Ever had a writing rut? Blogging rut? A life rut? It happens to the best of us. Me. You. But whenever you land headfirst in a rut, how do you react? If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve always got That didn’t become a famous adage for […]
When I took my first college-level English course, my professor had us read “Shitty First Drafts” (from Bird by Bird) by Anne Lamott. The point? Your first draft is supposed to be shitty. It was something I understood on an intellectual level, but never applied to myself. In fact, I have a long history of […]
This post was originally published on February 27, 2014, and was updated January 19, 2022. This post is a challenge to mine your everyday life for ideas Telling you “Inspiration is everywhere!” won’t magically make it easy to find ideas (if only), but you might be surprised where you can find your next idea. Here […]
This post was originally published March 27, 2014, and was updated January 19, 2022. Writing is an incredibly lonely and isolating activity. It’s just you, your words, and your thoughts. And if you’re anything like me, not all your thoughts are positive. That’s why it’s dangerous to write alone. And no, I’m not talking about […]
This post was originally published June 27, 2013, and updated on January 19, 2022. Getting better at writing can be as fun and as easy as writing in six words. Yes, really! A few years ago, a friend introduced me to the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and […]