Are you finding it hard to write? We live in deeply unsettling times, and it's easy to get distracted by all that's going on in the world. Here's a brief list of ideas to jumpstart your writing and help you get out of your own head for a moment:

 

1) Apply to a writing contest. Years and years ago, I won a local short story prize, and it gave me the confidence I needed to keep plugging away at my writing

How do musicians write lyrics that instantly fill us with joy, sadness, or inspiration in just a few short lines? In this week-long, teen remote class, you'll explore the connections between writing and music, and learn the strategies and techniques that top musicians — like Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, Biggie, Fred the Godson, BabyFace, Alicia Keys, Jhene Aiko, Amy Winehouse, J.Cole., and more! — use to write songs that move us emotionally and land at the top of the Billboard charts.

 

While writing your own lyrics and verses, you'll also learn the Art of 16 …

By Katrin Schumann

I sat down to write this post and have now written four openings and ditched them all.

What do writers need to hear in times like this? How can I be helpful to others when that which binds us--our obsessive love of words, books, writing--is overshadowed so universally by our fear of the unknown? 

Do I tell you how to make lemons out of lemondade?* Do I reveal that I'm writing page after page despite the uncertainty and boredom

By Katrin Schumann

How long does it really take to write a book? From beginning the first draft to seeing it on bookshelves? It's generally accepted that more books = more success/ happiness. But what does being "productive" really mean, and does it make you happy as a writer? 

I used to think the solution to almost all writerly problems lay in having more time—a comforting thought since I had so very little of that particular commodity. Simple, I thought: when I have more time, I'll do more writing, and I'll be happy and productive.

On some level this is obviously true, but time …

If your New Year's resolution is to write a lot more than you did this year, then don't miss out on these January 3-hour seminars and 6-hour weekend workshops:

 

Friday, 1/10 & Saturday, 1/11

• Personal Stories for Public Change: Election Year
• Touchy Feely: How to Get Emotional Without Making a Mess
• So You Want to Be a Writer in 2020? Section A
• Overcoming Writer's Block

Friday, 1/17 & Saturday, 1/18

• Interior Landscapes: Creating Depth in Fiction
• Novel Essentials: Pacing
• Building a World from the Ground Up
• The Mechanics of Powerful Prose
• Jumpstart Your Writing
• Transgender Character Bootcamp

Wednesday, …