creative flow Archives -

7 Secrets that Boost Your Writing Productivity

July 29th, 2018Sarah Lovett0 Comments

You want to boost your writing productivity–so how to do that with ease? It’s no secret that productive writers share some simple habits that help them organize, focus, and stay on track and accountable to their project goals. Organize, sort and prioritize to boost your writing productivity. These days most writers are juggling projects, which may including revising one book, developing another book, posting regularly on blogs, writing content for newsletters, promotional material and reviews and…the list goes on. Organizing doesn’t need to be fancy. In fact, don’t let yourself get lost in perfectionism because that leads to procrastination. Keep …

Sometimes You Gotta Kill the Witch: Break Through Extreme Resistance

February 27th, 2018Sarah Lovett3 Comments

My last post contained an array of tips for breaking through writer’s block, and they can be very effective for normal resistance, but sometimes you gotta kill the witch to break through extreme resistance! Get along with the voices inside of my head I can relate to Eminem’s song, The Monster, and after decades of writing, I’m pretty familiar with the myriad voices inside of my head. I know plenty of Creatives who count “The Monster” as their theme song. At least on darker days. Friends with the monster that’s under my bed And most of the time, those voices and I work well …

Help, I’m stuck on the page! — 10 Tips to Get Your Pen Moving Again~

April 24th, 2016Sarah Lovett2 Comments

1) Breathe! Slowly, deeply, it’s all okay and normal and you will be fine, truly. (And repeat.) 2) Put the story structure info away—in a drawer, in a trash can, in a virtual trash can—and don’t look at it again. When it causes anxiety it is no longer useful. Shred any piece of paper that tells you that there are rules for writing a novel. 3) Know that finishing is difficult for your creative self (and mine and everyone’s!). Resistance can swell a bit when the end of a draft (or even “almost-draft”) nears. 4) Know that you are the …

Tuesday’s Writing Tip: Put Words on Paper & Give it Up

March 22nd, 2016Sarah Lovett1 Comment

Put words on paper, forget whether the putting is easy or hard, and don’t believe the voice judging shitty or brilliant, give it up and stay curious around what happens—we writers are never really in charge, we are channels for flow.

Writing Without a Net: It’s Worth the Risk

March 13th, 2016Sarah Lovett1 Comment

“Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” ~ Gail Sheehy We are always writing our story. At our core we write to understand, to change, to evolve. When it comes to creativity and writing, there are no guarantees that we will become rich, famous, or even remotely well-read. We can use our fears to stop us from taking creative risks; or we can use our fears to connect us to our characters and our story. That is our choice. Wishing you creative risk~S

Writing Wisdom from the Miraculous Mary Karr

February 27th, 2016Sarah Lovett0 Comments

“Don’t approach your history as something to be shaken for its cautionary fruit…Tell your stories, and your story will be revealed…Don’t be afraid of appearing angry, small-minded, obtuse, mean, immoral, amoral, calculating, or anything else. Take no care for your dignity…” ~Mary Karr

Asimov’s Inspiration

December 16th, 2015Sarah Lovett2 Comments

“If my doctor told me I only had six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” Isaac Asimov

@NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #30)

December 1st, 2015Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Okay, so technically this 30th NaNoWriMo post comes to you on December 1. (Even if I pretend that I’m writing this in Honolulu, we are still minutes into the last month of the year.) So I’m opting for flexible and sending out congratulations to all who wrote their way through November. Hopefully, depending upon where you are in the world–catching up on your ZZZZZZs, watching the sun rise, or midway through your day–you are celebrating your accomplishment. There is more writing to be done, more drafts of your novel (more screenplays, essays, short stories, memoirs). We writers write, rewrite, edit, …

#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #28)

November 29th, 2015Sarah Lovett0 Comments

When I fall in love with a book it is because I experience the story as if it lives and breathes inside me; I can summon and recall the evocative and pivotal images as clearly as if I’d been there. Because I am there, each time I dive into a story I love, I participate as a reader and the most powerful images are a dance of the visual and the visceral. Make wise use of the pivotal images of the story you are writing. What is the opening image of your story? Visualize your hero just as the story …

#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #25)

November 26th, 2015Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about approaching the end of writing the first draft of your novel and the various emotions that will inevitably be stirred up inside of you. In a previous post I wrote about the fact that the fears that arise around writing your book must, in their deepest nature, be connected to the fears of your primary characters. This is simply so. So, now, as you near the end of this draft, do remember to find the way from your fears–their deepest, most primal nature–to the fears of your protagonist. They will be heightened by the approach of …