You might have seen advice in the past (possibly from me) that habits are the key to making good things happen in your work. (Also your life, your relationships, your health. It turns out that habits are the key to nearly everything.) Good habits, even if they're small, tend to roll up into significant progress. And bad habits ... well, we … [Read more...] about Creative confidence, meaningful work, and the world’s least sexy skill set
The secret to a great writing career … isn’t a secret
I've been a working writer for a few decades now. And in the past 10 years or so, I've had the additional privilege of being able to teach commercial writers how to get better gigs, and how do a better job with them. As I look around at advice given to aspiring copywriters, there's a weird piece of advice that I see all the time. Success as a … [Read more...] about The secret to a great writing career … isn’t a secret
Creative Self-Indulgence and the Working Writer: How Far is Too Far?
In our "Killers and Poets" Facebook group (you should join us!), we've just launched a book club to read Ursula LeGuin's recently published writing manual, Steering the Craft. The first chapter is about "the sound of writing" -- about the music of written language, from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories to Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were … [Read more...] about Creative Self-Indulgence and the Working Writer: How Far is Too Far?
The Art and Craft of Writing, Part 2: Practices to Improve our Craft
Recently I wrote about where writer's voice comes from. I talked about that combination of experiences that leads each of us to have something unique to say. Your voice rises up out of all of your experiences. And the more you write, the stronger your writing voice gets. It's important to spend plenty of time just figuring yourself out, and … [Read more...] about The Art and Craft of Writing, Part 2: Practices to Improve our Craft
