Scott Oldford Site

Tag: getting unstuck

  • 30+ Amazing Writing Residencies You Should Apply for This Year

    30+ Amazing Writing Residencies You Should Apply for This Year

    Have you ever wondered how writing residencies could impact your writing career?

    There’s a ton of advice out there about how to carve out moments in your day to create time to write: wake up an hour early, write in 10-minute intervals to get something down, write during your lunch break at work; the list seems endless. 

    In between juggling work and home life, writers are left to daydream about spending time in a quiet colony or residency, where creative solitude is the only objective. 

    You deserve more than just a few stolen moments, and that’s what residencies are for!

    Plus, many of them aren’t too competitive, so you’re more likely to get accepted.

    Our founder, Alexis Grant, enjoyed three highly productive residencies at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences.

    “Don’t make the mistake of only applying to the super-competitive residencies, especially if you’re an unpublished author. There are so many wonderful residencies and colonies to choose from.” —Alexis Grant

    Looking for a writing residency? Here are 32 to consider

    We’ve rounded up several dozen high-quality writers residencies you might want to apply for. We start with those in the United States and later cover international opportunities.

    While some of these are quite selective, others are less competitive or more open with their admission policies. (And if you’re still hungry for more opportunities, we also have posts on writing retreats, writers grants and writing fellowships.)

    Here are some writing residencies to consider.

    1. Willapa Bay AiR

    I’m so amazed by the detail of thought that went into every single aspect of planning the residency program—from cottages designed for comfort and productivity (and nature!) to the community spirit that permeates everything; from generous and well-crafted food to the nurture of the artist within and without. I came with projects in mind, and I was able to do most of what I hoped to do. But beyond the work itself and beyond the experiences of exploration and community, I became a better, more dedicated, more committed artist at Willapa Bay. —Barbara Presnell, writer 

    Launched in 2014, the Willapa Bay AiR residency program combines the opportunity for solitude with the opportunity for daily community that fosters creative endeavor.

    It’s located in Southwestern Washington and offers month-long residencies to emerging and established artists of all types. Lodging, meals and workspace are provided to six residents per month from April 1 through October 28. Expect a $30 application fee—and a $100 refundable deposit to confirm your residency if you’re admitted. (You’ll get it back as soon as you arrive!)

    Applications are accepted from June 15 to August 31 each year.

    2. Millay Colony for the Arts

    For the last couple of years, a number of writers we call the FUEGO group has gathered at Millay for a few precious days of writing retreat and fellowship. What a privilege to work in such idyllic surroundings. Millay has been a feast and a sanctuary for us all. For a few days, we are able to be completely absorbed in our craft and leave feeling refreshed and emboldened toward what we need to accomplish as writers. Thank you for this golden raft of paradise. —Sarah Gambito, poet

    This small artist’s colony occupies the former estate of Edna St. Vincent Millay in upstate New York, offering two-week and month-long residencies to six or seven artists between the months of May and October.

    Unlike many other residencies, the Millay Colony for the Arts doesn’t emphasize social events or speakers, instead preferring for you to focus on producing your art. There are no costs, and food is included. You can also apply for a virtual residency or a group residency if you’re collaborating with partners.

    Check the website for application deadlines and note there’s a $45 application fee. If you’re invited to attend, you’ll also be charged a nonrefundable $100 deposit.

    3. Ucross Foundation

    At Ucross I learned that I am capable of focusing deeply for long periods of time. I love to write. I don’t think I would have said that before this trip. —Edan Lepucki, novelist

    A favorite among writers (including alumni Annie Proulx!), the Uncross Foundation is a colony is located on a 20,000-acre working cattle ranch in Wyoming.

    It serves 100 artists per year, with up to 10 people in residence at any one time—typically four writers, four visual artists, and two composers. Lunches are delivered to your door, while dinners are eaten together in a group; towels, linens, and weekly housekeeping is provided. Residencies last two to six weeks and are free of charge.

    Please note, there’s a $40 nonrefundable application fee. Visit the application page for updated deadlines.

    4. Jentel

    The month’s end is a time I am not looking forward to because with the space itself being gorgeous and comfy, the food being good, the people being wonderful, and me being productive. I can see myself dreaming of this place once I leave. —Jennifer Baker, fiction writer

    Sitting just eight miles away from UCross is Jentel, which hosts month-long residencies year-round on a cattle ranch with spectacular views of the Big Horn Mountains. The program accepts both established and emerging artists, offering dedicated individuals a supportive environment to further their creative development. 

    Though food isn’t included, they do provide a $400 weekly stipend to help with the costs of your trip. Applicants must be over the age of 25.

    Deadlines are January and September 15 each year. Expect a $30 application fee.

    5. Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

    There was something magical about being in such a supportive and beautiful environment, having a different place (studio) to go to every day with the deliberate purpose of writing, and being inspired by the serious work ethic of all the other artists. —Penny Harter, poet

    This selective residency offers two attractive locations: one in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and another in France, open to those who’ve already completed a domestic VCCA residency. Artists of all types are accepted. Residencies are offered year-round and last from two weeks to two months, with 25 artists in residence at one time. You’ll receive private quarters and, in the case of the Virginia residency, three meals per day—and are asked to contribute what you can, up to their $150 per-day cost to host you. (Residents at the French location will receive one community dinner per week and are required to pay at least $70 per day.) 

    The standard application fee is $30, and deadlines are January, May and September 15.

    (TWL Founder Alexis Grant attended this residency, and noted its lovely setting!)

    6. Rockvale Writers’ Colony

    My time at RWC allowed me to work in a beautiful setting without distraction. In one wonderful week, I was able to complete what would have normally have taken me a month. Grateful to have a place like this close to home. —Sheba Karim, writer

    Tucked away on 65 acres of beautiful countryside in College Grove, Tennessee, Rockvale Writers’ Colony is a new residency open to writers of all backgrounds and genres. Spacious and private accommodations are provided in either a 160-year-old farmhouse or a 150-year-old cabin, both of which have been outfitted inside with modern amenities. 

    Residencies run for one, two, three or four weeks at a time, and residents pay $425 per week. However, mini-residencies lasting one to three nights are also available for $100 per night. While you’ll be responsible for making most of your own meals, you’ll be given ample pantry and refrigerator space stocked with spices, oils, condiments, coffee, and tea available for everyone to share.

    Applications are accepted year-round and require a $30 fee.

    7. Omi International Arts Center

    The international character of [Omi] sharpens your perspective on what it means to be a writer outside the U.S.A. in the 21st century… As for the writing, my main reason for being here, it went sailing along, with only a few days when the anchor dragged. —Alfred Corn, writer

    Writers Omi welcomes published writers of all types for residencies of one week to two months. Located on 300 acres overlooking the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, they offer full room and board to about 10 writers at a time and frequently host dinner guests from the New York City publishing community.

    There is no application fee and no fee to attend, but selected residents are responsible for funding their own travel. Check the website for application deadlines.

    8. Norton Island Residency

    I can’t imagine a more creative environment than Norton Island.  Every day poses a fresh and authentic encounter with nature, fellow artists, and one’s self. Long stretches of solitude are balanced with moments of raucous camaraderie. It is a place for clear thinking, and dreamy starry nights.  The kind of experience I live for, and as a theatre artist, the kind of experience I hope to create. —Phil Atlakson, playwright

    The Norton Island Residency for Writers and Artists is 10-day residency is located on a 150-acre island (primarily consisting of spruce forests) off the coast of Maine and offers a rustic and outdoorsy experience each summer for a flat fee of $150.

    When we say “outdoorsy,” we mean it, so get ready: WiFi is limited, cabins lack running water, cellular signal is spotty, and the program reminds you to “Watch out for wildlife—most of it amazing, some of it icky, all of it harmless.”

    There’s a $45 tax-deductible application fee, and any additional expenses for room and board will be covered by the residency.

