YouTube

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How I use my notebooks as a writer & creative

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How I use my notebooks as a writer & creative

I love new notebooks. They contain such promise - but I think that is why so many of us don’t use them. I know I certainly have a shelf FULL of blank pages.

But I’ve been watching Sarra of Heart Breathings on YouTube and she has been giving advice on how we can fill our notebooks with her video: How to fill your empty notebooks.

This got me thinking about my notebooks and how they have helped me with my planning, my business and my writing and creativity over the past few years. So, I decided to open the pages and show you the insides.

Do I struggle with perfectionism (and other questions)

Do I struggle with perfectionism (and other questions)

Last week I recorded a video where I answered some of the questions I’ve been asked on Instagram and in my private Facebook group.

I’m not going to lie I felt all sorts of terrified whilst undertaking this small project. Fear and worry about my face being on screen for thirty minutes, imposter syndrome as I thought - who am I to be giving advice or talking about my writing journey I haven’t achieved anything. And also a kind of invisibility frustration. The latter something I need to think about further and maybe write a blog post about it.

But I pushed through my fears and sent it live and have had some lovely feedback.

I was asked about:

  • Patreon

  • Whether I struggle with perfectionism (my immediate thought was no but realised I do in some cases)

  • How I decide between what I should do and what I truly want to do

  • Is it too late to be on social media?

  • How to get past the numbers

  • My favourite part of everything I do

  • My journey as a writer

  • My major stepping stones that helped me get to this point

  • Vlogging

Click on the post to find out more. Or go straight to the video: Online Creativity Q&A

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A tour of my writing desk

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A tour of my writing desk

How I've set my writing desk up to help me with my posture (and for organisation of all my notebooks and pens!)

I've had so many questions on Instagram about my desk now I have added a keyboard, monitor, mouse, wooden riser and tucked my laptop away underneath so I thought I'd make a short video about the equipment I've used and where it's all from.

Click to read the full post and see the video.

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Exciting book releases for 2019!

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exciting book releases for 2019

I often get books through the post directly from publishers. This can often be well in advance of the book’s publication date. And I love receiving them.

The six in the video are those that have really grabbed my attention. Some of them I’ve read, and some I cannot wait to read. One made me laugh out loud (rare for a book to do that to me), one was my favourite read from 2018 and one (the one above) I just utterly adored.


Books mentioned:

Dry Hard by Nick Spalding: https://amzn.to/2SXC54A US link: https://amzn.to/2spCaSY

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden: https://amzn.to/2Cmhj7z US link: https://amzn.to/2M9URDi

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield: https://amzn.to/2SQjIP6 US link: https://amzn.to/2SQLydX

The Day we Met by Roxie Cooper: https://amzn.to/2HbsR36 US link: https://amzn.to/2TTpQpT

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary: https://amzn.to/2RsBomZ US link: https://amzn.to/2FAdH5c

Needlemouse by Jane O'Connor: https://amzn.to/2SQjXK0

exciting new book releases for 2019. Do you enjoy fiction that makes you feel cosy? Good stories to read by the fire or curled up in an armchair? Here is a video of some exciting releases for 2019.
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PLAN WITH ME | December 2018 | How I plan my writing & blogging content

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PLAN WITH ME | December 2018 | How I plan my writing & blogging content

As this is the second month’s PLAN WITH ME that I’ve done - in this video I look back at how I did during November. Did I stick to my plan? Did I create all the videos I’d written down in my notebook and did I finally write and send out my essay? Spoiler: yes I did. But I didn’t manage everything.

For December my content is going to focus on food, baking and books as we hurtle towards the festive season and as we head towards January I’ll be writing about blogging and online creativity more.

I also look at what I did from a business point of view during November. I added tiers to my Patreon offering and signed up to a few affiliate link companies.


PLAN WITH ME | December 2018 | How I plan my writing & blogging content
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PLAN WITH ME | November 2018 | Planning for writing, creativity & productivity

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PLAN WITH ME | November 2018 | Planning for writing, creativity & productivity

During September and October my writing & creativity productivity increased despite having a new puppy to tame. My blog stats doubled and I started a number of projects including my YouTube channel.

However, whilst writing a round up of how my writing projects had gone during the month of October I realised that I still hadn't got over the fear when it came to writing my essays and my novel. My head was full of ideas, sentences, projects so I decided to do a brain dump/mind map of everything that was in my head to do with YouTube, my essay on creative confidence (that I send out via Patreon) and my novel. This mind map then led to me writing the specific details of each task in my notebook.

As with my video on Planning My Writing Month it was an incredibly simple task - but also effective. Just this week I have crossed off a number of items off my list including the feared essay!

Watch the video for more…

PLAN WITH ME | November 2018 | Planning for writing & creativity