5 Tips for When You Want to Quit Writing

I’m sure that at some point in your life, you thought writing was a glamorous profession. There’s no shame in that. I did too. I thought I would spend my days in pajamas, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and creating beautiful prose with no effort at all. And then I would be off to book signings and on book tours in Greece. Granted, I was 8. What did I know?

Responding to Edits as a Professional Writer

Seeing the latest draft of your writing covered in an editor’s graffiti can be a test of your humility. Working your way through their changes, addressing their concerns, and resolving their comments—on a draft you spent hard hours creating—can be an exercise in emotional detachment.

Your editors will be professional and constructive, but hitting “approve” on those little recommendation boxes is literally accepting criticism, so there’s no room for ego.

Six Ways to Use Reddit as a Professional Writing Tool

In June 2005, the world’s first democratic social site was born to two proud startup papas: Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, aka u/kn0thing and u/spez. They named their baby Reddit. Thirteen years and a scandal or two later, Reddit is an edgy teenager in the thick of a growth spurt.

For those who are unfamiliar with the platform, Reddit is a forum-style catalog of social news content with an emphasis on community building and discussion. Engaging with content and other users is as simple as creating an account. An important component to the site is the presence of subreddits, which users can subscribe to depending on their interests. According to metrics released by Reddit at the beginning of this year, there are 1.2 million subreddits (and counting).

The site, which bills itself as “the front page of the internet,” aims to achieve some semblance of neutrality, allowing users to a) upload and post all content; and b) determine the value of content via an upvoting/downvoting system. The more upvotes you get, the higher your karma score will climb.

Morning Larks Versus Night Owls — When Is Your Most Productive Writing Time?

What goes into an ideal day of writing for you? Perhaps you’d like to start out with some coffee while basking in the early morning sunlight before hitting the laptop to write. Or writing morning pages in longhand with that shiny, new fountain pen.

Whatever it is, as writers, we always strive to find the best time to get some writing done. But is there really such a “best” time to write, or is that a myth? And could that myth actually somehow limit your writing capacity?