Let me share something written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:

Now, before I go too far here, let me clear up something. I do own a publishing company. WMG Publishing publishes all of my work. (Eventually, anyway. I do publish some things in anthologies and other venues, sometimes first.) The team there does a huge amount of advertising, usually on a budget, and always effectively. They’re refocusing their efforts because we have a new Shopify store. They’re slowly getting our 1,000 titles on the site.

Note that 1000 titles at the bottom. That’s a thousand titles put out by Kris and her husband Dean Wesley Smith. A thousand titles by two authors. And that’s not even fast. (more…)

Veritasium says it all. The key 3 points of how to make New Year’s resolutions that stick:

• Keep it small
• Write it down
• Adapt your environment, not yourself

See the entire thing here:

So you’re finally going to start writing that novel. But there is a problem. You don’t know how to craft the perfect first sentence.

But you’ve found a book that talks about this. That’s good. However, it’s going to be two week’s delivery. That’s bad.

But you’ve found it in a second hand shop two towns over. You can get it today. That’s good. Except that your car has summer tires, and it’s a bit snowy outside. That’s bad. (more…)

I don’t usually plug email spam, but this you’ve got to see.

James Clear, writer of Atomic Habits, has a weekly newsletter where he delivers 3 quotes from himself, 2 quotes from others, and 1 inspiring, actionable question.

The quotes are all short, to the point, and, quite frankly, great. The question usually has me thinking about how I can improve my life.

Here are some examples: (more…)

I like the vlog brothers (that’s John and Hank Green, also John’s a great writer). They come up with some of the best ideas ever.

Here’s how they do it.

Ever had a story that started out with a great idea, and then… died?

Like the first chapter is amazing. The second is OK. The third is so boring you want to rip it all out.

What you’re describing is the moment where the brilliance of the idea fades. (more…)

I’ve got a soft spot for learning methods.

Anything that promises to be a productivity hack gets my attention. This video is a quick and sometimes brutal overview of how to study, it’s aimed at students but works for everyone.

Also, I wish I’d found it earlier because I’ve already implemented a number of those techniques on my own. Watching a 12 minute video would have been a much faster way of doing it. (more…)

We humans are obsessed with easy and free.

The five minute workout. The sweepstakes giveaway. The 10 simple ways to increase your productivity. Seven habits of highly successful people. Three core rules of effective leadership.

All of this is a result of our biology. (more…)

This is a long story.

It spans 10 years, a million words and about six kilograms. But first some background.

I am a middle aged gentleman on the wrong side of the middle. I’ve got two jobs, three kids have no time.

When I started being serious about my writing, wanting to take it from a dream to a career, I had to cut out something from my day. So I don’t watch TV anymore. I used that time to write.

I cut down on useless web surfing. Or I try. I do spend a bit too much on the YouTube science and writing channels. But I found those things that I could trim from my schedule, and used that time to write. (more…)

Once upon a time in the dark ages of economic history, the human being was a rational agent.

We evaluated what we want, and found the cheapest way to get it. This, of course, had nothing to do with how humans act in reality. Instead, there came the much simplified theory of behavioral rewards.

It said that the brain creates neural pathways, using dopamine to reinforce or suppress them based on the rewards it’s received. This, too, proved wrong. (more…)