Tag: writing

  • Substack: How do you make yourself write when executive dysfunction is kicking your ass?

    This week’s Q&A is all about writing when executive dysfunction is in full force. Whether it’s ADHD, burnout, or just a foggy brain day, I break down the practical tools I use to keep writing: time-limited sprints, writing out of order, messy first drafts, and dictation. Plus, how to build a “low-energy writing menu” so you can still make progress, even on the rough days.

    Check it out on Substack: lizwritesbooks.substack.com

    Have a Q you want A’d? Ask it on Tumblr: http://lizwritesbooks.tumblr.com/ask

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  • Substack: How do I get better at writing?

    Substack: How do I get better at writing?

    Over on Substack, I’m talking about how to get better at writing–not how to get published, not how to market, but how to actually improve your craft.

    Plus: a little writing journal advice and a small shout-out to those of us who need permission to write absolute garbage first drafts.

    You can find it her: Liz Writes Books | Substack | How do I get better at writing?

    Have a Q you want A’d? Ask it on Tumblr: http://lizwritesbooks.tumblr.com/Ask

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  • Substack: Any writing tips for people with ADHD who get constantly derailed by new ideas?

    Substack: Any writing tips for people with ADHD who get constantly derailed by new ideas?

    This week’s Q&A is for the ADHD writers with a million ideas and zero finished drafts. I’m sharing the system that helped me stop jumping ship every time a new concept hit: breaking the writing process into smaller, independent phases. If you’ve ever felt like you’re cheating on your current book with a new idea, this is for you.

    Check it out on Substack: Liz Writes Books | Substack | Any writing tips for people with ADHD who get constantly derailed by new ideas?

    Have a Q you want A’d? Ask it on Tumblr: http://lizwritesbooks.tumblr.com/Ask

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  • Substack: How long did it take to finish your first novel?

    Substack: How long did it take to finish your first novel?


    Your first finished novel doesn’t have to be fast—it just has to be finished, and sometimes that means learning to push through the stalls without panicking.


    My first finished book took 7 months—but before that, I started and abandoned at least 4 or 5. Writer’s block? Sure. But also burnout, self-doubt, distraction, and shiny new idea syndrome.

    Head over to Substack to learn how I get unstuck (and finish the damn book):

    Liz Writes Books | Substack | How long did it take you to finish your first novel?

    Have a Q you want A’d? Ask it on Tumblr: http://lizwritesbooks.tumblr.com/Ask

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  • Substack: How to know when your book is ready to query?

    Substack: How to know when your book is ready to query?


    So you’ve finished a novel—congrats! That’s a huge accomplishment—most people never make it that far. But now comes the terrifying question: how do you know when it’s done? The short answer is: you don’t. But here’s what I’ve learned about deadlines, querying, rejection, and whether hiring an editor before you query is actually worth it.

    Today over on Substack, I talk about how you know you’re ready to submit.

    Read it here: http://lizwritesbooks.substack.com

    Have a Q you want A’d? Ask it on Tumblr: http://lizwritesbooks.tumblr.com/Ask

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  • Substack: How to Move Past Fear and Write

    Substack: How to Move Past Fear and Write

    Today over on Substack, I talk about moving past the fear and writing when your novel keeps giving you side-eye. It’s got pasta dough metaphors, ADHD hacks, and a reminder that what you feel about your work isn’t always what your readers feel.

    If you’re like me, and you struggled with actually finishing your first book (or your second, or your third), staring at a blank page gives you an instant panic attack, or your favorite Starbucks barista hands you a box of Kleenex when you walk through the door, this Q&A is for you.

    You can check it out here: http://lizwritesbooks.substack.com

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  • Substack: How to Protect Your Writing Time

    Substack: How to Protect Your Writing Time

    I’m now on Substack!

    You can follow me at: http://lizwritesbooks.substack.com

    Todays’s post is a flashback to July 2014, but the question and answer still holds today: How do you make people respect your writing time?

    If you’re like me, and you have a problem overcommitting, saying yes when your to-do list screams no, volunteering for shifts on off days, or setting boundaries that pop like bubbles, this Q&A is for you.

    You can find the post here: Q&A: How to make people respect your writing time

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    Substack FAQ

    Does this mean the blog is going away?

    No! The blog will still be around for regular blog posts.

    Monthly updates, weekly Q&A, and polls are moving to the Substack.

    Do I have to pay to read your Substack?

    Absolutely not. And you never will.

    How often will the Substack/blog be updated?

    I plan on doing monthly posts for the blog and twice-weekly posts for the Substack.

    The main difference between the two is that the Substack is for writers and the blog will be more for writers and readers who may not be as interested in how the literary sausage is made.

    I have a Q, where can I send it?

    You can send questions to me directly at lizwritesbooks@gmail.com. If you want to ask anonymously, you can still use my Tumblr ask box: https://lizwritesbooks.tumblr.com/ask

  • Thoughts on Mindfulness

    Today I dread writing.

