A few months ago, I left my job as a full-time college professor after doing that work for 17 years. Even though I had a fair amount of discretionary time in that job, and I also worked from home during the summers, it has been a big switch to go from having a college office … Read more
One of the most pervasive ideas in Western culture is the concept of “finding your dreams.” No one knows for sure where this idea came from. It has probably been around in some form for as long as there have been stories about heroes and their goals. The idea goes something like this: the main … Read more
Have you ever sat in a coffee shop and listened to the conversations happening around you? It’s fascinating. 99% of the time, people are only talking about themselves. Almost everyone in every social situation makes a conversation about them. It is rare to hear someone who is listening empathetically to the other person who is … 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
Has this ever happened to you? You block out time on your calendar, you get your pen or pencil—or computer—ready, and you sit down at your desk, ready to write. You’ve been looking forward to this time and can’t wait to get your creative juices flowing. So, you sit there, patiently waiting for the Muse … Read more
As writers, there is a constant pressure to conform to what we think others want from us. This influencer writes about a certain topic and has had a lot of success, so we feel we have to do the same. That writer has a specific style, so we try to mimic it, because we won’t … Read more