The Writer's Cookbook

Why You Need to Embrace Rejection

On August 17, 2017

There isn’t a single published writer out there who hasn’t been rejected at least once.

In fact, I think you’d struggle to find a writer who’s only been rejected once.

Even Stephen King had short stories rejected when he first started out.

Harry Potter was rejected by numerous publishers, and J.K.Rowling had some pretty harshly-worded rejection letters for her Cormoran Strike novels, too.

Some authors get to the point where their name alone is enough to attract the attention of a publisher.

To get to that point, though, you have to go through what feels like endless rejections.

Find out why it's important for blogs of all sizes to embrace HTTPS.

Why Do Blogs Need HTTPS?

By Kristina Adams

On August 10, 2017

In Social Media and Marketing

I spent my days surrounded by software developers.

In my day job, I work as a content marketer for Cronofy.

Our security features are important to us and our customers, and it’s one of our biggest selling points.

(I’m not going to go on about them here, but feel free to have a read if you like calendars.)

When I get home, I spend my time with Boyfriend, who also happens to be a software developer, albeit for a different software company…

…in the same building.

But that’s besides the point.

The point is that spending time around developers means that I’m involved in lots of techy conversations and I read a lot of security-focused content.

If you’ve ever found yourself pissed off by something auto-updating, you’ve found yourself caught out by a security update.

But please, don’t turn auto-updates off!

Auto-updates are crucial to keeping your devices protected from nasty viruses that can harm your computer. (WannaCry, anyone?)

But how can you protect your website?

And how can you protect the users of your website?

Are you on the brink of burning out? Discover the signs of burnout and how to cope.

How to Deal With Stress and Burnout

By Kristina Adams

On August 3, 2017

In Productivity

Think of your energy levels like a battery.

Certain things recharge that battery, while others drain it.

You may find dealing with people draining, while alone time recharges you.

You may find that some days writing helps you to recharge, while on other days it drains you.

It can depend on what stage of the writing process you’re at, or what’s going on in your life outside of your writing.

Just like when you let your phone battery get close to 0%, the lower your battery levels get, the longer it takes to recharge.

Discover how to write about long-term stress in this blog post.

How to Write About Stress

By Kristina Adams

On July 27, 2017

In Creativity

In the words of Bartok from Anastasia, ‘Stress. It’s a killer.’

And it actually is.

According to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. And more than 75 percent of all physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

Chronic stress can affect your brain, suppress your thyroid, cause blood sugar imbalances, decrease bone density and muscle tissue, raise blood pressure, reduce your immunity and ability to heal, and increase fat deposits around your abdomen that are associated with heart attacks, strokes and elevated “bad” cholesterol.

Source: Miami Herald

Short-term stress can help us to achieve our goals and is the reason many of us work well under pressure.

Long-term stress, meanwhile, can affect our physical and mental health temporarily and permanently.

Let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?

Can Toxic Friends Kill Your Productivity?

By Kristina Adams

On July 20, 2017

In Productivity

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Productivity for Writers.

If you find this post useful, please take a minute to share it with your (non-toxic) friends 🙂

Think back for a moment to when you were at school.

What was life like?

Were you popular?

A teacher’s pet?

An outcast?

I was somewhere between an outcast and a teacher’s pet.

Most of the teachers knew who I was, although I only paid attention to the classes I liked.

Some of my classmates knew who I was, others didn’t.

For the most part, this didn’t bother me.

I was perfectly happy with my circle of friends.

Or was I?

Find out how to write about ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

How to Write About ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

By Kristina Adams

On July 13, 2017

In Creativity

Remember that kid in class that could never sit still and was forever getting told off?

Some kids were forever in detention because they just wouldn’t do what they were told.

Some got off (seemingly lightly) because they’d been diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

We’ve moved!

By Kristina Adams

On July 6, 2017

In Blog

After three years of The Writer’s Cookbook being hosted at JustHost, we’ve moved over to a new home at Krystal Hosting.

I’ve moved web hosts with other websites several times now, and it’s my least favourite part of having a website. However, it’s a necessary evil if you don’t want to pay a fortune for a hosting.

Find out how I grew my Twitter following by 100 followers in a fortnight and you can too.

How I Gained 100 New Twitter Followers in 10 Days

By Kristina Adams

On July 6, 2017

In Social Media and Marketing

Up until recently, my Twitter follower count was like a snail sliding its way through a marathon. It moved, but slowly.

Over the last few weeks, my following has gone from a snail to a butterfly. It has metamorphosed, and in just under a fortnight, I gained over 100 followers.

Sadly there seems to be something wrong with Twitter Analytics so the audience bar chart isn’t as accurate as it should be, so you’ll just have to take my word for it and try these tactics for yourself.

Here’s how I grew my Twitter following by 100 followers in two weeks, and how you can, too.

How to Write Anxiety

By Kristina Adams

On June 29, 2017

In Creativity

Anxiety is a cruel creature that can take over your life without you even realising it.

It can control everything from your day-to-day decisions to your career paths to your relationship choices.

And if you don’t know you suffer from it, it’s impossible to control.

Scrivener vs. Novlr – Which is the Best Writing Software For You?

By Kristina Adams

On June 22, 2017

In Productivity

Scrivener and Novlr are two of the most popular writing programs out there for authors.

Unlike Microsoft Word, their sole purpose is to help you achieve your goal of writing your novel.

Before purchasing Scrivener a couple of years ago, I did all of my writing in Microsoft Word.

The further into a manuscript I became, the more difficult I found it to navigate.

As I don’t write chronologically, I’d have to either leave a note in the document or write scenes in separate files and piece them together as I went along.

It was a horrible process.

When I discovered Scrivener, everything changed.