When you want to advance as an author, the cost-effective solution is to hire outside help Tip #7 in my post “10 Tips to Improve as a Writer” is to not be afraid to pay for help. As a financially frugal person, this was a hard lesson for me to learn. When I entered the […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It doesn’t matter what type of company you run, your operation amasses a great deal of valuable data. You have a treasure trove of customer information, including phone numbers, mailing addresses, email addresses, billing histories, demographic profiles, social security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers. You purchased some […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD When searching for an Internet service provider (ISP) I entered my address into the website of the most likely supplier. Four service options came up. I clicked the first, and it said, “Service not available.” I clicked the second, and it said, “Service available.” They appeared to be the same […]
To progress as an author requires hard work and diligent focus I’ve been writing my entire adult life. In the early years, my primary goal was to write faster, but for the past decade or so, my focus was on writing better. As I attended to learning the craft of writing, my writing has steadily […]
Knowledge about writing has value only when we put it into action At the risk of offending all writers who are pursuing or want to pursue an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree in writing, let me share some concerns. Yes, I look at writers with MFA degrees with admiration, even though the eyes of […]
Writing is about focus and balance and obeying our muse For the first time (that I recall) I don’t want to write a post for this blog today. It’s not that I don’t want to write at all; it’s that I yearn to work on something else. This something else is a short story that […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A couple of years ago I started offering freelance commercial writing services. Not surprisingly, much of the work I do is in the answering service industry: commercial marketing, blog posts, website content, and marketing materials. As I research and write for my clients in the TAS industry, one theme reoccurs. […]
Trying to follow every bit of writing advice can push writers into a no-win situation I listen to many podcasts, follow blogs, read magazines, attend webinars, and study books so that I can become a better writer. But somedays I wonder if it helps. Somedays my head spins with confusion, and I want to give […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I’m a planner. I can’t help it. The problem is that things seldom go as planned. After a while, I began padding my plans for the unexpected. Sometimes the cushion was enough; other times, not so much. Consider air travel. I used to have the expectation that airline schedules were […]
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Writing in Your Dreams
Tap into your subconscious to spur creativity and inspire great stories Last week I asked the question, “Do you dream of writing?” I talked about five fatal perspectives common to aspiring authors and ended with the admonition to stop dreaming about writing and just start doing it. However, today I’m going to encourage you to […]