I’VE GOT A PROBLEM Once J.D. Barker began mentoring me on the Writers, Ink podcast, I knew my approach to storytelling would be forever changed. When he told me what I was going to have … Continue reading Using Nostalgia to Create Memorable Characters
Before we get into this month’s essay, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who provided me with feedback on January’s essay. Some of you loved it. Some of you hated … Continue reading The 30-day CHANGE MY FRAME Challenge
You, and only you, are responsible for your life and what you create. And in deciding what you want, by default, you are deciding what you don’t want. The modern myth of “having it all” … Continue reading The Frame: Where to Place Your Focus
A year in the author life. If you’re keeping track, I started with episode zero. So, yes, it’s been a full 52 weeks of posts. There were times when I didn’t feel like writing. Times … Continue reading Conclusion and a new beginning.
This is the short version. I’m still working on the long version for those who want to hear it. I’ve always been “skinny.” I had a “high metabolism” as my high school soccer coach used … Continue reading Everything works until it doesn’t.
Sometimes it comes out of the blue, completely unexpected, almost as if you’re being blindsided by a truck. This happens in business quite often, and it happens in life as well. You believe you have … Continue reading When things don’t go your way.
When I was planning to come to Nashville this summer for a Story Grid event, I knew that Steven Pressfield was going to be in attendance. Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl had arranged for Steven … Continue reading Beating Resistance.
My wife and I enjoy taking evening walks through our neighborhood. While I abhor winters in Cleveland, I feel fortunate to live in an older, inner-ring suburb that has tree-lined streets and sidewalks—a throwback to … Continue reading Getting stung.
When we first set out to become a “writer,” we tend to keep that romantic notion in our head—a lone genius typing away on a typewriter or laptop in a remote cabin in the woods. … Continue reading The author mastermind group builds systems and habits.
Discipline is the ability to do what you know needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like doing it. It requires developing habits that you don’t have to think about, actions that are … Continue reading Discipline developed by an author mastermind group.