writing techniques Archives | Jennifer Lancaster

May 16, 2025

How Do You Keep on Writing and Being Productive on Blah Days?

I often witness non-fiction book writers have a dip in their motivation and self-belief. So what if you have those blah days, and can’t seem to think of a single good idea? The book ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King helped me long ago to realise: you just have to make a commitment to keep sitting down to write, despite not feeling like it. Prolific fiction writer Amy Suto said that a simple mindset shift early on changed everything for her. Her advice, whatever your feelings on the day: decide to show up imperfectly. “I’m going to do it without putting pressure on the outcome. I’m going to do it tired. I’m going to do it imperfectly.” Being a book coach is something that makes for fascinating party conversations. “Oh, you help people write a book? … I always wanted to write…

April 29, 2021

Book Writing

How Do I Make Writing Each Day a Habit?

Of course, it’s hard to ‘get time’ to write something for your book each day. That’s why you must make writing a habit. I’m sure if you’ve read the book ‘Atomic Habits’, you’ll know just how powerful it can be to instil some good habits. Look what it did for me! Does a certain amount of time go past before some tasks become an entrenched habit? According to two experts at MetaFact, it is unlikely, and certainly not the mythical 21 days. Wendy Wood of University of Southern California says, “Until you have laid down a habit in neural networks and memory systems, you must wilfully decide to repeat a new action again and again, even when it’s a struggle.”– Wendy Wood There is hope for those who want to write more often habitually though. Wendy states, “Adopt a new…

February 6, 2019

Book Writing

Revealing Truth in Creative Nonfiction Writing

There’s a certain kind of authentic voice and language that connects to your emotions, that you might find in outstanding creative nonfiction books and some self-help books. If you want to know what creative nonfiction is, it is the gripping, narrative style of writing but telling a factual story. Like any other skill, I believe you can learn to write in a more ‘raw and real’ way. Although at times I struggle with this myself. So push aside the academic ‘balanced view’, stamp down your prim English rules (occasionally), and let’s get to their hearts and minds. Raw and Revealing Recently, I was critiquing and editing a spiritual self-development book which contained many unconventional ideas. The author was obviously well-read but there were few references or evidence to back the ideas. This was more of a choice rather than an…