Expert tips from a nurse-turned-writer

Hello writers,

How’s your week going? I recently visited Doune Castle — the castle used in filming Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as well as Outlander and Game of Thrones. The massive stone structure, narrow passageways, and grand halls got my storytelling juices flowing, although that story will have to wait...

My son is super over castles, but I could see them all and still want more. Do you like old historical sites?

Talk soon,

WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK

Expert quote productivity hack

When I write a first draft, I have to eliminate as many distractions as humanly possible. For me, trying to accurately name and label my expert sources as I write represents a major attention thief.

Here’s what it looks like when I try to take care of this detail in the moment. I start writing:

Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on almost every body system. “When you don’t get enough quality sleep, this lack affects your brain function, digestive system, heart health, and your mood,” says…Jane Doe…MD?

At which point, I think, “Is she an MD or a DO?”

Then, I Google the name with “MD” and find a few options. Before I know it, I’m knee-deep in LinkedIn profiles and “Meet Our Staff” pages, and I have completely derailed my writing flow.

So now I save that step for later. To start, when I get expert quotes or transcribe calls into text, I assign them a color in my doc, like this:

Then, as I write, I label their quotes using their assigned color, like this:

In my second draft, I use Cmd/Ctrl F to find and replace all my colors with the correct source names:

Which ends up looking like this:

This productivity hack has saved me hours of wasted concentration and helped me keep my focus in a first draft. How do you keep track of your source quotes as you write?

TRIVIA-PALOOZA

Incomplete masterpiece?

Your trivia question for the week is…

💡 What is the name of Jane Austen’s last unfinished novel?💡

(The answer’s at the bottom!)

FREELANCER/INDIE AUTHOR CORNER

You can’t rush writing

"It takes as long as it takes."

This is what I say to myself whenever I start to feel pinched for time and rush through a task. While I'm always looking for ways to work more efficiently, when it comes to research, writing, and editing, I have to force myself to *slow down.*

Sometimes, pieces take longer than you thought, but you can't let your work quality dip, or what's the point?

I'm learning through trial and error how much is too much work each day, week, and month, but so far it's been (fairly) smooth.

Do you catch yourself rushing through things when you feel pressed for more hours in the day?

‘Til next time

Thanks for reading and see you in a few weeks!

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💡 Find the trivia answer HERE 💡