Why I Stopped Writing - And What I'm Doing About It

If you’ve been following me online (or you’re a subscriber), you’ll no doubt have noticed that I haven’t been writing much lately, and this lack of written words has gone on for several weeks now.

I wrote about it in an article at https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2020/Lockdown.html.

But now I’m firmly back in my writing chair and I have already planned out and started to write again.

I had thought that with all this ‘isolation’ stuff going on that it would be a great opportunity to get loads of writing done. That was my original plan.

And yet it soon all went pear-shaped on me. Before I realised it, I was so involved in doing other things (and you won’t believe WHAT things).

I think the problem was that I already spend most of my time at home writing with occasional visits to the pub for a glass of beer at the end of the day, or lunch out at the coast, or something else similar.

Then suddenly it all seemed different because I couldn’t go to the pub and sit and have a drink in the beer garden or go and have lunch at the coast, or have lunch out anywhere for that matter.

They even stopped my beloved rugby league that I love to watch. I’d already been up north in March to go to a live match, but that was the one and only weekend crowds were allowed and after the following weekend, they banned the players from the stadiums too. (sad face)

So that made it really different for me and so I had to find other forms of entertainment, and boy did I ever.

But now I’ve settled back down and I’m writing again.

Not only that, but I have lots of things planned so keep an eye out for it all.

It will be coming to an inbox near you soon.

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https://ruthiswriting.com

15 Minutes of Daily Focus is All it Takes

The word focus is talked about a lot these days and the reason is because it’s so, so important.

Personally, I find that when my focus is strong I can achieve so much. And it doesn’t matter what I’m doing, whether it’s washing the dishes, weeding the garden, or cleaning the car. All I do is concentrate ‘in the moment’ on whatever I’m doing which might be washing a cup, pulling up a dandelion, or cleaning the windscreen of the car. I just concentrate purely on just one thing at a time.

There’s a Zen saying that no matter how many dirty dishes you have, you only actually have one dish to wash, ever. Once you realise this, washing the dishes no longer seems like a chore to be dreaded. It also becomes so much easier to do other things too, moment by moment.

And I find that using focus in everything works with my writing too. It makes it easier and pleasant to do.

But how can you gain focus in everything?

Just like all things, you get there step-by-step.

So begin with 15 minutes a day of focus on one thing. Simply spend 15 minutes focusing moment-by-moment on one task, thinking of nothing else except what you doing, and not allowing your mind to wander. It can be anything you want to do:

• Weeding
• Organising/cleaning
• Business planning
• Tending the laundry
• Vacuuming
• Polishing the furniture

Just 15 minutes a day doing one task with nothing else occupying your attention.

And once you try it, you’ll notice that not only can you do things more thoroughly, but it will seem easy. You’ll also be amazed at how much you can get done in just 15 short minutes.

To get started quickly, download a free 15 minute audio of Nitrofocus, to help you with timing and focus.

It really is quite amazing what a difference just 15 minutes of focus can make.

Read more about focus and how it can help with everything in your life, especially your writing and productivity at https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2020/focus-on-everything.html

Thousands of Freelance Writing Markets

Yesterday I finished my updated list of freelance writing markets and uploaded it to my newly designed website at https://ruthiswriting.com/writingmarkets.html.

You can go and have a look at the list which is shorter than before because I've weeded out all the outdated information and broken links so that all the writing markets are current.

So whether you're looking for fiction markets, horror writing markets, online writing markets, travel writing markets, poetry, and more, you'll find it all here. There's even a list of over 100 sites that pay $50 to $3,000 per blog post.

I also plan to keep adding more writing markets as I find them.

Don't forget to sign up for updates so that whenever I add to these markets, you'll be the first to know about it plus you'll also be one of the first to know about all my latest books, writing articles, writing competitions, discounted offers and free ebooks.

There are always more ways to earn more money from your writing, I want to help you do it.

So use the email link in the sidebar to sign up for regular writing updates and then go to https://ruthiswriting.com/writingmarkets.html and start browsing, writing and submitting.

Have fun.

And keep writing. ✍

How to Make Your Writing Ludicrously Spectacular

Today I have for you a real information-packed video by writer and marketer, Ann Handley.

It's all about writing, researching and making more money from your writing.

The video is just over an hour long and there is so much great information in it that you'll want to take notes.

I hope it really helps you.

Just click the video below and enjoy.