by Michael Mahin | Blog, Creativity, The Writing Process, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
For writers, as well as athletes, there’s nothing like being in the zone. Distractions fall away, time disappears, and your work seems to write itself. Unfortunately for most writers, being in the zone is rare—instead of inspiration, we feel dread; instead of knowing,... 
by Michael Mahin | Blog, The Writing Process, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
There’s a reason you listen to Metallica when you’re doing Crossfit. It’s the same reason you listen to raindrops when you’re doing yoga. It’s because music has a powerful influence on mood, so powerful it can actually elicit a physiological response. But as a... 
by Michael Mahin | Blog, Creativity, The Writing Process, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
Attitude is everything. You’ve heard it a thousand times. You’ve probably even said it yourself. And yet, sometimes a bad attitude still gets the best of us. Sometimes we hate our writing. Sometimes we hate our agents. And sometimes, maybe, we even hate ourselves.... 
by Michael Mahin | Blog, Creativity, Story Development, The Writing Process, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
If you’re like me, you love writing. And…you hate it. Sometimes at the same time. We writers are full of contradictions when it comes to writing. We savor our alone time, yet we want to be loved by our peers. We want to create art, yet we want to be on the bestseller... 
by Michael Mahin | Blog, Creativity, The Writing Process, Voice, Writers on Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips
Like most of us, Ray Bradbury was a lover of stories. Dime novels, comic books, anything with words. But as he wrote in his classic memoir on the craft of writing, Zen in the Art of Writing, this love of stories made it hard for him to find his own writing voice: “I...
