If you identify as a writer—and I assume you do since you’re listening to this podcast—you probably have some type of outlet for writing. Maybe it’s social media posts, blog posts, a podcast, a book you’re working on, or something else. Maybe it’s several of those things. Which is great! Having a place to write, … Read more
Years before he was known as the star of the beloved sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld was a successful stand-up comedian. For comedians of his era in the 1970s and 1980s, the golden key to success was appearing on The Tonight Show, hosted by Johnny Carson. Carson ruled the late-night airwaves for thirty years. He was … Read more
Yesterday, we talked about the value of hitting singles. The main idea was this: if you focus on getting small wins every day, you will eventually win the game. Let’s look at this from another perspective. Recently, I was doing a little 90’s musical reminiscing and listening to the Backstreet Boys (Don’t judge me). It … Read more
Anyone who knows me well will be shocked at the content of this episode. Why? Because I’m not a big sports fan. However, I do live in St. Louis, and people here LOVE the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. So, it’s impossible not to get at least a little sucked into baseball mania at times. … Read more
Over the years, I have spent a lot of time thinking about why writers struggle. In fact, the whole point of this podcast and, by extension, the Daily Writer Community, is to help writers overcome the obstacles to writing. I want to help them, and help YOU, be more successful. A big reason writers seem … Read more
In J.R.R. Tolkien‘s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, we meet the creature Gollum, who is obsessed with the magical One Ring. Back when he a Hobbit known as Sméagol, he had taken it from his cousin, who found the ring in a riverbed after being dragged into the water by a large fish. For … Read more
As we talked about yesterday, you need to have a system where you can plant or store all the thoughts, information, and ideas you will use as raw material for writing. And while that is an important start, you need to water these tiny seeds so they can grow into something useful. There are all … Read more
We have been talking about the importance of a growth mindset. If we look at growth as a natural byproduct of good habits we practice on a regular basis, the first habit is preparing the soil of your mind. The second one is planting. We writers deal with thousands of seeds. Those seeds are ideas. … Read more
One of the most helpful perspectives we can adopt as writers is understanding that we don’t have an objective view of reality. This is hard to hear because most of us naturally believe we see things as they are. We assume we can see ourselves and everyone else clearly, as they are. We trust that … Read more
We writers love to create stories. And why not? There is something fun about creating a fantasy world, living in it for a while, and inviting others to join us there. Sometimes these fantasies bleed over into the real world, where we don’t quite live in reality. Here is one of the fantasies we love: … Read more