Kieren Westwood

Want to Write But Can't Get Going? Try These Three Things

8.4K views · 4d ago · 9:48

If you want to write but just can't get going, this video is for you. When the words won't come, it can feel like there are only two options: wait for motivation, or force your way through. But being stuck usually isn't one problem. It's one of three, and each one has its own way out.

Topics: Which Problem Feels Like You? · The Three Roadblocks · Roadblock 1: I Don't Feel Creative Right Now · Can You Tell Which Page Was Inspired? · Exercise: The Two Minute Prompt · Roadblock 2: I Can't Write The Scene

You've Got A Story Idea? Here's Your Next Step.

5.4K views · 2w ago · 7:46

You have a story idea. Maybe you've even written the first few sentences. Now you're wondering what comes next and whether you actually have enough to make it a real story. You do. And in this video I'm going to show you exactly what to do with it.

Topics: What You Need To Get Started · The Four Question Approach · Question 1: Who Is Your Character? · Question 2: What Do They Want? · Question 3: What's Stopping Them? · Question 4: Where Does Chapter One End?

Start Writing TODAY — A Beginner's Writing Session

7.9K views · 1mo ago · 18:01

Guest: Start Writing TODAY

My Community for Writers 2 Week free trial! In this video I walk you through three short writing exercises that will get you from a blank page to the opening of your first story — in less than ten minutes of actual writing.

Topics: How To Get Started For Good · Stuff You Don't Need To Worry About · How The exercises work · Exercise 1: Free Writing · Exercise 2: Dialogue · A Place TO Connect With Other Writers

The Missing Piece That Writers Don't Know They Need

7.8K views · 1mo ago · 12:57

Guest: Kate Volman

A few years ago I was stuck writing book after book with no real sense of direction. No community, no feedback, no idea if any of it was going anywhere. Something changed. And it wasn't what I expected. In this video I share the thing that actually moved my writing forward — plus a conversation with Kate Volman from the Create For No Reason podcast where we get into exactly why I built the First Draft Writers Club and what it's doing for the writers inside it.

Topics: The Trap Of Writing Alone · A Way To Connect With Other Writers · A Chat With Kate · Come And Write WIth Us

How To Start Writing Your Story (Even If You've Never Written Before)

23K views · 1mo ago · 7:34

If you've wanted to write a story for a while but haven't started yet — this video is for you. You might not feel ready, you might not have all the tools or knowledge, but that truly doesn't matter. The only thing standing between you and being a writer is writing something. Anything. Today.

Topics: How I've Helped New Writers · No More Scrolling and Overthinking · The Truth About Becoming A Writer · The Big Question To Ask Yourself · Readiness Is A Myth · The Sign You're Waiting For

If Writing Feels Really Hard To You, This Is Probably Why.

136K views · 2mo ago · 11:36

If writing feels impossible right now, like you're not making progress, like everyone else has figured something out that you haven't... this video is for you. The struggle you're feeling isn't a sign you're doing it wrong. It's a sign you're doing it at all.

Topics: Writing Is Difficult If You're Doing It Right · Do You Agree? · The Fog (spooky!) · The Comparison Trap · The Lights In The Fog · Something That Helps A Lot

Is Your Writing Good Enough To Share? Here's The Truth

11K views · 2mo ago · 8:16

The first time I ever shared a story with anyone, it didn't just change my writing - it pretty much changed my life. In this video I share two stories about sharing my writing for the first time. One embarrassing, one honestly kind of life-changing. Both of them taught me something I wish I'd known much earlier: you're not hiding your writing because it's bad...

Topics: How Sharing Your Writing Can Help You · Story One: The Embarrassing One · Why I Did It · What Hiding Your Writing Costs You · Story Two: The One That Changed Everything · What I Thought My Writing Was

Overthinking Your Writing? There's a Better Way

7.4K views · 2mo ago · 9:33

If you want to write but keep finding reasons not to — this one's for you. In this video I break down two thought traps that stop writers from making progress, even when they genuinely want to. Not "just push through and write" — something a bit more real and useful than that.

Topics: The Two Thought Traps · Trap 1: The Research Spiral · Why Research Feels Safe (But Isn't) · Writing Exercise #1 — Try This Now · What You Just Proved · Trap 2: The Perfectionist Pitfall

Writing Alone Is Holding You Back - We Can Change That For Good

2.2K views · 3mo ago · 7:15

If you're a writer struggling to make progress, or just starting out, or if you've been going a while and just want to make more writer friends, I've built the writing community I wish had existed when I started out. We'd love to have you!

How To Survive The "Sinking" Middle of Your Novel

1.9K views · 3mo ago · 10:38

The First Draft Writers Club is open now! Struggling with the middle of your novel? You're not alone — and you're not failing. In this video I talk about what I call the "deep space" phase of writing a novel — that point where the launch energy has worn off, the ending feels impossibly far away, and you start wondering if the whole idea was wrong from the start.

Word Count Goals Can Distract Writers From Bigger Problems...

1.6K views · 4mo ago · 10:24

The First Draft Writers Club is open now, founder pricing until September 1st Word count goals almost broke me. Here's what I learned. In this video I talk about how chasing a daily word count burned me out and why output and progress aren't the same thing. I wrote an entire novel by hitting my target every single day, and it felt awful. That experience changed how I think about writing progress permanently.

I Almost Quit Writing. Here's Why.

7.2K views · 4mo ago · 10:44

How Asking 'Why' Can Change Your Novel Draft

2.6K views · 5mo ago · 7:24

How to Build a Writing Habit That Actually Lasts in 2026

7.2K views · 5mo ago · 18:43

This video is a sign to stop letting your phone steal your stories! In 2026 it's perhaps harder than ever to build a writing habit that you can keep to, there are loads of distractions that drain our creativity. Writing is a more meaningful use of our free time, I think so anyway, so if you want to fight the "Rectangle of Sadness" and the algorithms designed to distract you, start here!

Time Works Kinda Weird In The Hunger Games Book...

3.9K views · 6mo ago · 6:35

Have you ever noticed something in a book that pulled you right out of the story? Today, we're looking at a specific writing mistake in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games that's easy to make but luckily, easy to avoid too - being too specific with time.