“No one is free until we are all free.”- Martin Luther King Jr. It is human nature to search for absolutes. Joe is a liar, while Helen is trustworthy. Abe is punctual, while Ruth is always late. …
The Writing Process
Never Give Up
I was a half decent 800-meter runner in high school, not great, but I ran with a lot of heart, and sometimes I placed near the front. It's a tough race, as it requires both speed and stamina. It is …
The Price of Joy is Grief
As human beings we tend to seek positive experiences, but as writers and storytellers we understand that the purpose of story is to reveal a transformation. Without suffering and ultimately surrender, …
Loyalty
Do you feel loyalty pulling at you in your story? Isn't it interesting how guilt emerges when you speak your truth? Why is it that standing up for yourself or setting a boundary brings with it a sense …
Why Writers Should Embrace Doubt
Doubt lives in each of us. We are unsure about our futures, our relationships, our new tile in the bathroom, our car insurance, etc. Doubt is the cradle of conflict, both internal and external. In the …
“Why Do I Get Stuck?”
When writers come to a dead stop there can be a tendency to panic. It’s important to remember that your idea of your story is never the whole story. When you try to figure it out, you tend to dig a …
What is Success?
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates Years ago, I was on the phone with a prospective student, and he announced, “I will consider myself a failure if my book does not become a …
One True Moment
"Where did that come from?" I believe there is something we writers are collectively seeking. We are all attempting to convey an experience, a true moment, to tell a story that somehow reveals more …
What Do I Write Next?
Writers frequently come to me and say: "I have three ideas. Which one should I write next?"In the 90-day workshops, one of the first exercises we do is we write for five minutes, beginning with: "My …
Choose Love
In every story, love is the mystery that is always on the table. In the beginning of your story, the question may appear to be a choice between loving and not loving. But perhaps you have already …
Most popular posts
Never Give Up
I was a half decent 800-meter runner in high school, not great, but I ran with a lot of heart, and sometimes I placed near the front. It’s a tough race, as it requires both speed and stamina. It is also tactical. If you go out too fast, you choke. But if you don’t make …
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We Are All Connected
“No one is free until we are all free.”– Martin Luther King Jr. It is human nature to search for absolutes. Joe is a liar, while Helen is trustworthy. Abe is punctual, while Ruth is always late. Absolutes give us the illusion of security, but they also lead to lazy stories because they simply aren’t true. When …
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The Price of Joy is Grief
As human beings we tend to seek positive experiences, but as writers and storytellers we understand that the purpose of story is to reveal a transformation. Without suffering and ultimately surrender, there can be no context for your protagonist’s redemption. In other words, the price of joy is grief. At the core of any well-told …
Read MoreThe 90-Day Novel
The 90-Day Novel® is a Live-on-Zoom workshop with Alan Watt that will take you from initial idea to the completion of your novel's first draft in 90 days.
Recent Posts
Passion
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein What do you feel passionate about? What is your position on justice, authenticity, self-authority, the need for community? It is through investigation of the things we feel passionate about that we come to discover a deeper truth. By becoming conscious of what …
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The Inner Critic
“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”– Howard Thurman There’s a difference between writing for our ideal reader and writing for our inner critic. The inner critic is like a 24-hour flu — it …
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Hope
Have you ever seen a dog waiting for their master at a window — their wet nose pressed against the glass, eyes watching the street expectantly for any sign of their beloved guardian? It’s sort of sweet, right? But what if I told you their guardian, let’s call him Biff, was never coming home? What …
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There are No Ugly Trees
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” – Eleanor Roosevelt People are always talking about how they need to be better, to improve themselves, to change, but I don’t think that is correct. Think of yourself as a tree. Does a tree …
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Stay Out of the Result
For any writer, here’s a question to ask yourself: “Why do I want to write this?” A student told me recently that he was writing his first novel in order to sell it for a lot of money. Though I fully understand this motive, I don’t believe it’s a strong enough reason to complete your …
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On Certainty in Writing
There is a particular comfort that comes from being certain. We can shut out the world, with all of its noise and confusion. And we rest in the assurance that we are right. Except that certainty rarely contains the whole story. Certainty is the Death of Curiosity For writers, certainty limits us to our preconceived …
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How to Master Storytelling: Ask the Right Questions
“It is a parable of art that, to be universal, you must be specific. Otherwise, you are just talking about an abstraction. So you have to talk about a particular person and a particular place. Specificity is the essence of art. But it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have universal resonance.”– David Cronenberg Writing is really …
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Writing When You Have Nothing to Lose
Have you ever experienced great loss? Whether it was a parent, spouse, or friend, the experience pulls you sharply into the present moment. Nothing else matters, not the barking dog, the unpaid bills, not even your hopes and dreams. We become utterly aware, in our bones, that despite all of our wishes, fantasies, and protestations, …
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Myths that Prevent You from Writing
There are myths that prevent you from not only completing your story, but keep you from even getting started. Some of these myths are concocted by the world out there, and some are vague terrors that dwell within. Here are a few: 1) I can’t be a writer without an MFA in fiction. Tolstoy never got …
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You Are Uniquely Qualified
It seems it should go without saying that you are uniquely qualified to write your memoir. And yet, the voices lurk at the edges of your consciousness: Who do I think I am? Am I a fraud? A wannabe? We live in a culture that forces us to mistrust our deepest impulses. We tend to …
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