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I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a review
thanks to iRead Book Tours.
I have to confess that, as a reader, I have always wanted to know how writers do their job. I mean, I know that they sit down and write stories, but I have always wondered where the ideas come from before actually writing them down. Do they see a random person in the street that triggers something in their minds that leads them to a plot? Do they just start with nothing in mind to see what comes into the blank page? Do they brainstorm the main scenes of the story on a piece of paper and then follow the script on their computers? Do they really count words every day? Seriously?
Well, I applied for this book because I thought that, throughout the advice on increasing their writing productivity, I would found out the answers about some of the metaphysical doubts I had regarding the craft but, guess what, their secrets remain unknown. I couldn’t put the book down, however.
This book is basically a self-help book where you can learn about finding a way to include writing in your life and make the best of it in terms of productivity and quality. The best part is that you can apply everything you read on it to any activity you fancy doing, either as a hobby or as a potential career and, even though the author always refers to creative activities, you can also use them in your daily life for a number of things. In my case, I have thought about implementing her advice on my studies – this might seem the least creative thing you can come up with, but actually I have developed new habits throughout these last years that includes much more than sitting with a book and highlight it, and this book has given me new ideas to increase my productivity and try new ways of studying my Law textbooks.
The book covers from the basics of time management to the specifics of personality traits that can work in your favor towards writing more and better, without burnouts or feeling you are neglecting other responsibilities. It also addresses mindset issues like self-doubts about your skills, or the work overload that leads to stress and health problems because we need to “work harder”, so we stop taking care of ourselves. One can really relate to many of the subjects the author covers in this book and, as I told you, you can use it for your advantage on a number of projects, not only for writing books.
So I didn’t find the writers’ deepest secrets about their writing, that’s true, but I have enjoyed reading about how to improve my abilities to do more of what I like, finding the right motivation to do so and using resources that I have already developed to improve the results.
Overwhelmed writer rescue
Colleen M. Story
Published by Midchannel Press
304 pages
Book on Amazon.com.
Book on GoodReads.
Follow the tour and enter the giveaway.
From Isi 
Im intrigued by your comment that a lot of the tips here can be applied to other activities, including studying. I can see time management being one of those transferable skills – what else did you find of benefit?
Hi Karen!
Well, it’s not only time management, but also finding the “right” time for you to do whatever you like. During my time studying Law I have developed some new habits around studying, like recording my notes and listening to them while I go to work or for a walk, and I have also found this “audio-notes” benefitial for getting “in the zone” when I revise the book. Getting focused on what you are doing is the most important thing for me when I do something, and studying is really hard to do so if the subject is not that interesting (which happens often lol!).
These and other options are also available for writing: you can record your ideas on the go if you find inspiration out of your desk, etc.
There is also a chapter on setting goals, that is quite interesting, because I always say “I have to study this subject in 2 months”, and I should then break it into smaller daily goals, which I don’t, so then I got really stressed! (the same for writers: “I’ll write 200 words per day”, or whatever).
Hey, go to the link and enter the giveaway; maybe you are lucky and I’m sure you’ll find ideas to implement towards getting whatever project you have in mind!
the audio notes playback is a great way to refresh ypur memory. If you ever get a chance look out a book by Tony Buzan about mind mapping – he advises that for something to transfer from short term memory into long term memory you should revisit any notes you’ve made after 24 hours, then again in a week. So by listening to your notes you are effectively following his advice
You know, I have trouble organizing the revisions of the lessons, and I’ve read in blog posts about doing it in 24 hours, then a week later and so on, and I should take this advice more seriously.
I have also hard times taking handwritten notes because I’m a perfectionist and the notes have to be almost perfect (to my standards), so I spend more time than I should… I have to work on these things.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll look for the book.