How to Get Unstuck And All About Revising Your Novel
No matter when or where it happens, the STUCK sucks for writers. Sometimes we feel like we’re doing it wrong, we’ll never come up with the right solution, that all this work is pointless, and on and on with narratives that are totally normal, but equally unhelpful.
Revision can be a beast—especially the first time. Even if it’s not your first time, it can still feel overwhelming, and it’s often hard to know where to begin. One of the first things I ask my writers (and myself) to consider is this: What kind of relationship do you want to have with your creative work?
Tips on Writing Dual Points of View from Author Alexandria Faulkenbury
Writing and publishing a novel isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s exhilarating, terrifying, exhausting, and rewarding—all wrapped up into one wild journey. I recently sat down with Alexandria Faulkenbury, whose debut novel, Somewhere Past the End, hits shelves in May 2025, and let me tell you—her story is as inspiring as it is relatable.
Are You Procrastinating or Percolating? How to Stop Beating Yourself Up for Not Writing
We writers (and writing coaches) talk a lot about procrastination—how it creeps in as resistance, keeping us from doing our work. But sometimes, we mislabel what’s actually happening and then beat ourselves up for not making progress. That dawdling, that staring at the screen without typing, the Wordle break, the social media scroll, or the "just one more level" on Royal Match—what if that’s not procrastination at all?
Learning to Say No to Mom Guilt with Author MK Pagano
Are you a parent to an amazing human, or maybe more than one, who is the center of your world, and you’re also a writer with a passion for what you do and struggle to balance both, plus all the other stuff life throws your way?
An Honest Story About a Writer Accomplishing Goals Inch by Inch
Ready or not, 2025 is knocking. I’m not sure if I want to answer, but of course, like you, I will, and I want to go forward with a plan. If you like a plan and want a little help creating one for the coming year, here’s a goal-setting exercise you can use to set intentions and mile markers for 2025.
Holiday Cheer for Writers: Free Resources to Fuel Your Writing Journey
Free Resources from Write It Scared
I hope you find something that helps you move forward in your writing journey and feel free to forward it to a writer who it might help!
How to Celebrate Your Writing Wins and Set Yourself Up for a Confident 2025
The 2024 writing season is winding down, and I have a question for you…
Have you taken a moment to acknowledge everything you did in the last year?
Have you looked at what you are proud of and really let it sink in—deep into your heart and bones?
If you're like me, I bet you haven't done that yet; maybe it's not even on your radar, but I'm going to invite you (both of us) to make it a priority before the clock strikes twelve on January 1.
The Importance of Learning to Rest: Lessons From Creative Burnout and How to Recover
Have you ever felt like your creative ambition failed you? Writing used to light you up, but not anymore. The want is still there–you want to write your books. You want to do all the things that you think are required to make that happen–but you just can’t.
How to Use Mentorship as a Powerful Tool for Your Writing
Have you ever felt stuck in your story development or draft, unsure of the next step, underwhelmed by the quality of your words, and simultaneously overwhelmed by the idea of actually finishing a novel that others might enjoy?
Yeah. I know exactly how that feels.
Working with writing mentors—people who helped me see my potential and guided me through the twists and turns of the creative process—was a game changer for me.
Why Every Word Matters: Even the Crappy Ones
Encouragement for the frustrated writer.
Writing can be maddening when the words won’t come, or we don’t like what we write. Sometimes, it can feel like a waste of time to plot story events that we can’t see clearly because they’ll probably all change anyway.
And what about when we write a handful of chapters and realize the story started in the wrong place, or we didn’t quite have our main character’s trajectory as mapped out as we thought, and we need to start over?
Writing With and About Chronic Illness and Disability with Sandra Postma
If you (or a writer you know) struggle to write because of a chronic illness or disability or desire to write a disabled character with integrity and authenticity, I have an incredible resource to share with you.
How to Find a Writing Process That Works For You
I realized I hadn’t done a personal writing update in a while, and the reason for my recent progress is directly linked to the podcast episode I’m going to talk about in just a moment so let me fill you in. I was pretty frustrated by the end of August. As in, for the love of all that is holy, someone find me dumpster, a match, and some gasoline. I’m gonna torch this baby. Burn the entire idea down! Of course, I didn’t. What I did do was get some outside help. Mindset help specifically geared toward me as a writer and my particular orientation of skills and talents.
On Motherhood, Writing Gross First Drafts, and Having a Movie Made from Your Book
Do you have kids? And yes, of course fur-babies count.
If you do, then you’ll want to check out this podcast interview with author Julia Walton because it’s for any writer who has become a parent and any parent who has turned into a writer!
On Writing Romance, Avoiding Prescriptive Advice, and Finding Your Writing Process
Is your writing process filled with shoulds and should-nots?
Like I should be writing more, or I should be marketing this way, or I should not be editing as I go, or I shouldn’t be working on more than one story at a time?
My next podcast guest, romance author Roni Loren, is one of the people who helps me question “the shoulds” and whether they serve me.
Do You Suck at Celebrating Your Success? Here's How We Change That, and Why It Matters
Are you good about acknowledging and celebrating your achievements?
Most of us, myself included, already have our eyes set on the next “to do” before we’ve really even acknowledged what we’ve just completed. This may be a byproduct of our fast-paced lives, but sometimes, we don’t see our achievements as valuable and meaningful.
Both reasons for not celebrating can be damaging, and I want to talk about why because we always have a choice when it comes to our thoughts and intentions. Every choice comes with a cost.
Honoring Your Creative Rhythm and Writing Dual Timelines with Author Cynthia Platt
If you’re a writer who genre hops, or wants to, and gets frustrated with your inability to make progress because life lifes hard sometimes, well then I’ve got something special for you!
On episode 24 of the Write It Scared Podcast, I’m joined by the delightful and versatile kid-lit author Cynthia Platt.
The Necessary Discomfort of a Fiction Writer
If you are not stretching yourself as a writer, you are not growing.
Turning Writing Rejection into Triumph: Talking Middle-Grade Horror Novels with Wendy Parris
Imagine…you’re heartbeat away from getting a phone call from your dream agent only you don’t know it and right before that can happen you decide to hang it up, put your story ideas and writing dreams away.
Breaking Through Doubt and Embracing Your Unique Voice as an Author
How do you come back from the dead?
Recover from being told who you are and what you write is wrong?
From bending yourself around like a pretzel trying to fit someone else's writing mold only to figure out that it’s pointless because it sucked the joy and life out of what you stand for?
If you write dark, spicy romance in the wheelhouses of sci-fi or fantasy, or if you struggle to express your voice in writing, you don’t want to miss this conversation.
Announcing The Write It Scared Podcast - Why I’m Doing It Scared!
This podcast for fiction writers has been a dream of mine for a long time and I want to share with you the why behind it.
The Mission: Tell the truth about why writing a novel is so hard by acknowledging that most writers grapple with two stories: the one they want to put on the page to the best of their ability and the often subconscious internal story that prevents them from doing it.