Recently, I reprioritized the goals in my life and decided I needed more time for “non-writing” activities. So, I cut my weekly word count goal from 10,000 words per week to 5,000 words per week. The theory was it would free up approximately 50% of the time I had previously spent writing. I was wrong. Halving my word count goal freed up about 80% of my writing time. Yes, that’s right. I write half as many words as I used … Read More »

Every day it seems there’s a new app or other technology being pushed as “essential” for writers. I’m attracted to shiny techie things, and I try just about anything new, although I’m finding it harder and harder to keep up will all the innovations. After trying out the new stuff, I keep coming back to my short list of tried and trues that make my writing life easier. Some apps, with steep learning curves can make life more complicated.  At some … Read More »

I’ve finally reached the place where editing is an almost pleasant experience.  I seem to have evolved past the feeling of panic and hopelessness that plagued me on earlier drafts.  I’m done questioning whether or not my story has merit.  The piles of drafts on the floor under my desk will soon be shredded, along with my doubts. I feel relaxed and comfortable with this final edit. I turn the pages, one at a time, to see what suggestions my … Read More »

It was written. Or so I thought. I went to bed the night of Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, reveling in the satisfaction that I had completed a lengthy—and key—passage in my work in progress. I was satisfied I addressed everything that was necessary to the story, that I found the right words, devised the right ideas, and while editing was still needed, the meat of it was there. I could move on. The next day I talked up my triumph … Read More »

Productivity. Does that word bring to mind a Ford factory line churning out hundreds of perfectly identical Model Ts? Does Henry Ford’s famous (mis-)quote, “You can have any color, as long as it’s black,” give you—a creative writer—hives? Welcome to the club. I was once a member of that club. Creativity inspired my writing, and I would write as much (or as little) as creativity demanded. Productivity I reserved for my corporate America career—delivering projects as efficiently and effectively as … Read More »

Asking a writer why he or she writes is like asking Peyton Manning why he throws a football or Wynton Marsalis why he blows the trumpet. We do it because we’ve found it to be the best way to express ourselves—and we’re good at it. In a way, writing is an obsessive-compulsive behavior. We write because we don’t have a choice. Those of us attempting to put words on paper in a meaningful way are miserable when we’re not writing, … Read More »