by Rochelle Melander “For all of us, the miracle isn’t that we finished, the miracle is that we have the courage to start.” —John Bingham John Bingham wrote that about running, but he could have been talking about writing. People who procrastinate writing may have difficulty starting. They sharpen their pencil. Get that second cup...Read More

by Rochelle Melander “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.” —Corita Kent My clients have talked a lot about failure lately. They plan, choose a path, and it doesn’t work out. They insist they’ve failed. I encourage them to think of the situation as feedback. Making art has much...Read More

by Rochelle Melander I’ve been thinking about game changers: ideas, practices, or products that literally change the game. Consider the printing press. Before Johanes Gutenberg invented the press in the 1440s, all manuscripts were copied by hand. Imagine the waitlist at the monastery for the Bible. The monks must have tired of saying, “Don’t worry—we’ll...Read More

Rochelle Melander As a coach, I work with people who want to overcome obstacles to write. Usually we work together to find a way around or through the obstacle. Makes sense, right? We can’t achieve our goal with that huge obstacle in the way. But I had a new view on obstacles this week. We...Read More

You Need to Slow Down by Rochelle Melander Last Monday, I took a walk during my lunch hour. Between Show Up and Write and several meetings, I had a busy day. I was walking fast, thinking about where I was going, when CrAsH! I faceplanted on the sidewalk, blood spurting from my split lip. My...Read More

by Rochelle Melander Writing can be like folding a banquet-sized tablecloth; you can do it yourself, but it’s a lot easier when you can find somebody to help. —Ted Kooser and Steve Cox What stands between you and a finished product—a book, article, blog post or podcast? When I speak to people who have a deep...Read More

by Rochelle Melander On our return trip from New Orleans, we spent five hours in Chicago. Not in the city. Not in the airport. On a plane. After the initial flight plan was canceled, we had to return to the gate for fuel. A passenger demanded to get off the plane, convinced she’d get a...Read More

by Rochelle Melander We all know about doom scrolling. Despite setting the intention to take time away from Facebook, I found ways to doomscroll. When I heard about hope questing, I liked the idea. Instead of scrolling to get updates on what’s falling apart, scroll with purpose. Connect online with friends. Check in with people...Read More

by Rochelle Melander The most important thing is to hold on, hold out, for your creative life, for your solitude, for your time to be and do, for your very life. —Clarissa Pinkola Estés What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? If you’re like 80 percent of the population, you check your...Read More

by Rochelle Melander Distracted from distraction by distraction. – T.S. Eliot Every day, I talk to people who want to write but can’t seem to get traction on their project. In the next few weeks, I’ll talk about the many obstacles we face and how to overcome them. The biggest obstacle I hear right now...Read More