Guest Blog Post By Angela Baker When you need that motivational, inspirational, or productivity boost, what is your go-to solution? Maybe you want to step up your inspiration game so this is where podcasts step onto the scene. If you haven’t yet embraced the wonderful world of podcasts, now is the time. There are tons of amazing podcasts that can spark that fire within you. Rather than surrendering to the writer’s block, test out the power of podcasts. Listening to the tips, stories, and techniques of other writers can give you a different perspective or innovative ideas. So, without further ado, here are some of the best inspirational podcasts that every writer should know about. 1. Magic Lessons by Elizabeth Gilbert The charming host of this podcast is Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of one of the must-read books “Eat, Pray, Love.” What you maybe don’t know is that she also revealed the secrets to her creative methods in the book “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.” Her podcast further reveals the ins and outs of the challenges that writers face. Elizabeth is opening the doors to her creative methods, writing struggles, ways of pursuing a writer’s goals, and much more. In addition to great tips, this podcast can make you laugh and overall fill you with positive energy. Sometimes that’s everything you need to get your mojo back. 2. The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity and Neuroscience by Keltorn Reid Kelton Reid, the author of this incredible podcast, confronts the mysteries of what kind of habits, techniques, and mindsets power great writers. He digs deep into their approach to productivity and creativity to single out the best advice for all the writers out there. Whether you need tips on how to brainstorm ideas, kill your block, or deal with remote working, you can find some useful information on this podcast. Take a sneak peek into the minds of some of the best-selling authors. 3. The Creative Penn by Joanna Penn A positive attitude, experience, and admirable mindset are what Joanna Penn brings to "The Creative Penn" podcast. As you get lost in one episode after another, you'll find every piece of information that a writer needs. Learn how to get inspired, embrace new writing techniques, and even get some advice on marketing your published book. New episodes come out every Monday, so this podcast can be a perfect way of starting the week on a positive note. What makes this podcast especially fascinating is that you’ll be able to broaden your horizons with information on technology, industry news, and so on. 4. Between the Covers by David Naimon
“Between the Covers” is a long-form podcast featuring hour-long conversations with writers. David Naimon brings in writers from different genres to provide a choice to their listeners. These thrilling and informative conversations are digging deep into writers’ backgrounds, methods, and creative processes. Hearing about how these writers find inspiration and spark their creativity can give you some fresh ideas. 5. Write Now by Sarah Werner In this motivational and honest podcast, Sarah Werner covers various topics from writing inspiration over best books to how to live a better life. When a dull day comes along, when nothing seems to matter, this is a podcast that can lift you up. There is something for every writer in this podcast. You might want to fill the rainy days with positivity or find the strength to start writing a dissertation discussion chapter. That's when you need to turn on the "Write Now" podcast. Just 30 minutes of well-spoken advice can give you the energy to head to Freedom or Write! App and start typing. 6. Beautiful Writers Podcast by Linda Sivertsen “Beautiful Writers” is your opportunity to listen to interviews with some of the best-selling authors such as Deepak Chopra, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Cheryl Strayed just to name a few. Get to know more about the writing processes of accomplished writers, their ups and downs, and how they spark creativity. The podcast gets up close and personal as writers share their anecdotes and how they battle with creative challenges. 7. Dead Robots’ Society by Justin Macumber, Paul Cooley, and Terry Mixon Aspiring writers can find their community in this podcast created by aspiring writers. You can get insight on writing novel openings, designing book covers with the right services such as Jdandj, celebrating your milestones, and more. Give your writing confidence a boost by joining the society of fellow writers who understand your writing woes. The awesome trio that brought this podcast to life, share their tips and experiences. They also bring some interesting guests from whom we can all learn a lot. 8. The Drunken Odyssey with John King John King is a writer and literary reviewer who is also the host of this great podcast. The treasures that hide behind this fun podcast title are discussions on creative writing, living the life of a writer, and finding the inspiration for creating a masterpiece. The goal of the podcast is to provide writers with a community where they can find information on anything that their writer's mind is curious about. Therefore, you can listen to authors' advice on how to build your characters, structure a novel, but also how to find inspiration and confidence to start writing. 9. So You Want to Be a Writer by Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait Successful journalists and authors Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait aim to demystify the path towards a writer's success. If you want to succeed as a writer you need to know how to navigate your career. With Valerie and Allison on your side, you can learn all about publishing trends, writing techniques, and how to get your big break. Moreover, the podcast will uncover proven ways of dealing with writer’s block and getting your inspiration back on track. 10. Happier by Gretchen Rubin This podcast isn’t designed solely for writers. However, considering that the hosts are the bestselling author Gretchen Rubin and her sister, TV writer, Elizabeth Craft, it is worthy of a writer's attention. Feeling confident and satisfied are the key ingredients for building your writing stamina. With the practical habit-related tips that this podcast offers, you’ll be headed in the right direction towards a successful and fulfilling life. Both Gretchen and Elizabeth reveal the obstacles they had to face as writers and what kept them going. Learn from their experiences and look at their inspiring stories as lessons. Don’t hesitate to give these podcasts a try and get a glimpse into the lives and ways of praised writers. Instead of learning from your own mistakes, you can absorb the pearls of wisdom of successful authors. Get lost in the voice of well-spoken and inspiring people who will lift your spirits and give you the strength to fight for your big break. BIO: Angela Baker is a writer, editor, and proofreader. She is always seeking to discover new ways for personal and professional growth and is convinced that it's always important to broaden the horizons. That's why Angela develops and improves her skills throughout various writing projects. Her biggest aspiration is to inspire people to pursue their dream of being a writer.
