Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days. —Zig Ziglar According to psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell, our fast-paced world filled with hundreds of immediate demands on our time and attention can cause an inability to focus on a single task or attention deficit trait. In Organize Your...Read More
I’m delighted to welcome author and professor Jane Nardin to the blog who has brilliant advice for us from Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. Follow the directions below the tip to enter to win a copy of Jane Nardin’s new young adult novel, Little Women in India. Five Writing Tips Inspired by Jane Austen...Read More
I struggle to be present. When I’m exercising, I plan my writing time. When I’m writing, I worry about what’s lurking in my email. When I check email, I’m trying to figure out how I can answer 80 messages and find time to blog. Ugh! Writing haiku helps me to connect to the present moment....Read More
It’s nervous work. The state you need to write in is the state that others are paying large sums to get rid of. — Shirley Hazard In Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time, authors Paul Hammerness, M.D., Margaret Moore, and John Hane use research from...Read More
Today I’m delighted to offer you an interview with Chuck Galey, author and illustrator of many picture books. Enjoy! You’ve been in the children’s book business for 20 years now. What was your path in? I completed my college degree in what we called commercial art back in 1978 and had been an advertising art director...Read More
I met Elaine Blanchard in 2006 at Washington National Cathedral’s College of Preachers. We’d both received fellowships to study writing. After long days of writing, workshops, and eating amazing food, we’d head out to walk the neighborhood and talk. Since then, we’ve both started teaching writing in unique communities: I teach children at inner city...Read More
I keep a journal filled with ideas for my blog and novel writing. Usually I jot down ideas as they hit me throughout the week—sometimes in the journal, often on the notes app on my mobile phone. Once in awhile, I think it would be fun to go on an idea hunt. You know—set aside...Read More
All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking. —Friedrich Nietzsche Last week, I received my 2012 year-end report from Daily Mile. I learned that I’d walked and biked well over 600 miles. With all that exercise, Daily Mile reported that I’d lost ten pounds. Yeah, not so much. No doubt Daily Mile has some sort...Read More
Today, I’m delighted to welcome Angela Ackerman to the blog. She’s an insightful writer and blogger who is the coauthor of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression. In today’s tip, she talks about how you can create characters that hook a reader’s heart. (And check out below how you can win an...Read More
Just as the year was ending, I saw this on Facebook: “This January, why not start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about the good things that happen. Then on New Year’s Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year.” (https://www.facebook.com/patronofthearts) The prompt captured my imagination. I’m...Read More
