Surrender to Your Story
Our story asks everything of us. If it didn’t, we would never surrender. How often do we live our lives as though […]
Writing Without Distraction
You’ve begun working in earnest. The story is alive, your cylinders are firing. You’re getting up every morning and putting in the […]
Setting a Plan with Purpose
Do you often find it hard to stick to your writing plan? How often do “important tasks” distract you and pull you […]
Creativity is Your Birthright
Creativity is your birthright. We live in a culture that is invested in our believing otherwise. I frequently hear folks talk of […]
A Pencil for Christmas
So many of my students and potential students come to me wanting to know how to get published and produced. They want their work to be read, to be seen. But what they really want is for themselves to be seen.
Humor in Writing
There is nothing less funny than writing about humor. I was a standup comic for years. Every once in a while after […]
Finishing Your Story: 5 Tips to Get You to the End
For all you writers struggling somewhere in the middle of your manuscript, here are five tips to get you to the end. […]
The Nature of the “Want”
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want” in your […]
Why Do We Write?
Why do we write? There is nothing logical about wanting to be a writer. The lives of artists can be awful, despairing, […]
How Do You Identify the Dilemma in Your Story?
At the heart of every story lies a dilemma from which all tensions and conflicts arise. How do you identify the dilemma […]
The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling
The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of what happened. […]
What is Genius?
What is genius? I don’t like it when people use the term genius, primarily because I think they misuse the word. I […]
Setting a Daily Word Count
Here’s some advice for first time writers on setting a daily word count. Consistency is the key. Set a writing goal. Can […]
intro to the 90-day screenplay (FREE)
Join me now to begin the process of getting the story from your imagination to the page, and complete the first draft […]
The 90-Day Memoir – Intimacy Hangover
In the first day of The 90-Day Memoir workshop the writers often have some major insights and revelations. But it is the second day […]
Begin Your Story
There are as many ways to begin your story as there are ways to procrastinate. Beginning to write your book or screenplay […]
How I Got Married
This week, Mary-Beth and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary. Getting married was a terrifying leap for me; you might call it […]
Using Your Credo to Create Story Conflict
(Image from And Justice for All, 1979) You can’t have story without conflict. As writers, it is important to investigate and become […]
