Episode #08 The Worried Writer: Joanna Penn ‘I measure my life by what I create’

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This episode features Joanna Penn, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author writing heart-pounding thrillers under the name J.F. Penn, as well as non-fiction books for authors.

Joanna is a superstar in the world of indie-publishing and I was so delighted to get to speak to her.

Even if you’re traditionally published (or aiming for it) and have no intention of self-publishing, I believe you’ll get lots out of this interview as Joanna has excellent advice on productivity, creativity, and conquering self-doubt. She’s an absolute inspiration (and part of the reason I started The Worried Writer) and I love her can-do attitude, positivity and work ethic.


Joanna’s most recent non-fiction book How To Make A Living With Your Writing is currently free in ebook form. Quick! Head to Amazon, Kobo or iBooks to get it before the promotion ends!

Once you’ve listened to the podcast(!), do check out Joanna’s site www.thecreativepenn.com as it is stuffed with valuable information and free resources.

Also, for more on Joanna’s excellent thrillers (the ARKANE adventure series and the London Psychic trilogy) head to JFPenn.com.

You can even pick up one of her thrillers, Day of the Vikings for free.

 

Recommended:

The Artist’s Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self

The Pursuit of Perfection: And How It Harms Writers: 3 (WMG Writer’s Guide)
Authorearnings .com

Things app for capturing ideas/thoughts

Joanna has so many good things to say about success and getting the work done.

‘I’d rather have Dan Brown’s success than win the Booker Prize!’

 

‘Putting constraints on things actually helps you achieve faster’

And this one, which hit me right in the gut:

‘I now measure my life by what I create’

I reveal the (new!) title of my next book – In The Light of What We See. Available for pre-order now!

Also, I answer a listener question from J Long @NovelWanderer on Twitter:

I hope to learn how to get 1 of my 3.75 novels into proper condition for submission to an agent

Thanks so much for the question and for your kind words about the podcast, J Long!

If you have a writing (or publishing) question that you’d like me to tackle in a future episode, please get in touch via email or Twitter.

I’ll answer it on the show and credit you (unless, of course, you ask to remain anonymous).

Please spread the word and, if you can spare the time, leave a rating for the show on iTunes. I truly appreciate your support.

Thank you for listening!

 

How To Build A Writing Habit The Easy Way

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So you want to start writing regularly? Or you want to increase your current productivity and write more every week/month/year… I’m going to reveal the secret in this post. Or, more accurately, I’ve already revealed the secret by using the word ‘habit’.

Yep, that’s right – you’ve got to make writing a habit so that it happens almost automatically.

Then you can sit back and watch your word counts rise. Okay, maybe not just ‘sit back’, but you will be amazed at how much you get done with what feels like very little effort.

Think about the stuff that you do every single day; watching television while you eat your breakfast, brushing your teeth, clearing the dishes after dinner, putting on your shoes before leaving the house… You don’t have to think about these tasks and you never (or hardly ever) miss them out. However ingrained and natural these behaviours feel, you weren’t born doing them. Somewhere along the way, you developed the habit and now they are a part of your life.

You might be thinking that brushing your teeth doesn’t take very long and writing a novel does, but you are going to build your writing habit by starting small.

Even tiny actions, repeated regularly over time, can make a big impact.

Plus, once you establish a habit it’s easier to tweak it (to, say, increase the amount of time you spend writing).

ID-100323590It’s this last principle we’re going to use to get started. Think of an existing habit you have and adjust it. For example, when you brush your teeth, use that time to think about your writing. If you don’t have a story in mind, use the time to brainstorm ideas. If you’re completely stuck, just use the time to reflect on your new creative habit. The focus should be on positivity; you are giving yourself permission to day dream, not trying to accomplish anything concrete or scary.

After a week or so, you are going to add a new habit and this one will actually involve writing. Pick a clearly-defined task that is easy to complete, and pick a time that is both easy to remember and suits your current schedule. The aim is to minimise every possible block to achieving the task and, once you’ve done it, to reward yourself. I like to use stickers for this, but it’s your choice!

For example, you might decide to write for ten minutes every day (or every week day). That’s a small, clearly-defined task.

You might choose to add it to your evening routine, say after dinner (before you get up to wash the dishes) or first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.

Next, you prepare for success. If your writing session is scheduled for first thing in the morning, put your notebook and pen (or laptop) next to your bed the night before.

Repeat the habit for a few weeks until it feels very natural and easy. If you miss a session, don’t beat yourself up about it, just do the next one.

One final note: Even if you’re finding your goal very easy to manage, don’t be tempted to increase or change it too quickly. If you raise the bar too fast, you’re more likely to miss sessions and get discouraged. Allow yourself to ‘win’ at the task easily and regularly and you’ll soon have an instinctual writing habit in place.

What do you think? Do you already have a regular writing habit and, if not, will you try this approach? I really hope it helps!

 

[Toothpaste image credit: by aitbodyphoto courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net]

Episode #05 The Worried Writer: Annie Lyons ‘You can lead me anywhere with a slanket!’

ww_episode5_annielyonsIn this episode I chat to bestselling author of romantic comedy, Annie Lyons. Annie and I signed with Carina at around the same time and her debut novel, Not Quite Perfect, came out a month after mine. We got chatting online and have shared the highs and lows of being newly-published authors. Not Quite Perfect became a bestseller and Annie followed it with Dear Lizzie and a novella, A Not Quite Perfect Christmas. Annie’s new novel, Life Or Something Like It, is published next week (on 13th July).

We talk about pre-publication nerves, dealing with criticism, writing routines and Annie’s slightly unconventional route to publication.

I had a stinking cold when this interview was recorded, so please excuse my sniffing/coughing/snot-choked voice.

Annie Lyons was a delight to chat with, though; you guys are in for a treat.

Books recommended by Annie:


A Novel In A Year by Louise Doughty


On Writing by Stephen King

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I give a small writing update and recommend using a planner or calendar to measure progress as ‘what gets measured gets done’. I use a Plannerisms Planner which you can see in action on my author blog.

Got a question about writing or creativity?

If you’ve got a writing-related question that you’d like featured on the show, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I’ll answer it on the show and credit you (unless, of course, you ask to remain anonymous).

Please spread the word and, if you can spare the time, leave a rating for the show on iTunes. I truly appreciate your support.

Thank you for listening!