I was a half decent 800-meter runner in high school, not great, but I ran with a lot of heart, and sometimes I placed near the front. It's a tough race, as it requires both speed and stamina. It is …
Inspiration
What is Success?
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates Years ago, I was on the phone with a prospective student, and he announced, “I will consider myself a failure if my book does not become a …
No Good Guys, No Bad Guys
There are times, as storytellers, when we can be so bull-headed about what we want to express, that we end up pushing an agenda rather than telling a story. We create "good guys and bad guys," and in …
Stay Curious
“The curious are always in some danger. If you are curious, you might never come home.” - Jeanette WintersonWhen my son was three years old, he was Captain Hook for Halloween. It was fascinating to …
What Do I Write Next?
Writers frequently come to me and say: "I have three ideas. Which one should I write next?"In the 90-day workshops, one of the first exercises we do is we write for five minutes, beginning with: "My …
Hold the Story Loosely
Our idea of the story is never the whole story. The act of writing a novel, memoir, or screenplay is a way of developing a coherent narrative for something that began as a simple idea or image. We are …
The Inner Critic
“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”- Howard ThurmanThere’s a difference between writing …
12 Maxims of The 90-Day Novel
Have you thought about your creative goals for this coming year? If you're planning to write your novel, here are 12 maxims that will guide you to the end of your first draft in 90 days. 1) When you …
There are No Ugly Trees
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” - Eleanor Roosevelt People are always talking about how they need to be better, to improve …
Stay Out of the Result
For any writer, here’s a question to ask yourself: “Why do I want to write this?” A student told me recently that he was writing his first novel in order to sell it for a lot of money. Though I …