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Write to Done

Unmissable articles on writing. Twice weekly.

Ask Leo: Live Q&A For Bloggers and WritersNovember 20

Hi guys,

So this is a live Q&A … you can ask me any questions you like about blogging and writing for the next four hours. That’s 5:00-9:00 p.m. East Coast time in the U.S., today only (Thursday Nov. 20, 2008).

Again, ask me whatever you like … but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to answer everything. :) I’m just a regular blogger and writer, and I can share my experiences and what I’ve learned, but I don’t know everything.

So ask away! I promise to do my very best.

Leo Babauta

Zen Habits and Write To Done

Tune in Tomorrow: “Ask Leo” Your Blogging and Writing QuestionsNovember 19

Tomorrow we’ll have a reader question-and-answer session with Leo Babauta (of Zen Habits and Write To Done fame) for any of you writers or bloggers with questions for him. You can ask Leo your questions in the comments, and he’ll reply to them all as quickly as possible.

Leo will start answering questions here on Write To Done at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday (Nov. 20, 2008) … he has committed to answering questions for about 4 hours or so — and then he’ll cut it off!

For those of you unfamiliar with Leo, he’s the creator of Top 100 blog Zen Habits (with 75,000+ subscribers) and the founder of Write To Done, the publisher of the popular productivity ebook Zen To Done, and soon to be published author (his book The Power of Less comes out on Dec. 30, 2008).

We hope you’ll join us then in asking Leo your blogging and writing questions!

Inspiration on Demand: Create a Swipe FileNovember 17

Photo courtesy of marcusrg

A Guest Post by Marelisa Fabrega of Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online

Swipe files are a collection of excellent material that provide a great jumping-off point for anyone who needs to come up with lots of ideas, whether you’re a graphic designer, copywriter, author, and so on. A swipe file can be a source of creativity triggers, it can help you mix and match–as well as recombine–old ideas in new ways, and it can help you learn from the best. Instead of starting with a blank page, you begin with a reservoir brimming with brilliant ideas and images. You can use a notebook or a binder, you can keep your findings in a box—a shoebox or a hat box, for example–, or you can even create a digital swipe file by using a platform such as tumblr.com or posterous.com.

Anything that Catches Your Attention Can Go In Your Swipe File

Stuff your notebook with quotes, stories, images, poems, video URLs, pieces of fabric, and anything else that catches your fancy. Fill the pages with random facts which may at some point prove useful: the human body has 210 bones; the capital of Australia is Canberra, not Sydney or

10 Mistakes That Could Be Killing Your BlogNovember 12

Photo courtesy of Zach Klein.

By Leo Babauta

I don’t know about you, but often when I begin exploring new blogs to find useful information, I get so frustrated that I give up and leave within a few minutes of finding the blog.

While many blogs might contain the useful posts I’m looking for, they often make it too difficult for new readers to find.

Sure, if you’ve been following a blog for six months or more, you know the blogger, you know the basics of the blog, you know how useful and interesting the blog is.

But if you’re new, you don’t know any of that. And first impressions mean everything when it comes to attracting — and more importantly, keeping — new readers.

If a reader hates your blog at first site, you’ve lost him. If a reader can’t find anything good on your blog within a few minutes — actually, instantly for many readers — you’ve lost him. If you annoy a reader, you’ve probably lost him.

And for each reader you’ve lost, that’s a wasted opportunity. You’ve worked hard to promote your blog, to connect with other bloggers, to do guest posts and spread the word through social media … but when the reader arrives, you fail to keep him and turn him into a regular reader or a subscriber.

Today, I’ll walk you through some common m

Writing Inspiration: How to Break Through Mental BarriersNovember 10

Photo courtesy of Eddi 07

Note: This is a guest post from James Chartrand of Men with Pens, known for his sharp-shooting advice to writers.

It’s all been said. It’s been written before. We feel like we’re just rehashing the same old story everyone else has written. And inspiration dies like leaves falling from trees in autumn.

There are ways to find inspiration again. Most suggest taking a break, setting down the pen and paper to do other activities for a while. Reading a book is a good way to give our brains a rest. Going for a walk is another; any physical activity boosts creativity.

What if inspiration still doesn’t come? What if you take a break, read a book, get active and still come up blank when you sit down to write?

In most cases, all you have to do is look within to find the inspiration you need. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes.

Our mind plays tricks on us all the time. The events we’ve lived and the experiences we’ve had create perception issues. We filter our world through fears and self-set messages that fool us into