Finishing a long-term project depends on persistence and stick-to-itiveness. Here are two big solutions to the long-term motivation problem.  Continue reading...

The job of writing keeps us feeling guilty for either writing too much or not writing enough. Here are three specific ways to manage writing and guilt so that the pleasure of the first can overwhelm the need for the second.  Continue reading...

If you want to be a writer, you need to be a reader, first. Here's how to fit more reading into your schedule, no matter how busy you are.  Continue reading...

A little eccentricity can be a good thing — especially when it simultaneously enhances creativity and alleviates back pain.  Continue reading...

We often try to do too much when we think and, as a result, we become confused and ineffective. To break through this log-jam, try switching hats.  Continue reading...

I'm a big fan of writing that's larded with metaphor, simile and personification. Here's a bit of figurative language I particularly like: to be a writer is to be a figure skater.  Continue reading...

Telling stories — even very short ones — is one of the best techniques you can use to make your writing more interesting and more engaging to your readers. I suggest you make it a priority.  Continue reading...