There’s a common theory (presented here by my time-management guru, Laura Vanderkam) that suggests that book-lovers either fall into the “supply” or “demand” category of readers. A supply-side reader builds reading into her life and has habits and schedules that support reading. For example, a supply-side reader will always keep a book next to her… Read more »
Have you seen Marie Kondo’s new Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo? Marie teaches people how to do a deep declutter of their homes, often prompting emotional awakenings as the clutter is cleared. Change is sparked; lives are redirected. The show is apparently so popular that Goodwill and Salvation Army sites around the country… Read more »
What makes your writing life productive? Maybe you’re following the advice to “write every day,” and you’re hitting a daily word count, but you’re not sure if it’s your best work. Or you eschew that advice and only write when you feel inspired, and then a great story pours out of you—but you wish you… Read more »
It’s almost 2019, word nerds! Time to start thinking about what the new year is going to do for you and your writing career. In the past, I’ve written about setting goals, writing a mission statement, and seeking education. I’m a big believer in resolutions, and I like using the new year as a clean-slate opportunity… Read more »
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of books about the craft and process of writing. Almost invariably, when discussing the all-consuming writing routine, the author will say something like this: “You must keep your writing time sacred. That means you’ll have to say no to things to which you might otherwise say yes. If… Read more »
In the last Be Well, Write Well post, I wrote about the perspective of having abundant time. Today, I’m going to show you that time is not only abundant in the macro sense, it can also feel abundant on the micro level—in the weeks, days and hours that make up the building blocks of our… Read more »
My grandmother recently passed away at 99 years old. When she was born, in 1919, the average life expectancy for a white American women (higher than that for males, or people of color) was 56 years old. As a child, the idea of a 99 year-old person, let alone her own ability to live to… Read more »
Earlier this month, I was invited to be part of a career fair at the school where I teach. The fair administrators wanted me to talk to the third, fourth and fifth grade students about balancing writing with my teaching job, how I’ve been published, and why the students should consider a writing career for… Read more »
Hello, readers! I hadn’t planned on doing another “Be Well, Write Well” interview after the series of three last winter, but when the opportunity arose to interview Lisa Romeo, I couldn’t turn it down. I first met Lisa at the Hippocamp Conference for Creative Nonfiction in the summer of 2016. Her workshop on mining root… Read more »
Confession time: I hit some potholes in my writing life this past year. Last spring, the novel I worked on for years went out on submission and wasn’t picked up, so my agent shelved it. In the fall, my agent read the novel I slaved over for most of 2017 and found some serious issues… Read more »
