Blog

When people want to increase their rates of progress, they tend to focus on applying more force:  Work longer. Pedal faster. Kick harder. Press harder on the accelerator. But it also helps to reduce friction:  Remove obstacles. Add wheels to a suitcase. Streamline shape.  What would happen if instead of...Read More

I firmly believe that vulnerability supports creativity.  In my writers’ workshops, the most common praise I hear for a piece of really good writing is, “I love the vulnerability.” Authors share things that are meaningful in ways that expose their inner selves. That can be scary. What if people think...Read More

For those who missed my April 25 interview with Dori Mintzer, it’s not too late to listen in. Here’s the interview recording. We talked for more than an hour about ways to get the words to flow, get friends to help, and reach an audience. Dori releases a podcast a week...Read More

At noon on April 25, 2023, I’ll be the guest for an interview about writing hosted by Dorian Mintzer as part of her ongoing series, Revolutionize! Your retirement. Visit the interview announcement page to sign up. Here’s the information I gave the Dori to announce the interview: Write! An Invitation...Read More

I encourage aspiring writers to collect story seeds from their own experiences and then later let them sprout and grow. A chance encounter is the story seed that turned into this article about kindness and gratitude.  If you are a writer, perhaps the example of a story seed will inspire...Read More

I have the great pleasure of helping people regain the joy of creating. Sometimes all it takes are small shifts in perspective or small changes in activity. Sometimes it takes being reminded that perfection isn’t granted to any of us so that we can see that our creations are good...Read More

Where do ideas for writing come from?  Try picturing your audience and thinking clearly about how you want to change them. My friend, Sherri Fisher, once suggested that I could mine my own book, Sit Write Share, for more ideas.  She challenged me to open up the book to any...Read More

In Write Experiment 5 in Sit Write Share, I suggest that people collect story seeds  A story seed is a brief note of an experience that can later turn into a written story. In this piece originally posted in 2020, I have sprouted several story seeds to illustrate something important...Read More

Let’s assume you’ve decided that you want to write regularly  Regularly is the key.  The answer may be to build a writing habit by taking advantage of the way your brain wires things together. Think about a habit that almost all of us have firmly engrained:  brushing teeth.  You can...Read More