Step Into Your Story and Play Your Way Through

Step Into Your Story and Play Your Way Through

Writerly Play allows you to personalize, map, and problem-solve your creative process. The invitation is to step into the story of your creative development and to play your way through. Creativity requires you to venture into uncharted territory. What if, instead of feeling like you were always...

Three Simple Strategies for Capturing More Ideas

You have thousands, probably millions of ideas, I know you do. The trick is capturing them and keeping them somewhere convenient. Why do we lose ideas? Consider the key hook by the front door. Until...

The Only Way to Eat an Airplane…

... is one bite at a time. Hopefully you don't eat airplanes, but if you do (and even if you don't), check out How to Eat an Airplane by my friend, Peter Pearson. Hilarious stuff. An excellent gift...

Revision is Like Untangling a Knotted Chain

When I write collaboratively, or for hire, I storyboard a book ahead of time. The creative limitations push me to work within boundaries, and honestly, cause me to take fewer risks. On the other...

NaNoWriMo Day One

Today's session was quick because the day was full. When I started on my revision of this draft, I realized that my plot needed: a. more humor b. a subplot to drive the twists and turns of the...

My NaNoWriMo Plan

NaNoWriMo is one of my favorite challenges of the year. Participating feels like giving myself an early Christmas present, the gift of allowing myself to prioritize my writing. However, with...

What Does Wandering Look Like?

How do you know if something is a waste of time? A common definition of “waste” is “to use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose. “ Synonyms for waste include squander, misspend,...

What Keeps Us From Paying Attention?

Too often On my morning run The neighborhood blurs My mind far away I stumble over Unseen cracks in the sidewalk Run straight into Low-hanging branches My mind circles Rehearsing how I’ll do what’s...

The Art of Paying Attention

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” - Pablo Picasso...

On Paying Attention: Questions to Take You Deeper

I find it interesting that when we speak about the art of paying attention, we use financial words: paying attention, spending time. What is your time worth? This question often sends us down the...