Being a writer today is a battle. In a world where material wealth is the marker for success, you fight against the system, you fight against the world, you fight against time, and you fight against yourself.
Your creativity is a tender sprout erupting from the cracked earth, and you must water it, feed it, and shield it from the elements. Guard it with bared teeth and a snarl, because deep inside you know that if you lose this gift of writing, you will have lived your life in a desperate, choking silence.
But you can take up arms against all the things you think you should be doing this weekend and surround yourself with knowledge and inspiration.
Here are 5 TED Talks for writers that will fill you on a mental, emotional, intuitive, and spiritual level so that you will be ready to claim your right as an artist and do your best writing yet.
Slow–mo Multi-tasking?
Do you have many writing projects going on at the same time?
Multi-tasking has a bad reputation, but Tim Harford talks about “slow- motion multi-tasking” and all the great minds who worked by this kind of system (like Einstein and Darwin).
This technique makes the most of the ebbs and flows in your thinking while cross-training your brain in other disciplines to prime it for creative breakthroughs.
Social media is as much a curse as it is a blessing.
This is one of writers’ most pressing concerns during our virtual meetings in the Writers’ Mastermind. In almost every conversation, someone has said that they would like to throw their phone or computer out the window.
Joseph Gordon Levitt has been acting since he was a child. I first became a fan of his after catching him in Mysterious Skin and Brick. He is not a writer, but he is an artist, and even though he has “made it,” he confesses that he is still susceptible to the toxic charms of social media.
Ask yourself, honestly. Are you writing for attention?
We may not even realize it when we are writing or promoting our writing that we are being quietly steered by the fickle mob or by the desire to keep up with or outdo others.
In this video, Levitt talks about how creating for attention takes us out of the flow state and makes for sub-standard art. Don’t fall into the trap!
Julie Burstein compares our creative output to the Japanese art of raku pottery in which the imperfections are treasured.
Julie talks about embracing the whole breadth of the life experience and growing from the broken places.
She also tells us not to try to control the outcome of our stories so much. At a certain point we have to let go and be open to what is coming to us beyond the confines of our usual thoughts.
Creating a nursery for wildly, creative writing spurts
How does your environment affect your writing?
What kind of people do you surround yourself with?
The mission of the Writers’ Mastermind is to create a place where a writer can surround themselves with great minds while having all the knowledge they need to make their dreams come true.
Actually, this is not a TED talk, but I had to include because it outlined so thoroughly how the Writers’ Mastermind works.
Tina Seelig talks about optimizing our creative environment using the “Innovation Engine.”
We can create the conditions to write at a level we never dreamed of by focusing on the following elements:
If you watch only one video in this post, make it this one.
I saved this for last because it will set your creative kindling on fire.
Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how historically creative people have reputations for being mentally unstable. Writers are in danger of becoming undone by their gifts. As much as we crave success, we are equally terrified by it. What if the muses don’t return?
Elizabeth explains how linking our creativity to suffering will lead to anguish. We should not accept misery as part of the deal. There is only so much we can do to invoke the mysterious and fleeting spirit of genius, but there is also an upside to this. We are not wholly responsible for things not turning out the way we’d hoped.
She tells us how to manage the emotional risk of baring our souls in our work by detaching from the ego and distancing ourselves from our writing. We must empty ourselves to be the conduit for inspiration. We must allow ourselves to slip into the flow, that hypnotic state of creativity that approaches the divine, where we get to be gods for one exquisite moment.
Bottom line, you have to be there. Keep showing up.
Writing places are important, and there is a reason for this. As animals, we like to fall into the groove of routine. It makes things easier on our brains. A habit puts us in mode and eliminates the need to waste energy on making decisions.
It may be a particular corner of the house, a Starbucks, or your closet. But if you write there frequently, you will notice that once you get there, you are more likely to be ready (or ready as you’ll ever be when it comes to writing).
I’ve felt creatively blocked, which is unusual for me. I think it’s because I’m in limbo. I’m still stuck in Florida due to airport closures that keep getting extended and I don’t know when I’ll really be able to go home.
