practice
In my last post I talked about the two-step dance to writing joy: writing consistently and stopping when you know what happens next.
So how do you implement these two principles in your own writing practice? Here’s a practical approach:
Step One: Establish Your Rhythm
Set a writing schedule that works for your[…]
The Two-Step Dance to Writing Joy: Consistency and Strategic Stopping Points
I’ve coached writers for over fifteen years, and in that time, I’ve witnessed countless approaches to the writing process. Some writers outline meticulously; others discover their stories as they write. Some draft quickly; others craft each sentence with deliberate care. But amid all this variety, I’ve identified two practices that consistently lead to[…]
A Strategic Approach to Daily Writing
“I’m just trying to make progress, like forward motion. I’m trying not to overthink it,” a client recently told me during a coaching session. She had been struggling with consistency, finding herself spinning her wheels when she sat down each day, unsure where to pick up the thread of her story.
This[…]
The Return: How to Re-engage With Your Writing Project After Life Intervenes
We’ve all been there. You’re deep in a writing project, momentum building, characters developing, the path forward becoming clearer with each writing session—and then life happens. A work trip. Family obligations. Health issues. A global pandemic. Whatever it is, something pulls you away from your manuscript for weeks or months, and when you[…]
The Secret to Consistent Writing: Stop in the Middle
One of the most valuable insights I’ve discovered in my years of coaching writers is counterintuitive: the best time to stop writing isn’t when you’ve reached a natural conclusion, but when you’re in the middle of something exciting.
This strategy—which I’ve seen transform the productivity of countless struggling writers—serves as[…]
The Writer’s Data Advantage: How Tracking Your Practice Transforms Productivity and Joy
Writers often live in a world of perception rather than reality. We finish a writing session feeling discouraged, believing we’ve made little progress. We tell ourselves stories about our capabilities that don’t match what’s actually happening on the page. But what if a simple practice could transform both your productivity and your relationship[…]
The Power of Consistency in Creative Writing: Lessons from a Writing Coach
As a writing coach, one of the most common challenges I see writers face isn’t a lack of talent or ideas—it’s maintaining a consistent writing practice. Through my work with emerging authors, I’ve observed how regular writing habits can transform not just the quantity of work produced, but its quality and the writer’s[…]
-ish goals and balance
Last time I talked about SMART goals—the path to using hard data to meet our goals in life and in writing. For some situations these work great; they enable writers (and others) to set up things they want to achieve, break them down into manageable, measurable pieces that they can achieve, track, and[…]
SMART GOALS vs “The Flow”
One question I’m confronting this week is whether to push myself into tracking my daily writing (yes, tracking that practice), or just going with “the flow” and trusting that I’m doing what I need to be with my writing.
Funny thing is, what’s been happening in this mode[…]
Keeping Accountable
A writer is one who writes.
How are you doing with your self-identification as a “writer”? How does that word sit with you? Are you committed to being a writer.
Well, writing happens best when we make it a habit and we make it repeatable. You need to
A) do it consistently
B) do[…]
Can’t Cook with Cold Grease
Or: Valleys are harder to get out of than peaks.
The Challenge:
One of the biggest challenges in writing, as I’m sure you know, is facing that blank page. Especially first thing in a writing session when you’re feeling cold, tired, not yet plugged in. Maybe you’re still distracted or thinking about other things in[…]
When do you write during the day?
Is there some kind of regularity to it? If not, that’s probably making things harder for you.
We live most easily with patterns, systems and yes, routines. In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits he introduces the concept of “stacking habits” to help you achieve the things you want.
Flow
It’s not always the same. Every day is different. Life intervenes.
Your practice will change.
You’re not the only one in the world.
So listen to the world around you. Listen to your loved ones, listen to yourself. Make space to hear that quiet inner voice that knows you so[…]
Toiling in the dark?
Are you tired of toiling in the dark, not getting feedback you can rely on, not knowing if you’re on the right track or where your book is really headed?
Maybe you’re struggling to find the story, worrying you’ll hit a dead end, or writing on and on without finding your end.
Or have you felt like[…]
