Is This Stopping You From Writing?

I was reading a really interesting book the other day. I’ve actually read it several times before because it fascinates me (and it’s only a short book that’s quick and easy to read).

And it struck me that what I was reading about was actually something that can stop people from writing. And I used to be one of those people. It can be a real time-waster without you even realising you’re doing it.

And what I’m talking about is being needy. It’s something that most of us do automatically and it’s a complete waste of time.

What do I mean by being needy?

It means spending time explaining things to people when you really don’t have to.

Being needy is when you feel that you owe someone a long explanation. And it doesn’t matter who it is. If you feel like you have to explain yourself, then you’re being needy. You don’t owe anyone an explanation about anything.

So if you find yourself giving a long, detailed explanation to someone, stop doing it. That’s being needy.

And it doesn’t matter if you want them to do something for you or they want you to do something for them. Trying to explain yourself at length is being needy. It’s being needy of them liking you.

Even if someone is demanding that you explain yourself and say why you can’t help them or worse, if you’re trying to do them a favour and feel that you need to give a detailed reason as to why they should LET you help them, STOP!

You’re wasting your time by being needy.

It would be far better to talk less, ask for nothing, offer less, and say less to everyone.

And then you’d have more time to devote to your writing.




Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

There’s No Such Thing As Being Too Busy

It seems to be a fad these days for people to say “I’m so busy.”

But what does that even mean? What is everyone busy doing?

I used to have a neighbour called Judy. She only worked one day a week, her kids were older teens so were out most of the time, she had a cleaning woman to clean the whole house once a week, yet she always said she was busy and seemed to be rushing around when she was outside. All the neighbours nicknamed her ‘Busy Judy’ which was always said with a smirk.

And this so-called busyness that so many people seem to be suffering from is usually talking about doing things that aren’t even important.

From my own observations of people I know who always say they’re busy, they seem to have a lot of time to watch TV or sit in cafes all day.

There’s a saying that there is no such thing as being too busy. It’ simply a matter of priorities. And I have no idea who said that, but it’s true.

I have an audio recording of a talk given by life coach, James Arthur Ray. In it, he says that people always unintentionally lie about what’s important to them.

He says that to find out what your real priorities are, all you have to do is look at the 5 things that you spend most of your time doing, and THOSE are what is really important to you because that is what you’re giving all your time and attention to.

So if you’re not spending enough time writing, you need to ask yourself why not? What is it that you’re giving all your time and attention to instead of writing? What are those other 5 things that you continually do?

And if you’re not writing at all yet you keep saying you want to, then you need to ask yourself if you really want to write, or are you just in love with the idea of being a writer?



Just Get On With It Will You?
https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2019/get-on-with-it.html

One Reason Why I'm Reluctant To Write

Usually I love to write and I can’t stop. And I love it when I feel like that.

But there are other times when I lack motivation so much that I find it hard to even sit down and start writing.

Usually my reluctance to write is because I’m not enjoying what I’m working on which may or may not be something I’m writing. It could also be editing, proofing, uploading, website work or even research.

So what do I do when I find it hard-going?

There are three things I do:

First I look at what is holding me back and why I’m so reluctant to get on with what I’m supposed to be doing. I even journal about it if it helps.

Second, I devise a list of tasks I need to do to get the job finished.

Thirdly, I work my way through the list one step at a time till I’m finished.

I find it also helps if I use a timer to see how much I can get done in a 25 to 30 minute window because I’m more focused when I know I have limited time.

And once I’m finished I feel so much better which makes it easy to get back to working on what I enjoy.

And it all starts with finding out why I’m procrastinating, and journals are great for getting my thoughts together and figuring out what I want to do and how to do it.


Panda Planners

Writing And Selling Children’s Picture Books

When you look at children’s picture books, they don’t look difficult to write. But they can be.

But there is a ‘secret’ to creating popular children’s picture books that many writers miss.

So I’m going to tell you what this ‘secret’ is which can make the difference between selling several dozen books and selling several thousand.

So listen very carefully…

Children’s picture books only contain around 600 words, and while that may sound easy, it’s not, because within that tiny word count, you have to include:

3-dimensional characters
emotion
gripping plots

And you have to do it all in 600 words or less.

Not only that, but it isn’t only kids that you book needs to appeal to.

It must first appeal to adults - namely, your agent, publisher and parents, in that order.

The great thing about children’s picture books is that it’s easy to sell lots of them because libraries love to stock them, with some carrying more than one copy because they get borrowed so often, more than any other type of book. And if you live in the UK or Australia, etc, you can also apply for Public Lending Rights.

And if you can create one memorable character that can have multiple adventures in a series of books, you can make even more library sales.

Read more about how to write children’s picture books that sell in my latest article using the link below.

https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2019/childrens-book.html