Not only does our brilliant editorial director Amanda Lewis bring joy to the Page Two team with her penchant for leaving quirky motivational messages on sticky notes around the office, her depth of knowledge and uncanny ability to get the best out of all the authors she works with are unparalleled. Her special touch has helped many authors achieve bestseller status and earn awards—books she has edited have won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, RBC Taylor Prize, Governor General’s Literary Award, and Hilary Weston/Rogers Writers’ Trust Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.

Anyone interested in developing their writing skills would do well to follower her Instagram page, which is filled with insights for writers of all ilks.

Amanda’s list of 10 Tips for Writing More is so good, and destined to go viral:

1. Take your work seriously.
2. Don’t take yourself seriously.
3. Set a deadline and stick to it—don’t project-manage yourself into procrastination.
4. Make a list of resources to consult and small tasks to complete—create a checklist and work through it.
5. Block off time—it’s yours to block off.
6. Get a writing buddy or join a writing group—accountability drives productivity.
7. Read more—all the time, read everything.
8. Carry a notebook at all times, use voice memos, email yourself, keep a Google doc open—you have resources at hand, use them.
9. Count your words and pages every day—words are bricks, words build the foundation.
10. Visualize the full page, not the full manuscript—a castle without a foundation will crumble.