Most writers I know dream of three kinds of offices: the mahogany office that doubles as a library, a room that looks like the Bomb of Eclecticism went off in the middle of the room, and the minimalist office that looks like something out of an issue of Zen Writer magazine. (If Zen Writer magazine […]
The Distracted Writer
I saw this recently — a word processor mimicking a typewriter that promises distraction-free writing. Some writers use old, manual typewriters — and not just in the pursuit of hipsterdom, but to avoid distractions. Others grab a pen and paper and write longhand manuscripts. On Sunday, I listened to this great interview with Robin Sloan […]
Why I Wake Up Early (Even on the Weekend)
I’ve written about mornings before on my main blog. It’s no secret that I like waking up early to write. But there’s a reason beyond the quiet that matters to me: if I get up early and make something I want to make before the world hisses to life and churns away, all the things […]
How to Come Up with Good Ideas
Yesterday at work, I had an idea for a blog entry. It was a great idea — at least that’s how I remember it. Because I was working, I wrote a note in a notebook (instead of putting it in Evernote), but today…I can’t find it. I hear a lot of people talk about keeping […]
How Do You Write?
Getting from one side of a novel to the other… There comes a point in my writing process that I take over the living room for the day. Whether it’s bits and pieces of a story written on note cards, or printed sections of a manuscript color coded and spread out on the floor so […]
Caddo Lake State Park Writing Retreat
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned a second annual writing retreat was happening. With last year’s retreat a success, there was no way a friend and I weren’t going to make it an annual thing. There are plenty of lakes with weekend cabins not too far away, and thanks to the mightiness that is the […]
How to Find Time to Write
I preface this with the usual sentiment of everything I write where advice is offered: these are only suggestions. As adults, if we want to spend all our free time watching TV or playing video games, who am I to say you shouldn’t do that? One of the best things about being an adult: once […]
Body of Work
[Cross-posted from my personal blog.] * * * I’ve talked before about creating a body of work before (even used an image of piled wood to make the point). In fact, that post was in honor of the 25th episode of the Men in Gorilla Suits podcast. Today marks Episode 53 — our one-year anniversary! […]
E-Hermitage
With the shift to so many digital things, it seems the “e-” prefix can be attached to anything: e-book, e-commerce, e-trading, e-business, e-signature, e-etc. As 2014 approaches, I propose a new e-thing: e-hermitage! E-Hermitage I’ve written about my experiences taking a 101-day social media break. I even followed up with additional thoughts after returning. I […]
Getting the Jump on New Year’s Resolutions
It’s a simple pleasure: driving along in an open lane on a wide road and having a light turn green right before needing to slow down. All the cars standing still from the red light begin their crawl through the intersection, but you sail through. Every year, so many people make resolutions for the new […]
In Praise of Slow Writing
The advice goes something like this: Write as much as you can, as fast as you can. Always be “delivering.” The more you produce, the more money you will make. Speed, speed, speed!!! It works for some. If you’re writing a series, there are worse things in the world than fans wanting your next book […]
The Cult of Failure
Check out many business blogs, and there it is: talk about failure being a great thing! “It’s cool to fail because failing means you’re taking risks!” “It’s cool to fail because it means you’re learning!” “It’s cool to fail because I read somewhere that it’s cool to fail, so failure is cool…and I can’t wait […]
360 Minutes
I won’t even try to sum up all I liked in this piece written by James Rhodes for The Guardian — all I’ll say is he makes a good argument that there is time to do the things we want to do in life if we’re prepared to do things regularly. From the article: “We […]