The working experience of writing: perfectionism, procrastination, imposter syndrome, focus, and the habits that help writers do their best work — grounded in research.
A meta-analysis of incubation research found that stepping away from a problem helps most when the break is filled with something undemanding — for word problems, a boring task beat resting outright
Getting stuck on a problem costs more than the minutes spent staring at it. Push through anyway and the same three approaches tend to…
Stanford researchers found walking lifted creative output by around 60% — and it worked just as well on a treadmill facing a blank wall, which means the ideas were coming from the movement, not the scenery
Most people who swear by walking for good ideas will tell you it's the fresh air doing it, or the trees, or getting away…
The habit that separates people who finish things from people who plan to
A plan sitting untouched in a notes app. A resolution that made it three weeks. A folder of half-started projects, each one still technically…
What actually happens in your head between “I should do this” and starting it
Somewhere between deciding you should do something and actually doing it, most people lose the thread. A 2016 review by psychologists Paschal Sheeran and…
The weakest deadline is usually the one you set for yourself
The common assumption is that a deadline is a deadline. Whether the date comes from a boss, a client, or your own calendar, the…
Why writers hoard research (and when to stop)
Every so often a manuscript arrives with a research folder attached that's several times the length of the piece itself: interviews transcribed in full,…
What forty rejected manuscripts have in common
Somewhere across the manuscripts I've turned back to writers over the years — a rough count puts it near forty, though I stopped keeping…
Deadlines and the writing brain: why constraint helps more than time
Writers tell me some version of the same thing often enough that I've stopped being surprised by it: they do their best work with…
The second-draft slump: why revising feels harder than writing
The first draft of a chapter comes out of a writer in a rush some mornings — messy, but moving. Then the second pass…
Procrastination isn’t a discipline problem: what editors see in the drafts of chronic deadline-missers
The manuscript arrives three weeks late, and the covering email always says the same thing: "Sorry — I’ve been so busy." But editors see…
What forty years of marking maths papers taught me about giving feedback on writing
I marked mathematics papers for the better part of four decades — first as a teacher, later as an assistant principal who still couldn’t…
Perfectionism is an editing problem: Why “one more pass” is where manuscripts go to die
Every editor knows the manuscript. It arrives with an apology attached: the author has been working on it for four years, has rewritten the…
Imposter syndrome and the first-time thesis writer
The email that accompanies a first thesis draft is a genre of its own. It apologises for the draft’s existence before describing it. It…
Stephen King’s 2,000 words a day — and why he finishes a draft in a season
King's argument, when you strip away the prolific-novelist mystique, is uncomfortable. He is not saying you should write quickly because you'll get more done…
Hemingway’s writing rule: why he stopped each day while it was still going well
One of the most common complaints I hear from people who work alone in somewhat creative jobs is some version of the same thing:…
16 easy ways to unleash your creativity (Infographic)
Only 25% of people believe they're living up to their creative potential. You may think there isn't a lot you can do about this.…
Writing as healing: how writing can improve your well-being (Infographic)
We often write to meet deadlines or because we have ambitions to become published authors. But how often do we write for the sheer…
Did Hemingway really say ‘write drunk, edit sober’? The science behind the myth (Infographic)
Ernest Hemingway's famous advice was to "write drunk, edit sober". Alcohol and writing certainly have a reputation as bedfellows, with famed authors Edgar Allan…
13 authors who hit the big time (after they died)
If you're a writer, it's likely you've spent at least a few minutes fantasising about what it would be like to see your work…
The day jobs of 20 famous writers (infographic)
Making a full-time living as a writer is no easy task, even for the most prolific and talented scribblers. Many a Nobel and Pulitzer…
George Orwell’s 6 rules for writing were too absolute. Here’s a more flexible version
George Orwell's essay Politics and the English Language, published in 1946, is a battle cry in the fight against bad English. In Orwell's eyes,…
David Ogilvy: Be concise & precise when you write
"Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs" – David Ogilvy In 1962, Time Magazine declared advertising guru David Ogilvy as "the most sought-after…