On Writing
Refill Your Creative Well – Read 200 Books This Year
200 Books? Sounds like a lot. But you've probably come across those guru guys who say they read a book a day. Between listening to audible books on 1.5 x speed and reading a few evenings a week, I read a fair bit. But I'm not sure I come anywhere close to 200 a...
It’s Monday – Just Keep Swimming
I had the flu. It knocked me out. I must have slept 15 hours on Saturday. Chills, fever, body ache. I was suffering. I was miserable. Then my fever broke, and I felt vaguely human again, utterly thrashed to be sure, but the horrible headache was gone. And just like...
RENEGADE PROFILES: Author Julian St. Aubyn Green
JV: Julian, tell me who would play you in a movie? I don’t think I’ve ever done anything exciting enough to be in a movie. After enough booze, and on a good day, women tell me I look a bit like Karl Urban. I’ll choose him. JV: Good choice. Dayjobs before you went...
One Kick, Ten Thousand Times
One of the most interesting blog posts I have seen of late is one by James Clear breaking down deliberate practice. He uses the example of Ben Hogan and his deliberate golf practices, but it is equally applicable to creatives. Thinking about how to engage in...
You Can Make Magic By Saying “Yes!” to New Things
What Risktakers Like Mark Cuban and Rosa Parks Can Teach Us In 2006, I started a blog related to my profession. On the one hand, I thought I was late to the blogging game, but on the other hand, my profession was notoriously stodgy and risk averse. So no one except...
What Are Your Tools for Successful Writing?
My boss and mentor often says, "Pay for good tools. Just cry once." He was a mechanic for years, putting himself through grad school by fixing Volkswagon bugs. So his philosophy started early and then carried through for many decades throughout his professional life....
Using Websites To Grow Your Business with Linda Jones
Today, some technical tips for you and your writing business courtesy of Linda Jones, Founder + CEO of Taykoff. ------------------------------------- As a writer, we know websites are vital to our business. They are an avenue for building a following and showcasing...
Who’s On Your Team?
When I was writing my 50k words for NaNoWriMo, I wrote entirely alone for the month of November. I would not recommend that to most people. Even if you are by nature more introverted, there is power in knowing that you are not pulling the sled alone. A close friend...
Eat The Bigger Frog First.
Today's topic is procrastination. Recently I came across a quote attributed to Mark Twain and I felt that it was particularly appropriate for creatives doing new year planning. "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if...
3 Successful Storytellers & Lessons From Their Mindset
The term "mindset" is getting used a lot these days. And many writing books start with the advice to keep it foremost in your mind that YOU ARE A WRITER. In her now classic Harvard commencement speech, J.K. Rowling discusses living in poverty and how she wrote on her...
2 Time Management Tips for Creatives
I've been listening to a number of interviews with people who have transitioned to writing full time. It has been fascinating to listen to people talk about the years beforehand, when they worked a dayjob and had to wedge in their writing time. Many of theme woke...
Choosing Abundance in 2017
There are so many fantastic webinars and blog posts this time of year, about planning and thinking positively. I've enjoyed them all and in the spirit of that planning, I made my vision board yesterday. What's the purpose of the vision board? Two things, both of...