This sense of waiting is branching off into my writing. Psychologically, everything is on pause. It’s like I am holding back until life flows freely again.
I know many writers feel the same right now. Many people are waiting to see when they can get back to work, go back to school, or just live life normally again. It’s like we’re holding our breath, words muted by masks, hands forbidden from reaching out to touch those we love.
Being absorbed with creating stories is usually a great way of coping with stressful situations, but in my case lately, it has not been. Of course, the pandemic is a crazy situation that is still sometimes hard to comprehend. I’ve thrown myself into work, which involves an industrious get-things-done energy, but when it comes fiction, a stubborn barrier stands between me and the unconscious creative source.
One of the reasons I think this could be is that I do not have my writing place. At home in Panama, the home office is for work only. When I write, I come out to the dining room with my dogs where there is a huge picture window that frames the mountains. In between sentences, I rest my eyes on the panorama as I wait for the whisper of the muses. They speak to me in the parade of clouds over the mountain peaks, the sway of the trees in the breeze, the songs of the birds flitting about. All is wild and boundless.
But since February, I’ve been staying with my family. I live and work in a pleasant little guest room. But I spend 90% of my day in the same spot. I sleep here, work here, practice yoga here, watch Amazon Prime here, video chat with my husband here, and I tried to write here. But nothing happened. I think this confinement is why I’ve had such trouble connecting with new ideas.
But I have finally broken the curse. We’ve begun Zoom write-ins twice a week in the Writers’ Mastermind. These Zoom meetings are where writers from all over the world get together online for an hour of undistracted writing time.
This write-in ritual has given me the routine my brain was looking for. I get some tea, close all fifty-seven of my browser tabs, open my document. I log onto Zoom and check in with everyone. Then we all go on mute and get to work. Afterward, we all stay for a quick chat and to trade resources and advice.
Getting past the writers’ block is an uphill slog, but working alongside fellow writers in this virtual space made me motivated and inspired to push through the resistance. These meetings have become my new “writing place.”
Designating a writing place is an effective way to get your head in the game, but sometimes we don’t have the choice of an ideal place. If we want to get any writing done, we have to squeeze it in on the train, or in the middle of the night, or on lunch break, or in a noisy household. I heard about a mother who sat on top of her refrigerator to work so she could supervise her children from above without being visible.
We have to be adaptable and write wherever we find ourselves or how we find ourselves mentally or physically. If we always wait until we feel like it, we will accomplish little. If something’s not working, we must explore new ways to create the best conditions for ourselves.
Happy Writing wherever you may be!
-—Christa
Where was the most unusual place you’ve written in?
Where is the best place for you to write?
Do write better on the move or in one spot? In a public place or private?
In this masterclass you will learn public relations skills to take your book releases to the stratosphere.
If you are not ready to do publicity for a book, these PR skills will give you the edge when submitting stories or querying agents.
Part 1: Book Reviews
How to collect interviews from the three main sources of book reviews in addition to your readers, friends, and followers:
book bloggers, bookstagrammers, booktubers
online/offline review journals and magazines
paid review services
Part 2: Interviews, Journalists, Podcasts, & Book Stores
In this lesson, we learn how to find interviews that are worth our time, how to become sources for journalists and bloggers, and how to find podcasts who cater to our potential readers.
We also talk about how to tell if you’re ready for a reading or signing event at a book store and how to collaborate with other local authors for offline events.
Part 3 : The 6-Step Pitch Formula
This is where the work comes in. Now that you’ve built your list of media outlets to pitch, you must make a compelling reason for them to have you. In this lesson, we cover what information you do and do not need in your pitch and how to position yourself so they are excited to show you off.
For writers, the word “author branding” might feel icky. We tend to think of major corporations trying to sell us stuff we don’t necessarily need. It feels like we are trying to confine ourselves to a neat little marketable package. But we don’t have to sell our souls. Branding for authors means …
… taking your you-ness and displaying it in the most authentic and consistent way possible.
