Blog

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

Why does it make sense for you to write about your own life?  It’s one way to create a legacy that future generations will value.  If writing for young children, it’s a way to make sure they know you, no matter what happens. Life can be uncertain.  Let me show...Read More

There is a lot of buzz going around this week about ChatBot, an artificial intelligence tool that is available to all who want to beta test it right now. You just have to log in and prove you are a human. Then put your question in a window and see...Read More

Let’s say that you’ve finished a first draft. You put it aside for a day or two, and now you are ready to edit.  Start with strategic editing, reading for the entire effect of the piece.  One way to do this is to read the entire piece from beginning to...Read More

What comes to mind when you hear the word “imitation” in the context of writing?  Do you think of plagiarism? Lack of creativity?  What if instead you thought of creating by imitating as a way to avoid reinventing the wheel?  Using good structures that others have polished just makes  your...Read More

I had the great honor and pleasure to be invited to The Purpose Girl podcast for a podcast on writing. Carin Rockind asked me questions about how to get writing done and out the door.  Carin shared that writing a book is one of her dreams.  We talked about ways...Read More