Craft
The Writer's Life
Blog
All writers need to thrive: craft,
business, personal finance, and joy.
business, personal finance, and joy.
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The Gift of Dreaming Big
Now is the perfect moment to unwrap the gift of boundless ambition.
Will AI Take Over Freelance Writing?
What does AI mean for the future of creative writing? I decided to ask it.
How I Finished My Novel … 10 Years Later
Ten years of writing, re-starting and editing, and then it happened last week: I finally finished my novel’s Sh*tty First Draft™️.
The Best Thing I Read This Week
I have a list of general questions I start with in most interviews, but often just let my curiosity lead me. This NYT opinion piece added so many more to my list.
Can Your Writing do These 3 Things?
What we can learn from words that make us uncomfortable.
Writing on Vacation
When I take any type of vacation, I try to leave all the “shoulds” of my writing life behind. Then the biggest question is, “Should I write at all on vacation?”
Pitch, Please!
Your writer senses tell you “Hey, this could be a story.” But wait! There are steps to getting your idea actually accepted.
I Hate Pitching (But I Want Fancy Bylines)
If we want those fancy bylines, we have to get past the pitch.
Put the Spirit of Summer in Your Writing
How often do you write something just for the joy of writing?
How to Get Your Writing Joy Back
Take your writing life from striving to thriving with the ultimate life hack: remembering we’re all going to die anyway.
Beat the Summer Writing Slump
We don’t want to look back in the fall and think, “Bleh, I have to start all over again!” Inertia is a b-word.
Have You Ever Considered Writing Satire?
Writing parody and satire is so fun, so refreshing, I think more writers would do it if they felt permission.
Die, Procrastination!
There is just something magical about starting your writing with a short mindfulness practice.
Facing the Beast
If you’ve taken time off from writing, it’s never as simple as just sitting down to write.
Here’s how to get back in the seat and back to business.
The Solution You Haven’t Tried…Yet.
What could happen if you committed yourself to asking, and asking everyone, until you found what you were looking for?
Belting “You Won’t Break My Soul” as a Freelance Writer
If you work now as a freelance writer, or dream of working as a freelance writer, I implore you today to pump the volume to irresponsible, and blast Beyoncé’s Break My Soul.
A Secret Weapon for Cutting Your Word Count
Writing, to me, has long been a practice of cutting.
My darlings!
Tending the Fire of Your Writing Life
It felt like the days when I’d first fallen in love with writing. During a long morning stretch on a comfy chair with a coffee,
The Olympics, “Success,” Suicide, and Self-Care
Success and well-being are two entirely different things.
What I Learned Reading The Best Women’s Travel Writing Slush Pile
Reading a slush pile can be your best education in how to write a particular genre.
Don’t Let Your Feelings Go to Waste
Ever wish there was a writing resource where you could house emotions to draw from? Enter the Feelings File.
3 Reasons I Write About Pain
One day last year, I was nearly doubled over in emotional pain, feeling directionless, asking what I should even do with all this pain. A