So what author branding strategies can you use to communicate to readers who you are and what you write about?
Think of creating your author brand as decorating the storefront of your bookshop.
How will you display your masterpieces?
What do you want to be known for?
How will readers recognize you?
Whether you’re starting from scratch or auditing an existing author platform, think about the mood of your books. How do you want to make your readers feel?
Consider the colors, textures, elements, fonts, and themes on your site and socialmedia profiles.
For example, thriller authors might use bold colors and metallic or stone textures. Romance novelists might use soft colors and floral or lace textures. Scifi or fantasy might use jewel tones and cosmic or cloud textures.
Gather these elements and incorporate them into your website and social media artwork.
Have you actively designed your author branding?
Is your look, feel, and message consistent?
Could it use a makeover?
Join us in the Writers’ Mastermind for the Author Platform Mastery Workshop
where we will make it easier for readers to find you, fall in love with you, and buy your books.
Much has happened during the past few months. We pray your are all safe and healthy and continue to be careful and resilient.
Luckily, we have only good news to share in this post.
May 2020
The Writers’ Mastermind cut the ribbon on the Founder’s Membership. Thanks to all the founders for making the dream of this online writing community a reality! Founders had exclusive access to the website 2 weeks before the formal launch date and also got locked in at the $9 a month lifetime price.
June 2020
The Writers’ Mastermind opened forSpring Registration with The Ultimate Author Planning Workshop, where we reverse-engineered our path to our dream lives as successful authors. We joined together for our first official mastermind call on Zoom and also started live Zoom write-ins, where writers have since accumulated tens of thousands of newly written words.
July 2020
The Author Platform Mastery workshop went LIVE this month, where members perform a branding, website, and social media audit to make sure their author platforms are tweaked to perfection and attracting new readers.
Writers’ Mastermind Member News
Our members have been accomplishing some incredible things. We invite you to join in and support our authors!
Joseph Sale
Joseph Sale has re-released several of his books, including his Black Gate Series in “omnibus” format (aka box set). I am a devoted fan of this series and I can tell you it that it will be something that will haunt you in the most profound and unexpected ways.
Black Gate: Omnibus (Nekyia Book 3)
For the first time, hold the complete Black Gate trilogy in one volume, including Gods of the Black Gate, Beyond the Black Gate and Return to the Black Gate. Follow the story of Craig Smiley, a merciless killer and servant of seven dark gods, on his quest for escape, revenge, and ultimately: redemption. Smiley’s journey will take him from the high-security prison facilities of Mars, to the wildernesses of Texas and Louisiana, and to fantastical worlds beyond imagination and horror. Described as “Barker-esque”, “Lovecraftian”, and yet “a genre all of its own”, experience this epic series in its entirety like never before.
Joseph Sale has also recently set up a Patreon account, where he is sharing never-before-seen writing and behind-the-scenes videos every month. The topics he covers are full of useful insights and hacks for every fiction writer. To sign up for your monthly goodies, CLICK HERE.
Ross Jeffery
Ross Jeffery demonstrates his versatility as a writer by following the publication of his weird, post-apocalyptic horror, Juniper, with his intimate, literary novella-in-flash, Tethered.
Tethered Released
Tethered explores the fractured relationship of a father and son. Each story is told with unflinching and honest prose that is both hard hitting and heartrending.
These stories delve into themes of toxic masculinity, love, hope, despair, domestic violence, sexuality, weakness and overcoming oppression.
Tethered also asks the bigger question of ‘do we ever escape the harm our parents do to us; or do we go through life marred and influenced from our upbringing.’
‘‘Ross Jeffery’s flash fiction is immediate, visceral and real. To read his stories is to feel the understanding of a life lived through the eyes of a compassionate man. Always unapologetic, always raw, always true.’
Our resident Master-of-Writing-Resources, Dan Soule, released his new novel, Witchopper! We’ve all been anticipating this book and are celebrating its publication. What do people say about Dan Soule?
‘His stories aren’t just guaranteed to scare you, they’re guaranteed to devastate you.’ – Caitlin Marceau, editor Sanitarium Magazine.
