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8. Separate Drafting and Editing
When people want to increase their rates of progress, they tend to focus on applying more force:  Work longer. Pedal faster. Kick harder. Press harder on the accelerator. But it also helps to reduce friction:  Remove obstacles. Add wheels to a suitcase. Streamline shape.  What would happen if instead of just trying to work harder...
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When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable
I firmly believe that vulnerability supports creativity.  In my writers’ workshops, the most common praise I hear for a piece of really good writing is, “I love the vulnerability.” Authors share things that are meaningful in ways that expose their inner selves. That can be scary. What if people think the writing is crap, or...
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Change-free Zone
Let’s say that you’ve finished a first draft. You put it aside for a day or two, and now you are ready to edit.  Start with strategic editing, reading for the entire effect of the piece.  One way to do this is to read the entire piece from beginning to end without making any changes...
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Picture book sailin gship
Do you find it hard to get started writing because the words aren’t perfect as they appear on the page? Do you find yourself erasing almost as many as you write? Do you keep redoing things over and over and never finish? Perhaps it’s time to set your inner perfectionism aside. Several experiments in Sit...
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