Have you heard the phrase the ‘messy middle’? Well, I had a great question from a reader recently. Jess got in touch to say: – I’ve written a strong beginning and ending to my play but I’m struggling with the middle! Do others have this problem too and if so, what should I do? Firstly,…
All posts in Writing
Having trouble sitting down to write? Use ‘The Four Tendencies’ Framework
Today I’m going to tell you about ‘The Four Tendencies’ – a fab personality framework that can help us meet our writing goals (and any other goals or habits, for that matter). (Hey, if you need help with your own writing goal or block, sign up for one of my coaching programmes: I LOVE helping…
The Surprising Benefits of Writing Just For Fun!
I often talk about writing with a specific goal in mind – whether it’s getting your draft finished or selling your work. I think it’s good to be clear and focused. But what about writing without a goal in mind? In other words, writing just for fun? Does that sound like a waste of time?…
How Many Pages Should I Write Every Day?
A great question was raised at a recent session of the London Writers’ Meetup from an experienced performance poet, but a new screenwriter, which was basically this: How many pages of screenplay should I write every day? We had such a great discussion about it, I thought it would be worth sharing some of the…
Little Trick To Help You Meet a Big Writing Goal
I had a call with one of my writing coaching clients, recently. We were talking over a big, impending writing goal, working on a plan to make sure she succeeded. But we soon realised she was behind with her work. Uh oh! This wouldn’t normally have been a problem, after all, schedules ebb and flow. But the…
How to keep up momentum in the editing stage
An interesting question came up at a recent London Writers’ Meetup about keeping up your momentum during the editing stage, so I thought I’d share my answer with you today. Tim’s QuestionHow do I keep up momentum when I get to the editing stage? When I’m writing my draft, I can set myself a daily target…
Writing While Grieving (or Struggling with Some Other Equally Painful Experience)
It’s been a few months since my last post. Sadly my Mum passed away very unexpectedly earlier in the year, so, it’s been a tough couple of months. However, shortly after her death, I landed myself a big new animation writing job (something I’d applied for a couple of months before). Wonderful news – but…
Are You Procrastinating Over Your Writing? Try Some Self-Compassion
Today I want to share a tip for anyone suffering from procrastination: try using some self-compassion. This wasn’t a term I was particularly familiar with, but I just listened to a fascinating episode of the podcast The Happiness Lab, which was all about how developing self-compassion is vital to helping us achieve our goals. Stay with me…
Working with a Writing Coach
Many of us find the New Year a great time for new goals. So, you might be thinking about your writing now, what you can achieve this year, or how to fit more writing into your days and weeks. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you what it’s like to work…
How to Make Yourself Sit Down and Write, Even if You’re Not in the Mood
We all have days when, no matter what we do, we just can’t make ourselves sit down and write. For some of us, these dry spells can stretch on for days, weeks or even months. There are so many tempting distractions luring us away from the blank page! So today I want to do a deep…