When I became a college professor in 2004, one of the courses I was assigned was Introduction to the Arts. It was a basic survey course covering visual art, architecture, music, theatre, and film from a Christian philosophical viewpoint. The area I knew the least about was architecture. I had always been fascinated by it, … Read more
There is a common trait among successful writers, and it has nothing to do with skill, talent, genre, or style. Instead, it has everything to do with taking responsibility for your own life choices. Most people are passive observers to their own lives. They accept the choices that life hands to them. They assume what … Read more
As you probably know, in addition to hosting this podcast and running the Daily Writer Club, my membership group for writers, I’m a ghostwriter. Today, I’m excited to share a conversation with an enormously successful and legendary celebrity ghostwriter, Glenn Plaskin. Glenn Plaskin is the bestselling author of twenty-five books, including Horowitz: The Biography of … Read more
Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists who ever lived. As a sculptor, painter, designer, architect, and so much more, he transformed history and was a major force in the Italian Renaissance. But have you ever considered exactly what it was that made Michelangelo so great? Was it his creative genius? His relationship with powerful … Read more
Over the last few days, we have been talking about developing a growth-oriented mindset. This is a mindset that is not fixed in place, but is instead flexible and ready to grow. After you have prepared by tilling the soil of your mind, planted by keeping track of your ideas, watered your mind by reading, … Read more
In the previous weekday episodes, we have talked about activities that will help you maintain a growth mindset as a writer. We have talked about preparing, planting, watering, and pruning. Now we come to harvesting, which is simply creating the words. The previous actions, if you do them consistently, make it much easier to write. … 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
For most people, running a marathon is a pretty big deal. The distance of 26.2 miles is a long way for one person to run in a single shot. So how do people actually pull it off? What is the process for actually completing a marathon? Let’s start with the obvious: if you break down … Read more
Have you ever wondered why so many writing projects get started, but never get finished? Lots of people want to write a book, start a podcast, create a blog, or build a writing business. But why do so many people stop short of following through? The answer is simple: it gets hard and people give … 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