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! / Erle Stanley Gardner's Secrets / 7:43 October 7, 2026
66,000 words per week 140 titles published ~ novels and short stories. Of that number, 100 of them sold over one million copies EACH. Translated into dozens of languages Used pen names because he was so prolific he had to disguise his output from editors Who is this great Defeater of Writer’s Block? Let’s try […]
M.A. Lee
Writer's Block ~ Defeat It! / Pro Writers' Advice, part B / 7:42 September 30, 2026
We’re back with more advice from Pro Writers on Defeating Writer’s Block. Let’s launch straight into business. TIMINGS 00:00 Welcome 00:40 Introduction 00:48 Barbara Kingsolver 03:00 William Stafford (poet) 03:50 Scott McCormick 09:15 Philip Pullman 12:07 Charlaine Harris 14:43 Last Words / Closing Total Run Time = 16:27 LINKS Quotations came from a variety […]
M.A. Lee
Writer's Block ~ Defeat It! / Pro Writer's Advice part A / 7:41 September 23, 2026
In the first four episodes of this series, The Write Focus shared how to defeat the three-headed monster called Writer’s Block. When we research the topic, we find articles that claim 5 types or 10 types of Writer’s Block. Shudder. I don’t want even to contemplate 10 types. Yet I read the article—so you don’t […]
M.A. Lee
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