Two Great Ways to Beat Writers’ Block

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I don’t believe in writers’ block, any more than I believe in washing-dishes-block, or dealing-with your-taxes-block, or confronting-a-scary-problem-block. I’m not saying that writing will always come easily, or that you won’t sometimes stop and find it hard to start again. Of course you will. What I’m saying is that the reasons for halting your work are perfectly logical, therefore so are their remedies.

When your productivity dries up (and it will), do not deceive yourself that you’re the victim of some kind of creativity flu, or a passive vessel waiting to be filled wi... keep reading

The Running Writer: My path to whole life fitness with Dai Manuel

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Part one in a four-week series.

There are a few popular sayings–“put your money where your mouth is”, “practice what you preach”, “talk the talk, walk the walk”–that encourage purveyors of information to be really, really careful with what they say. This is especially true for anyone giving any kind of health advice, yet the media is inundated with food fads and easy exercise routines that “sound crazy, we know, but you’ll drop eight pounds a day!” Those outlets rarely put their money where their mo... keep reading

Word Stylists: Four writers who inject their writing with personality

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Stylistically, writing is boundless. And yes, that applies to nonfiction too. Pick up a newspaper and compare the day’s editorial to a news segment, or even the sports section; they’re remarkably different in style, making each one a unique reading experience. So what’s the secret to bringing a distinctive flavour to your writing? It all starts with your authentic personality. Here are four great non-fiction writers who injected their personality into their writing to create a writing style that led to multi-dimensional classics that transport their readers to another world.

<... keep reading

Vaporizing Vaporized: Why we turned a book into a website

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“I want to turn my book into a website.” This was Robert Tercek, one of our clients, and author of the book Vaporized. And while his request seems ridiculous, it actually made perfect sense. Vaporized is about the transformation of physical objects into invisible data–in essence, the vaporization of those objects. Think about music: we started with live musician... keep reading

LifeTree Media’s Holiday Gift Guide

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The holiday season brings with it many tidings of joy–as well as tides of panic when you realize you haven’t done your Christmas shopping. If you’re still looking to cross those names off your list, we’ve put together our very own LifeTree Holiday Gift Guide. Give the gift of knowledge this season–it sure beats more socks!

 

For the parents whose kids are on the naughty list:

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Top 10 hottest nonfiction books of 2015

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Is it possible to have too many books? We don’t think so–that’s why we’re still campaigning for shopping carts in bookstores. Still, you can only read so much, which is why we’ve decided to share the 10 must-read nonfiction books of 2015 (including our own biggest release, Vaporized). So if you need a new home for your bookmark, pick a book (or two [or 10]) and start reading! keep reading

Writing About Writing: How to Move Past Fear so You Can Finish Your Book

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Any act of creativity will activate your fear in a big way. That’s how you know it’s working. Creative acts involve a swirling kaleidoscope of emotions, ranging from vision, exhilaration, industriousness, boredom and grandiosity to sheer terror. Sometimes there is shame too. We rotate through all of them along the way, repeatedly, throughout any creative act.

Everybody loves the fun part; the exhilaration, grandiosity and industriousness. These ... keep reading

Pathways to Pregnancy: an interview with fertility expert Mary Wong

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LifeTree author Mary Wong understands the pain and frustration that come with infertility issues. The Toronto-based TCM practitioner has faced her own difficulties conceiving, and has spent her career educating and assisting thousands of would-be parents, the vast majority of whom struggle with gynecological disorders, fertility challenges, and pregnancy-related symptoms or issues.

When Mary started her clinic, she had a goal of treating each patient the way she would want to be treated—wit... keep reading

How Editing Your Own Writing is Like Spring Cleaning

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It’s Tuesday, which means I am working on my forthcoming book about writing. To inspire you to work on your own book, I promised to share my process and also offer a sneak peek at the work-in-progress along the way. Here’s a little excerpt from today’s chapter about self-editing. Do you hate editing your own work? Let me know what you think ... keep reading