Note: This post is part of my seven-week series about the mistakes people make when writing a book. To read from the beginning, start here. If there's one mistake I see new authors make perhaps more than any other, it's sharing the work in progress too soon. I understand the lure of sharing. The writer mentions that there's a book in progress, and immediately, friends and family want to know what it's about, how far along it is, is there a publisher, and on and on. They ask t

Things That Caught My Eye Recently Boost Your Creativity: Well, this article gives me permission to knit AND to daydream--win/win! The Power of a Nap: And now naps on top of knitting? This quote is particularly insightful: "It seems that the more that I learn about creativity, the more I discover that attempts to increase creativity are almost entirely dependent on the idea of taking breaks, doing something different, going outside or sleeping well. Almost always, the most ef

Note: This post is part of my seven-week series about the mistakes people make when writing a book. To read from the beginning, start here. Allow me to return to the heady days of November 2009... the first time I participated in National Novel Writing Month, more fondly known among writers as NaNoWriMo. As I recounted in my last post, when I wrote my novel that month, I had very little concern for anything but the basic story. I just wrote. Consequently, I didn't research mu

Note: I'm trying something new--a brief curated list of things I found interesting over the last two weeks. These pieces will likely be relevant primarily to storytelling, creativity, marketing, and related topics, but you never know--I may find something related to one of my other passions that I absolutely have to share. Let me know what you think! Things That Caught My Eye Recently English majors and economics: Interesting piece about why the world still needs English majo