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Author: Sandy Vaile In the 17 years since I began writing fiction seriously, I've learnt a lot about the benefits of consistency in finishing novels and building an author career. Creating a consistent writing habit not only gives authors a real chance of finishing their books but enables them to do it without losing all hope and quitting all together. Writing a novel is a loooong process that requires significant effort, persistence and resilience. I'm sure we all know someone who has been writing the same book for 10 years (maybe we are that person), and sympathise with how soul-crushing the whole process can be if we don't see results. Writing consistently is a challenge ... enter confusion, overwhelm, procrastination and self-doubt. The problem is, the longer we go without writing (I mean actually progressing our book, not moving commas around), the harder it is the pick up the pen again, get into our character's personas and remember the whole plot. There are five things you can do to break the cycle of not finishing books, and you might be surprised what they are. First of all, I want you to know that you're not the only one struggling with these things. All authors - yes, even multi-published and famous authors - suffer with imposter syndrome, wondering if they are a good enough writer to finish this book, and hating the whole project so much they consider giving up. But ... Successful authors don't give up! So, what can you do to prevent yourself from slipping into the hole (or to give you some purchase to climb back out)?
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Author: Sandy Vaile There’s a time and place for creative-comparison and I’m going to show you how to recognise when to stop comparing and when to start taking action. After all, who wants to waste precious time and energy focusing on what we don’t have and can’t do, when we could get busy working on the things we really care about? It’s human nature to compare ourselves to others, but when those comparisons go from positive motivation that enables self-improvement, to self-disapproval that prevents us from reaching our goals, it is not serving our emotional health. This article will explain why we compare ourselves to others, highlight when it becomes toxic, and explore how to harness only the useful elements in a constructive way.  Author: Sandy Vaile You want to be a published author, right? Well, beware what you wish for because many career authors suffer burn-out at some stage. To enable longevity, authors need to find a healthy work/life balance. Here’s how you can avoid author burn-out and enjoy a long and fruitful career. There is nothing like the little flip of anticipation in the pit of my stomach as I sit down to write or the thrill when I see plot points come together. Creative writing is a challenging and rewarding task but, like anything worthwhile, there comes a time when it becomes a chore. Being able to push through these difficult times is part of having a resilience mindset (see Part 1 in this blog series, called Practice Resilience and Surviving the Publishing Industry)  |
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