Is This Why You Keep Missing Your Writing Deadlines?
Meeting self-imposed deadlines is challenging for most aspiring authors. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, especially given established and hugely successful authors are well-known to struggle with the same challenge. Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy, famously wrote, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”…
Writing is NOT like Riding a Bike
I haven’t ridden a bicycle in years. All the same, I’m pretty sure if you handed me a shiny red 12-speed it wouldn’t take more then a couple seconds for me to get back into the riding groove. Some things are like that. I could pick up a guitar right now and play you Green Day’s “When I…
This One Simple Hack Will Double the Pace of Your Online Learning
I took my first online course almost a decade ago. I had decided I wanted to learn how to cook. In the process, I swiftly become obsessed with all things gastronomy. I read books about food, nutrition, and cooking. I subscribed to Food and Wine magazine, and I religiously watched the Food Network. It was my love…
Only One Way to Find Out — An Alternative to Annual Goal Setting
It’s the first week of 2018. When I opened my email inbox this morning, there were half-a-dozen emails promoting goal-setting programs for the coming year. I’m sure it was the same with you. I mean, it makes sense, right? The end of the year and the start of a new one is the perfect time…
Goodbye, Catherine Brunelle — The Writing Coach 058
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. In episode #58 of The Writing Coach podcast, I say goodbye to my friend and collaborator, Catherine Brunelle. The Writing Coach is brought to you by: Click…
Alexa Bigwarfe on Women in Publishing — The Writing Coach 057
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. In episode #57 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Alexa Bigwarfe. Alexa is an author, a coach, publisher, and digital publishing strategist. She is…
Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn — The Writing Coach 056
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. In episode #56 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Joanna Penn. Joanna is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of…
Joan Dempsey Discusses Her Debut Novel — The Writing Coach 055
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. In ep. #55 of The Writing Coach podcast, writing instructor Joan Dempsey, who previously appeared in episode 38, returns to the show to discuss the launch…
Active Voice: The Easiest Way to Improve Your Writing
Using “active voice” is one of the easiest ways to improve the quality of your writing. Sentences written in active voice organize words so that the subject of the sentence is doing the action, not the object. For example, here’s a sentence written in active voice: Kevin ate the bananas. In this example, our protagonist…
The Secret to Getting Fit, Writing a Novel, and Achieving All Your Life’s Goals … FAST!
Recently, a client of mine grew frustrated. Her novel writing wasn’t moving along as swiftly as she would have liked. She’s a mom with a full-time job who just moved into a new home. She’s currently focusing on getting fit and healthy in addition to writing a novel, prepping a short story for a competition submission, and participating…
