Today, we’re concluding a short series on being more productive. Most people, including myself, create a task list each day. We also call this a “to-do” list. These are things we feel we must get done. In a world that increasingly demands our attention every second—in a world filled with ever-increasing opportunities and connections—this list … Read more
One of my very best friends is a guy named Eric Elder. He is a musician, author, and creative genius who runs https://theranch.org. A few years ago, we were on a call and he showed me how he stays motivated to finish the books he starts writing. He held up another person’s book, and to … Read more
We’ve spent the last couple of weeks talking about several milestones in The Writer’s Path. I want to emphasize again that these are not necessarily sequential in the sense that you can’t move on to the next one until the current one is completed. Rather, these are all just pieces of the larger puzzle of … Read more
So far, I’ve given you a quick introduction to The Writer’s Path, why it’s important, and I’ve shared a bit of my story of traveling the path myself. Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll learn more detail about each of these seven milestones. I’ll explain what it is and also share the biggest challenge … Read more
It’s tempting as a writer to think that “everyone” is your audience. But the reality is that your message is not for everyone. It’s a paradox that the more you focus on a very specific type of person, the more people will be able to relate to it. Specifically, narrowing down your audience will give … Read more
This is the seventh and final entry in our mini-series on dealing with rejection. Rejection is not fun, but it still has an important place in our business and creative lives. When you’re rejected or criticized, it forces you to ask tough questions like these: Is this something I should have been doing in the … Read more
One of the perennial questions writers ask is, “Where do you get good ideas?” It’s a fair question because all of us have struggled with finding good ones for our writing. The overriding feeling we have is that we need to do something more, or add some technique, in order to find great ideas. In … Read more
We have it pretty easy in the modern world, right? In many ways, this is the golden age of writing. We have more opportunities than ever before to publish our work and impact other people with our words. Yet at the same time, it’s also a challenging time for writers. Why? Because there are so … Read more
The Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life opens with a scene in heaven. Two angels are listening to prayers from Bedford Falls for George Bailey, who is in trouble. They call in a third angel, Clarence, who is being sent to earth to help George. If he succeeds in his mission, he’ll finally get his … Read more