I frequently write about ways to combat writer’s block. One of my favorites: engage a different part of your brain. Though I am not an artist, I like doing art. When I shut down the computer and begin messing with beads, then the ideas begin to flow. Before I can string a bracelet, I have...Read More

Before the advent of blogs, everyone wanted to write a book. Now writers blog in hopes that their online musings will lead to the big book contract. Many have. Julie Powell’s blog led to her book Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously and the movie Julie and Julia. Gretchen Rubin’s blog about testing...Read More

Writers, guess what? A new study suggests that the sedentary work life leads to obesity. Yup. A new study reports that 80 percent of today’s jobs require little or no physical activity, up from 50 percent in 1960. Because we sit at work, we are not burning 120-140 calories a day that people who have...Read More

Are you thinking about starting a freelance writing business? Do you write and submit regularly but barely make enough money to buy toothpaste for your family? You need Kelly James-Enger’s book Six Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money. In the book, James-Enger offers solid advice to help writers move from writing for fun...Read More

Earlier this month, I traveled to Texas to meet with coaching clients. As travel days go, I expected a fairly easy one. I’d hop on the plane just after 11 AM and arrive in Texas at 2:00 PM. Shortly after getting on the plane, the captain told us that there was a slight delay because...Read More

As a reader, I often get bored by long descriptions of  place. After pages of flowery language about the shape of the topography or the decorative style of a house, I will scream at my book: enough already! Still, in the best novels, the setting supports the story in an integral way. When I recall...Read More

Since I moved to Milwaukee in 1995, I’ve seen dozens of authors speak at local bookstores about their work. When people ask me how to learn more about writing and publishing without having to spend a lot of money, I encourage them to do two things: read and attend author events. I have learned something...Read More

I’ve had The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walking for Health by Erika Peters on my shelf for two years and just opened it this week. I’m an avid walker and did not think I needed to read a book on the topic. My bad. After just a quick dip into the book, I learned at...Read More

I often take a camera with me when I walk. In my neighborhood, I never know when I might run into something fun to photograph—like this toilet or the mommy and baby ducks I posted yesterday. Later, the photos become fodder for writing. YOUR Turn! Take a walk with your camera. Photograph anything that intrigues...Read More

For me, poetry is related to walking. Words and images fill me when I wander somewhere alone. Writer Bruce Chatwin lived with nomads and believed inspiration, as well as true rest, could best be found in motion. Sometimes I wish I could walk forever, jotting down notes and words. —Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, Poemcrazy When I...Read More