Writing Goals 2023

This year, if I’m honest, I had trouble drumming up much enthusiasm for goal setting—writing or otherwise. I’m generally a goal-setting fanatic, so this was unusual for me. I was excited about setting goals last year. I did a whole, five-part series on goal setting in December 2021. You can find it here. Then I … Read More

The Proportion Problem

I had a lightbulb moment the other day—I realized that I picked up some of my bad writing habits from classic literature, and I realized these bad habits aren’t necessarily bad but bad for the time. One of my worst writing habits, which I often see in my clients’ writing, is improper balance or proportion. … Read More

The Benefits of Typing

California Typewriter is a 2016 documentary about typewriters, named for a typewriter repair and servicing shop in Berkeley, California, that went out of business just before the pandemic. In the documentary, you’ll see people shopping for typewriters, servicing typewriters, and fixing typewriters. You’ll see Tom Hanks’ collection of typewriters. You’ll see John Mayer writing songs … Read More

5 Great Keyboard Getaways

So, I’m aware of the fact that I often seem to be advising writers not to write. But it only seems that way–all the things I encourage you to do as a writer will ultimately feed your writing, even if that means taking a break from writing so your subconscious brain can do its share of … Read More

Start at the Beginning

Today’s message is a simple one: start writing your story. Worrying too long and too hard about how to start a story can make a writer freeze up. Stop worrying. Stop overthinking. Start writing. There’s a difference between a work’s beginning and starting to work. –Twyla Tharp I mean, it matters immensely how you start. … Read More