    9. Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts

    I think the facility at KHN could not be more ideally suited for an artist residency program. I felt like I was staying in a very comfortable private home and I had everything that I needed to do my work, and having the private bathroom and spacious kitchen was wonderful.—Gary Peter, fiction writer

    Located in Nebraska City, Nebraska, the KHN Center offers more than 50 residencies per year to established and emerging writers, visual artists and composers. If accepted, you’ll receive free housing for stays of two to eight weeks and a $100 stipend per week to cover food.

    There’s a $35 application fee. Plan ahead to meet the March 1 and September 1 deadlines.

    10. Blue Mountain Center

    I quickly found myself being as productive as I’ve ever been. And it was the best kind of productivity, too: the relaxed, fulfilling kind—not the over-caffeinated, deadline-driven, better-get-this-done-quick kind. The idyllic setting, the stimulating conversation of interesting writers and artists (who shared ideas and techniques), and above all the extended time away from the pressures of ‘normal life’ proved remarkably conducive to good writing. —Scott Stossel, editor

    Creative and non-fiction writers, activists, and artists of all disciplines, go off the grid in the heart of the Adirondacks. This artist’s community at Blue Mountain Center offers three different month-long sessions in the summer and early fall, including free room and board. Cell phones aren’t welcome, though you’ll be able to access its phone booth and computer room with ethernet plug-ins (no WiFi here!) 24 hours a day.

    The annual application deadline is February 1. Expect a $25 application fee.

    11. Mineral School

    I still look back on my two weeks in Mineral as the most productive ‘six months’ I’ve ever had. —Janine Kovac, memoirist

    With sweeping western Washington views of Mineral Lake and Mount Rainier, it would be hard not to produce great work at the Mineral School residency, held in a renovated 1947 elementary school building.

    Open to writers of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and screenplays, the program provides lodging, studio space and meals for two weeks at the price of $900—plus, presentations by guest writers and artists and opportunities for public presentation are included as well. Limited fellowships are available.

    12. Vermont Studio Center

    This place really captures the essence of “sanctuary.” Coming off of a very demanding working mom schedule, it was a gift to have the time to hit the reset button and get to the creative work that I’ve been meaning to devote more attention to. — Monica Ong, visual artist and poet

    Another favorite is the largest international artists’ and writers’ residency program in the United States, hosting more than 50 visual artists and writers each month in the heart of Northern Vermont.

    While writers give the Artist & Writer Residency at Vermont Studio Center high marks, it’s not cheap. For the complete program, you’ll pay $12,000 for a four-week residency. However, fellowships, grants and work-exchange programs are available to help reduce your cost—in some cases, all the way down to nothing.

    During your stay, you’re provided a private bedroom, 24-hour access to a private studio space, 20 hot meals per week, plus round-the-clock fresh fruit, hot and cold beverages, and breakfast cereal.

    The application fee is $25. Fellowship deadlines are February 15, June 15 and October 1, rolling applications are accepted year-round and are eligible for financial aid, but will not be considered for a fellowship.

    13. Anne LaBastille Memorial Writers Residency at The Adirondack Center

    I had expected that the quiet Adirondack location would inspire my writing, and it certainly did, but even more inspiration came from my fellow writers.… During those two enchanted weeks at Twitchell Lake I revised one short story, wrote a new one, and did a complete overhaul on a Young Adult novel that I’ve been working on for years. —Noah Stetzer, writer

    The two-week residency at The Adirondack Center is offered to six writers annually in October at a beautiful lodge in the Adirondacks. Along with indoor and outdoor writing space, you’ll also enjoy communal meals and fireside chats with an intimate community of writers, as well as a single room with a private bath.

    Be advised that disconnecting from reality won’t be optional—there’s not much cell phone coverage at this location. (All the better for your concentration!) There’s no cost to the residency (beside transportation to and from Twitchell Lake) and staff will prepare and serve dinners all week.

    Visit the website for application details and deadlines.

    14. Wildacres Retreat

    The staff is amazing. I feel incredibly well-cared for and very fortunate to have had this opportunity to work in such a calm and peaceful environment. —Yvonne Dutchover, fiction writer

    If you’re looking for a short residency on the East Coast, look no further. Wildacres offers one- and two-week residencies from April through October. You’ll stay in one of three cabins on their property in the mountains of North Carolina. Meals are served in the main lodge, where you’ll interact with other residents, guests, and staff—but you can also eat in your quarters if you’re knee-deep in work.

    There is a $20 application fee but no cost if accepted.

    15. The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow

    The full impact of a stay at the Writers’ Colony is hard to measure in immediate terms—for writers, everything is an influence. My stay at Dairy Hollow will appear in different forms throughout my career as a writer. —Nikki Kalio, writer and photographer

    Open year-round, The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow in Arkansas hosts dozens of writers each year for residencies ranging from one week to three months. If accepted, you’ll receive either a subsidized general residency or a fully-funded fellowship.

    Actual costs of the residencies are about $125 per night, but non-fellowship residents contribute a flat $85 per night as well as a one-time $25 cleaning fee—these rates include all food for meals and weeknight dinners prepared by a chef/housekeeper.

    There’s also an application fee of $35.

    16. Anderson Center

    The publisher of an independent press had helped screen residency applicants, and before I could even travel to Red Wing to begin my month-long stay there, she reached out by email to compliment me on my writing sample and inquire about my novel-in-progress.… She agreed to recommend me to a handful of agents, one of whom took me on as a client a week later. —Stephan Eirik Clark, fiction writer

    Based in the scenic river city of Red Wing, Minnesota, the Anderson Center offers two-to four-week residencies to approximately 35 writers and scholars from May through October, which also happens to be the most beautiful months of the year up there.

    Residents are provided lodging, studio space, and weeknight dinners, but prepare their own breakfasts, lunches, and weekend eats (but the chef shops for your groceries!). Both emerging and established artists from around the world are encouraged to apply, and there’s no application fee.

    Each year, the application opens in early September and closes on January 9.

    17. Fine Arts Work Center

    These have been the best two years of my life as a writer. No matter where I’m traveling to or what gig I’m going to do, knowing that I’ve had this home to come back to and work in has been invaluable. I think the FAWC is the most densely populated, interdisciplinary group of talent I’ve ever been a part of. —Jerriod Avant, poet

    A well-established fellowship program that’s been offering residencies since the 1960s, the Fine Arts Work Center residency is pretty darn selective—but a great gig if you can land it.

    Each year, 10 writers and 10 visual artists are offered a seven-month stay (October 1 to April 30 annually) in its Provincetown, Massachusetts facilities, including lodging, studio space, and a $1,000 monthly stipend.

    Writing fellowship applications are due December 1 annually, and has a $50 fee which can’t be waived for any reason. But boy, if you make it in, you’ll be among exceptional company—alumni of this program have gone on to win virtually every major national award in their respective fields, including the Pulitzer and Pollock-Krasner prizes.

    18. Hedgebrook

    I had no book when I was accepted to Hedgebrook in 1995. I’d published poems in a few journals but that was all…. Fast forward 18 years. The stay at Hedgebrook changed my life in several important ways. — Susan Rich, poet

    While the Hedgebrook residency is pretty well-known, we wanted to include it on this list because it’s only for women, and only for writers.

    Featuring six handcrafted cottages located on Whidbey Island, outside of Seattle, approximately 40 women attend each year to immerse themselves in free residencies of two to six weeks in length that run from February through October.

    19. The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences

    You know that saying, “I can hear myself think?” At this writer’s colony, I can. I can hear the words and phrases bouncing around in my head, begging me to put them down on paper…I can get to the heart of what I’m here to do: Create. —The Write Life founder Alexis Grant

    Lasting from two to eight weeks, The Hambidge Center residencies are located on 600 acres in the mountains of north Georgia, so get ready to explore miles of nature trails, meadows, waterfalls, a swimming hole and an abundance of wildflowers.

    For food and lodging, you’ll pay $250 per week—a fraction of the total $1,500 cost to the program. Limited fellowships are available primarily for first-time residents, which waive the fees and provide a $700 weekly stipend.

    Deadlines are January, April, and September 15; the application fee is $30.

