Every once in a while, and for me it is usually the beginning of summer, we experience a drop in productivity or energy or motivation to do the things that are important for us. In my case, I think it happens when it does because I’ve just finished a major project (or two) and I need some down-time to relax and rejuvenate. The problem with doing this (definitely for me) is getting back out of relaxation mode and moving into productivity mode. I call this period my doldrums; basically, I know I need to get busy because I have lots of things on-the-go or coming up but I don’t have the momentum to get working on them. That lack of […]
Read moreTag: writing
Busy Brain
Being a creative person is usually a good thing…except when I have too many ideas percolating in my brain. Then, being creative merely means I’m a person with insomnia. I go to bed, try to shut down and my mind kicks into overdrive. Sleep? That only happens after every idea and scenario have played themselves out. To make matters worse, the ideas really aren’t ones I can use. At least, not right now. I already have more projects on the go than I probably should. More new ideas just add to the angst I feel at not spending more time writing on the ones I have. And they distract from the stories I’m trying to write; all that brainwork isn’t helping […]
Read moreKnow Thyself – Steps to Creating a Brand
I have been trying to create a “Michell Plested” brand for some time now. To date, that has included being active on social media, having a website and a podcast. It has also included the several books I now have available. But yesterday when I asked the question on Twitter what else I should do, @KevinWohler asked me who I was. He wasn’t asking the question as in, “Who are you? I have never met nor heard of you.” Instead, he was asking, “Who do you think you are and how do you want people to perceive you?” This is when I admit that I am lousy at self-evaluation and even worse at seeing myself through any lens other than […]
Read moreWriting in Multiple Universes
If you are like me, you have more stories floating around in your brain than you have time to actually write. Some of those stories involve one set of characters, others another. It can lead to all sorts of problems when it is time to actually sit down and do the writing. That doesn’t even consider how complicated the story-telling can be in a single novel. For example, I wrote a novel once where I had some important but secondary characters show up from time-to-time. The initial writing of the novel went by very quickly but with revisions and follow-up edits, the names (and some of the description) of those characters changed somewhere between the beginning and the end. Can […]
Read more