By Rochelle Melander ˆ The Exceptional is always usual And the Usual exceptional. To choose what is difficult all one’s days As if it were easy, that is faith. Joseph, praise. —W.H. Auden, For the Time Being My coach played a clip of Michael Caine talking about his philosophy, “Use the difficulty.” In it, Caine...Read More

An Interview with Marjorie Pagel by Rochelle Melander Tell us about your new book, Pastiche. Pastiche came together in bits and pieces – poems and short essays meant to be shared with other writers. I have a longstanding practice of signing up for classes and workshops, and there’s something about an immediate deadline along with...Read More

By Rochelle Melander “Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”― Jimmy Carter Watching President Jimmy Carter’s funeral last week got me interested in his writing life. Carter was one of the most prolific presidents, penning 32 books. (Twenty of his books became New York Times bestsellers.) As far as I can tell from...Read More

By Rochelle Melander This is what we can all do to nourish and strengthen one another: listen to one another very hard, ask hard questions, too, send one another away to work again, and laugh in all the right places.  – Nancy Mairs Neuroscientist Moran Cerf said that we can reduce stress, increase happiness, and...Read More

By Rochelle Melander When we want to change our lives, when we seek to create a new vision for our life’s journey—we need to open up time, space, and energy in our present lives. Without this first step, without the empty spaces, we cannot hear the nudges to a new way of living. We can’t...Read More

Or How to Write When You have Too Much Time on Your Hands by Rochelle Melander It’s not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it. –Seneca For years, clients have said to me, “I’ll write the next time I have a free day.” Then when the day...Read More

by Rochelle Melander It’s getting to be the time of year when I want to sit on the sofa, sip tea, and read books. Who am I kidding. It’s ALWAYS that time of year for me! Only, I can’t—because writing, work and dogs. You get it. (The picture at left is how I tend to...Read More

by Rochelle Melander “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.” –Saeed Jones Last weekend, I attended the funeral of my daughter’s dear friend. Alexis died at 23 from brain cancer. Before she died, she wrote her own obituary. Because of treatment, she lost some of her sight and hearing. And yet, she...Read More

If I could encourage you to give yourself a single gift this holiday season, it would be time. Take time off from work or chores to read and write. Give yourself time to connect to the ideas that attract and delight you. And don’t forget to nourish the well: art and nature feed your writing...Read More

By Rochelle Melander Before we get to the gift guide, I have a little cartoon for you. It tells a sad story. For the past several months, I’ve been complaining to my website manager: I’m not getting my email from my coaching email address. They checked and said it was working just fine. But it...Read More