    20. Kerouac Project

    The poems typed under the sloping roof of the Kerouac House became my first volume of poetry. The process of bringing them down from the walls where I’d taped them and watching them become “Short Houses With Wide Porches” remains one of the great memories of my life. —Christopher Watkins, poet

    This residency allows writers to spend three months typing away in the Orlando cottage where literary legend Jack Kerouac wrote his acclaimed Dharma Bums. The Kerouac Project offers four residencies a year, and residents are expected to spend their time on their project, participate in a Welcome Potluck Dinner at the start of their residency, and read from their work at the end. (Other events and workshops are available if a resident is interested.) Participants also receive a $1,000 food stipend.

    The application period opens on January 1 of each year, and remains open for approximately 10 weeks. Expect a $35 application fee.

    21. The Mastheads

    “Finding the time to devote yourself to your own work as completely as I’ve been able to do here—it’s nearly impossible in day to day life. The problem isn’t merely finding the hours; I have those. But during this month-long residency, the hours accrue, you’re able to find more of yourself, and maybe there’s more of you to find.” —Justin Boening, poet

    Located in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains, The Mastheads is an experimental writers’ residency centered around five sculptural-architectural writing studios installed throughout the city of Pittsfield. Each July, five writers are offered exclusive use of one of the studios, a $900 stipend, housing, travel reimbursement, and a room in a communal house in downtown Pittsfield. Residents find community in the other writers, and solitude in the studios.

    Applications are free and open to writers of all genres.

    22. Djerassi Resident Artists Program

    I found the Djerassi Program Artists Ranch to be hallowed ground. There was something in the vastness of the ranch that increased my spirit. There was something in the quiet that amplified my inner whispers. There was something in my meanderings that released the ties that bound me. —Nathan Yungerberg, writer

    How would you like to spend four or five weeks at this residency located on a 583-acre ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains? From mid-March to mid-November each year, more than 70 emerging and mid-career artists are welcomed to the Djerassi Resident Artist Program to take advantage of “uninterrupted time for work, reflection, and collegial interaction in a setting of great natural beauty,” all at no cost to the artist!

    The program provides transportation to and from San Francisco International Airport and all dinners are provided by a chef, but ingredients for all other meals are provided. There’s a $45 application fee.

    23. The Edith Wharton Writers-in-Residence Program

    Each March, three women—who identify as poets, fiction or creative nonfiction writers—are awarded the Edith Wharton residency that offers two and three week retreats at the famous writer’s former Georgian revival mansion in Lenox, Massachusetts.

    Selected writers will receive a $1,000 stipend, work space at The Mount, and nearby (but offsite) lodging for the entirety of their residency—but you’re on your own for transportation to and from The Mount. While there, your main responsibility is to spend time developing your creative work, but you’ll have to be available for local media requests and one public panel discussion with fellow participants.

    24. Write On

    Three weeks have flashed by in a kind of dream. I’ve so appreciated the opportunity to put my writing first all this time and to settle into deep engagement and reflection and reading. Often I would wrestle with a section all day and a solution would come to me overnight or on waking–something that almost never happens in my “normal” life. Thank you WODC for making this wonderful, nurturing space for writers. I felt cherished, supported, blessed by your generosity and hard work. —Catherine Jagoe, poet and essayist

    At the Write On, Door County residency in Wisconsin, emerging and established writers in any contemporary literary genre will receive a private bedroom and bathroom, and access to The Coop, the writing studio of the late writer Norbert Blei.

    Writers are responsible for their own food and travel, but in exchange for lodging, a community service project has to be completed—usually, a public writing workshop, but other opportunities are possible. Residencies last for one week to one one month, and applications are accepted year-round, though writers are encouraged to submit applications eight months prior to their desired residency date.

    There is a $40 application fee. 

    25. The Prairie Ronde Artist Residency

    The Prairie Ronde Artist Residency is located in historic Vicksburg, Michigan, near Kalamazoo. The residency offers one resident (three times a year) a stipend of $2,000 for four to seven weeks, housing, studio space, a $500 travel grant, and even the use of a car!

    Artists are encouraged to utilize the area’s creative community, donate a piece of work to the residency’s collection as well as propose a community “give back”—like a workshop or open studio days.

    Deadlines are every December, March and June 15, and applications don’t require a fee.

    New Orleans Writers’ Residency

    As of September 2022, the New Orleans Writers’ Residency has shut down operations.

    There’s little more inspiring than jazz, strong cocktails and beignets in a culturally rich neighborhood close to the French Quarter. If you want to do some hard work in the Big Easy, consider applying for the New Orleans Writers’ Residency.

    If accepted, you’ll spend four weeks in a historic house with six other writers—each writer will share a room with two others during their stay. Better yet, the program offers daily continental breakfasts as well as a $200 weekly stipend for food and living expenses, and up to $350 for airfare. Expect a $25 application fee.

    International writing residencies

    26. Gullkistan (Iceland)

    As much as I love New York, I wanted to spend a month in a setting that couldn’t be more different—I wanted sublime natural beauty, peace and quiet, relaxation and simplicity—a reset button for myself. Gullkistan was an ideal answer. —Ben Valentine, writer

    Located in Iceland’s Laugarvatn Valley, Gullkistan is a quiet getaway for all sorts of artists, scholars, and writers and includes a peaceful setting with mountains, woods, and creeks. The minimum stay is one month, but they may be able to work out a shorter stay for people who are interested.

    Fees vary based on accommodation preference, starting at 850 Euros. Applications are accepted all year round, and no application fee is required.

    27. Camargo Foundation (France)

    Inspiration came from my magnificent view of the Mediterranean sea, that ever-changing body of water—silvered over with sunlight in the morning, Aegean blue in the afternoon, black as ink on nights without a moon—and from the space, silence, and freedom of self-direction the fellowship affords. —Amina Gautier, fiction writer

    Imagine waking up each morning on the southern coast of France, with nothing on your to-do list but write, write, write. If you’re one of the 18 writers that land one of these six- to eleven-week residencies through the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, it could be a reality—one that includes transportation, lodging, and a $250 USD weekly stipend.

    The call for applications for residencies encompasses writers across all disciplines.

    28. Arteles Creative Center (Finland)

    Located in the Finnish countryside, Arteles are one- to two-month themed residencies held at various intervals year-round and house between 11 and 14 artists per month.

    Food is not provided, but participants enjoy a traditional Finnish wood-burning sauna and have access to fully-equipped kitchens, meditation sessions, as well as a car, a rowing boat and bicycles. The program also encourages participants to (voluntarily) take a break from their cellphones and have them stored in the office—less talking, more writing!

    Costs vary based on the residency in question, and financial support is available to help those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend. There’s no application fee, but you must be at least 23 years old to apply.

    29. La Napoule Art Foundation (France)

    The La Napoule Art Foundation hosts several different residency programs each year at the Château de La Napoule, located just outside Cannes, France. It’s open to both emerging and established interdisciplinary artists, and attendees are housed in private rooms in the recently renovated Villa Marguerite, each with a sea or garden view and a private bathroom. Breakfast and many weekday evening meals are provided and often held in the Château’s gothic dining room—plus, a $1,000 stipend is provided for all other needs.

    Application fees vary based on the specific residency you choose, but are around $30.

    30. Red Gate Residency (China)

    The Red Gate community is so engaged and I formed lifelong friendships with some of the fellow residents and the other artists living in Feijiacun. It is an excellent introduction to the art community in Beijing. Red Gate Gallery is doing vital and honorable work in China connecting Chinese and international artists together and supporting the art industry. A highly recommended and very unique experience. —Tiyan Baker, photographer

    Live and work in Beijing, China with the Red Gate Residency, which provides residencies year-round between one and six months. Red Gate will help you get involved in the local art scene and cover your airport pickup, local phone line and a welcome dinner. However, participants are expected to pay their own living expenses during the program or seek funding and grants from artist organizations in their home country.

    Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and no application fee is required.

