[Ep 209] Each week I claim that writers are discovering ways to reach their writing goals—and have fun—by being more curious, creative, and productive. And each week you may be thinking, “Really?” Yes, I really do believe these three traits or these three values can drive you forward to achieve your goals—and have fun along the way. They are values I myself … [Read more...]
Ep 208: Children’s Book Author Sharon Stohler’s Path to Self-Publishing
[Ep 208] Today I’m chatting with Sharon Stohler, author of the nonfiction children’s biography Affectionately Yours: The Devoted Life of Abigail Adams, a charming and inspiring picture book released in June 2019. As you’ll learn in the interview, Sharon and I met years ago when we both started home educating our very small children, so we’ve known each other for … [Read more...]
Ep 207: How to Sort and Stack Your Ideas and Tasks to Transform as a Writer and Person
[Ep 207] On my drive to Minneapolis to serve on the faculty of Northwestern Christian Writers Conference, I listened to podcasts: one after another, back-to-back. I welcomed that stream of input filling my mind with ideas, strategies, and solutions that I can apply to my writing life. But it’s easy to listen and then forget what I heard. What a waste if I … [Read more...]
Ep 206: A Writer’s Guide to ROI (Part 4)
[Ep 206] Several years ago I watched a free training presented by Chalene Johnson, where she explained how to start with one piece of content and then use it in several forms for various outlets. With this efficient and productive approach, she gets the most mileage out of a single piece of content. It’s a clever, creative way to improve ROI. Chalene Johnson’s … [Read more...]
Ep 205: A Writer’s Guide to ROI (Part 3)
[Ep 205] In the Next-Level Writer series, we talked about plans and goals. When we set out with a goal and make a plan to methodically move toward that goal, we see what it takes. We understand the investment involved. That’s when we measure the ROI of a particular task or activity using not only our deepest values, which we looked at in Part 2 of A Writer’s … [Read more...]
Ep 204: A Writer’s Guide to ROI (Part 2)
[Ep 204] My son participates in value debate. The competitors take either the affirmative or negative stance on a resolution and argue for or against it based on a value. The judge determines which side best upholds their value. I’ve served as a judge for these debates many times, and the more I listen to these clashes, the more I’ve come to realize we make … [Read more...]
Ep 203: A Writer’s Guide to ROI (Part 1)
[Ep 203] If you’re like me, you do a lot of writing and writing-related activities essentially for free. You craft social media content, articles for a blog, and guest posts as part of your plan. We do these kinds of activities to educate, entertain, and inform. We hope to solve problems for readers, connect with them, share our ideas, and build bridges. At … [Read more...]
Ep 202: Enjoy Creative Freedom with the Modular Approach to Writing
[Ep 202] When my kids were little they didn’t really like the LEGO sets that require you to put the bricks together a certain way to create a specific thing, like a Death Star. They preferred giant quantities of individual bricks so they could snap them together and build whatever they wanted. And this is the brilliance of LEGO: its modular approach. The sets are … [Read more...]
Next-Level Writer – Have You Emerged at the Next Level? (Ep 201)
[Ep 201] In the first episode of this series, I described a hypothetical character in a hypothetical game—a little dragon that gains power or abilities after playing the game for a while. This dragon demonstrated what it means to level up in a video game. Depending on the rules of this hypothetical game, the dragon might gather certain tokens, interact with key … [Read more...]
Ep 200: Next-Level Writer – Relentlessly Execute Your Plan to Level Up
[Ep 200] Unless a fairy godmother shows up and sprinkles fairy dust all over your laptop to magically boost you to the next level—without any effort on your part—you’ll have to commit to your plan and follow through. Relentless Implementation Shane Melaugh of the ActiveGrowth podcast said in a recent webinar we must “relentlessly implement” or “relentlessly … [Read more...]
Ep 199: Insights into Christian Publishing with NavPress Publisher Don Pape
[Ep 199] Today I’m chatting with NavPress Publisher Don Pape. Don has published over a dozen New York Times best-sellers, including Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Don is also the publisher of Julie Cantrell’s Into the Free, which won the 2013 Christy Book of the Year Award. He led a team that won 20 ADDY Awards between 2008 and 2010 for David C Cook titles … [Read more...]
Ep 198: Next-Level Writer – Organize, Schedule, and Enact Your Plan to Level Up
[Ep 198] Some people love to sit down and just start writing with no worries whether or not the work is moving them toward their goals. Others love to spend time making lists, making plans, setting everything up, scheduling down to the minute—devoting so much time to those tasks that they struggle to get around to the actual work of writing. Let’s figure out … [Read more...]
Ep 197: Next-Level Writer: Is This a Season to Slow Down or Surge Ahead?
[Ep 197] Every week I follow a pattern of sorts. Sometimes it gets thrown off by a day or two, but for my regular routine I write, record, prep, and publish content you may consume via the podcast, at the website, or in the newsletter that arrives in your inbox. The Routine Drip of Content Every week I also produce social media updates, some of which are drawn … [Read more...]
Ep 196: Next-Level Writer – Plan and Persist
[Ep 196] Last time, I asked: Where do you want to be in a year? You may have read that and set a big, hairy, audacious goal—a BHAG. Or maybe you called it a “stretch goal.” You want to aim high and not settle for mediocre. You’re excited! You’re an optimist. “In a year, I’m going to be at the top of my game, more successful than I’ve ever been.” Big, Fast … [Read more...]
Ep 195: Next-Level Writer – Develop Your Macro Plan to Level Up
[Ep 195] I’m not by nature a planner. I am, in fact, more of a tumbleweed. You know what I mean? If I went with my personality, I’d be blown around with no particular direction—wherever the wind sent me. On Being a Writer - Chapter 10 Excerpt I wrote about this tendency of mine in On Being a Writer, the book I wrote with Charity Singleton Craig. In Chapter 10, … [Read more...]
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