Journaling to Let Go of Worry and Cultivate Optimism

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Journaling to Let Go of Worry and Cultivate Optimism

This post was previously published on the site Create Write Now and is republished with permission from Create Write Now and Mari McCarthy.

GUEST POST BY MELIA DICKER

I was born a worrier into a long line of worriers. As a child, I’d often lie awake at night, terrified that burglars would break into my house, or that I’d fail the upcoming test at school the next day. Now that I have a home and children of my own, I fret about the dozens of details required to keep our lives humming along, from packing lunches to meeting urgent deadlines at work.

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Tips for Journaling from Mari McCarthy

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Tips for Journaling from Mari McCarthy

After she lost the feeling in the right side of her body due to Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Mari McCarthy turned to journaling when she learned about Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages through The Artist’s Way. By developing a daily journaling practice, Mari was able to regain feeling on her right side and currently needs zero medication to control her MS. 

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Review of Heal Yourself with Journaling Power by Mari McCarthy

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Review of Heal Yourself with Journaling Power by Mari McCarthy

I’ve always been what I call a “reluctant journaler”. I’d start a daily journal practice only to stop a few days later. It would be days or even months before I’d start up again. After reading Heal Yourself with Journaling Power by Mari McCarthy, I’m definitely motivated to cultivate a daily journaling practice that sticks.

I love this opening quote from Mari: “When I change the way I look at me, the me I look at changes”. This had so much meaning for me and really shows how we are constantly evolving. By page 24 of Heal Yourself with Journaling Power, I was already fighting back tears, revelling in Mari’s amazing transformation story.

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Learn to Write Faster with Writing Sprints

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Learn to Write Faster with Writing Sprints

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a writing sprint challenge hosted by Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings. I’d joined many writing sprints on Twitter (@TWSSFU hosts one every month) and read a lot about how writing sprints had affected many authors, but Sarra’s challenge really opened my eyes to just how powerful writing sprints are. 

The goal of Sarra’s writing sprint challenge was to find your ideal writing sprint session. Each day of the challenge involved a different length and number of sprints. For example, the first day was three 10-minute sprints with 5-minute breaks, and Day 2 was two 25-minute sprints with a 10-minute break in between.

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3 Types of Accountability for Writers

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3 Types of Accountability for Writers

This month on my blog, I’m talking all about productivity and focus for writers. I find my own productivity increases tenfold when I have something to hold me accountable. Many courses I’ve participated in have recommended finding an accountability partner as a way of making sure you stick to your deadlines. It’s also a great way to make new friends.

When I wrote Keep More Money, I had weekly meetings with my accountability partner and we tracked the progress both of us had made on a spreadsheet as well as set weekly goals for ourselves. But an accountability partner doesn’t have to be someone who is working on the same type of project you are. My friend, Josie, and I get together online to talk about how things are going in our businesses even though we are in different industries. 

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Productivity Tips for Writers

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Productivity Tips for Writers

I just released my fifth Skillshare class and it’s all about increasing your focus and productivity using a simple business tool called a SWOT analysis. The class isn’t specifically for writers, so I thought it would be fun to focus (pardon the pun) on productivity tips for writers here on my blog this month.

This week, I’m sharing a few things that have helped me a lot in my writing journey. I will say that it took some experimenting to really find a groove, so if you’re currently feeling frustrated, don’t stop experimenting. The tip that’s going to strike a chord for you could be right around the corner.

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How to Write a Novel Using Your Intuition

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How to Write a Novel Using Your Intuition

I just finished reading The INFJ Writer: Cracking the Creative Genius of the World’s Rarest Type by Lauren Sapala, and not only was I blown away by how much it felt like she was writing about me, but the book really got me thinking about how my intuition comes into play when I’m writing.

You’ve probably heard that there are two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. If you just thought, yeah, I’ve heard this before, I’m out of here—wait! This isn’t going to be your typical plotters versus pantsers post. I believe things aren’t that black and white when it comes to writing a novel and the writer’s intuition plays a big role in the creation of their novel.

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Create a Checklist for Self-Editing You Can Complete Using the Search Function

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Create a Checklist for Self-Editing You Can Complete Using the Search Function

So many little things came up when I was running through the final copy of my first novel that I decided to create a checklist, so I remember to check for these things in my next book. Although they were all little things, there were so many of them that they would have made my novel look very unprofessional if I hadn’t fixed them before publishing.

These kinds of little errors are a great reason to check your manuscript even after it’s been edited. You may even want to consider hiring more than one editor. I consider these little things to be part of the proofreading process.

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