    31. Studio Faire (France)

    Studio Faire is a creative salve, a haven where residents are gifted space and time and beautiful surroundings in which to let their craft flourish.… Ultimately, Studio Faire gave me the opportunity to step away from the demands of my day-to-day life and wholly focus on editing my book. An epiphany or two struck me while I worked there—it must be all the good creative vibes seeping out of the walls from past residents. —Krystal Sutherland, writer

    Studio Faire is based in an 1830s mansion house, in a small town in South West France. It provides residencies for up to three writers and artists at a time. Rooms are spacious and mature gardens offer private, shaded space for work and play. Residencies are self-directed and self-catering, and run from March to the end of October, lasting from two to four weeks.

    Studio Faire offers its residents a change of pace and the space to explore new ideas, create a new body of work or develop an existing project.

    Fees vary based on length of stay, with a two-week residency costing 1300 Euros. Applications are accepted year-round, with deadlines falling at least three months before the date you’d like to start your residency. No application fee.

    32. 360 Xochi Quetzal (Mexico)

    My time in Chapala was pivotal for me as a writer. You can’t understand the effect Chapala has until you arrive. Its splashes of color, rhythms and scenic beauty will inspire you. Scribbling away at Café Paris, locals ambling by, a cool glass of beer sweating on the table…. I felt like Hemingway. This residency gave all that to me and more. It is a gift I continue to cherish; a feeling I look back on when in need of encouragement, inspiration, and motivation. —Sean Hammer, writer and painter

    The 360 Xochi Quetzal Artist and Writer’s Residency Program (pronounced So-chi Ket-zal) is located on Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico and where residents will be inspired by the natural beauty, history and culture of this special part of central Mexico.

    This residency offers four live/work spaces for one to six months to two (maybe three) writers who need an opportunity to finish a manuscript, prepare for a show, collect their thoughts, or plan new work. Residents are responsible for travel to and from Mexico as well as daily meals, though food is inexpensive in Mexico and typically costs about $20 USD per week.

    Costs for lodging vary based on what you choose, and applications (no fee!) are accepted on a rolling basis year-round.

    Advertisement for the Freelance Writers Den, a writing community with more than 300 hour of training for one affordable monthly price

    This is an updated version of a story that was previously updated by Farrah Daniel. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

    Photo via Olga Danylenko/ Shutterstock 

  • Want to Reach Your Writing Goals? Try a DIY Writing Retreat

    Want to Reach Your Writing Goals? Try a DIY Writing Retreat

    Have you ever considered putting together a DIY writing retreat? It’s not as difficult as it may first sound!

    Raise your hand if you’d love some uninterrupted writing time—a chance to focus fully on your work without the demands of everyday life. You’re not alone.

    Maybe you’ve thought about applying to a writing residency or dreamed about one of the many writing retreats offered each year.

    Unfortunately, for many, these opportunities are nothing but daydreams. The cost of travel is prohibitive for many writers, and taking two or three weeks (or more) off from work can be nearly impossible, especially if you’re writing on the side of a full-time job.

    But no matter whether you’re a full-time, part-time or any-moment-of-spare-time writer, you can take time away to write, right now.

    How? Create a do-it-yourself writing retreat.

    Why you should take a DIY writing retreat

    Making your own time and space to write is a shortcut to many of the benefits of attending a writing residency or retreat. Although a DIY writing retreat doesn’t have the prestige factor of places like Jentel and Hedgebrook, you’ll still find immense value in setting aside a few whole days to write.

    Here are five reasons you should take yourself on a writing retreat:

    1. You want time to write

    Maybe the day-to-day hustle is getting in the way: you just can’t drop everything and write.

    It’s hard to separate out time for your writing! A writing retreat gives you at least a few hours of quiet, peaceful writing time. It can help you build your writing stamina and even jump-start a daily writing plan, which you can take back to your regular life.

    2. You need structure

    If you schedule your writing retreat ahead of time, down to the hour, you won’t have time to think about what you “should” be doing. You’ll be doing it.

    3. You don’t know what to write

    Just finished a project and not sure what to try next? A writing retreat will force you to pick a direction — any direction — and just write.

    Try using prompts or test out a totally new genre or style. If you’ve just finished the first draft of a mystery novel, try writing a children’s picture book. Focused on blogging? Write the first few chapters of that memoir you’ve been thinking about.

    4. You’ve had a project sitting on the back burner for far too long

    Going on a writing retreat will force you to set goals and work towards them. It gives you the headspace to take a good hard look at your project and finally get down to brass tacks. You have to make progress, because that project is all you’re going to focus on for the length of your retreat.

    5. You’ve always wanted to feel like a real writer

    Want to know who goes on writing retreats? Writers!

    How to create a DIY writing retreat

    Taking yourself on a writing retreat doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as kicking your family out of the house for an afternoon and writing at the kitchen table. But to truly get into the retreat mindset, you’re going to need a few things:

    • A change of scenery: Try to go somewhere new, even if it’s just your garage. Giving yourself a break from your usual routine will put you in the right frame of mind to explore
    • A goal: Don’t just say “I’m going to write.” You need a specific, measurable goal. Do you want to just get words on the page? Give yourself a page or word count to hit. Do you want to finish a project? Break it down and aim to finish next step—a chapter, scene or article
    • A plan: Don’t pretend you will write for four hours straight, everyone needs a snack! Write out a schedule for yourself, including coffee breaks and time to relax

    Plan ahead to avoid distractions

    The hardest thing for many people is disconnecting. If you know you’ll be distracted by email, leave your phone in the car and turn off your computer’s Wi-Fi.

    If you’re worried you’ll want to run errands, head to a new town. Don’t go somewhere where you’ll run into neighbors; instead of the local coffee shop, try a coffee shop in a different neighborhood or the library at your local community college.

    Once you’ve found a writing hideout, write your goal on a piece of paper and tape it above your writing space or in your notebook. If you’re in a coffee shop or another noisy place, put on headphones or retreat to a quieter corner.

    Remember to take breaks

    After you’ve spent about an hour writing, give yourself a short break outside your writing space. Don’t think about how much you’ve done or how far you are toward your goal. Instead, enjoy the chance to dedicate time to writing. After your break, head back to your writing space for another hour or so. If you’re feeling good, feel free to write more! If not, try freewriting for a few minutes to loosen up.

    If you have more time—a whole day or weekend—take time off in the afternoon to go on an adventure. Take a run or a hike, or visit a museum. Taking a break can inspire new ideas, not to mention renewed enthusiasm for writing.

    Celebrate your retreat, however long it is

    If two or three hours is all that you can take, great! Open a fresh page in your notebook or computer and spend a few minutes reflecting on what you accomplished.

    Did you like your retreat? Did you feel stumped? What could you do next time to make it easier for you to write: go some place quieter (or noisier), bring a pen and notebook instead of a computer, write with a buddy? Jot down a few notes on your experience and make a quick plan for your next retreat.

    Remember, you don’t need a lot of time or money to write. You just need a few hours and a plan.

    Want more writing advice?

    Subscribe to get our latest content by email.

      We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    • 6 Creative Ways to Name Your Fictional Characters

      6 Creative Ways to Name Your Fictional Characters

      When you start writing your story, how long does it take you to come up with character names?

      Choosing the perfect name for your protagonist and antagonist can take ages, especially when you’re not sure how to start.

      I’ve been there. After wasting days staring at a blank computer screen, attempting to come up with names for all of my characters, I developed with some helpful naming strategies. And I’d like to share them with you!

       

      How to develop cool names for fictional characters

      Using any of these methods cuts down the amount of time I spend coming up with character names and lets me get back to the actual writing. So next time you’re stuck and can’t decide what to name your dystopian sharpshooting heroine, try one of these ideas.

      Here’s how to come up with interesting character names in your fiction.

      1. Match name with theme using a character name generator

      Are you a fan of symbolism? Write down your story’s themes and then head to a name generator website or baby name site to search for names related to those themes.

      Funnily enough, I have found that the name Andre shows up under themes like manly, strong and brave, which of course I am… in my stories, at least.

      2. Use Fido and your street

      Confused? Let me explain.

      Try your pet’s name as the fictional character’s first name, and your street’s name as your character’s last name.