Witchopper
If you see her, then you’re dead…
All Rob wanted to do was fit in at his new school after being torn from London so his parents could fix their marriage. But when Rob’s journalist father dragged him along to investigate the legend of the Witchopper for the local paper, her curse became their reality.
She was priestess to the pagan god of the wild wood, hanged by a rabid mob for her unspeakable crimes. Now, something far worse than the hell of high school is after Rob and his dad…
In the vein of The Wickerman and Midsommar, Witchopper is an epic ordeal of a father and son relationship, where past sins echo in the present. Dan Soule delivers another of his terrifying Fright Nights, with a tale of love, lies and truth that will leave you sleeping with the light on.
We are thrilled to announce that Charlotta Amato’s short story, Il Ragazzo, will be published by Storgy Literary Magazineon September 21st, 2020. This was her first ever submission and acceptance. Congratulations, Charlotta!!!
Tia Wojciechowski
Tia Wojciechowski’s first novel, Hectrossipy, is on schedule to be published with The Writing Collective later in 2020. She has just released this blurb so you can get a taste for what this twisty, epic, sci-fi is all about!
The alignment of the three moons is a sign of positive changes to come. But the moons never promised that such changes will happen to everybody.
On the pre-industrial planet of Velva Leena, two sisters eagerly anticipate the Hecctrossipy Festival, a yearly tradition that celebrates the victory over a legendary evil monster who had the power to manipulate the elements and use them for chaos.
Artheena is smart, talented, and beautiful. She is also blessed with multiple, special gifts. Mell May, on the other hand, is simple and average adopted sister. Both are in love with Leeandro Paul, a celebrity heartthrob who has an intriguing way of turning the leaders of the land into his followers.
When Artheena has a premonition that she will marry Leeandro Paul during the alignment of the three moons, her quest for true love takes a turn for the weird and crazy. Meanwhile Velva Leena’s conservative social standards are turned backward by an outrageous contest that will threaten the sisters’ close bond.
When the Hecctrossipy Festival begins, the sisters have the time of their lives… Until Leeandro Paul makes a choice that shakes up both their worlds and a twist of fate threatens to tear them apart forever.
The star reporter for the Beacon City Beam has a knack for showing up in the right places at the most opportune moments and a newsman’s flair for detecting a droplet of drama in a sea of dross and dregs. Accompany him on his nose-poking adventures, jot by jot, scribble by scribble—from his relentless search for an enigmatic fortune cookie to his visit to the Sociopaths Anonymous® weekly meeting to his bizarre correspondence with a pen-pal who claims to be the Devil. Beacon City Confidential offers a mole’s-eye view of American urban mythology run amok. Petty crimes and deceits, daily dissatisfactions and squabbles, puny triumphs inflated like hot-air balloons. Like our reporter’s notebook, the pages are crowded with events and outcomes, brimming with entertaining villains trying to survive the 21st Century by any means necessary. Less visibly, the real heroes, the joe-schmoes and who’s-thats, threaten to make their own stand, clamoring for their stake in the American dream and a taste of its pie.
It has been 5 months since I last saw my husband. Airport closures have prevented me from returning home to Panama. I’ve rebooked my ticket so many times, I don’t get my hopes up anymore.
I thought this would be a source (albeit, a negative one) of creative energy. Instead it has been a block. What little I have written is shallow and empty of meaning. My heart is not in it.
Luckily, I have broken the seal on the rewrite of an old, beloved project I had been avoiding. This has brought me some joy.
But we are all going through a very weird time now. Even if we’re not watching the news or consciously thinking about what is happening all day, it’s affecting us.
Add into the mix our personal issues, emotional residue, and just generalized anxiety about the future. Sometimes you just want to hug a pillow all day.
We may not have the capacity to be as creative and productive as usual. But we are not machines and we need to slow down and listen to what we need emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Give yourself some time and space to purge, process, and heal. When you are ready, you will feel it. Then you can get back to the journey onward.
