The written word holds a power both bewitching and dread. The right words can topple kingdoms, grant immortality—even change the course of the world. Join me in The Laboratory as I delve into the foundations and principles of writing, from developing ideas and crafting an authorial voice to caring for yourself and building your community as a writer. New episodes are released every other Wednesday. Pull up a chair and settle in amongst the bubbling brews and frothing phials of the writer’s craft.
Is that My Voice? How to Tell if Your Writing Is Flat
Is a piece of writing interesting? Does it have depth? These are issues that can be especially tricky for writers to spot in their own work, but there are tools to rely on.
In this episode, I’ll go over how to put your writing to the test, exercises to start understanding your own unique style, common features of unengaging writing and the importance of clarity in a narrative. Tune in to learn more!
Can I Ask for That? How to Negotiate with an Editor
Approaching an editor with your writing can seem pretty daunting to begin with. Then there’s the discussion about the cost of the service. While it’s important for authors to understand how and why editors charge certain rates to avoid sticker shock, this knowledge may also give authors the opportunity to customize the process for their specific project needs, and, in doing so, save on the overall cost.
In today’s podcast episode, I’ll give you an overview of how editors establish their rates and how you as a client can approach negotiating the cost of a project with an editor you’re looking to hire.
The Great Juggling Writer: How to Manage Multiple Writing Projects
As creatives we often worry about having enough to say and getting stuck for ideas. But, on the other end of the spectrum of writerly lament, is the fact that our minds are often alight with too many ideas to comfortably fit into one lifetime.
It can be a good problem to have, if you can wrangle them all and tune out the noise, but too often it can get us stuck, frozen in place and unsure of what we should devote ourselves to in a set spate of time. Having too many projects on the go can start to look alarmingly similar to the existential dread we face on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to the creative process.
So how do we orient ourselves and decide between so many glittering treasures? In today’s episode we tackle the age-old question of how to handle multiple writing projects.
Developing Your Writing Practice
As we start this new year, I’m sure a lot of writers are contending with resolutions to write more. But before you throw yourself whole hog into a new routine or schedule and end up burnt out, consider taking a moment to think about your approach first. In this post, I’ll share my thoughts on how to frame your goals so they are manageable and sustainable.
Writing & Editing with ADHD
Today I’d like to talk about something more on the personal side.
About two years ago now, I (as I suspect is true for many of us as a result of the pandemic) was diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve been learning a lot since that time, and I have this feeling that I’m catching up now with perhaps where I should have been all along. Of course, I guess that’s the case when you find out a lot of your challenges have an actual, demonstrable root cause that’s actually been with you your whole life. But even if it was a mystery for a long time, it still had a profound impact on me, including with my writing practice and work as an editor.
Finding Your Writing Group
Writing is often thought of as a lonely endeavour, and while it’s true that most stories only have one author, it doesn’t mean the process must—or should—exclude other people. Belonging to a community and having a support network behind you can help combat feelings of isolation, motivate you to write more and even make your writing better.
Writing Fundamentals: Structure for Longevity
In the first of a series on the fundamentals of writing, we’ll be looking at building writing structures that stand against the sands of time.