    I’m 60% finished with this book, square in the saggy middle, and aside from a few tentpole scenes, I have no idea what comes next.

    Years ago, when I was much more inexperienced with this feeling of dread, I would let the anxiety win. I would stop returning to the page. I would finish nothing.

    Now I see it for what it is: a necessary but temporary discomfort on the way to having a finished draft.

    Doesn’t mean I feel it less, or that the duration is shorter than before. Often not. Often it feels worse than it ever has. Often I toil for days or weeks before I finally break through.

    But I know now that if I keep working and sit with the discomfort long enough, there’s a finished book at the end of it all.

    This process-this sitting with discomfort thing–is actually what made meditation and mindfulness make sense for me.

    I’ve practiced meditation for years. Sometimes I find it helpful, but often I’m just going through the motions, meditating because I said I would meditate, but not really finding the flow.

    Now I get it: it’s not about finding the flow, it’s about learning to sit with discomfort. Practicing sitting with discomfort, even.

    Writing first drafts (this is the year of first drafts) is a whole lot of discomfort, in my experience. And I’m hoping that by learning how to sit with that discomfort, day after day, a little bit at a time, I’ll also get better and faster at drafting, and treat it with understanding and compassion rather than judgment and dread.

  • Unanswerable Questions

    I started 2024 with big ambitions, hopes, goals, and all that other stuff that comes with the start of a new year. Three days in, I was hit with a debilitating migraine. Now all of those carefully made plans for January need to be re-assessed.

    This is annoying, but it’s also life.

    I’m also hitting the midpoint of a book, and I’m wondering if I have made a disastrous mistake 13,000 words ago. Is it better to write through this draft as-is, or will it be better to go back and rewrite the book from that point forward.

    This is also annoying. It’s also life.

    I’ve been taking a lot of stock of my writing life recently. I’ve been in this industry for over a decade now. Many of the writers I started with have moved on to new lives, new hobbies, new careers. I, myself, have also tried on new lives, new hobbies, new careers. I don’t get excited about things the way I used to. Or panic the way I used to. I’ve hit a stretch where there’s a comfort in the routine of writing. Even on the bad days.

    I always thought I would hit a place where I had all the answers, if not through experience, then through osmosis. But the truth is, I don’t know how to write a book today any more than I did twelve years ago. I’ve been agented for eleven years, and I still get nervous sending things in.

    I still stress about whether I’ve made a mistake 13,000 words ago, and fret over if it’s better to fix it now or continue as-is and see how it plays out.

    The difference between me now and me then is that I now know it doesn’t matter. There is no wrong choice. The best choice is the choice that gets the draft finished. And if it needs work after the fact, even a substantial rewrite, then that, too, is just life.

  • 2023: A Year in Review

    Goodbye, 2023!

    My word of the year for 2023 was Deconstruct, and I don’t know if I did that intentionally or if it just sort of happened, but a lot of structural things happened this year that allowed me to really look at the what but also the why and the how.

    I’ve talked openly here and also on social media about my health struggles, and 2023 was also a challenging year in that I’ve had a frozen shoulder since July. There’s some neck and spine stuff, too, that have made it pretty awful to sit at a desk and type. So one of the challenges I had to contend with this year was deconstructing my writing process and rebuilding one that wasn’t entirely based on fingers-on-keyboard typing.

    Let me be the first to say: dictation did not come naturally or easily to me. It really got to a point where it was either learn how to write books in a different way or come to terms with not writing them at all. I’m glad that toward the end of the year, I settled into a new process and it felt like it wasn’t entirely wasted effort.

    I also had to deconstruct how I think about my books, and publishing, and all the things that can go wrong when you’re a writer. There’s a never-ending supply of shit to worry about, and I was burned out from worrying about it all. So now with the help of a therapist, I worry about it less. Or try to, at least.

    In addition to choosing a word for every year, I also choose one aspect of writing to study for a whole twelve months. In the past, I’ve studied character, queries, pitches, and intimacy. This past year, I studied and practiced dictation. (I will practice it even more in 2024.)

    In 2024, I’ll be studying fast drafting, finishing, and discipline.

    I didn’t finish any books in 2022. I finished 2 books in 2023. I want to finish more in 2024. I want to reset that habit of finishing, because the past few years have messed it up a little bit.

    If you’re on the fence about whether you should choose a word of the year or an area of focus for writing in 2024, I can’t say enough good things about it. Especially if there are areas that you know needs work–Taryn and I both groaned when I told her I was thinking of making drafting/finishing my focus for the year, because we knew that was an area I needed to focus on.

    Anyway, on to the stats!

    2023 Stats:

    Words Written: 105,567
    Books finished: 2
    Books published: 0
    # of days written: 212
    Longest writing streak: 5 days
    Average words per day: 733
    Average minutes per day: 43
    Most productive days: Mondays and Wednesdays
    Least productive day: Sunday