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
We’ve all heard it before (and probably said it): “I’m just not feeling inspired today.” There might be a hundred reasons why we don’t feel inspired, but there is one way to correct that works almost every time. Madeleine L’Engle gave us the secret when she said: “Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before … Read more
Whatever you think about the origins of the universe, one thing seems certain: the universe started as a kind of blank slate that is now filled with stars, planets, comets, gas, dark matter, and all manner of other debris and material. Think about the effort and creativity that must have gone into the creation of … Read more
We all know that perfectionism can be debilitating. It can rob you of the joy of writing and cause you to waste endless amounts of time fidgeting with your material. Just like a rainbow, perfection is an illusion. You can chase a rainbow but you will never find the end of it. In the same … Read more
Over the past six days, we have been through a key cycle in the creative life of a writer: preparing, planting, watering, pruning, harvesting, and celebrating. This is the cycle of growth we go through again and again as we pursue higher levels of growth. In the Western world, we are used to jumping back … 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
Ever since I went full-time in my ghostwriting business this past summer, I’ve had a lot of conversations about how that happened. People have been very interested in the mechanics of my transition from a college professor to a full-time writer. They’ve asked me questions like: How do you make a full-time living as a … 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
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
Here is a question to consider: what activities actually produce writing? This is not a trick question, but a serious one. Why? Because it’s easy for us to fall under the spell of doing writing-related activities while secretly avoiding the hard work of writing. There’s that course to take, that writing group to be involved … Read more