Reflections on the writing process: October 17, 2023

Here's some advice on the mental side of writing, from the expert blogs we follow.

• Excerpt from Writing the Shadow: Joanna Penn shares an audio excerpt from her upcoming book, which discusses how to and why explore what she calls the shadow side (The Creative Penn).

• The power of process: Author and English professor Audrey Wick encourages her fellow writers to think of the book journey as a three-step approach from prewriting to writing and then rewriting (Writer's Digest).

• Measuring your writing and publishing progress: Orna Ross describes four metrics that, from her experience, reflect growth for an indie author — productivity, platform, profits, and personal satisfaction (Alliance of Independent Authors).

• Writing organically can be messy: If, like Amy Rivers, your writing process tends more towards the pantsing than plotting — and demands lots of revision — that's okay, she says; the most important thing is that you're writing (Women Writers, Women's Books).