by Suzanne Lieurance There’s a version of the writing life that looks good on paper. The word counts are happening. You show up, you log the session, the project inches forward. And then there’s the version that’s harder to measure—where writing isn’t just what you do but who you are. Your whole life is shaped…
by Suzanne Lieurance The difference between writers who finish and writers who don’t isn’t visible at the beginning of a project. In those early weeks, everyone looks the same — energized, committed, full of ideas. The divergence happens later, at a specific moment that almost every writer will recognize. It’s the moment the excitement fades….
by Suzanne Lieurance There’s a question most writers never think to ask when they’re stuck. Not “What should I write next?” or “How do I fix this scene?” but something quieter and more fundamental: “Who do I believe I am?” Because what you believe about yourself as a writer shapes everything — how you show…
by Suzanne Lieurance Every writer knows that perfectionism is the enemy of finishing. It’s practically a cliché at this point. And yet knowing this doesn’t seem to stop it. You start a chapter feeling good. A few paragraphs in, you read back what you’ve written and something tightens. It’s not quite right. You go back…
by Suzanne Lieurance Most writers believe they’ve decided to finish their book. They’d tell you so confidently. But beliefs and decisions are different things, and your behavior usually knows which one you actually have. The gap between intending to finish and truly deciding to finish shows up in small, specific ways. Once you know what…
by Suzanne Lieurance If you’ve started more than one writing project, you may have noticed something uncomfortable. The place where you stall tends to look the same. Different story, different characters, different year — but the same wall. This isn’t bad luck. It’s a pattern. And patterns have causes you can identify. Understanding where and…
by Suzanne Lieurance There’s a version of the writing life that looks impressive from the outside. Marathon sessions. Thousands of words in a single sitting. The writer who disappears for a weekend and emerges with three chapters. That version is real for some people. But for most writers, it’s not sustainable — and chasing it…
by Suzanne Lieurance There’s a version of writing advice that says: just push through. Sit down, ignore how you feel, and write anyway. That advice isn’t wrong, exactly. But it skips over something important. How you feel when you don’t want to write usually has something to tell you — and if you learn to…
by Suzanne Lieurance Most writers put a lot of thought into how they begin a writing session. They set up their space, make their coffee, find the right playlist. They have rituals for getting in. What they rarely think about is how they get out. And that’s where a lot of momentum quietly dies. The…
by Suzanne Lieurance You probably have more than one writing project going right now. Maybe three. Maybe five. Maybe a folder full of ideas you keep meaning to get back to, plus the novel you’ve been working on for two years, plus the essay you started last month that felt urgent at the time. And…
March is not about starting something new. It’s about becoming the kind of writer who finishes. Many writers live in the beginning. New ideas. Fresh notebooks. Clean documents. That early rush of possibility.But finished work is created by a different identity — and that’s the identity we’re stepping into this month. This challenge is designed…
You’ve been at this long enough to know that rejection is part of the process. You’ve built up a certain resilience — the ability to read a “not for me” and move on without spiraling. That’s hard-won, and it matters. But here’s a trap that even seasoned querying writers fall into: treating every piece of…
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