The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Debra

3 Ways to Enhance Your Creativity and Motivation to Write

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dog dressed in shirt and headphones no motivation to writeI have to admit finding motivation to write every day can be a struggle. On many days, it is a matter of self-discipline to sit down and write.

So today I’d like to offer some suggestions that can help move us (I’m talking to myself here too) from the arena of self-discipline to being truly motivated every day.

First, let’s not forget what I said last month about what motivation is—the reason behind what you do.

Visualize your end goal and [Read more…] about 3 Ways to Enhance Your Creativity and Motivation to Write

What are today’s publishing options and which is best for me?

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A lot of publishing options for getting your book baby out into the world exist in today’s market.

  • What are those options?
  • How does one learn about all the ins and outs?
  • How does one decide which option is best?

Finding the answers can be time-consuming, confusing, and paralyzing. To help you navigate these troublesome currents, I created [Read more…] about What are today’s publishing options and which is best for me?

For a Stronger Story, Seek and Delete Redundancies in Your Writing

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nuclear mushroom cloud seek and delete redundanciesI’m as guilty as the next writer in that I include redundancies in my draft manuscript. When I’m writing my draft, I focus on getting the story out of my head and into the computer.

I look for redundancies when I revise my story. And I revise it more times than I want to count! Below is a list [Read more…] about For a Stronger Story, Seek and Delete Redundancies in Your Writing

Are You Undermining Your Motivation to Write? Change Your Self-Talk

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Use constructive versus restrictive motivation to reach your goals.Motivation is a consistent issue with many writers. I write about it on my blog and hear about it at writers’ conferences I attend.

Guess what? even yours truly has issues at times.

Let’s start by setting the foundation with what motivation really is. [Read more…] about Are You Undermining Your Motivation to Write? Change Your Self-Talk

What Books Have Impacted Your Life?

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My 8 recommended books on writingMost writers are also avid readers. It’s a part of how we learn the craft of writing. For me it’s also a part of how I enjoy life.

Right now I’ve got 6 books going, 4 nonfiction, and 2 fiction. The fiction are strictly for entertainment. The nonfiction for my own education—for my business and personally. The books in the picture above are among the many I recommend to writers.

Most of the time, I discover new books because someone else told me about them—the best advertising there is!

Today, I’m turning the blog over to you, dear readers. Post in the comments one or two books you recommend and why.

The 4 Most Important Elements in Fiction Writing

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Space Shuttle launch. Essential elements of fiction writing.

All great fiction writing has more than 4 important elements; however, in my opinion, there are 4 that are the driving force behind your story.

Any avid reader can quickly identify when a book is going to be great or not. They may not be able to tell you the elements that are or aren’t there, but they’ve learned to recognize what a story needs for it to be a page turner.

Today’s post looks at those 4 foundational building blocks of fiction writing. [Read more…] about The 4 Most Important Elements in Fiction Writing

Writing affirmations that help you reach your goals

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2018 goals affirmationsWriting goals is easy. Achieving them isn’t.

By now I expect many who made resolutions in January have already faltered in keeping them or have completely forgotten them.

Personally, because I am employing the new principles I talked about last month, I am experiencing some push back from my brain. Mostly thoughts like “How am I going to do that?” and “That’s unrealistic, maybe you should pull back a little.”

I spent some time rereading portions of Making Your Mind Magnificent so I could understand and counter the negativity. The brain doesn’t like change.

This month I want to dive further into principle #10: Your brain locks onto the strongest picture. [Read more…] about Writing affirmations that help you reach your goals

Marketing Your Book to Local and Regional Businesses

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Last summer I interviewed children’s book author Melody Schaefer here on the blog. She was in the process of preparing for the 2017 total solar eclipse that was to occur, and St. Joseph was a major city for viewing. Using her Penny the Parakeet children’s book series, Melody created a book specifically for and about the eclipse.

Today’s post is a follow up to what she did and the level of success in her endeavors. I hope you can glean ideas for your own books and regional/national events that can tie into your topics. [Read more…] about Marketing Your Book to Local and Regional Businesses