• Productivity and Rewards

    How to stay productive with not enough sleep

    This is what works for me to stay productive when I haven’t had enough sleep. Everyone is different, and has a different level of energy and sleep requirements. For some people, pumping caffeine works. But the goal is to move as close to the ideal circadian rhythm as possible; i.e. wake up at or before sunrise, wind down at sunset. Front Loading The secret is front loading the most important task of the day. Get it done when you still have energy, as little as it may be. If you drink coffee or green tea, it’s best to use that bump in energy before it runs out. Do not keep…

  • Writing

    Dean Wesley Smith’s approach

    I just found this out this morning. Dean Wesley Smith’s approach to writing. What he says aligns very well to my own thinking. If you need awards and acclaims in order to listen to someone, he has written 200+ books, NYT bestseller and all the awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypG4iuJ9_ck Write into the dark. Start writing without really plotting or knowing where the story is going to go, and let your characters tell the story for you. Once you finish, don’t rewrite. Sure, show it to your alpha reader, and fix any typos or errors, but don’t get stuck in rewrites. Put it out there on the market and leave it there. Check…

  • What is the purpose? Prioritize
    Productivity and Rewards

    What is the purpose?

    Every second, ask yourself: What is the purpose of this moment? You are sitting in front of your computer, typing away trying to curb the fierceness of your thoughts, when an urge to look up an online sale comes along. And you step on the breaks of a 100 mile per hour train to full stop to skip to the next open tab and look for a few seconds. When you cannot find the item you want quick enough, you jump back to the previous tab, but the train is not there anymore. It exploded, and it took the tracks with it. And you try to go back to the…

  • Choosing a path
    Productivity and Rewards

    How to make better decisions

    If I was a person who ONLY made the right decision, what decision would I make right now? This is a question that should take permanent residence in your mind. It will help you make better decisions. When working out, there are a few ways to perform the same exercise routine. There is the light weight high repetition count, there is a high weight low repetition count, and then there is the no weight version. All of them have something in common: they allow you to pick and choose your difficulty level so you do not stop moving. Ever. Apply this to all other areas of your life and watch…

  • Writing

    Prose Styles – Plainsong and Baroque

    In prose, there are two different styles. Plainsong and Baroque. You might have heard of them. Let me explain each one briefly, and provide an example piece of text telling the same story in the two different styles. Plainsong Short sentences, not many adjectives and adverbs. Blunt and straightforward. The little girl came in. She murmured something to the teacher. She left the room running. The teacher announced the secret to the classroom. The girl had a crush on me. They all laughed. Baroque Ornamented. A lot of subordinate clauses. A lot of adjectives and adverbs, Pile on of detail and syllables. The little girl peeked with scared and longing…

  • Toolkit

    A simple exercise to get out of a writer’s block

    Reading time: 5 minutes Writer’s block is a widespread outbreak, but it has a cure. I bet you often wonder the same questions I do. “If I have a hyperactive brain that always gives me insomnia, how come there is a blank page before me when I try to put my thoughts down to paper?” Usually, the problem is that I am acting as the editor and writer, instead of only concentrating on writing. Trying to be both at once bricks my head like a lousy jailbreak job. When two drunk people at a bar are having a discussion, one talking louder on top of the other, nothing gets solved,…