I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for some time but haven’t got around to it until now. That’s partly because I’ve been very busy with editing work and my own writing, but also because my attitude to the planned subject matter is still shifting (so much so that I just changed the title […]
Tag: Habits
Changing Goal Types
The second half of 2022 was a struggle in terms of bolstering my creativity. I felt like I didn’t achieve that much and that I was always trying to force myself to work on my writing projects, and generally failing. Doing an objective review of what I achieved across the year showed me that […]
Motivational Misdirection
Brains are so weird… I’ve spent months trying to ‘get back into a proper routine’ and get my fifth novel back on my list to work on. I’ve made so many plans to go to the cafe and ‘really focus’, to alternate client and personal projects in my schedule, to keep working on stuff […]
Baby Steps
A couple of months ago, I edited a book for a client about being productive and achieving your goals if you struggle with ADHD. One of the items in the book was a list of habit tracking apps – I had a look through and was attracted by Habitica, which has an RPG theme. You […]
Struggling For Routine
The fact that I haven’t written a non-Weeknotes blog entry in nearly seven weeks perfectly encapsulates the theme of this one – struggling to get back into a routine. I don’t think I’ve managed what I would consider my ‘proper’ routine since before my last writing retreat at the start of June. I keep […]
Post-Covid Fatigue
When I went on retreat at the start of June, I was fresh from completing the latest draft of novel number three, and I had two fantastic new book ideas I was really looking forward to working on while I was away. That retreat week was phenomenal – I constructed a full chapter outline for […]
Back on Retreat
I first attended a residential retreat in Devon with Urban Writers’ Retreat in January 2017. Since then, up until January 2020, I went on retreat with Charlie two or three times a year. Then, of course, retreats weren’t possible for a couple of years – but now I’m back! This is day six of […]
Attitude to Novels
I’ve had some interesting conversations with various people recently, about my attitude to my writing. I now have what one might call a ‘standard process’ for approaching my novels – and it’s still astounding to me that I’m in a position where there are enough of them for that to be the case. […]
Staying Connected
Writing can be a very solitary activity at times, especially in these days of staying at home and avoiding contact with other people. But it’s important to remember that pursuing wider experiences will always inform and inspire your writing. Plus, connecting with other writers (and humans) is a joyful thing, which can bring much […]
Making Friends
Recently, I had a meditation class, where the teacher talked about the importance of self-compassion, as part of a series on Cultivating Inner Friendship. During the discussion, I mentioned how difficult I found it to walk the path between self-care and productivity. I said that I understood the importance of accepting the situation with kindness, […]