Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

How to Finish a Big Writing Project: Six Effective Strategies

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Pens, notebook, keyboard, and pair of glasses on a table
Photo by Plush Design Studio

Last week, I completed a big writing project. I finished working on expanding and updating a small eBook on email marketing that I’d written several years ago and turning it into an in-depth online course. (I’ll be releasing it soon!)

At the same time, I’ve been working to wrap up the first draft of a novel that I started writing at the end of last year. I’m not at the finish line yet, but this week I reached 52,000 words total.

Working on both these projects has tested my endurance. A big writing project comes with many more challenges than writing a blog post or a short story.

It requires far more motivation, especially on those days when it feels like you’ll never make it to the end of the project.

It requires far more time because you have to devote months to the project, not just a handful of days or weeks.

And it requires far more planning up front so you don’t end up overwhelmed and unsure how to move forward from one day to the next.

In today’s article, I’m sharing six strategies that have helped me overcome these challenges and work diligently on big projects from start to finish.

I hope these strategies will help you whether you’re working on a novel, a nonfiction book, a college thesis, an in-depth digital product, or any other type of big writing project.

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]

5 Strategies to Boost Your Productivity While Working From Home

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Woman sitting on couch holding mug and looking out window
Photo by Trent Szmolnik

I’m writing this from North Carolina where I’m hunkering down at home with my family.

Since I’ve worked from home for over ten years, my daily routine hasn’t been affected very much. Everything feels like normal until I read the news or hear my neighbor’s high school age son playing basketball in the driveway during school hours.

But maybe you’re like many of my friends and family members and suddenly find yourself working from home for the first time. It can be a big adjustment from working in an office, especially if you have kids at home too.

That’s why I’ve written this article for you.

I’m sharing several tips and strategies I’ve collected over the years that help me boost my productivity while working from home.

I hope they will help you too as we all adapt to this difficult situation we’re currently experiencing.

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]

A Look Back at January 2020

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Notebooks with words "Field Notes" on cover and compass

Hey, friends! Last August, I wrote up a recap of the month and thought it was a fun way to keep you updated on projects I’m working on as well as a way to share books I’ve recently read or movies I’ve watched that I thought you might enjoy.

Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to write any more monthly recaps in 2019, but I thought, “Why not try to revive it this year?” If you like this format and would like to see future posts like this, let me know in the comments.

Without further ado, here are some highlights of what I wrote, what I read, and what I watched this past month: [Read more…]

Two Essential Journals That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals

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Brown leather journal with compass on cover rests on top of a laptop | Two Essential Journals That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals
Photo by Colton Sturgeon
Want to connect with other writers? Make sure to get your invitation to my private writing community on Facebook!

Have you set a big goal for the year? Maybe you plan to finally write a novel or start an email list or go to the gym each morning or learn a new language.

But maybe you’re also a little worried because you’ve broken New Year’s resolutions in the past.

You made significant progress towards your goals at first, but then your schedule became busier than you expected, your motivation ebbed, and those goals looked further and further out of reach.

Studies by Dr. John Norcross show that 60% of the people who make resolutions in January will no longer be following them by July.

Why are resolutions so difficult to keep?

“It’s human to slip up,” Dr. Norcross says. “Our evidence-based research shows that people who are successful at keeping their New Year’s resolutions slip as many times as people who are unsuccessful.”

It’s just that people who are unsuccessful slip up and give up. But people who are successful have systems in place that ensure they stay positive, pick themselves up, and learn from their slip-ups, tweaking their plan of action so they don’t fail again in the future.

Journaling is one of my favorite systems to use to help me stay accountable to my goals. In today’s post, I’m sharing my two journaling methods that help me track my progress on different projects, learn from my slip-ups, and motivate me to keep working towards my goals and not give up.

These journals have helped me build a successful blog and email list, learn three foreign languages, and finish many writing projects. I can’t wait to hear what they will help you achieve.

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]

Why I’m Joining NaNoWriMo This Year (And My Top 5 Tips on How to Win)

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Closeup of typewriter keys
Photo by Camille Orgel on Unsplash

This is a post I first wrote in October 2016. Since I’m planning on participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, I decided to update and republish it. Are you joining in NaNoWriMo too? Make sure to get your invitation to my private Facebook group for writers!

November is only a few days away, and that means that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo!) is nearly upon us.

If you’ve never heard of NaNoWriMo before, it’s a month-long event where writers challenge themselves to pen a 50,000-word novel (about the length of novels like The Great Gatsby or Fahrenheit 451).

The goal is to begin writing on the first of November and finish by midnight of November 30. You can plan and outline your story as much as you like beforehand, but the actual writing of the story can only be done during November.

Now, those are the official rules, but many writers adapt NaNoWriMo to their own goals. [Read more…]