When we think of creativity, we usually think of light and color, happiness and freedom. That’s the upside of living the creative life of a writer. But there’s a dark side too—one we don’t always like to talk about. And that dark side can be encapsulated in two words: judgment and perfectionism. There’s a controversial […]
May 21, 2018 by 23 Comments How to Become a WriterHow to Grow as a Writer: 5 Logical Steps
Writers are students. Sometimes this is the result of nothing more than sheer necessity: we seek answers for our questions because writing has turned out to be far more difficult than we anticipated. But often, writers are students first and writers second. If this is you, then concentrating on how to grow as a writer […]
May 14, 2018 by 69 Comments How to Become a Writer5 Lies Writers Believe That Are Holding Them Back
There are many lies writers believe that hold them back. When you think about it, this is kind of ironic. After all, aren’t stories stories lies that serve to tell the truth? I think the reason most writers get a perverse chuckle out of that last idea is because, as humans, we are hard-wired to […]
March 26, 2018 by 66 Comments How to Become a Writer7 Frequently Asked Writing Questions
The amazing thing about being a writer is that you get to be part of a writing community. Especially now, in the Internet age, you have access not just to the writings of the great minds who have gone before, but also to the shared wisdom, common sense, commiseration, and encouragement of all your contemporaries. If […]
February 5, 2018 by 73 Comments How to Become a Writer4 Tips for Writing to the Right Audience
Here’s my somewhat radical idea: Writers don’t need to know who their audience is. And, yes, I know this goes entirely against popular advice, which encourages (even insists) that beginning authors must know their audience. I’ve probably even said basically that somewhere or other on this site. You’re supposed to go so far as to write […]
January 29, 2018 by 60 Comments How to Become a Writer4 Ways for Writers to Become Better Readers
Anyone can read a book, right? We all become better readers just by reading, right? Learning to put letters together into words and understand what they say—learning to read—that’s a learned skill. But once you’ve pretty much mastered that by fourth grade, you can read anything. There’s no skill to reading a novel. What is there […]
December 18, 2017 by 32 Comments How to Become a WriterTop 10 Writing Posts of 2017
We’re hurtling toward the end of the year, which means it’s time to hit pause, amidst all the winter festivities, and take a look back at 2017. For me, this has been a vastly different and vastly important year. As I talked about in the post “6 Lifestyle Changes You Can Make to Protect Creativity,” […]
November 13, 2017 by 25 Comments How to Become a Writer5 (Not-So-Little) Additions to the Great Novel-Writing Checklist
Learning how to write a successful novel is largely a matter of memorizing and mentally tracking the vast number of “parts” that make a story run. Honestly, this alone is sometimes the hardest part of the entire job. There’s a lot to remember—which is why, today, we’re going to look at the second part of our […]
May 22, 2017 by 90 Comments How to Become a Writer5 Misconceptions About Writing That I Used to Believe
Are we modern-day writers lucky or what? We enjoy unprecedented access to the wisdom of all the writers who have gone before us. I’m not kidding. the wealth of excellent information at our fingertips is insane. But you don’t get nothing for nothing, and the something we’re exchanging for all this great advice is a pretty hefty load […]
May 15, 2017 by 87 Comments How to Become a WriterWhen Does Writing Get Easier? The 4 Steps to Mastery
“When does writing get easier?” This is one of the most common questions writers have asked me throughout my career. The bad news is that, all these years, I’ve been giving the wrong answer. The good news is that the right answer is pretty fantastic. In years past, when people asked me this question, I was as […]
