Write where you can. When you can. However you can. I admire folks who can continue to concentrate whatever the situation. In my many years as a journalist for a big newspaper I needed to be able to concentrate amid the noise of a newsroom (that noise is lessened now that most people arrange appoints […]
“Stories only happen to people who can tell them†~ Roy H. Williams Writing is good for the soul. It feeds a part of many of us that is otherwise silent and forgotten. Creative writing is a lost art of expression and release. It’s a way to give voice to what happens during your day. […]
I read a wrap-up about the recent Grammy Awards in which a writer complained that the Grammies continually overlook cutting-edge artists in favor of popular entertainers, even talented ones like Adele. The first thing is, this was an awards ceremony. And awards aren’t exactly cutting-edge, whatever that means (usually it’s an arbitrary ruling in the […]
During the “back to school†season, I often recall the first day of the first class I took as I pursued my Ph.D. at the University of Southern California. The professor spent the first part of the class talking about the “elite network†of peers we were going to be working alongside for the next […]
Roy H. Williams, author of The Wizard of Ads, said it best (paraphrased): “The only thing more important than who you select to play on your team is, who selects you to play on their team.” I fundamentally believe that this is the most important criterion for success, not only for life, but also for […]
Little arm hairs raise on end. Bumps form on my skin, desperately struggling to retain warmth. It’s freezing in this room as I type away on the computer. I want to be in bed! If only that guy standing next to the refrigerator hadn’t asked me to write a Ninja Writing Guide—– This one’s for […]
Work threatened to snow me under. Demands crept closer to my little kitchen table. I’d just returned home from a business trip to consult with a new, long-term marketing client. It had gone amazingly well, but they were the 2nd client I had added in two weeks. My mind drowned in possibilities, responsibilities, and writing […]
It took Susan Patron ten years to write her first novel, The Higher Power of Lucky (Simon & Schuster, 2006). When writing it, she would race home from work, grab a quick bite to eat, and then dive headlong into the nuances of character development until the wee hours of the morning. She also sacrificed […]
Have you never written a book before? Is your promotional budget bookended by parentheses? Congratulations. You might just have what it takes to become a bestselling author. It could be a vulnerable thing for a professional book promoter to admit, but hey — it’s the truth. Just ask Tim Ferriss. His first book, The 4-Hour […]
How is it that people who have a lot to say often feel they have nothing to write? This isn’t that they’re not writers. It’s that they’re not organized. Or, that they’re too organized — they defeat themselves by prejudging their abilities. You don’t have to be a “writer” to be an effective writer. You […]
