September 15th. 30 days until deadline. Gotta get my shit together. I look at my calendar and ruthlessly scrub everything I can from it. I will write night and day. 3K minimum. No excuses, no whining, no time left for my intellection to ponder or my connectedness to try and think […]

The idea of “High Concept” was addressed in Edith Wharton’s book, The Writing of Fiction, which just came into the public domain. This is what she says: First, ask: What judgment on life does the story contain for me? Quote: “A good subject, then, must contain in itself something that sheds a light on our […]

  I was re-reading Michael Ventura’s brilliant piece, The Talent of the Room, and began thinking again about the power of solitude. *The full piece is printed with permission in my book, Write Naked.* In a world where everything moves so fast, from a tap to like on an IG post to a swipe left […]

    “Story doesn’t allow us to escape reality but navigate reality.” – Lisa Cron, Story Genius Excuse me, while I blow the dust off of this blog. I’ve been gone the past few months finishing up writing two brand new books and diving into extensive edits. When I go that deep into the hole, […]

Sometimes, I forget that writing is like life. You can have clear goals, focus on the finish line, and do the work nonstop to get there. But many times, the end is just out of reach—like the treasure keeps tauntingly moving a few steps ahead of you until you wonder: Was this a good idea […]