Finding My Why

Do you know why you get out of bed in the morning? A few months ago I ran across Simon Sinek. He is a self-styled optimist, but he has a lot to say about how everything we do in life should start with why. I read his book "Start With Why" and then followed up …

Do you feel stuck?

Lately I have felt stuck. I have a wonderful family, a great house, a stable job that pays me more than I ever thought I would make in my life. And yet I have been feeling like my life doesn't actually line up with my values. I spend a majority of my time working a …

The Right Tool to Write

I know not all of you are writers. This article is definitely tailored to fellow writers. But I believe the mentality I describe is applicable in many walks of life and hope that anyone can get something out of it.   I develop lots of tools for my day job. Everything from custom macros in …

Still afraid to fail

I finally heard back this week on a big writing contest I entered. I worked hard on my story for almost 6 months, revising and getting feedback from friends. I didn't think it was good enough to win, but I thought it might be good enough to make honorable mention. I got a very cordial …

How I wasted $3000 but gained something better

Once upon a time, my wife told me she wanted to move to a farm. I try to be a good husband, so I refused my inclination to reject the idea out of hand. We talked through it and decided it wasn't the right time to do that, but we could keep it as an …

Your life is story

What if you got to write your own life as a story? Would it have less of something? Maybe more? How would you respond to conflict as a character in your story? Would you cower in the face of danger? Or would you courageously strive toward your goal in the face of any obstacle? Would …

Have a Goal? Raise the Stakes

Do you have a goal that you have tried countless times to achieve? Or an addiction you have tried countless times to break?  Maybe it is time to try again, but with a different approach.   First off, approach it like a scientist. Treat everything you try as an experiment. If it fails, that doesn't …

Waylaid On Novel Mountain

I am nearing 30,000 words on my novel draft. Slowly getting there. But for the last week or so, I have been climbing a different hill. I have been reading a lot of material on how to improve my writing. One of the websites I found in my wanderings is called The Write Practice. On …

How to Avoid Writing

Do you have a writing project that you want to avoid? Well the best way to avoid your current project is to work on things that you can rationalize to yourself as contributing to your writing long-term. You probably won't even have to be intentional about coming up with these other things to work on, …

Stuck in the Swampy Middle

I feel stuck today. I just finished the beginning hook of my novel, so I am about 25% through. In true form of starting the middle of a book, I immediately feel like I am slogging through a swamp. Jim Butcher calls it the Swampy Middle.