(7 min read.) We are writing in hard times. It’s 2024. The dog is barking, the oceans are boiling, fascism is gnawing on our doorknob, income disparity hasn’t been this bad since before the French Revolution, low-rise jeans are back, and there are at least… Read More »This Matters (Writing in Hard Times)
(90 sec read.) Today’s 90-second writing tip can help you focus your voice, find more specificity, and break out of overwhelm. Since you can do anything you want in creative writing, it’s easy to wander around and get lost. If you’d like a simple compass… Read More »90-Second Writing Tip: Write for One Person
(2 min read.) You don’t have to write every day. I promise this is better. It helped me build a writing habit without burnout, and now I write a million words a year. Plus, I always have a “just tough enough” level of challenge. This… Read More »How to Build a Writing Habit Without Burnout (My “Four Easy” Rule)
(3 min read.) You can use this set of guided journaling prompts for creative writers as a writing warm-up, or as a standalone exercise if you’re feeling blocked or stuck and need some fresh energy and vision. If you want to ask personal questions, you… Read More »Guided Journaling for Writers: 21-min Exercise with Writing Prompts
(5 min read.) Unfinished draft? Half-finished draft? Abandoned draft of a writing project that has been untouched for so long that it’s covered in moss and lichen? “Work in progress” where there hasn’t been any f*ckin’ progress in… a while? Writer, it happens. Unfinished writing… Read More »5 Writing Tips to Restart an Unfinished Draft: How to Finish a Half-Finished or Abandoned “Work-in-Progress” (WIP)
(5 min read.) This is the truth about how I write, plus something at the end that might help you write, too. “What’s your creative process like? What’s your creative writing process?” The creative writing process is not the same for everyone, but we can… Read More »How I Write (Oops, my actual creative writing process.)
(2 mins) Don’t give up. If you’re writing and you don’t love what’s on the page, don’t give up. (If you feel like you might, read this writing pep talk instead.) Keep going until you love what you’ve made. Writing is a process. Sometimes it… Read More »don’t give up (writing pep talk)
Beat Perfectionism with Star Wars (5 min read.) If you want to beat perfectionism? Fall in love with what you’re best at. Then fight like hell for its right to be seen. STAR WARS taught me you really don’t have to make something perfect to… Read More »How to Beat Perfectionism with STAR WARS
16-minute prose writing workout (6 min read) I love using this 16-minute prose writing workout to sharpen core skills. This writing exercise trains perspective, tense, and taste. It has made me more decisive, comfortable, and intentional with my prose on the page. You’ll need a… Read More »16 minute writing workout (prose skills writing exercise)
write like you drive (you might write better) (2 min read) Want to write better? Get in the driver’s seat. In my work as a writing coach, I’ve found this metaphor a useful shortcut for a quick mindset shift. True story. In the realm of… Read More »write like you drive (you might write better)
one-minute poem (quick writing prompt) (4 min read) I’ll take a few minutes to explain this quick writing prompt, but it takes less than a minute to do. The speed and precision make this a fast warmup for a group (a favorite icebreaker for classes… Read More »one-minute poem (quick writing prompt)
(3 min read) Not how fast you write. How fast they read. Thinking in “words per minute” helps you connect with the reader. There isn’t much good writing advice about how much detail to include in your work. This is my favorite trick for that.… Read More »think “words per minute” to write better