Posts by Hillary
Dave Barry on How to Cope With Post-Pulitzer Prize Situational Perfectionism
Situational perfectionism is when something causes your perfectionism to spike. It can be a failure, of course, but it can also be a success. Here’s J.K. Rowling, quoted in Salon: “For the first time ever in my life, I got writer’s block. The stakes seemed to have gone up a lot, and I attracted a…
Read MoreLessons from a Struggling Math Student
Math teacher Ben Orlin has all the usual complaints about students. They don’t do their work, don’t show up for help, and settle for memorizing facts instead of working to truly understand the material. Unlike many teachers, however, he knows better than to label his students as lazy and unmotivated—in part because he once walked…
Read MoreUnidentified Purple Object #2 (Ditto)
Unidentified Purple Object #1 (Anyone know what it is?)
Want to Get More Work Done? Then Show it Early and Often
There are many techniques that will help you boost your writing output, but one of the best is to show your work early and often: Show drafts. Show chunks (paragraphs and pages). And even show individual sentences and clauses. (“Hey, what do you think of this metaphor…” Or, “Super proud of how I framed this…”)…
Read MoreDo You Suffer from Procatination?
It’s so deeply unfair to the cat… More procatination here. And here!
Read MoreSample Will for Writers from Neil Gaiman
It’s understandable why people do it, but you really shouldn’t procrastinate on writing your will. Along with your current assets, writers need to plan ahead to make sure both their literary works AND future royalties and other writing income are in the hands of people who will do well by them. Neil Gaiman has helped…
Read MoreFun Article on Why You DON’T need to Watch Breaking Bad, etc.
A funny piece with a serious message: don’t use your precious time chasing fads. But if you wanted to watch every episode of the Guardian’s Top 50 TV series of all time, that would take up another 2,080 of your precious hours. Add in two new series a year – every year – that you…
Read MoreHow to Convince Someone to do the Right Thing (Includes “Basic Instructions” Cartoon!)
Scott Meyer’s Basic Instructions cartoon strip offers great advice via funny (and nicely-penned) cartoons. In the below recent cartoon, which Scott kindly gave me permission to reprint, he shows how to help someone overcome procrastination. Below the cartoon is my analysis and interpretation of each frame. The TOP LEFT FRAME offers an excellent illustration of…
Read MoreI’m Interviewed at the Vegan Business Connection
You can learn about my current and past work here; also some tips for entrepreneurs. Link
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