What is it about writers and procrastination? Here we’ll look at some tips from writers past and present to help you stop procrastinating and start writing — or delve into a long-delayed project.

We’ll also take a look at the reasons why procrastination can loom large when taking pen to paper, or more likely, fingers to the keyboard.

Does any of the following sound familiar? Read More→

The heart of any compelling story or novel is its characters. Without memorable characters, a story will fall flat and the reader won’t care. Here we’ll explore how three classic authors approached the question of developing characters in fiction, followed by some contemporary resources.

Characters don’t need to be good or even sympathetic, but they do need to be driven by their beliefs and motivations to create a strong narrative arc, and to create and resolve conflict. Read More→

Here are 10 books on writing by women writers — informative, instructive, and inspiring. They’re not necessarily written by women for women — in other words, they’re for anyone needing a dose of inspiration and advice for their writing lives.

But, since these books are written from women’s perspectives, that ensures plenty of compassion, patience, and even humor. If you like this post, you may enjoy exploring our treasure trove of writing advice from classic women authors.

Read More→

Learning how to stay disciplined, grappling with doubt, failure, and rejection, finding one’s voice, struggling to stay solvent—we’ve all dealt with these issues. It’s comforting to know that classic women authors like  Charlotte Brontë, George Sand, Louisa May Alcott, and others did, as well — and their advice on writing also applies to many life situations as well.

In the end, it’s not so much about facing obstacles that matters — everyone experiences bumps in the road — but overcoming them with grace and courage.

While researching The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life, I delved into the letters, journals, and memoirs of classic women authors. I found that certain challenges were just as universal among those who eventually became literary icons as they are among today’s writing women, whether seasoned or aspiring. Read More→

Virginia Woolf famously wrote, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Leaving aside the question of what a woman writes—fiction or nonfiction, prose or poetry, journalism or blog posts, just how important is solitude for writers? How critical is it to have a room of one’s own?

In learning about the writing lives of classic women authors, the universality of the issues and struggles all writers experience is striking. Finding quiet time to write and a modicum of privacy was as great a challenge in the 19th century as it is for today’s writing women. Read More→