When you spend all your time planning instead of writing — A child stands at the end of a dock on a summer afternoon, gazing into the lake. She wants to jump in and swim, but spends a long time preparing herself. She sits on the edge of the dock and dangles her feet in the top inches of the lake…

Why “serious” topics benefit from levity — Humor. We love reading it, but many of us shy away from writing it. Done well, humor looks effortless. That’s usually an illusion. But, just like telling a story, getting someone to smile is a skill that we can practice and improve. Many of the nonfiction authors I admire approach…

(Sometimes) — “You’ve just violated grammar code part 5, section 29: Using a comma to set off a dependent clause following a restrictive main clause. What do you have to say for yourself?” You might feel like you’ve been pulled over by the grammar police when reviewing edits from a copyeditor or…

When I dreamed of writing books as a child, I thought I’d spend my time … writing. Perhaps I’d browse through bookstores and libraries. It never occurred to me that my particular version of this dream would entail so many other activities and skills, including: Learning the ins and outs…

Why reading isn’t enough — What would you do if you wanted to get into better shape? Buy and read books about fitness? (Books are always my first instinct.) Watch fitness videos or listen to podcasts? Follow athletes on social media? Sure, those things might help or inspire you. But the only way to build…

We can have fun with this! — Of all the Christmas Eves in my childhood, I remember most clearly the year someone brought a pair of stilts. These stilts were things of wonder-light-colored wooden poles with red pegs for your feet. We celebrated the evening with another family, and we all took turns crashing around the house…

This post is a guest contribution from Mason Engel, an independent author filmmaker who has created a fascinating documentary called Books Across America. Read more about that below. Lately, I’ve been hearing voices I’m talking about author voices, real-life author voices during interviews. I’m working on a documentary for book lovers called Books Across America…

Insights from a survey on writing voice — How do you feel about your writing voice? Do you enjoy playing with it, or do you give it any thought at all? As research for my next book, I’ve been asking people those questions. Unsurprisingly, the answers vary as much as the people. Let’s start with what we mean…

Better writing in the digital age — I tuned into one of my favorite podcasts recently-one that covers various geeky topics through in-depth interviews. Listening to these podcasts is one way to feed my curiosity, and I admire the host’s skills. This episode, every time the host asked a question, the guest wandered around it, working their…