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
Everyone who has ever planted anything knows that you can’t just throw seeds on the ground. You must prepare the soil. Otherwise, the soil won’t be ready to receive the seeds. The seeds will die and all the effort and future potential will have been wasted. Your creative mind works the same way. It can’t … Read more
If someone gave you an assignment to write a sentence without the letter E, how would you respond? Would you think it’s too difficult, that it can’t be done? What about a whole paragraph, a scene, or even a whole chapter? And ultimately, an entire book? It sounds impossible, doesn’t it? After all, the letter … Read more
In a world of equality and opportunity, we usually talk about power as if it’s a bad thing. But power is like time, money, or any other resource. It can be used for good or for bad. Writers don’t think about what we do in terms of power. We use words like creativity, craft, platform, … Read more
Water can be a metaphor for life or death. Ask anyone who has gotten sick from contaminated water or tried to avoid falling out of a canoe while going down the piranha-infested Amazon River. They will tell you that water can be deadly. But what about a person dying of thirst in the desert, or … Read more
Kent talks to Ariel Curry, who is an editor and writing coach with ten years of experience in publishing. She enjoys brainstorming and outlining new book ideas, bringing clarity and purpose to prose, and helping authors find resilience in their writing journey. Ariel lives in Chattanooga, TN, with her husband and their two dogs. Ariel … Read more
The intro for the long-running NBC soap opera “The Days of Our Lives” proclaims, “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” The line is more than a great introduction—it’s the absolute truth. One day, the sand in your hourglass will run out. We have a limited amount of time on … Read more
Kent talks to author Todd Henry about the importance of daily practices, how Todd used his daily writing time to write a draft of the book in just three months, the specific morning routine he has followed for many years, and more. Todd Henry describes himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution.” He … Read more
We’ve been doing a series on writing habits here on the podcast. So far, we’ve covered six writing practices you can use to build a great writing habit. Today we’re looking at practice #7: Take a walk to get your blood flowing. There is a lot of research that shows the correlation between exercise and … Read more
Today’s tip is directed toward all the perfectionists out there… and when I say that, I’m talking squarely to myself as well. Here’s writing habits practice #4: Don’t wait for the perfect conditions to write. We writers dream of writing in a beach cabana with the wind softly tussling our hair. Or we dream of … Read more