Published in From the Library·PinnedMember-onlyConsistency in WritingConsistency is hard. That’s why it’s so rare–and so valuable. — As a writer, you need consistency for many reasons: Improving your craft Feeding creativity and generating ideas Building an audience or an author platform All of these goals require consistent effort over time. The importance of consistency came home to me recently reading Mark Schaefer’s new book Cumulative Advantage about…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Published in The Startup·PinnedMember-onlyAre You Planning or Resisting?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…Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
PinnedMember-onlyUsing Humor in Nonfiction WritingWhy “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…Humor Writing3 min readHumor Writing3 min read
1 day agoMember-onlyPlaying with Short SentencesIf you write long, elaborate sentences with multiple asides or interjecting clauses-and many of us do-you might experiment with a sprinkling of shorter sentences. Short sentences give big ideas room to breathe. When I work with nonfiction authors on their manuscripts, I frequently ask the authors to break up a…Writing Tips3 min readWriting Tips3 min read
Jan 12Member-onlyDeliberate writing practiceCombine daily efforts with intention — You may start learning how to write in school, but that’s only the beginning of the story. As long as you read and write—from emails to social media posts—you learn. You feed your sense of the written language and practice your craft. Sounds great, right? But “passive” learning presents two…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Dec 15, 2022Member-onlyWriting for Two Reading ModesServing the Biliterate Brain — Here’s an experiment: Try reading an 18th of 19th-century novel today. It could be Austen, Dickens, Eliot-choose your favorite. Even if you loved the book years ago, you may find you have to slow down your brain to get into it. …Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
Dec 1, 2022Member-onlyThree Life Lessons from Writing BooksWriting a book is a major endeavor. When you reach the end, like the traveler after a long journey, you look for the stories or lessons in the experience to share with others. Those stories hold wisdom that applies beyond writing. I’ve written six books, and coached or supported many…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Nov 17, 2022Member-onlyShopping for WordsTake the Writing Wardrobe challenge — Words are clothing for ideas. What’s in your wardrobe? Do you use the same lexicon of drab verbs and adjectives that you’ve always used? That’s like wearing the same sweatpants and t-shirt every day. It gets boring, for you and the people around you. If you want your ideas to…Writing Advice4 min readWriting Advice4 min read
Nov 3, 2022Member-onlyGrowing as a WriterWhat we can learn from the trees. — You probably know that the rings in a tree stump tell you the tree’s age was when it was cut down. But do you read those rings for stories of hardship and community? Wide rings tell a tale of growth and abundance. Tightly packed, narrow rings betray years with little…Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
Oct 21, 2022Member-onlyEmojis at Work and BeyondThe benefits of emojis in business writing may surprise you — Ever since writing a book about business emails last year, I’ve increased my use of emojis. I sprinkle them into LinkedIn messages, texts, emails-even blog posts! 😄 A new Adobe study suggests that I’m not alone, and it’s not only happening in personal messages. Of the 5,000 US-based emoji users…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
