Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

Why It‘s Okay to Be Afraid: John Steinbeck on Confronting Your Writing Fears

Published | Last Updated By 31 Comments

Photo of John Steinbeck reclining in a chair in front of a window
John Steinbeck, by Peter Stackpole, via Life

Do you struggle with fear as a writer?

Fear that your writing isn’t good enough? That people will criticize what you write? That you’ll write one good story and then never be able to write anything else?

Fears like these can feel overwhelming and make you think that maybe you should just give up on writing. It’s easy to imagine that the greatest writers confidently showed up each day at their typewriters, words flowing effortlessly from their fingers.

But that’s not true. Even the greatest writers are not immune to fear and self-doubt.

Nobel laureate John Steinbeck was one famous writer who wrestled with insecurity and severe anxiety throughout his entire writing career. But he didn’t let those fears defeat him.

Read on to discover his invaluable advice for how to confront your writing fears.

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5 Reasons Why You Have to Stop Editing Your Writing

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hand resting on computer keyboard

Ever hesitate when you’re about to hit publish on your latest blog post?

You’re sure you should give it one more read through.

Maybe you’ve missed a typo. Maybe you’ve misquoted someone. The wording in that third paragraph still doesn’t seem quite right.

Here’s what you need to do. Stop overthinking and just hit publish. [Read more…]

How to Become a Prolific Writer: Set a Daily Word Count Goal

Published | Last Updated By 17 Comments

Hallway in a bookshop lined on either side by stacks of books and shelves of books

Have you ever looked at the bibliographies of prolific writers and wondered how on earth they write so many books?

Do they just have an incredible amount of time to devote to writing?

A motor inside their hands that keeps them typing away?

A writing refuge where they can hide to block out all distractions from the world?

Actually, the answer is much simpler.

These prolific writers usually don’t lead unconventional lives nor do they possess any superhuman powers. Rather they have developed a single habit that anyone can master: setting a daily word count goal and following through every day.

Read on to discover the daily word counts of several prolific authors (some of these may surprise you!), and the best way to set your own daily word count goal. [Read more…]

Are You the Greatest Enemy of Your Creative Success?

Published | Last Updated By 18 Comments

Book Illustration Depicting Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a Train Cabin
Arthur Conan Doyle disliked writing detective stories so much that he killed off Sherlock Holmes. | Illustration by Sidney Paget

Have you ever started writing a story or a blog post and felt like it wasn’t turning out the way you had envisioned it in your head?

The words aren’t flowing quite the way you would like. Yet, you spent so much time working on it, that you decide to hit publish.

And your audience loves it.

In fact, they love it even more than anything else you have written. They demand more of the same.

What are you to do? Is your writing really as bad as you think?

Something similar happened to Arthur Conan Doyle. [Read more…]