Writing a novel is a monumental task! Gone are the days of leisurely writing and being paid a living wage for it. Most writers don’t get paid enough to write full-time. Most writers are balancing full-time jobs, children, school or other family responsibilities. Writing is our side-hustle. That’s why it’s incredibly important to learn how to write smarter, not harder.

Colleen Hoover (CoHo) is a romance author and BookTok sensation who has sold over 20 million books. Whether you enjoy her books or hate them, you can’t deny their popularity. So, what can authors learn from CoHo’s writing? I’m going to break down some things Colleen Hoover does really well in her most popular novel It Ends With Us.

This is the time of year when writers start talking about NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month which takes place every November. During this annual challenge, writers from all over commit themselves to writing a 50 000 word novel in a single month. The organization offers other smaller challenges throughout the year as well. You may have seen writers talking about it on social media or preparing themselves to participate. If you spend a lot of time in writing communities, you may be feeling pressure to participate yourself. Before you make a decision about whether NaNoWriMo is right for you, here are some important things to consider.