This year I’m blogging my book De-Stress Your Writing Life, and I’ve done my best to post a chunk of it here every Friday. But at the moment I’m battling a viral infection that is not only refusing to relinquish it’s killer hold on my throat, but has also caused a flare up of my chronic fatigue. So for the sake of my health I’m not pushing myself to write until the flu symptoms have passed.

Instead, I’m going to compile a list of the De-Stress Your Writing Life posts we’ve had so far and the headings covered. Firstly, here is the post where I announced the book and my blogging plans.

The blue headings are hyperlinks to the posts. The bullet points under the hyperlink show the headings within that post. 

Introduction

• Where Does Writing Stress Come From?
• How This Book Works

Is This the Right Book for You?

• Who This Book is Not For
• Who This Book is For

Section Introduction: Mindset

Chapter 1. A Writer is a Person Who Writes

Part 1

• I Put Words Together, Therefore I am a Writer
• You’re Never Too Young to Write
• You’re Never Too Old to Write

Part 2

• You Don’t Have to be an Expert in Anything
• You Don’t Have to be a Recluse
• You Don’t Have to be a Coffee Addict
• Not All Writers Are Weird

Chapter 2. Living Life as a Writer

Part 1

• The Bubbling of Words

Part 2

• Life Feeds Your Writing
  • Embracing Details
  • Noticing Themes Around You

Part 3

• Writing Feeds Your Life
  • Choosing Adventure
  • Taking the Writer’s Journey
• Understanding the Possibilities of a Writer’s Life

Chapter 3. The Independent Writer

Part 1

• Finding the Right Fit for You

Part 2

• Avoiding Self-Defeating Thoughts
  • Capturing Negative Thoughts
  • Refuting Negative Thoughts

Part 3

• Taking Control of Your Writing Life
• Writing For Beauty, Not Perfection
• Process Oriented Rather Than Product Oriented

Part 4

• Factors Beyond Your Control
  • Illness
  • Medication
  • Grief
  • Children
• How to Cope
  • Don’t ‘Should’ Yourself
  • Redirect Your Energies
  • Write ‘Inwards’ Instead of ‘Outwards’
  • Record What You Have Accomplished
  • Look Forwards and Continually Re-Evaluate

Chapter 4. Discovering Your Writing Fears and Barriers

Part 1

• Defining Your Fear

Part 2

• Fear of Starting
• Fear of Getting Something Wrong

Part 3

• Fear of Failure
• Fear of the Writer Stigma

Part 4

• Fear of Committing
• Fear of Criticism

Part 5

• Fear of Being Called a Fraud
• Fear of Losing Your Creative Edge

Part 6

• Fear of Success
• Fear of Not Being Able to Reproduce Success

Part 7

• Fear of the Unknown

Part 8

• Believing You Can Please Everyone
• Believing You Need to Fit a Type/Mold

Part 9

• Believing You’ll Never Make a Difference

Part 10

• Creating a Rescue Plan
  • Step 1: Identify Warning Signs
  • Step 2: Get the Problem Down on Paper
  • Step 3: Find a Solution

Chapter 5. Taking Control of Your Mindset

Part 1

• Fill Your Emotional Needs
  • Comfort
  • Sympathy

Part 2

• Fill Your Emotional Needs
  • Permission
  • Recognition
  • Approval
  • Inspiration
  • Direction

Part 3

• Write a Personalized Pep Talk
  • Identify Your Biggest Problem
  • Decide What You Need to Hear
  • Write Your Pep Talk
  • Refer to Your Pep Talk Regularly

Part 4

• What True Balance Means

Do you have a favourite post so far? What other topics would you like to see covered in this series?

My writing is my living and thanks to this flu some of my release deadlines are looming large and will probably have to be rescheduled. But I know how much some of you have enjoyed these posts and benefited from the suggestions, so I want to keep writing them for you.

If you’ve found the above helpful, please either send the information on to a fellow writer you feel would benefit or leave a little donation in the kitty to help things along.

Everyone who donates will receive a free electronic copy of the book once it has reached completion.

Thanks for dropping by.