      Mine would be Butch Fields, and yes, he comes from the rough part of a fictional town.

      3. Combine the names of your favorite authors

      A second helping of Stephen Rice, anyone? See what I did there?

      Maybe you don’t feel comfortable using the names of living writers, so how about this… Jack Hemingway. See, I used Jack London and… you get it. Apply it to your work!

      4. Use a name translator

      Yep, there is such a thing. A name translator allows a writer to easily discover names in other languages.

      To use this, however, you have to have a name in mind. Give it a whirl by putting your own name into the translator.

      Head to your favorite search engine and search for ‘name translators’ or ‘my name in’ and type in any language, such as Chinese or Hebrew. You’ll find plenty of free name translators to play with.

      5. Use an encyclopedia and your creative side

      No matter what genre it is, think about where your story takes place. Your setting can inspire names for your characters.

      Does your story include mountains? Are they part of your fictional characters’ culture? Then research people who have mountains as a part of their culture, such as the Andean people of Peru and the Appalachian people of North America.

      What if your story takes place on a faraway planet? Your setting likely looks a bit like some place you’ve seen before on Earth, or maybe a mix of several places.

      Think of those real places that inspire your off-world setting, and then think of the real people that make those places their home. Research those places to get a feel of what your fictional culture could be.

      After completing your research on the culture or cultures that inspired your fictional one, use the names in those real cultures for inspiration for the names of your fictional characters.

      6. “Borrow” from a friend or family member

      This is the easiest way to create a fictional character name because you aren’t actually creating one! All you’re doing is copying. Maybe your father is your hero, so you decide to name your protagonist after him.

      Of course, if you decide to go this route, be careful. Ask permission, and let that person know ahead of time of how they will be portrayed.

      You might think you’ll only use their name, but some of their personality traits may unwittingly end up in your story as well. Especially if you are the type of writer that skips outlines and lets the story unfold in front of you as you write it.

      Now get out there and come up with some character names that are perfect for your story.

      This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

      Photo via GaudiLab/ Shutterstock 

    • 7 Ways Freelancers Outside the U.S. Can Stand Out and Land More Writing Jobs

      7 Ways Freelancers Outside the U.S. Can Stand Out and Land More Writing Jobs

      Freelancing offers opportunities for writers around the world, but much of the information for writers online is U.S.-focused. When I started my career as a freelance writer and journalist over a decade ago from India, I followed the advice of the U.S.-based writers that had come before me and tried to emulate their strategies.

      I learned how to write great queries and pitches, I practiced brainstorming specific and targeted story ideas, and I found myself a few informal mentors who would answer questions and offer support. I downplayed the fact that I was in India.

      Despite all this, my career stagnated, and I didn’t know why.

      To shake things up, I started experimenting with my approach. Instead of hiding that I was based in New Delhi, India, I started positioning it as a unique advantage. Within a year, I had landed assignments from The New York Times, TIME, Global Post, Marie Claire, and Ms. Magazine.

      As a writer based outside of the U.S., I needed to use slightly different strategies than my peers in those countries. Here’s how to use what I learned to advance your own career as an international freelancer.

      1. Highlight who you are and what you’ve done

      Let me be clear: It’s essential that you focus on your prospect’s needs, be that a corporate client or an editor at a regional magazine. Figure out exactly what your client needs so you can create the perfect pitch.

      However, the problem with pitching from India, China, Costa Rica, Nigeria and other countries is that many editors won’t even look at your story ideas until you’ve convinced them of your professionalism. Perhaps they’ve been burned before, or they simply don’t trust someone they can’t easily reach should something go wrong.

      As an international writer, often you’re going to need to prove your capability more than an American writer would. Your credits, portfolio and experience can go a long way in opening these doors. When you’re writing a query or a Letter of Introduction, make sure to focus on who you are and why you’re the right person for the job.

      2. Ask if they’d like to chat over Skype or the phone

      One of the best things I ever did for my career as an international freelancer was getting on the phone.

      Living so far away from many of them, it was almost a given that I’d never meet my editors. However, being able to see someone, connect with them and have a laugh or two can help cement a relationship — and potentially lead to more work (or at least more email responses).

      So I did the next best thing: I asked if we could Skype or chat over the phone. Even if an editor doesn’t take you up on your offer, asking the question can make you seem accessible and not quite as remote as travel-wary editors might think.

      3. Don’t put your phone number or address on your website

      This is a bit of a controversial point, but in my experience, funny or unpronounceable regional names and unfamiliar area codes can scare off people who aren’t used to working internationally.

      If your clients are international editors at major magazines and newspapers and like the idea of finding people in remote places, you might not need to worry about this advice. However, if you write about health or are looking exclusively for small business clients, your specific location can be a deterrent.

      If your location has no relevance to your work, leave out the specifics. This advice might even hold true for writers living in remote parts of the U.S. or U.K.; you can be just as professional a writer living on a farm in Wisconsin as you would be in New York City.

      4. Have an awesome website and online presence

      Until a prospective client or editor hires you or agrees to talk to you over the phone, the only thing they have to judge you by is your website.

      Your website must shine. It needs to say, “Hey you, undecided over there in the corner, here are the 10 different ways in which I’m the perfect writer for you. Click that button and hire me right now.”

      Whether you have a static site or a blog, an active social media presence or a small one, make sure it reflects your professionalism and skill as a writer.

      5. Make sure you show up in Google searches

      In 2006, quite by accident, my website started showing up as the number one search result on Google for “freelance journalist India.” At the time, I didn’t realize the significance of this accomplishment, especially since I hadn’t been trying to optimize for keywords. What happened next forever changed the way I look at my website.

      Editors from high-profile media outlets, such as US Weekly, ABC News, Marie Claire, NPR, Cosmopolitan and more, found my website while searching for freelance journalists to cover stories in my region. I’ve been contacted by NYC literary agents, by government departments, even by a political campaign (I politely declined).

      The lesson? SEO is crucial. Make sure you show up in Google searches related to your city, country or region (and of course, that the search history is mostly positive). You never know when an overworked editor will need a writer familiar with your area.

      6. Focus on building a portfolio of online work

      At least initially, write for publications with online archives or clickable links.

      Early in my career, I neglected to focus enough on online publications. Even though I’d been published in some impressive publications and had over 100 bylines after my first year in the business, I had no proof: Much of my work was in local publications and wasn’t available online. I’d been published in 20+ countries, but editors had no way of verifying that.

      Make sure your work will be shared online, or find another way to share high-quality images of your work in your portfolio.

      7.  Add humor and personality to your communications

      Your emails, your website, your About page: all are opportunities to showcase that despite the differences in nationalities and location, you’re pretty much a person with the same needs, wants and desires as your editor.

      Your U.S.-based clients might often feel that they have nothing in common with you because you live in a place they’ve only ever seen on the news. Make yourself vulnerable, share a glimpse into your life and show them what you’re really like. Find something that helps you create a connection and a bond, like a shared hobby or interest.

      What do you do differently as a freelancer based outside the U.S.?

    • What Are Your Favorite Writing Websites?

      What Are Your Favorite Writing Websites?

      While there’s still time to make progress on your writing goals in 2014 (65 days!), for many, January will mean outlining priorities and kickstarting progress.

      That’s where our 100 Best Websites for Writers list comes in.

      We first published this list in early 2014, and now we’re updating and adding to it for 2015.

      Whether your goal for 2015 is to self-publish a novel or raise your freelance writing rates, up your guest posting game or find a writing partner-in-crime, we’ve got you covered with this list of websites for writers. We want to make sure we include valuable resources, and to do that, we need your help.

      What’s your favorite writing website? Which blogs do you visit for inspiration, information or writing-related entertainment? Which sites have earned bookmark status on your toolbar? Who do you want to nominate for our list?

      Let us know your favorite sites in the comments. We’re looking forward to sharing the list with you in January!

    • Write Every Day: How to Meet Your Daily Writing Goals

      Write Every Day: How to Meet Your Daily Writing Goals

      If you still have doubts about whether you should be writing every day, it’s time to kick them to the curb.

