Writers often answer the question “Why do you write?” with “Because I have to.” I get that. If I go too many days without writing, I become cranky and snappish and uncomfortable with myself. No one wants to live with me in that state, not even me. Best if I sequester myself in a quiet warm…
If you haven’t read Part 1 of this series yet, go do that here: How to Become a Better Writer When Writing Makes You Want to Die, Part 1. That’s a big deal. And it’s hard. And people don’t talk about how much difference it makes when you can do that. Today’s way to become…
Truth be told, I hate writing intros to stuff like this. The title says it all, really. Yet somehow I’m supposed to still have an intro, right? So here’s the deal: It’s the holidays. You’re shopping. You might not know what to get some of the weirdos in your life. So, on their behalf, here…
In my recent post 5 Scrivener Tricks You’ll Love That You Didn’t Know About, I promised you a full-length review of Joseph Michael’s Learn Scrivener Fast. Readers asked me a lot of questions in response to my first post about Scrivener. When I first started with Scrivener, I didn’t bother reading anything or taking any courses; I…
This might be the best networking invention for creative introverts ever. I love it, personally, and I’ve gotten so many benefits in just a few months of using it. What is it, you want to know? Facebook Groups, my kitten. Facebook Groups have become super trendy among entrepreneurs recently. They allow you to make…
With the release of her new book about creativity, Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert (known for her book Eat Pray Love) is in the news. A little over a month ago, a blog reader sent me this interview that Marie Forleo did with Gilbert. I had heard of her prior to that but had not read anything of…
“How do I get better at writing?” Two people close to me have asked me this question recently. They have followed it with one or two (or likely more) fears, anxieties, or giant big problem-reasons why they can’t seem to get over whatever THING is getting in the way of them putting words down.…
In August, I wrote about how much I love Scrivener. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, go do it here. (Even if you’re not a writer, you might want to give it a look. If you hate Word as much as I did, Scrivener might be worth it, even if you don’t…
So you have all these ideas, right? This idea and that idea and that other one over there. Ideas are everywhere. You have a giant list of them somewhere in your notes, and you add to it whenever something strikes you. (You do this, right? I’m not the only one?) How do you choose among…
Nirrimi Firebrace. What kind of name is that? I thought, as I walked to the appropriate building for Nirrimi’s workshop on the third day of the creativity convention I was attending, Promoting Passion. I knew nothing about her besides the description in the convention’s agenda, which was a bit vague. She was a blogger and…