To Do or Not to Do? The Art of Avoiding Procrastination

I have taught and mentored many students over the years, and what I can say in all honesty is that each one, at some point, suffered from procrastination. Suffering from procrastination might sound rather harsh, but when a student is sitting in front of you, despairing about not being able to write, it seems appropriate.

Defining procrastination is hard, particularly as we all procrastinate in different ways. Let’s just say that procrastination is the habit of putting off tasks to the last minute. It is the seemingly never-ending battle to get things done on time or completing things late and the agonizing you may go through to get them done at all.

We have all made promises to ourselves that somehow never get fulfilled. It’s the start of a new year, which means I again promise myself I am going to lose 20 pounds. As you can see, the regularity of this promise confirms that I have been repeatedly unsuccessful. 

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Get Right With Your Deities and Analytics in 2021

Do you know what vanity metrics and analytics are?

Have you ever opened up a tracking program (like Google Analytics or Fathom or Clicky) and stared at all the data – unsure what is the most important?

If your answer is anything even vaguely related to “Hell to the frickin’ yes!”, then you are not alone.

These days, you can find metrics and statistics to validate or invalidate anything.

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5 Types of Editing That Result in High Quality Writing

At last, your first draft is ready. And yet, you’re not happy with it. Something is still missing even after many rounds of self-editing, and you’re wondering what to do next.

Sound familiar? Most likely, you need the assistance of a professional editor.

Before you ask, editors normally review a draft with the aim of improving it, all without changing the voice of the writer. They provide professional editing services by going through the writing in a step-by-step manner to identify and correct mistakes and errors with grammar, word usage, structure, composition, readability, flow, style, tone, and so on.

But guess what? 

Different types of editing can improve your writing in specific areas. As steps in the professional editing process, they’re supposed to be carried out in a specific order, one after the other. Some types of editing may also overlap with one another.

However, your writing may not require all the various types of editing. This depends on factors such as your level of expertise and experience as a writer, the type of writing you’re creating, and where it will be published.

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Dangers of Using Writing Software and How To Avoid Them

Many authors use writing software for their work. Such programs come in various types and pricings, serving different purposes depending on the writer’s needs.

For example, fiction authors might use programs for narrative or character development, as nonfiction authors might use programs to help them create indexes or references. Both fiction and nonfiction authors use writing software to help them keep notes or structure their text.

And let’s not forget writers who mostly work with online texts, and might also use software designed to assist with SEO, keywords, or readability.

Unless you’re really old school and use a typewriter, at the most basic level virtually all of us use a computer and a word processor. This counts as writing software, even if we take it for granted.

But as with every tool, although it can greatly help you get the job done…

…it can also hurt you if you misuse it.

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