      Writer after established writer gives the same advice: to build your writing skills, you need to stretch them on a daily basis.

      Stephen King says you should write every day until you meet a predetermined word count. Of course, it doesn’t have to be 2,000 words, but you have to start somewhere.

      Author Bill O’Hanlon recommends starting by writing for 15 minutes a day. And this doesn’t mean spending 15 minutes staring at a blank screen or rewriting that first sentence for the 15th time. It means making a genuine effort to write, whether it’s starting the next chapter of your novel or simply freewriting.

      Whether you write to a particular word count goal or choose a time limit, you need to find a strategy that works for you. Just remember: it doesn’t matter which method you pick as long as you use it.

      Create a habit of writing every day

      While “just sit down and write” is common advice, creating a habit of writing every day can be challenging for different reasons. Some writers struggle to find time to write creatively between unpredictable schedules, full-time jobs or families.

      First, acknowledge your time or energy constraints — the size of your canvas, as James Clear calls it. Then, work within them to train yourself to write, using strategies like freewriting, creative rituals and eliminating all distractions.

      Make tomorrow’s first step simple

      Starting to write each day can be the hardest part, but you can set yourself up for success with a little preparation at the end of each day.

      One strategy is to stop writing mid-sentence at the end of every day. This way, the next day you won’t spend hours trying to figure out where to start; you simply finish that sentence and keep going.

      Take it a step further by copying that last sentence into a separate document at the end of each day. Spend some time writing out a few possible directions or a brief outline for tomorrow’s writing.

      The next day, work only from that new document. This way, you won’t be distracted by the possibility of editing yesterday’s work — you’ll be focused on creating today’s.

      Use technology to help you

      Blogger Buster Benson suggests writing 750 words each day. To help himself and others meet this goal, he built 750 Words.

      [bctt tweet=”Use technology to help you write daily. @Buster suggests writing 750 words each day. “]

      This simple tool provides a distraction-free writing environment and lets you know once you reach your daily goal. The writing you produce is totally private, and a subscription is $5 a month after a free 30-day trial.

      Sticking to a tighter budget? Try some of the many free apps and programs available to help your concentration and productivity.

      Try Seinfeld’s calendar system

      Someone once asked Jerry Seinfeld for advice on becoming a great comedian. His reply was simple: buy a big wall calendar and hang it somewhere you’ll see it often.

      Every day you meet your writing goal, mark a big X in red marker over that day on the calendar.

      “After a few days you will have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.”

      Easy, right? Just don’t break the chain.

      Use this technique to meet specific writing goals. For instance, if you’d like to write a ebook, track your writing specific to that project on your giant calendar — if it’s in addition other writing, just use another color of marker.

      Don’t have (or want to buy) a calendar? Writer Nora Bailey created an Excel spreadsheet formatted as calendar, with number of words written under specific days. When she meets her writing goal each day, the “total words” field automatically turns green.

      Image: Writing Calendar in Excel

      It’s deceptively simple to negotiate with yourself that you won’t be doing any writing today. You can say it’s late, you don’t feel like it or simply deny that you ever really wanted to start writing. The trick is in putting those excuses aside and putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboard.

      There’s no one strategy that helps all writers write every day. Experiment to find one that works well for you!

      Do you write every day? How do you make it a priority and maintain the habit?
      links
      no
      1

    • How to Stay Sane While Building Your Writing Career Part Time

      How to Stay Sane While Building Your Writing Career Part Time

      Do you have all day, every day, to write?

      Nope?

      Me neither.

      In fact, pretty much every professional writer — whether they’re a novelist, freelancer, nonfiction author or blogger — has to start building their career around an already-busy life.

      Maybe you’re working full time in a 9 to 5 role. Maybe you’ve got young kids. Maybe your life is packed with volunteering, caring or other commitments.

      Or maybe you’re unwell or have a disability, and that means you can only write for an hour or two each day.

      It can be really frustrating trying build your career when you can only work part time.

      But it can be done … and you don’t need to drive yourself (and your loved ones) insane while doing it. Here’s how.

      Don’t compare yourself with full-timers

      It’s all too easy to look at what other writers are doing and feel bad that you can’t match up.

      But if you’re comparing yourself with someone who’s working full time (or close to) and who’s established in his career, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

      Sure, Joe Blogger can turn out five great posts a week when he’s making a full-time living from his blog and doesn’t have to work another job.

      Sure, Ann Author can put out a whole trilogy of novels every year — but she has all day, every day to work on them because she has a backlist of nine novels providing her with an income.

      You don’t know what life was like when they started out. Perhaps Joe Blogger struggled for two years before he had enough of a blog audience to make even $100 a month. Perhaps Ann Author took 10 years to write her first novel, because she was working around her kids.

      If you must make comparisons, compare yourself today with yourself a month ago (or three months ago, or a year ago). How have you improved since then? What have you learned? What have you accomplished?

      Focus on one core area

      In the early days of your career, it’s tempting to cast a wide net: to try out lots of different types of writing and lots of different marketing methods, hoping that something will pay off.

      Spreading your attention too thin, though, means you’ll struggle to make headway in any area — especially as your time is limited.

      Instead, choose one core area to focus on. Don’t try to get your blog underway and write a novel at the same time. Don’t offer every writing service possible to your clients. Pick one speciality, and stick with it.

      You’ll learn faster, you’ll build up your experience and expertise quickly, and you’ll make encouraging progress that helps keep you motivated.

      Find your best (available) time of day to write

      Are you a morning lark or a night owl? Different people work best at different times of day — here’s a fascinating visual look at the routines of some famous creative people.

      I’ve always been a morning person, though these days I find I can write well in the afternoons too. Evenings are my biggest “slump” time — I find it hard to focus and be creative then.

      Chances are, you already have a reasonable idea of when you’re at your best, but it’s worth experimenting to see if a different time of day could suit you better (especially if your day job or other commitment takes up your best writing hours).

      Think about:

      • Getting up 30 minutes earlier to write before the rest of the family is awake. Leave everything set up to write the night before (e.g. your laptop ready on the kitchen table).
      • Writing during your lunch hour — can you get out of the office to a coffee shop or library, so colleagues don’t disturb you?
      • Using your best hours on the weekends — maybe you’d love to write between 9am and 11am, and you can’t do that during the week.

      Move toward cutting or quitting other work

      This might seem a long way off right now, but if you plan for it, you might be able to cut down your hours at your day job sooner than you think.

      If you currently have a full-time job, could you work four days a week instead of five, giving you one full day to write? That might mean saving up an emergency fund, cutting your spending or ensuring you have some regular writing income.

      If you do need to work your full-time hours, could you work them in a condensed way across four or four-and-a-half days?

      If your life is full of voluntary commitments, can you cut back on some of these? You’re not being selfish if you make time for your writing career — it’s important and worthwhile.

      If you have young children, can you pay for some childcare or arrange an informal childcare swap with a friend?

      Rearranging the elements of your life takes time. Getting clear about what you want and working out what steps you need to take to get there helps you make real progress. Simply carrying on and hoping things change won’t get you far.

      Create systems to make writing easier

      Whatever sort of writing you do, there’s a good chance you carry out the same sorts of tasks over and over again.

      That could be answering emails, writing blog posts, posting updates on social media, carrying out work for clients or almost anything else.

      Every task, however complex, can be broken down into a process of steps. Creating a checklist or a template could save you a huge amount of time.

      [bctt tweet=”Creating a checklist or a template could save you a huge amount of time in your writing.“]

      For instance, if you find yourself spending hours responding to prospective client‘s enquiries, you could create an “FAQ” page on your site that addresses some of the most common ones.

      Even something like “write next novel chapter” could be turned into a process — perhaps you’ll spend five minutes brainstorming ideas for the chapter, then five minutes deciding on the order of events, before jumping into the writing itself.

