Category Archives: writing

Neuroscience has come a long way. Thanks to modern advancements in positron emission tomography (PET), brain mapping, and neuroimaging, neurologists can better see how the brain learns good habits versus bad. The brain doesn’t see the moral difference between good and bad behavior. It simply favors and stores any activity that results in pleasure orContinue reading “Neural Circuitry: Brain vs. Writing”

Following my analysis, I’ve drawn some solid conclusions and identified two key problems areas I must solve. I’ve also identified a few methods that seem to be the most important to my success. Key Problem – The Safety Net: My Struggle with Procrastination Join me on a psychological dive as I ask myself: Why doContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: The Conclusion (What I Should Be Doing as a Writer on a Daily Basis)”

(This post is a direct continuation of yesterday’s post.) Method #11: Keeping notes, Q&A sections, and other such extras help me feel better prepared for writing a scene. Type: Helps me get back to writing my manuscript. Speed: Tortoise. Analysis: Sometimes, I need a warm-up before I start typing fiction. Loosening my fingers with someContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Bringing It All Together – Analysis of the Remaining 12 Methods”

It’s interesting to see how this project has taken shape over the course of the past few weeks. Going in, I had no idea how many writing methods I’d end up with. But seeing it all spread out before me now, I can see I have a lot going for me that I didn’t before,Continue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Bringing It All Together – Analysis of the First 10 Methods”

During my writing journey, it’s good to know I’ve managed to find some methods that actually work, methods that either get me back to writing my manuscript or keep me on-task. When I started out, I didn’t know any of these quirks about myself, and I wasn’t even sure if I’d ever find methods thatContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Summary and Takeaways”

I love when someone tells me I can’t do something. I love it when someone wants me to fail. Why? Because there are few motivators more powerful than negative feedback. Think of all the scientists who were driven to discover something new precisely because they were ridiculed by their peers. When someone writes you offContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Negative Reinforcement, and Why it is Awesome”

Deadline is a scary word. I’ve struggled with completing large projects for many years. And the truth is, until recently, I tried everything BUT deadlines. Why? Because, like I said, deadlines are scary. It has the word “dead” right in it, after all. So, in my mind, deadlines were an absolute last resort. I neverContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Hard Deadlines with Something at Stake”

Now I know what you’re thinking: You’re thinking that just yesterday, I wrote that quantifying was bad, and you’re right. I did! But is there a little gray area to work with? Let’s find out. People “gamify” writing in many ways. For example, keeping track of wordcounts is one example I threw under the bus.Continue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Gamifying Writing”

Let it be known that I HATE simulated page breaks in word processors. With non-fiction, page breaks don’t bother me. But with fiction, it kills my immersion and gets me thinking about how many pages I’ve written. Not something I want to be thinking about when I’m trying to tell the best story possible, orContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Writing Without Arbitrary Measurables, and How Writing Can Be Like Eating Chips”

Whenever I’m stuck in a story and trying to figure out a way to move forward, a shower might be just the ticket. So long as I go in thinking about the problem at hand, the answer will usually come. Or something will at least occur to me which should help push the scene furtherContinue reading “Figuring Out What Works: Finding Inspiration through Physical Activities”