If you’ve ever been around a litter of newborn puppies or kittens, you’ve likely observed that some are feisty and adventurous, some greedily suckle, some cower while others show dominance, and so on. Studies have found that such personality differences will still appear, even when animals are cloned (meaning that they are genetically identical). In […]
Gearing up for and writing a 50,000-word novel in one month, as those participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) attempt to do, may cause a riptide in your subconscious and lead to disruptive dreams, or even nightmares, particularly if you create unreasonable expectations and then pressure yourself to meet them, or punish yourself when […]
We can all be too serious when thinking about or describing our work, and pessimistic when assessing the probability that we’ll land a publisher. No wonder our brains sputter and grind to a halt! If you’re going to write 50,000 words in November, employing humor is an effective – and fun – way to fire up […]
It’s lovely that thousands upon thousands of people all over the world are participating in the National Novel Writing Month of November (popularly known as NaNoWriMo). It’s a brilliant concept that has obviously appealed to many aspiring writers, and I know many professional writers who use it to shame themselves into pursuing the creative work […]
To fire up your writing brain and tap into your writing genius, it’s important to understand what your brain can do for you. Twelve brain functions that benefit writing include: Add new neurons, even when you’re eighty. Create neuronal highways that speed up processing. Create new synapses; renew old synapses; discard unwanted synapses. Wire together, […]
