Archive | July, 2016

Writer’s Block and Medical Student Syndrome


Second-year medical school students are known to experience symptoms of many of the diseases they study, at least for the week they’re studying that particular ailment. It’s the placebo effect in reverse – focusing so much attention on symptoms causes med students to think they have them. “It’s not necessarily the reality that shapes us, […]

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So You’re a Frustrated Writer… Are You Frustrated Enough?


If you’re struggling to find a clever transition or the structure for your book, if you’d kill for a killer plot twist or the perfect word, you’re in luck! If you’re frustrated, stymied and stuck, congratulations! Frustration is a sign you are on the verge of a breakthrough. Frustration is not just an unpleasant side […]

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Best Laid Writing Plans…


I planned to write a different post and publish it yesterday; I hadn’t planned to get vertigo. So instead, here are my musings on balance and the lack thereof. Observation: It’s difficult in the extreme to write when the room keeps spinning and the monitor jerks from side to side. It’s difficult to even stay […]

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Step 4: Redirect Your Writing Past Distraction


There’s nothing wrong with distracting yourself sometimes. Distraction is one way your brain copes with stress and anxiety. What We’ve Learned So Far The challenge with being too distracted to write is that you’re usually too distracted to notice. Hence, Step 1 is to Recognize when you’re distracting yourself. Since we distract ourselves to diffuse […]

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