The Writing Life

The biggest misconception I see around writing – or any creative practice – is that we think we need a lot of time. We imagine that we’ll get to the writing when we have two hours, five days a week. Who does anything for two hours, five days a week? Okay, maybe work. And Netflix […]

Look! Squirrel! Yeah, gotcha. These days, our attention is as fractured as a kaleidoscope, splintering in a million directions at once. It’s getting harder and harder to reign in our focus enough to write or create. I write about this in my book, but I’ll say it here: The real game of productivity isn‘t time management, […]

It’s the weirdest thing, free-writing. When you do it consistently, you discover so much more inside you than you ever imagined. Using free-writing, I’ve seen students access memories, stories and insights that they didn’t realize they were carrying. It’s crazy. It’s like the pen (or keyboard) is a key to accessing your fullest self. Even […]

In my writing classes, people often come to terms with what’s truly important for them. Often, they sign up to work on a project. But before they can get into the material, some clearing away the underbrush is called for. OY! You’re saying now. I don’t want to do personal journaling and I don’t want […]

When you’re sitting on the sidelines of your writing, there’s lots of room in the stands for your fears to crowd around. But once you get in the game, the fears can’t keep up with you. Fear hates a moving target. When you’re writing, even imperfectly, you gain confidence. You have this writing impulse for […]

So little time, so many ways to write! If you’re like me, you have a long list of things you want to write – short stories, personal essays, poems, books…where to find the time to explore all these genres and styles of writing? Free-writing offers an invitation to experiment without risk. No need to master […]

So much of the information and inspiration out there goads us to GO BIG! And to MAKE A DIFFERENCE! That’s all fine and good, and sometimes those well-meaning encouragements just add fuel to the inner critic. The inner critic loves to say “Who, you?! You can’t even keep the kitchen clean, let alone change the world!” I believe in […]

Where, oh where is that authentic voice of yours? It’s not hiding in others’ writing. It’s right there, in your pen or keyboard, waiting for you to ink a path to it. The problem is, it can take some effort to find your voice. I’ve found the quickest way to hearing our voice is by […]

Before you sit down to write, there’s a voice – perhaps a chorus – singing a stinky tune about all the reasons you shouldn’t write. You don’t know what to say. You’re crappy with spelling. Someone else has probably already written what you want to write. Blah de blah blah. Your inner critic seems to […]

One of my favorite things about free-writing is that it can be used for any kind of writing. My students claim that after a month of free-writing, everything they have to write feels easier. Blog posts, emails, proposals…when they have free-writing at their disposal, words for any kind of project come easier. And sometimes, we […]