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 »

Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer. —Barbara Kingsolver Writers have many ways of sabotaging themselves. One of the most insidious ones, in my opinion, is showing their work too early. I advise writers not to seek feedback from a writers group, or even a professional editor, … Read More »

In an article I’ve saved for a long time, Gail Godwin names her inner critic the “Watcher at the Gate.” The Watcher is “the intellect that examines too closely the ideas pouring in at the gates … passionately dedicated to one goal: rejecting too soon and discriminating too severely.” Godwin writes, “It is amazing the lengths a Watcher will go to keep you from pursuing the flow of your imagination. Watchers are notorious pencil sharpeners, ribbon changers, plant waterers, home … Read More »

Sometimes I run out of steam. Sometimes I run out of ideas. Sometimes I run out of time. Sometimes I just plain get stuck. Whatever the reason that forces me to stop writing, I make sure I won’t have to face “blank screen syndrome” when I settle back into my chair (not completely, anyway). Before I shut my computer down, I like to have some specifics of where the story is headed upon my return. My mind will keep exploring … Read More »

It was with some hesitation that I volunteered to take over for the St. Pete Writers Group in January 2015. Observing other leaders fearlessly advance their Florida Writers Association Writers Groups with clever ideas, a seemingly endless resource of quality speakers, and high meeting turnouts made me wonder if I was cut out to be a Writers Group Leader. As a critique group leader, it’s a different set of challenges, but a fairly simple process. In my mind, nothing compared to … Read More »