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Writing a book for most of us is a very solitary task, in those pre-pandemic days you may have wandered off to your local coffee shop and spent a couple of hours diligently increasing the word count of your manuscript, admittedly you are now surrounded by people, but you are still working alone. And the thing about working alone is that motivation (after a while) can stagnate. And this is the thing, many people start off a new project, goal, or task with the best of intentions only to get three months in and slowly lose the motivation to stick with it, how many gym memberships are used like crazy in Jan/Feb and then by June have been canceled? The same goes with diets, everyone has the best of intentions and then when any roadblock is faced, they quit, regaining any weight lost and going back to unhealthy habits. How many unfinished manuscripts are stored in long forgotten folders on laptops and PCs? Every single one of them started with the best of intentions and now they lay waiting for their authors to return and complete them? It always makes me wonder just how many great works of literature are missing from libraries because they were never finished, I am not saying that every single book that does not get completed was going to be a masterpiece, but there will be some that would have been, by not following through on that intention to write the book, the world is deprived of its impact and beauty. So, if you are halfway through writing a book and are struggling with the motivation to finish it, what can you do to regain the impetus you may need? Here are seven great ways that can give you that motivation. One – Set a realistic daily writing goal Writing daily may not be the first thing you would expect to read (after all, you are not motivated to write, so why should the first tip simply be to start writing again!!!???), most people lose motivation because they associate the task with something arduous, by breaking the act of writing into smaller chunks of just 100 – 300 words per day, your chances of getting back into the habit of writing increase dramatically. So, yes, the first tip is to simply start writing again, but this time with more manageable daily goals, you should look forward to writing, if you only spend 30 mins per day doing it, that’s fine. Two – Peace and Quiet Being distracted has never been easier than before, we all have cell phones that constantly beg for our attention, our laptops will be eager to show notifications the second they arrive, your kids will need you for something every five minutes and don’t even try to work if the TV is on. If you are breaking your routine to write into small manageable periods, you need to ensure that you make the most of this time, and a distraction free environment is vital to do this. Wherever you choose to write, it should be free of distractions, turn off your notifications, switch off your cell phone and lock the door (as long as it’s safe to do so of course), getting into the flow of writing for just 30 mins will be so much more productive when done in an environment of peace and quite. Three – Get Social Connecting with other writers on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads (along with the many other forums/platforms) is a great way to increase your motivation, speaking with others who may be in the same place as you or who have published and are promoting their work can really help. It can increase your motivation and enthusiasm for writing once more, getting involved with conversations within your genre and even just within writing in general sparks the inspiration to continue. Get social, get motivated! Four – Track your progress Having a clear understanding of how much you’ve completed can really help in motivating you to finish the book, this really helps when you’re three or four months into the project. If you have set a daily goal of 300 words for example, you can work out that if you stick to writing five days a week, after four months you will have written 24,000 words (and this is by only writing 300 words per day and only five days per week). The goal here is to finish your book, it is NOT a race and if it takes a couple of years, it takes a couple of years…….where’s the issue with that? Five – Look after yourself
A healthy body and mind do wonders for motivation both in writing and life in general, exercising and eating right will help you to maintain the energy you will need to write your book to the best of your ability. Always seek professional advice on where you are and what you should do to get/keep in shape. Six – Be a professional If you want your book to be taken seriously, and for you to be taken seriously as a writer who finishes what they say they will finish, now is the time to step up and act like the professional author you want to be. Tell others that you have set a goal of writing a book and get them to hold you accountable, set the commitment of daily writing and keep to it, tell people that you will donate an amount of money to an organization that you disagree with if you do not achieve your goal. Seven – Read Read more of the greats within the genre that you are either writing in or that inspires you, read every day for at least 10-15 mins and reflect on the craft of the author. Learning from the best within the literary world helps you to both fine tune your skills and at the same time become inspired. There is a great book within you, and the world will be a better place with it published for us all to read. Don’t give up! |
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