Take the hint

Sure sign you've spent too much time talking to the barista about the book you're "working on" and not enough time actually, you know, writing.

Decaf Is for Editors

Caffeine, nectar of writers around the world.

Just keep writing. (And have another cup.)

Creative Writing’s Holy Trinity: Walk, Coffee, Window

I came across a writing app that gave me the heebie-jeebies. Don’t keep pounding on the keyboard and everything you’ve written in that session . . . poof. Is gone.

This, obviously, violates creative writing’s holy trinity: Go for a walk, drink some coffee, stare out the window. Those can be applied in any order at any time in the writing process. And repeated often.

Yes, you have to “keep writing” to get your book done but I have my doubts that “creativity by the clock” will give you good results. (And if your work went poof because you had to take a pottie break . . . .)

Note to those in the U.K. and India: You can substitute tea for coffee.

Just keep writing.

Ask the Novelist #3

Dear Bill,
Now that marijuana is legal in your state are you going to have a little . . . something . . . as you work on your book?
--A Fan Says "High"

Dear AFSH,
Chocolate and coffee. Dance with the one what brung you.
--Bill

-----

Dear Bill,
What do you think about MFA programs for writers?
--Still a Student

Dear SAS,
If it helps you become a better writer, that's great. If it's a stall tactic, might not be the best plan. In school or out, if you want to be a writer -- if you are a writer -- write. Daily.
--Bill

----

Dear Bill,
Is it easier or harder to be a novelist now compared to forty years ago?
--Just a Kid

Dear JAK,
Yes! Easier because of computers and the Internet. Harder because there weren't as many of us all those years ago. Typing (you know, typing?, with a typewriter?) and then retyping discouraged a lot of would-be writers. And then there were trips to the library to go through card catalogs and reference shelves. (Ask your grandparents.)
--Bill

Just keep writing.

Delayed Gratification

Wait for it!

This is an older video of writer Elmore Leonard but I really like what he says in the first minute about getting up early to write and delaying his first cup of coffee until he's written for a while.
I don't have that kind of willpower. I can, however, not get a second cup until I've cranked out some stuff.
On the other hand, I don't have a problem with using a verb besides "said" to say that someone . . . said something.

Here's Elmore:


Just keep writing.