Tips

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Writing When Life Doesn’t Let Up

By Christopher Downing Some days, it’s not procrastination or perfectionism stopping you. It’s real life. Chronic illness. A crazy day job. Caretaking kids or an elderly adult. Grief. Fatigue. Neurodivergence that’s not on your side. You know, major stressors that…

A typewriter with a sheet of paper loaded, next to a stack of books

Kill Your Darlings

By M Alice The mantra has been around the block, keeping company with many a writer. William Faulkner is usually blamed for it. I thought F. Scott Fitzgerald said it. Oscar Wilde, Eudora Welty, G.K. Chesterton, Chekov, and Stephen King…

A microphone in the foreground. In the background are some blurred books

Tips For Recording Your Own Audiobook – Part 1

By Rowlf Practice And Equipment You’re an Indie author, and you want to get your work into audio, but for some reason you can’t seem to manage to make it happen. You might be filled with horror at the idea…

Tips To Improve Your Speed Without Losing The Heart Of Your Story – Part 2

By Ewrither I am not a neuroscientist, so take the following as an indication of what happens in our minds when we write. Do not take it as literally how the brain works, nor use it to perform brain surgery.…

Writing Software For Writers’ Brains

By KimBoo York There has been talk for years about a “killer app” for writers, but I am going to be honest: there isn’t one. That’s not because there are no great apps out there, but because every writer is…

How Dictation Increased My Productivity

By Kit Tunstall When I first started dictating in 2015, I wasn’t chasing efficiency. I just needed pain relief. My hands, worn from years of typing, couldn’t keep up with my brain anymore without a lot of pain, so I…

Tips To Improve Your Speed Without Losing The Heart Of Your Story – Part 1

By Ewrither This part is about the mechanics of writing – when you put pen to paper, finger to keyboard etc. It is not about the creative side of writing. That gets some attention in part 2. The best way…

Build An Author Productivity Tool Chest

By KimBoo York It’s not always easy to be productive, and when it comes to writing, the road is filled with hurdles, twists, and turns. Sometimes we need help staying focused or finding our groove. I’ve pulled together some recommendations…

How A Writing Community Changed My Life And Fed My Children

By HJ Perry When I joined Dirty Discourse, I was in my 40s and had 3 young children. I needed to earn some money from work that fitted around looking after kids. I was confident I could write fiction. The…

Productivity Hacks For Writers

By KimBoo York There are plenty of productivity hacks out there which are great for writers. The pomodoro method is a fantastic tool for writing sprints, and a lot of online co-writing session leaders use it. The method is simple,…

Category: Tips