Blog
How to use woo to get your writing done
One of my favorite business podcasters, Jenna Kutcher, who hosts the Goal Diggers Podcast, has this saying: Where the woo meets the work. In her words, it’s about honoring the woo, then following it up with the work. Meaning, putting the creativity crystal on your desk isn’t going to mean that...
The truth about setting realistic writing goals
I’m one of those writers who has to continually psych myself out to get work done. It’s not that I don’t love writing—like, the actual act of writing. I do. I’ve always loved it. When I’m not doing it I have withdrawal. Hence the whole pursuing the writing career thing. But when I feel like the...
Three things writers need to remember about their work
Once, in a job interview, I was asked how or when I knew that I could make a living as a writer. It wasn’t a question I’d thought about in advance. I could’ve answered in a multitude of ways, talked about my passion for books and making up stories and creating worlds that drew people in, made...
Three self-destructive things I’m NOT doing this year
This is what I posted on my LinkedIn page to ring in the new year: Three things I'm NOT doing this year: Efforting (also known as making things harder than they need to be!) Overthinking Doubting myself I didn’t even think much about these things, honestly. I didn’t plan them. I didn’t spend the...
Write your way to a happy, healthy holiday
I love the holiday season. I always have, although the way I show up for them is WAY different in this chapter of my life than in past chapters. This time of year, it’s really easy to get sucked into the “shoulds” and “have tos.” We can make ourselves crazy with obligation and put everyone else’s...
How to write even when you don’t have time
I hear this question all the time: “How do I write if have no time?” I get it. Time is THAT THING that we’re always pursuing more of, always in a race against, that’s always in our face, mocking us for all the things we didn’t get to yet. I’ve been working full time and writing two books a year...
Why the most successful writers don’t always write alone
This past weekend was the New England Crime Bake. It’s a writer’s conference that’s local to the Boston area. It’s also a special conference for me, because it was the one I found when I first Googled “mystery writer conferences” more than 20 years ago when I decided that I was going to write...
It’s NaNoWriMo, and no, you don’t have to write 50K
Happy NaNoWriMo! It’s a writer’s favorite time of the year. November is National Novel Writing Month, the (somewhat insane) month where writers across the world decide to write a 50K word novel in 30 days. Yes, it sounds insane. But it’s also effective. Setting a goal like that is powerful....
Get started living the creative life you've always dreamed of...
Writing strategies from the pros
