Last week, I shared how going on a writer’s retreat gave me the opportunity to pause and reflect on my writing journey over the past twelve months. I had written nearly every day during the prior year, making progress but not seeing it. I ground out words with methodical repetition, not realizing I had reasons […]
Tag: writing
A few years ago I attended a writers retreat. Aside from a chance to write in a different venue and hang out with other writers, I enjoyed an unexpected benefit: I recalled my writing journey over the past twelve months. It’s wise to periodically look back and evaluate progress, yet we seldom do. As writers […]
For the past few days, I’ve been fighting a cold. I cut out as much as I could from my daily activities, doing only what had to be done. I stopped exercising and skipped my morning writing routine. Though I still wrote during my illness, I only did what I could not put off: maintaining […]
This week I pulled out something I wrote and published a decade ago. I wanted to repurpose it into a shorter, updated piece. My old work shocked me. It was ponderous. I used big words that no one ever wields. I constructed long sentences – the kind where you forget the beginning by the time […]
Many writers lament about how hard it is for them to write their own author bio. It doesn’t go as quickly as we think and their optimum message is harder to craft. It’s best to have our author bios written before we need them. And even if our pre-written bios don’t provide the right slant […]
If we’re honest, we’ll admit we crave feedback – feedback of the positive kind. We want to know our writing is good, that our words connect with others, and that we inspire, entertain, or educate. We seek affirmation; we yearn validation. Whether we admit it or not, we have an ego needing to be stroked. […]
I often hear authors and instructors encourage writers to write quickly. They say things such as: Their goal is speed Given the number of people advocating such things, it seems this is how everyone should write. I comprehend the logic of this approach, but it doesn’t work for me—and it may not be right for […]
I’ve been writing for more years than I care to admit. My journey falls into three segments and in each one, I accidentally discovered a key to becoming a better writer. Increase Your Speed: For most of my life, the writing was something I did as an adjunct to something else. It was part of […]
Last week in “How to Fuel Your Writing,” I advised maintaining a file of book concepts and ideas. I learned this lesson the hard way. A few years ago, while doing some non-fiction research, I desired for a creative way to share my conclusions. I toyed with the idea of using narrative, of unveiling my […]
Last week, in “Four Steps to Becoming a Writer,” I mentioned the guy who said, “All my life I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I wasn’t writing.” My story’s the opposite. All my life I was writing, but I only recently knew I wanted to be a writer. So I went to […]