Whether you want to blog more frequently, write poetry, or craft the next great literary novel, you’ve got to keep showing up consistently to write. Focus on the right routines, habits, and practices and you’ll get the writing done, while getting better at the craft. But life can get in the way. How can you […]
Thoughts on the Creative Life: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Short Version This classic writing-related book was first published in 2015, but I only got around to reading it recently. Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonder-filled, “magical” approach to creativity would seem to be the antithesis of my cognitive-science-based approach, but I loved Big Magic and found it inspiring. You probably will as well. Long Version At […]
Books to Give the Writers in Your Life
Why do books make such great gifts? Let me count the ways: They don’t perish or go stale. They’re easy to wrap. If the recipient is a writer, you know they like reading. The right nonfiction book can have an impact on the recipient’s life – the gift that truly keeps giving. The hard part […]
Let’s Talk about the Post-Publication Blues
Imagine for a moment that you’ve just published a piece of writing into which you have poured your heart and soul. It might be an essay, short story, poem, blog post, or book. As it goes out in the world, you start to have second thoughts. The wind leaves your sails. The very moment at […]
The Business of Being a Writer – A Book Review
Short Version It’s fashionable to complain that no one can make a living writing, or that self-publishing is for hobbyists only. In The Business of Being a Writer, Jane Friedman begs to differ. She knows a great deal about the publishing industry, and in this book she suggests that you can make a living, but […]
How Do You Measure Success for Your Writing?
“What’s the moment you realize you’ve been successful?” A friend who was about to publish her first book asked me this question the other day. It made me pause. Most authors, indie or otherwise, won’t find their books on the New York Times best seller list. They won’t make hundreds of thousands of dollars, at […]