Dear Purposeful Prose,  I’ve tried all of the tricks, and now I’m here. I feel like I’ve done all of the strategies to prevent writer’s block. I get my outline in front of me, and I know exactly what I want to write about, but the blank page stays blank. Every time I write a sentence, I see a reason to delete it again. It makes me want to avoid writing. Then, I avoid it, and I feel guilty about it again. It makes me feel awful, and I’m doubting myself to no end. I’m not sure

Dear Purposeful Prose, I’ve been writing for myself and submitting short stories to publications for one and a half years. I usually stick to self-editing because I can’t afford an editor right now. How much of a job is it to be an editor? Since I’m editing my own work, I know it really well, and it feels like having an extra pair of eyes has set me back in the past. Doesn’t editing just create more work? That is an incredibly interesting question, and I’m grateful you asked!

Editor’s Note   My guest writer has been working with me for around eight years, now, and I couldn’t be more humbled that they’ve decided to stick with me for this long. When they approached me regarding this piece on horror writing, I’d often get updates on the ever-increasing page count. There’s little I could possibly love more than a writer who’s found their gold coins. Roy Peter Clark discussed writers and their gold coins in reference to their stories. Clark would encou