October 28, 2025May 23, 2025 by winkbooks

A Writer’s Halloween?

Listen to The Write Focus podcast on Horror Stories that Writers Tell.

Writer's Block ~ Defeat It / Overcoming Type 3 / 7:40 September 16, 2026
Writer’s Block looms like a sharp-clawed monster over every writer. A daily discipline—No Day without Lines—is extremely helpful, no matter how many you schedule for a particular day. Nulla Dies Sine Linea is our mantra, right? We can overcome a simple refusal to write by maintaining discipline and side projects and our escapes when we’re […]
M.A. Lee
Writer's Block ~ Defeat It / Overcoming Type 2 / 7:39 September 9, 2026
Defeating Writer’s Block is easy to say, not so easy to do. We writers have to discover the problem we’re having with those pesky little words. 1st, we have to find those pesky words—and they do like to hide. 2nd, we have to write those found words down—whether in a notebook or straight to the […]
M.A. Lee
Writer's Block ~ Defeat It / Overcoming Type 1 / 7:38 September 2, 2026
Hey! Our claim is that Writer’s Block doesn’t exist? And you say, “I don’t believe it. I’m blocked. I’m suffering with Writer’s Block.” Believe it or not, the truth is that Writer’s Block does NOT exist. Not. No way. Nope. We can write, but something keeps us from writing what we very well need to […]
M.A. Lee
Writer's Block ~ Defeat It / Intro & Quiz / 7:37 August 26, 2026
Can you name a phrase that every writer fears? Try “Writer’s Block”. We writers all have a deep-seated fear when we hear those two words side by side. Writer’s Block—those should be forbidden to speak together. We have quite a number of pro writers who claim there’s no such things as Writer’s Block, and I’m […]
M.A. Lee
Writing is a Biz / Quick Tips for Writers 19 / 7:34 August 19, 2026
Writing is a Business. Yes, it is a creative endeavor … with a business result. I do not like to call my writing a Product. I think in projects, not products. Yet each blog post, short story, flash fiction, novel, guidebook, they are products that I am selling in my business. When you put your […]
M.A. Lee
Plan your Work & Work your Plan / Quick Tips for Writers 18 / 7:33 August 12, 2026
Plan your Work, & Work your Plan. Back at Quick Tip 14 we talked about overcoming difficulties by setting work deadlines, using math skills to determine the number of writing days and how that time will fit into the calendar. Knowing that time frame helps us to avoid that dark fear of back-pedaling instead of […]
M.A. Lee
7 Stages of Writing / Quick Tips for Writers 17 / 7:32 August 5, 2026
Tackling the next book requires three sets of seven. The Plot 7 determines the conflict that will drive the story. 7 Character Sets will develop the story’s heart and mind. Our focus in this segment will be the 7 Writing Stages. I did not say seven drafts of the novel—These are the seven work stages, […]
M.A. Lee
7 Character Sets / Quick Tips for Writers / 7:31 July 29, 2026
As with the seven scenes that build the story, introduced in the last segment, seven character sets develop the story, increasing the conflict, intensifying suspense or adding complications. The four main characters who drive the conflict of the story are protagonist, antagonist, an important friend or ally, and the seeming ally. Our purpose in this […]
M.A. Lee
Tackle the Next Book / Quick Tips for Writers 15 / 7:30 July 22, 2026
In considering your next writing, what is your first approach? Many start with a situation: a thriller in the backwoods. Others start with character: a free-willing type faced with his two orphaned nieces. Or you wake up with a title, and the story springs out when you sketch a few ideas. We are never truly […]
M.A. Lee
Overcoming Difficulties / Quick Tips for Writers 14 / 7:29 July 15, 2026
Overcoming difficulties is a constant process, no matter which profession you enter. All my guidebooks on writing contain insights that I wish I had understood then. Instead, I nodded along, thinking I understood, but I didn’t turn those insights into practical application. Many writers talked about difficulties and consistency, but they usually added the dreaded […]
M.A. Lee