I wanted to compile a list of some of my favorite resources and tips for writers. Enjoy, and please leave comments with your own helpful tips, tricks, books and links for writers!

Top Tips:

1.) Set a daily word count. Start slow and build yourself up. Stephen King recommends 2,000 words a day, and you can speed-write 500 words in 15-30 minutes if you focus. Pick a number and start meeting it.

2.) Now that you have a daily word count, create a log where to track your word count/time you worked for the day. I use a GoogleDoc for this. Or, print out a log and post it above your workspace.

3.) Get a goal. What do you want to write? Start writing it and don’t stop until it’s done. Do not stop until it is done.  Once you meet your original goal you can move on to the next project. This is especially helpful if you have a million ideas for stories popping into your head.

3.) Write every day. If you can’t make your desired word count for the day, write 500 words. Even if your schedule is truly packed, anyone can squeeze in 500 words or 15-20 minutes of editing right before bed.

4.) Read every day. Nothing makes me want to write more than reading a good book.

6.) Set your own deadline. Maybe it’s to finish a novel in two months, re-write a poem by the end of the day or submit a short story to a magazine by the end of May. Whatever your deadline is, make it, tell people about it and stick to it! Deadlines and peer pressure work.

7.) The more you write, the better you write. The more you practice, the better a writer you will become.

9.) Don’t worry about the outcome. Take your mind off the end result and focus on having fun with the process.

10.) Stick with it! It can be really hard when what comes out on the page doesn’t sound or look the way you envisioned. Keep going. Re-write, re-write, re-write. Edit, edit, edit. If you keep plugging away at it, the work will get better. And, if you work long enough and hard enough you might even wind up with a piece of work you love.

Indispensible Writing Books:

The Right to Write by Julia Cameron (friendly, inspiring, practical)

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (every creative person needs this book)

On Writing by Stephen King (buy this book now!)

Build Your Dreams: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love by Chip + Alexis (shameless self-promotion, but packed with practical tips!)

Online Sources:

www.publishersmarketplace.com – find your agent!

http://www.allisonwinn.com/ask-allison/ (6 years of questions answered about publishing, finding an agent, selling a book, writing a book, etc.)

www.nanowrimo.org – National Novel Writing month is in November. Sign up for the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days + helpful tips, forums and more

Resolution for a Routine worksheet – a worksheet by The Braid Creative to help you create a routine for your creative practices

7 Great Ways to Build Your Writing Routine – practical tips from litreactor.com

Backspace.org – published and established authors helping out other writers and offering advice on forum discussion boards

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/ – helpful information on writing proposals and more

Glimmer Train – publication for new writers + monthly email bulletins with “essays by creative-writing teachers and other published authors on craft, perspective, and the particulars of writing and getting published”

Inspiration:

“Your Elusive Creative Genius” – a 20 minute TEDTalk by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Write Like a Motherf@#$er – a kick in the pants from the advice column Dear Sugar, by Cheryl Strayed

To help you discover your dream, you are going to create a bucket list. A bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die. When you create your list, don’t censor yourself. Now is the time to get creative, and let your imagination run wild with every weird, wild, or wonderful thing you want to accomplish or experience with the time you’ve been given.

Now, get a blank piece of paper and a pen, set a timer for ten minutes, and create your bucket list. List as many items as you want.

Exercise: To help you discover your dream, you are going to write your own obituary. In this obituary, you are going to be imaging your dream life. Be sure to include:

• What did you accomplish with your life? Get specific.
• How did you gave back to those around you?
• How will you be remembered? How do your loved ones, friends or fellow professionals remember you? How does the world remember you?
• Where did you live? Where did you travel?
• Did you do anything really fun, adventurous, exciting, or cool?
• What is the lesson people will learn from your life? (i.e. dream big, give back, always keep learning…)

Now, set a timer for fifteen minutes and write your obituary, as fast as you can.

Once your time is up, reflect back on your obituary by answering the following questions:

1. Out of the accomplishments you listed, which one do you want to work on first? Go with your gut answer.
2. Are there any common themes in the accomplishments you listed? (For example: animals, working outside, the arts…)
3. What can you do today to start working towards the goals in your obituary? Pick something small and easy as your first step. (For example if one of the accomplishments in your obituary was ending homelessness in the U.S., can you find a homeless shelter in your area to volunteer at sometime this week or weekend?)
4. What are 5 mini-goals you can set for this month to get you closer to the accomplishments you wrote about in your obituary or explore them further?

The best way to learn the language and structure of business plans is to look at real-life examples. Some great resources to check out are:

• bplans.com/sample_business_plans.com
• SBA.gov
• Entrepreneur.com
• And at the bottom of the post we’ve listed some sample plans.