      Systems will:

      • Save you time: it’s quicker to add a couple of personalising lines to a standard template email than to write the whole thing from scratch every time you reply to a client inquiry.
      • Save you brainpower: it’s much easier to run through a checklist than to have everything in your head (worrying constantly that you’ll forget a crucial step).
      • Make it easier for you to hand work over: at some stage, your business won’t be able to grow any further without you hiring help.

      I have every sympathy for writers building a career while juggling other commitments too. I started out writing around my full-time day job, and now have a toddler daughter (and another baby on the way).

      The truth, though, is that pretty much every writer has to fit their writing around everything else when they first start out. You want to make this phase as easy as possible, and you also want to give yourself a good chance of exiting it quickly — so you can write full time (or as near to full time as you want).

      Do you have a particular problem or struggle that’s holding you back as a part-time writer? Or have you successfully made the part-time-to-full-time transition?

    • How to Beat Writer’s Block: 5 Ways to Face the Blank Page

      How to Beat Writer’s Block: 5 Ways to Face the Blank Page

      Just as an artist wouldn’t be able to rework a blank canvas, a writer cannot edit a blank page. Making mistakes is part of the process; don’t smother your creativity out of fear and doubt.

      Everyone has ebbs and flows in their creativity. Just as bamboo is strong but bends and sways in the breeze, be flexible in your approach to writing, maintaining an awareness of where you are going and the flexibility of thought to follow wherever your creative process takes you, unencumbered by resistance or doubt.

      “The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can,” author Neil Gaiman told The Guardian.

      If you struggle to overcome a fear of the blank page, take a deep breath and try one of these techniques.

      1. Take action

      For many, the blank page can be intimidating and overwhelming. Though just as when you worried about a monster in your closet as a child, to make the monster disappear, all you need to do is open the door.

      Similarly, “open the door” to your creativity by starting to write. The trick — as with honing every skill — is to practice.

      “Don’t just plan to write — write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style,” author PD James said, when asked for her favourite writing tips by Guardian Books.

      You wouldn’t trust a heart surgeon who has read books on how to operate, but never actually picked up a scalpel. Reading about writing craft is wonderful, but you also need to write — ideally, every day, even if it’s just for five minutes.

      [bctt tweet=”Reading about writing craft is wonderful, but you also need to write, says @WriterJoMalby“]

      “[The] Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around ‘getting ready,’ the more time and opportunity we’ll have to sabotage ourselves. Resistance loves it when we hesitate, when we over-prepare. The answer: plunge in,” author Steven Pressfield told Krista Stevens in this interview.

      2. Stick with the process

      Be prepared to tolerate the anxiety that comes with not being able to write as well as you’d like, and push through it. Suspending judgment when you’re writing frequently leads to unexpected creative gems.

      “That freedom opens you to the surprising stuff you never saw coming; stuff that makes you smile as you sit there in the coffee shop, your mug of joe cooling because you’ve forgotten to take a sip in 15 solid minutes,” says author and Contributing Editor at Writer’s Digest, Elizabeth Sims.

      “When beginning a writing session, new authors often feel that they must jump off to an excellent start, when all they really need is to start.”

      3. Be willing to write badly

      When we allow ourselves to let go of any preconceptions of what our writing should be, we loosen the creative faucet. Let go of your inner red pen and leave the editing until later.

      “[Be] willing to write really badly. It won’t hurt you to do that. I think there is this fear of writing badly. Forget it! Let it float away and the good stuff follows,” says novelist Jennifer Egan in an interview with The Days of Yore.

      “The bad beginning is just something to build on. It’s no big deal. You have to give yourself permission to do that because you can’t expect to write regularly and always write well. That’s when people get into the habit of waiting for the good moments, where I think writer’s block comes from. Maybe good writing isn’t happening, but let some bad writing happen …

      “When I was writing “The Keep,” my writing was so terrible. My working title for that first draft was, A Short Bad Novel. I thought: “How can I disappoint?”

      4. Use freewriting to kickstart your creativity

      Many authors advocate freewriting as a wonderful way of coercing your creativity out of its shell — whether you believe in the idea of a writing muse or not.

      “I have forced myself to begin writing when I’ve been utterly exhausted, when I’ve felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes … and somehow the activity of writing changes everything,” author Joyce Carol Oates told The Paris Review in 1989.

      Whether you use a writing prompt, an image, or a line of text from a favourite book, set a timer, start writing and don’t stop until your time is up. The trick is to keep moving, even if you’re not sure what to say next.

      5. Remember to enjoy yourself

      When we feel barricaded in by deadlines or pressured by outside forces, it’s easy to forget the beauty, joy and fun of writing.

      “Have humility. Remember you don’t know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life — and maybe even please a few strangers,” AL Kennedy told The Guardian.

      Celebrate each writing accomplishment, whether it’s as large as finishing your first draft of a novel or as small as writing the first sentence. The more you enjoy your work, the easier it becomes to write the next sentence and tackle the next writing goal.

      How do you deal with blocked creativity and fear of the blank page?

    • Feel Nervous About Submitting Your Writing? Why That’s a Good Thing

      Feel Nervous About Submitting Your Writing? Why That’s a Good Thing

      Does this story sound familiar?

      Whenever I submit something I’ve written for a client, I develop a nervous twitch. I wonder if the client is going to like what I’ve written, or if they’ll think it’s absolute garbage.

      No matter how much time and effort I’ve put into it, how much of my soul I’ve poured out onto the page, I wonder if this will be the time when someone sees me for the charlatan of a writer my self-condemning alter ego insists I am.

      “There, that’s the one,” he says. “That’s the one who’s going to finally tell you just how horrible a writer you really are!”

      This nervousness and anxiety, I’ve come to realize, is actually a good thing, if it’s properly harnessed. You just have to make sure you don’t allow that evil alter ego to speak too loudly, or to convince you that you’re a lousy writer. The trick is in finding the right balance and using your nervousness as motivation.

      Are you really that good?

      If you have no anxiety about your writing at all, you might fail to take constructive criticism seriously — and miss a chance to improve your craft. On the other hand, if you allow yourself to be convinced you cannot write, you might give up altogether.

      The nervousness and anxiety are what propel you to continue honing your skills. If you truly thought you already knew everything there was to know about writing, it wouldn’t be fun or challenging anymore, and there would be little reason to continue doing it. As long as you feel like you have more to learn, though, you will keep working to refine your skills and become an even better writer.

      Anxiety and writer’s block

      This feeling of anxiety isn’t the same as the “writing anxiety” that can block your writing and cripple you as a writer, although these are also often signs that you have a healthy regard for wanting to improve your writing. Writer’s block is a symptom of that same condition, but it isn’t the only symptom.

      No, the kind of anxiety I’m talking about develops after the writing is done. It’s the feeling that the work isn’t quite finished or isn’t quite good enough. You’ve probably felt this from time to time — if not every time you finish a project. The key is to not let this feeling stop you from submitting the work.

      Donald M. Murray describes this issue quite eloquently in his essay “The Maker’s Eye.” He rebukes the illusion that a written work can ever be finished, arguing that “a piece of writing is never finished. It is delivered to a deadline, torn out of the typewriter on demand, sent off with a sense of accomplishment and shame and pride and frustration.”

      Harness that anxiety!

      Use your anxiety to fuel your revisions. Allow yourself to detach from what you’ve written and read it as if you were a stranger to the piece. By becoming your reader, you can look for what the reader wants to find in your writing: information, a call to action, entertainment or a mixture of all of the above.

      Being anxious and slightly nervous about the quality of your work is a good sign that you are passionate about your writing. If you lack passion, you could find your writing career coming to an abrupt end.

      How do I know when enough revision is enough?

      You need to find the healthy balance between revising, rewriting, and realizing that the piece is due and it is time to turn it in. Take to heart all of the praise you’ve received for your writing, and realize that while what you have written may not be perfect, it is high-quality work that possesses all of the soul and heart you can pour into it.

      If you read it as a stranger and find within your words the information, call to action, entertainment, or whatever you wanted the reader to get out of it, hand it in! You’ll likely have another opportunity to revise it after your client or editor has a look and shares her comments.

