Tag: meg dowell

1. The stories you feel called to tell aren’t necessarily the easiest to write. But they are the ones that touch others’ hearts and lives the most.

2. Just because you enjoy doing something doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you’re “allowed” to do.

3. Kindness will get you farther in your journey as a writer than you think.

4. People who don’t agree with your words aren’t necessarily interested in having their mind changed. If your words didn’t do it initially, they probably won’t do so after the fact either.

Continue reading “10 Surprising Things I Learned About Writing Just in the Past 100 Days” →

1. Not every writing job entails only writing. Like with any job, there are sometimes parts of their work a writer just doesn’t enjoy. Sometimes those parts become the majority of their day, and they just have to deal.

2. We mostly just get emails and tweets about typos and things we did wrong. We don’t often hear positive feedback. It’s there, but it’s not as frequent.

3. Everyone’s always asking us “when we’re going to publish a book.” They don’t ever ask how it’s going, or what the process is like, or how we’re feeling.

4. For some reason, people are mostly willing to compensate writers … just not with decent pay, and sometimes not even with money! Woo!

Continue reading “12 Reasons Writers Don’t Always Act Like They Love Their Jobs (But We Do!)” →

1. Just because people you know are keeping pace with their writing, publishing, and seem to be doing fine doesn’t mean you’re required to do the same.

2. You may have deadlines, but sometimes deadlines have to move when you can’t.

3. If your heart’s not in a particular project right now, it’s OK to set it aside while you focus on something else.

4. Anyone who expects you to be on top of your game all the time isn’t worth impressing.

Continue reading “10 Reminders for Writers Having a Hard Time Handling the Pressure Right Now” →

The Blank Page is a new weekly series on Novelty Revisions dedicated to any writer who is just beginning their journey or starting again after a long pause. Check back every Monday for more tips and inspiration.

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Writing is, for many people, a business. Some depend on writing to sustain themselves, to pay their rent and feed their family and enjoy the few luxuries they may be able to afford thanks to their ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with words.

But even considering that, it’s just not wise to take yourself so seriously every moment of your writing time that you withhold all the light and joy that could transform your otherwise bland prose into something extravagant.

As a beginning writer, you probably already have a lot going on. You’re in the midst of trying to figure out who you want to be as a creator — what kinds of stories you want to tell, how to tell them, how to not be afraid to write the stories you want the world to see … it’s so much to balance. Too much, in some cases.

The last thing you need is to leave all the fun out of your craft and make yourself miserable as a result.

Continue reading “Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously | The Blank Page” →

“Find a job you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

Whoever coined this phrase clearly wasn’t a writer. Don’t try to defend them. You know it’s true.

I take issue with the idea that any kind of creative expression can’t count as or does not feel like work. I don’t fully understand where the assumption of this truth comes from. When I sit down to write a blog post, I treat it very much like I would treat any other writing assignment. I put it in my planner. I make it an appointment. And I cross the task off my list when it’s done.

Why do I do this? Because as much as I love writing blog posts, if I do not treat them like work, I will not write them. If it’s not included in my daily list of tasks, I will simply choose other tasks over a theoretical blog post because, honestly, I have a lot to do, and not an unlimited amount of time in which to do it.

Sometimes, even for me, there are points throughout my writing schedule where I really, really struggle. Even when it’s on that to-do list. Even when it’s on my calendar like any other meeting or appointment. Even when it’s something I’m often glad to have done when I’ve finished it.

Why? Because, as a writer, there are some parts of being a writer I don’t enjoy. And that’s OK.

Continue reading “There Will Be Parts of Being a Writer You Don’t Like” →

1. Writing is too hard. I can’t do it.

2. Writing stories is complicated. I’m not smart enough.

3. No one will want to read my story, I have nothing important to say.

4. My work will never change even one person’s life. I’m not that special.

Continue reading “12 Lies All Writers Tell Themselves Too Often” →

1. Discipline. Good storytellers don’t just know what they need to do to get from the beginning of their story to the end. They don’t just know how to do it. They actually do it, whatever it takes.

2. The ability to be your own cheerleader. You need to learn how to keep pushing yourself through the hardest parts of your work, because there won’t always be someone around to do it for you.

3. A goal-oriented mindset. You’re able to make slow progress toward a theoretical finish line even if that progression isn’t always linear or easy to track.

4. Empathy. If you emotionally disconnect yourself from other people, you’re never going to be able to write relatable, captivating characters.

Continue reading “10 Key Characteristics of Good Storytellers” →

1. Don’t read and reread your finished work. It’s not going to help you feel less anxious.

2. Also, don’t try to change things last-minute to make them closer to “perfect.” There is no such thing. There comes a point when you just have to accept it for what it is and release it into the wild.

3. Don’t think about any negative criticism you might get. You shouldn’t let potential negativity stop you from even giving people the opportunity to respond negatively to your work.

4. Don’t seek out feedback from everyone you know and trust. Not everyone is going to give you the feedback you think you want, and it’s probably just going to make you feel worse!

Continue reading “12 Tips for Overcoming ‘Publishing Anxiety’” →

1. You’re already reading one (and a post about this very topic), so you must already want to do it!

2. The longer you wait to do something, the harder it will be to actually do it. Just do it. Just go all in.

3. Blogging is one of the best ways to desensitize yourself to the fear of putting your work out there, because at first, pretty much no one sees it anyway. This is a good thing.

4. To get better at writing, you have to practice. And there’s no better way to practice writing than to do it through writing about a topic you genuinely love.

Continue reading “10 Reasons You Should Start a Blog Today. Yes, Right Now!” →

Every time I reach out to a potential client, prepare a submission for a publication, or apply for a writing job, there is still always a part of me that thinks, even for the briefest of moments: “I don’t deserve this.”

It’s part imposter syndrome, part self-doubt — because of course it is. But it still “is.” I’ve been writing professionally since 2012, writing in general for even longer than that, and still — STILL — I often find myself shaking my head whenever I’m pursuing another opportunity. Why would they pick me? I’m just one among thousands. There’s nothing about my portfolio or credentials that make me stand out.

This may be true in some contexts. I don’t mind the fact that my blog is still considered “small” despite the fact that it’s over 10 years old, for example, because the majority of aspiring writers probably have blogs in which they publish posts about writing. I’m one of many. Happy to help whomever might come along, but the idea for this blog was far, far from original.

But for the most part, I’ve been doing this long enough that I do have a pretty good idea of how to win over an editor with my words, land a job interview, pitch a story, and the like. My portfolio is anything but lacking in sample material. That’s what happens when you stick with something for almost a decade.

I doubt myself because I’m human. We all do it.

So how, then, does one manage to find success when they’re so unsure of their ability to do so?

The answer is, on the surface, simple. You can very easily doubt your ability to achieve something and still act like you deserve it. Even if it feels like you’re lying to yourself.

Continue reading “If You Don’t Act Like You Deserve Success as a Writer, You’ll Never Earn It” →