                                                  Elements of a Business Plan:

1. Cover page: Business name and contact information.
2. Table of contents: Lists all the sections of the plan and page numbers.
3. Executive summary: One-page overview that summarizes the whole report.
4. Business description: How your business satisfies a need.
5. Business environment analysis: What is the outlook for the industry you are getting into? Why is it a good time to start this type of business?
6. Industry background: your experience in the industry or other qualifications.
7. Competitor analysis: Prove that there is a market for this product or service by listing competitors who have had success in the field. Then, point out competitors’ weaknesses and how you plan to be better than them.
8. Target market: Describe which demographic will want your product. For example, new parents living in the suburbs.
9. Marketing plan: Describe how you plan to reach your target audience. For example, Internet advertising, phone calls and email, billboards, commercials, or magazine ads.
10. Management summary: Who is in charge, why are they qualified, and what is their vision for the business?
11. Operations plan: Describe the process of creating your product from start to finish. Where and how will you produce your product/service? How will you assure quality? What raw materials do you need? Who will be your suppliers?
12. Financial plan: Describe your plans to get funding, what expenses you are expecting, and how you will generate revenue over time.
13. Attachments and milestones: Include any other relevant information, achievements, or awards.

Here are some more industry-specific sample business plans to check out:

• Resturant
• Coffeehouse
• Start a brewery
• Produce farm
• Online retail store
• Jewerly creation + studio
• Retail store
• Computer programming/video game company start-up
• Public Relations Firm
• Event Planning
• Graphic Design Agency
• Marketing consultation
• Interior Design
• Lawn and Landscaping Services 
• Open a speciality grocery store or health food store
• Salon (Hair or Nail)/Spa
• Resort/Hotel
• Bed and Breakfast
• Open a gym or studio (updated version)
• Open a theater/music venue
• Start a magazine

*if you don’t see your business idea on this list, check out bplans.com

Clutter is anything you don’t need, use on regular basis, or actually want in your living space. Clutter can be duplicates of things you already own, gifts from people you love but never use, or a sweater you haven’t worn in two years.

Physical clutter creates mental clutter – and both hold us back and distract us from pursuing our dreams. After all, it’s hard to move forward or concentrate on new goals when our environment is out of control, disordered or filled with the past.

• Some clutter has negative energy to it. This kind of clutter includes stuff you have held on to that reminds you of an unhappy time – a box full of photos of friends you no longer speak to, the old textbook from a class you failed on your bookshelf, or the pair of khakis from the waitressing job you hated that hang out in your bottom dresser drawer.
• Other clutter holds us hostage to the past. What reminders of the old you are you holding onto for nostalgic reasons? Old trinkets, stuffed animals, or the drying flowers from your prom corsage?
• All clutter is discouraging and overwhelming. We cannot make progress when our lives feel swamped with stuff.

This week, take our spring-cleaning challenge: get rid of 25 items from your living space. Why? By getting rid of some stuff you will make mental, emotional and physical space for a new you.

What can you get rid of?

Donate, sell online (depending on the condition) or gift to a willing recipient:

• Clothes, shoes, or accessories you haven’t worn in a year
• Luggage, backpacks, or purses that haven’t seen the light of day in months
• Books you won’t re-read or movies you don’t love
• Kitchen clutter – glasses you don’t use, extraneous pots or pans, random silverware that wound up in your drawer
• Old supplies from a long-gone hobby -that ice cream maker you used once, your old field hockey stick, a manual on animation
• Extra storage bins, shoe racks, hangers, etc.
• Furniture you don’t like or don’t really need
• Linens, kitchen towels, oven mitts, potholders, bathroom towels, beach towels or washcloths.
• Duplicates of anything – do you really three muffin tins, twenty bath towels, or seven black t-shirts?
• Old eyeglasses. The Lion’s Club has drop boxes for old glasses, or you can mail them off to a Club. Learn more here: http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/our-work/sight-programs/eyeglass-recycling/how-you-can-help.php
• Old cell phones and chargers. Donate your old cell phone to Operation Gratitude, which sends cell phones to the troops. Learn more here: http://www.grcrecycling.com/recycle-cell-phones-to-benefit-our-military?gclid=CKb3j_yRzbYCFTSVMgodTQIArw

Toss or recycle:

• Tech gear that doesn’t work or is incompatible with your current equipment (broken ear buds, anyone?)
• Documents. What receipts, papers, memos, old schoolwork, programs, newsletters, newspapers or magazines are you holding onto that you don’t really need any more? (Be sure to shred anything sensitive).
• Anything that is ripped, stained, broken, or can’t be re-used.
• Old batteries. Find a place to recycle here: http://www.makethedrop.ca/?gclid=CLKn6MCRzbYCFc5cMgodbxcAOg

If you’re feeling bold, try getting rid of some nostalgic clutter:

• Gifts you hate from people you love – ugly trinkets, clothing, artwork, books, movies, gadgets, or shoes that are not your style.
• Old photos, cards, posters, ticket stubs, programs, or mementos. Pick a set amount to save, like a shoebox or three photo albums, and consider recycling the less meaningful stuff.
• Stuffed animals
• Old uniforms
• Old awards, trophies or medals
• Guilt-ridden, “aspirational” items – The copy of War and Peace you tried to read four times, the padded bike shorts you only wore once, a calligraphy set to make hand-made thank you cards…if anything makes you feel bad, or reminds you of an long-gone goal, say goodbye!
• Items that represent the old you

Enjoy your cleaned-up physical and mental space for the upcoming summer, and if you feel motivated keep going after 25 items!

(photo credit)