I hosted a virtual Christmas party in my membership program, Your Platform Matters (YPM). At the party I encouraged a writing exercise: Christmas Reflections. I asked these writers to close their eyes and go back in time to a warm and wonderful Christmas memory from their childhood. Rather than trying to capture a big, sprawling scene, I asked them to zero in on … [Read more...]
AI writing tools keep getting better. How can writers keep up? (Interview with ChatGPT)
AI writing apps, programs, and tools are all over the news. People are reacting. They’re writing articles and opinion pieces, they're recording podcasts, they're discussing it in Twitter threads. Some say don't worry, AI writing tools can't write like humans. Others claim this is an inkling of what's ahead—they're going to surpass our skills. You'll find articles … [Read more...]
Do You Need Stephen King’s Pencil?
People wonder about Stephen King’s pencil. Writers (including me) want to know what writing instrument he uses. Why? Maybe we all harbor a secret hope that if we get the same pencil as Stephen King, we'll end up as prolific and successful as Stephen King. Or if we discover what Annie Dillard writes with, we'll produce the same type of literary prose as Annie … [Read more...]
How to Make Time to Write and Develop a System to Take Notes, with Bryan Collins
Bryan Collins relies on a simple system that captures notes and ideas that flow directly into his projects when he sits down to write. His writing routine doesn't take all day yet achieves significant results. Find out how he works and test it out. When you combine that with his simple system for collecting inspiration for all of your writing projects, you'll be on … [Read more...]
Poetry as a Playful and Pleasurable Creative Practice, with Mark McGuinness
With inspiration from Mark McGuinness, you'll integrate poetry into your writing life as a pleasurable practice that elevates your prose. In this interview, Mark describes the vision for his podcast and his own poetic beginnings, and he urges writers (and readers) to simply enjoy poetry. You'll see ways poetry intersects with and impacts prose—you can even play a … [Read more...]
Try This Writing Prompt to Get the Creative Juices Flowing!
Writers working on projects that are destined to be published—to be read—can struggle with nerves. We edit our words before they have a chance to breathe on the page. We hold back our true feelings and opinions. We forget to play with language. Serious Writers Need to Play I tend to encourage my clients to move toward practical goals, to create work that is … [Read more...]
Prepare for Publishing with Insights from Literary Agent Lucinda Halpern
Literary agent Lucinda Halpern prepares us to navigate the industry and prepare for publishing. With her insights, we'll position our project—and ourselves as authors—to pitch agents and get noticed. She reveals what literary agents are really looking for when it comes to platform and clears up the concern about how much or how little to share of your book's ideas on … [Read more...]
What’s a Writing Coach (and what kind do I need)?
Have you ever wondered what a writing coach is? As you can imagine, I get asked this a lot. I mean, it is baked into my branding, and I love sharing insights I've gained over my years of coaching. Let's start with the simplest, broadest definition of what a writing coach is and does: A writing coach provides you with input and support designed to close the gap … [Read more...]
Find Your Book Midwife, Say “Yes” Before You’re Ready, Pitch to Build Platform, and Authentically Engage with Readers (interview with author Clarissa Moll)
For author Clarissa Moll, hiring a writing coach was like finding her book midwife, and she urges writers to seek that kind of intimate, knowledgeable support and input for their own writing and publishing journey. In this interview, Clarissa shares her approach to writing, platform, and publishing, like: make a list of 10 things whenever you're stuck or developing … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Start the Writing Process When You’re Staring at a Blank Page
Louis L'Amour is attributed as saying, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”1 Sounds easy enough, but a lot of times we can’t even find the faucet. Or we find the faucet but fail to turn it on. Either way, we want to write, but no words flow. Is that you? Are you ready to begin writing but you don’t know where … [Read more...]
Writing Quote: writers write…to relive life (Donald Murray)
Donald Murray assures us that writing is a tool for personal reflection and insight. "The material for writing is in your head," he says. "It will be recovered, relived, understood, and shared through writing."1 In his book Write to Learn, he continues: One of the principal reasons that writers write is to relive life. (Donald Murray)2 I've heard variations on … [Read more...]
Writing Quote: Writing is one of the most forceful ways of learning, perceiving, maturing, expanding (Ruth Vaughn)
Writing gets our words into the world. Writing helps us impact readers. Writing conveys ideas. But there's something else about writing...Ruth Vaughn explains it well in her book Write to Discover Yourself: I am convinced that writing creatively is a beautiful and rewarding experience for discovering one's self. For writing is one of the most forceful ways of … [Read more...]
Writing Quotes: A writer is here to describe things… (James Baldwin)
It's tempting to comment on whatever is hot and trending—to hashtag our way to visibility. It's harder to spot what others miss...to care about it, to bear witness. It's important to pay attention to what others pass by...to see it, capture it, describe it. James Baldwin knew this, practiced this. He wrote: "The importance of a writer is continuous…His importance, … [Read more...]
Embrace These 4 Key Roles for a Flourishing Writing Life
I was an English major with a creative writing emphasis. When I looked to my future, I saw myself writing. Over the years I managed to build a writing career, but as an English major, I wasn’t prepared for the business aspects of writing. Invoices, receipts, taxes? That was all foreign to me. Sharing my writing through speaking and social media? That’s not what I … [Read more...]
How Simple Systems Can Unlock Your Writing Productivity, with Kari Roberts
If you're like me, you struggle to carve out time to write...you wish you could uncomplicate life and get more done. Good news! I have business coach and online business manager Kari Roberts on the show to help us think through simple systems that can unlock our writing productivity and creativity. "It's like you're on a treadmill," she says. "You're running in … [Read more...]
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