Lose The Mental Clutter and Find Your Focus

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 »

#5onFri: Five Steps to Create Agency in Your Writing Life

As with any creative endeavor, there is a certain amount of inspiration that needs to happen in your writing: the beautiful melding of your varied experiences turned into something new and wonderful, yet familiar and accessible. The problem comes when you, as a writer, think that work can only be done when you have that… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Tips for Writing Fearlessly

Fearless writing is impactful. It forces the audience to encounter characters, situations, or outcomes that they may not be entirely comfortable with—and that’s a wonderful thing. It sounds easy enough to write fearlessly, and indeed it is—right up until someone starts reading your work. I never considered what my grandmother might think about my gruesome… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Ways to Create Writing Magic

Fiction writers have been called many things, but to me “magician” seems the best description. They dip into the black hat of their imagination and produce an endless variety of characters, situations, images, genres, events, and styles. The effect on readers is nothing less than magical, the reader also becoming a magician and an important… Read more »

Letting Go of Perfectionism the DIY MFA Way

I’ve been a perfectionist almost as long as I’ve been a writer. I strove for good grades in school, agonized over homework for hours, and practiced the heck out of dance routines. The work ethic I developed as a result was driven by my determination to do well, a desire to please my family, and… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Steps to Craft Your Creative Narrative

People love a good story, because telling stories is how we share our experiences with others. A well-formed story explains the complex simply so that it will stick with the reader or listener. For a creative, telling the narrative of how and why your creations come about, will not only focus yourself but also inspire… Read more »