Note: I grew up in the printing plant my father owned, and he had a whole stack of pads titled While You Were Out, with check boxes and lines to fill in about things that happened in his absence. I am going to be out for a few days at a wedding, so I thought […]
(Note: I was going to call them damn words in the headline, because sometimes the words feel like they need cursing. But then I censored myself, because this is going out in my newsletter, and I don't want to offend people. Do words like damn offend people? I don't know. You tell me. I wouldn't […]
I was out of town last week and I didn't do any writing. (Yes, you read blog posts while I was gone. I had them scheduled ahead of time.) I didn't even have my computer with me, which was shocking even to me. I never go anywhere without my computer (except to France, but I […]
Ah, our old friend writer's block. It can take so many shapes and sizes, just like fear, which it is, of course, based on. And just as writer's block can take a gazillion different forms, so, too, can its cure. Which is why you should try a variety of strategies if you are hit with […]
So, we teaching and coaching types love to give advice (except that the true essence of coaching is not so much giving advice as pulling what you yourself already know to be so out of yourself). I, for instance, love to tell people to do Morning Pages. (If you don't know what Morning Pages are, […]
Seems like every other person I meet these days is doing a cleanse. I get it. Stuff gets stuck in your digestive passages and other organs and affects you in negative ways. You don't have as much pep, or as they used to call it, get up and go. You feel a bit blah and […]
I work with writers and other creative types in a variety of ways, including one-hour sessions that help them to gain clarity about their work. I do this through this very website and at events like Room to Write in Nashville, where I am the resident "book doctor" on call to guide writers. What I […]
A couple weeks ago I did something that all the experts tell you not to do. I "launched" a product without much fanfare. Well, let's be honest, there was no fanfare. I got the idea for the service, wrote the page and put it up. Just like that. No hype and not even much promotion, […]
Friday I hit the wall. As is my usual wont, I woke early (6ish), grabbed my coffee, and went to work on my writing. Lately I've been thinking deep thoughts about my novel rewrite and writing them down, which leads to more deep thoughts and more writing. I'm writing about characters, trying to get to […]