      Not convinced? Here’s a perfect example: I revised this particular post several times before I took a deep breath and submitted it to the editors, and then revised it once more after their feedback!

      What if the client really does hate my work?

      It’s possible that one day, a client may not like what you’ve written. When that time does come, take it in stride. Not everyone has the same preferences; not everyone likes the same movies, so why would everyone like the same style of writing? Ask for their feedback on how to revise the work: do you need to work on better emulating the client’s voice, strengthening your self-editing skills, or creating clearer calls to action?

      Learn from your mistakes, and move on to make your writing even better.

      [bctt tweet=”Learn from your mistakes, and move on to make your writing even better, says @byrneswritenow”]

      A writer needs to have thick skin and be able to handle constructive criticism without taking it personally. As with any form of art, your skills and abilities should constantly be improving, and you should be able to take constructive feedback and use it to improve your art.

      You’re passionate about your writing — but recognize that with that passion comes some anxiety and nervousness. Just don’t let your nerves rule you — use them to motivate you to strengthen your skills.

      Do you ever feel anxious before submitting client work or pressing “publish” on a blog post? What do you do?

    • How Fear of Failure Keeps Writers From Producing Their Best Work

      How Fear of Failure Keeps Writers From Producing Their Best Work

      Someone, somewhere, will fail today.

      That person might be you.

      In fact, it’s pretty likely that something will go wrong for you today — no day is ever absolutely perfect. Maybe your favorite client doesn’t like the work you delivered. Maybe you said the wrong thing and it cost you a gig. Maybe your latest blog post got negative feedback.

      It happens to the best of us. You completely miss the mark. You fall flat on your face. You get bad results and generally make a mess of things, despite your best intentions.

      You’ve failed. Now what?

      Most freelancers get hung up on what went wrong. They focus on the slip-up, analyze the situation, and dissect every angle, feeling upset and discouraged. They often head over to their favorite freelancer hangout, where like-minded freelancers living pretty much the same sort of life jointly lament about the situation and hash over what went wrong.

      That’s what most freelancers do — and it means they’re lying to themselves. Worse, they’re holding their businesses back.

      The 3 lies that kill your freelance writer success

      Whether you’re just starting out in your career or have already become a wild success, you will fail. You’ll make mistakes, you’ll screw up and you’ll suffer setbacks. This isn’t discouragement; it’s just the way life works.

      What you tell yourself about these failures determines how you move on, and whether you move forward. You can be honest, truthful and proactive, or you can lie to yourself about what it all means.

      What are these lies that freelance writers tell themselves?

      1. It’s personal. This screw-up? It’s all about you — all your fault. You didn’t do the “right” thing. You’re not good enough. The client doesn’t like you.

      2. It’s permanent. You worked hard, tried your best, and blew it. That project? A total failure. It’s done. Over. It’s the end of the line.

      3. It’s pervasive. You never do anything right. You’re always screwing up. You think like Charlie Brown: “Everything I touch gets ruined!” Why even bother trying? It’s just going to be more of the same.

      Sound exaggerated? Not at all. I see freelance writers telling themselves these lies all the time. Worse, they believe them to be true. The more they think these lies and come to believe them, the more these freelance writers slowly, surely, and definitely destroy any possibility of ever reaching success. You’ll find them five years later, with the same sort of clients, the same sort of work and complaining about the same sort of things.

      It’s self-sabotage at its very best. But it doesn’t have to happen to you.

      How to choose your own story

      Think of life this way: it’s a story, and you’re the author. You’re writing your story every single moment of every single day, and the choices you make determine what happens next.

      If you face failure and then spend the rest of the workday running through all the reasons you weren’t good enough, or how this always happens to you, you’ve written a story full of drama. You become a victim of circumstances, wallowing in self-pity.

      That won’t get you anywhere — not in life, and certainly not in business. You don’t have to write that story. You can make different choices, ones that completely change what happens next. Imagine you faced the same failure, and instead of wailing “why me?” you ask yourself this instead:

      “Why not me?”

      Just imagine how your story would change then.

      You see, failure isn’t personal, or permanent, or pervasive — unless you choose to make it so. Failure is only ever temporary, and an isolated result brought about by the choices you made within the given circumstances.

      [bctt tweet=”Failure isn’t personal, permanent or pervasive, says @menwithpens“]

      It doesn’t signify the sum total of your freelancing career existence, even if you’ve failed repeatedly for the past six months.

      It does signal that next time, you should try something different. You’ll inevitably get different results.

      Even better, you can choose to view failure as feedback, like clear GPS evidence that shows you’ve made a wrong turn somewhere and need to get on a different path. It gives you an opportunity to learn something about the path you were on and the behaviors you chose, and it allows you a chance to course correct and get back on track.

      Think about Michael Jordan, a six-time NBA Champion and five-time Most Valuable Player in the world of basketball. He’s incredibly successful, and no one who thinks of failure thinks of him.

      Yet he says: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

      Wayne Gretzky’s take on failure? “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

      Replace failure with failing forward

      Most people see failure as a negative event versus a positive learning experience, but failure makes us better at what we do. Successful people risk failure every day, and their risks often involve very high stakes.

      But successful people risk failure because failure helps them succeed more. They’re failing just like you might be… only they’re failing forward, taking negative results and turning them into positive learning experiences.

      If you’ve been thinking of yourself as a failure for some time, or even just feeling downtrodden about failures you’ve experienced, it’s time for a change in mindset. And since you’ve likely been operating with a failure mindset for some time, adopting a new outlook will likely take some practice.

      Start here:

      1. Ask your brain better questions

      The human mind is built to answer any questions that pop into it. The answers it gives back to you depend on the quality of the questions you ask in the first place.

      Questions like “Why does this always happen to me?” or “How could I be so stupid?” send your mind racing to find reasons that explain why you’re not good enough.

      “What can I learn from this experience?” is a much better question. It sends your mind chasing after answers that become learning lessons.

      Other questions you could ask yourself include, “What can I change about my approach for next time?”, or “How can I use this situation to my best benefit?”

      I guarantee you’ll gain positive results from smart questions like these.

      2. Stop listening to people who aren’t doing any better than you

      It’s normal to share what went wrong with friends, family and people we trust. And very often, these people give us advice about what they think went wrong, and what we should do about it.

      Be careful about whose advice you take. If these people aren’t currently doing better than you and enjoying more success than you are, it’s likely their advice won’t do you much good.

      Seek out advice from people living the type of success you’d love to have — who have the sort of clients you’d like, the sort of income you want, the sort of lifestyle you dream of. They’ve been where you are — and gone far beyond it, which means their advice will likely help you move forward more than anyone else’s.

      Avoid people who continually complain or talk about what’s not going well. Instead, hang around with positive-minded people who fire you up, who motivate you. They look forward to the future, and they’ll inspire you to dream big while helping you achieve your goals.

      3. Seek to serve

      Feelings of failure often creep in when focusing on your own problems and concerns. But mentally rehashing what’s not going well often just reinforces the feelings of failure and how hard it is to succeed.

      That type of thinking keeps you firmly where you are — which is definitely not where you want to be.

      Pull your eyes away from the mirror. Look instead to the needs of others and practice finding ways to lend a hand, while encouraging those around you. Become someone people want to be around, and help them move past their own struggles.

      You’ll deepen your relationships, increase your confidence, and get your mind away from focusing on failure. You’ll also find yourself becoming more of a problem-solver, a person who can see the positive side, take action and help out. With that mindset firmly in place, you’ll soon find ways to help yourself.

      Everyone fails. It’s how you deal with it that counts.

      [bctt tweet=”Everyone fails. It’s how you deal with it that counts, says @menwithpens”]

      You might not be succeeding right now. You might not have all the clients you want, or the type of work you want to do every day, or the sort of income you’d like to be earning.

      That’s okay. You can get to that point — if you’re ready to accept that all failures are actually learning experiences.

      Be willing to look on the bright site, learn from what went wrong and use that as feedback to change your behaviors and make better choices moving forward.

      Just imagine: you’ll have your failures to thank for your success!

      What have you learned from your failures?