If you get heavily involved in the writing community, you have to be careful. Why? Because there is a whole sub-industry devoted to writing tools that supposedly help you be more productive and creative.

Are many of these helpful? Yes, of course. For example, I swear by the writing app Scrivener. I write almost everything in Scrivener and cannot imagine doing my writing without it. It’s an amazing tool to help you organize your material, especially for bigger projects.

Google docs? Not so much. I find Google docs to be clunky and slow, and it’s very hard to quickly access material in Google docs if you have a lot of different pieces of information tied to a project.

But that’s just my opinion, of course. My opinion and $1.50 will get you a drink from a vending machine. You have to do what works for YOU.

It’s important to not get too obsessed with specific writing tools. The only measure you should use to determine whether a tool or app is good is whether it helps you get your writing done easier.

John Steinbeck once said, “Pencils must be round. A hexagonal pencil cuts my fingers after a long day.” Well, that was true for HIM but it may not have been true for every writer. The point is to figure out what helps you, then get busy writing.

Don’t get paralyzed by indecision. Just pick something and start writing. Focus on the work and don’t get too hung up on what tools everybody else is using.

Daily Question: Are you focusing on doing the work instead of over-analyzing which writing tools to use?

The post Do Writing Tools Matter? Yes & No. appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Terry is an award-winning author who has written four novels. The most recent one completed a trilogy, which was a pretty amazing accomplishment in itself. Terry is also an editor, and, in fact, edited a book I ghostwrote for a client last year, and he did an amazing job.

Terry has a background in the US Navy, and also with NASA as a project manager. Based on his experience in project management, Terry saw how his experience in that field could bring order out of creative chaos in his own writing life. He strongly believes that leadership principles can be taught through story, which is what we’re here to talk about today.

Since this interview, Terry has released an amazing book, Project Management for Writers, which will teach you how to get organized as a writer.

In this conversation, Terry shares how he explores leadership through his novels, as well as his process for crafting a story. He also talks about writing habits, the writing tools he uses, and much more.

You can connect with Terry at his website, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Make sure to also check out his books on Amazon via his author page.

The post Terry Stafford: Leadership Through Storytelling appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

One of the benefits of living in 2021 is that we have a wide array of digital tools for writing. There is an almost endless number of ways we can capture content. While it’s convenient, it can also be overwhelming.  

On this episode, we’re going old-school and talking about analog tools for writing. It may seem out of touch to be talking about pens, pencils, and notebooks when we have so many great digital tools… but that’s the point. Perhaps those digital tools are sometimes more of a distraction than a help.    

I’ve asked Dr. Don Sanders to share his passion and knowledge for analog writing tools. He is the Director of the Merold Institute of Ministry at Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Missouri. He is also a college adjunct professor, an avid U2 fan, and happens to be my older brother. 

Don is probably the most organized person I know, in addition to being a long-time aficionado of analog writing tools. He was kind enough to be the guest mentor for our Daily Writer Community call this past Thursday. I thought it would be fun to share this conversation here on the blog.  

You can connect with Don at The Merold Institute of Ministry, on Facebook, or on LinkedIn.  

The post Dr. Don Sanders: Analog Tools for Writers appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.