“…if writing is about anything, it’s about seeing things fresh.” – Francis Flaherty, The Elements of Story
Burnout
Burnout. Noun. The sensation that a tire is about to blow, the house is about to catch on fire, someone you love, maybe yourself, is about to crash and burn. [Read more…] about Burnout
How to be a Better Writer: Say Good Morning
Call it being contrary—and I can exhibit the quality—but I make it a point to say good morning to the people I meet during my early morning runs. They are few and far between and typically have ear buds in their ears, but I still make eye contact and at least tip my head in greeting. It’s a way to force myself outside my comfort zone and to seek an encounter.
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The Writing Slump is a Wilderness
“In the wilderness we’re plunged into an awareness of danger and death; at the very same moment we’re plunged, if we let ourselves be, into an awareness of the great mystery of God and the extraordinary preciousness of life.” —Eugene Peterson, Leap Over a Wall
Hopes and Dreams
I try to distance myself from my hopes and dreams. I tell myself they’re silly. I bury them ten feet deep. I throw them out of a moving car and don’t wait to see where they land or if they manage to tuck and roll. I flee when they make themselves known.
How to be a Better Writer: Be a Bloodhound
When a writer writes, she sometimes starts with an idea. It might be vague, ill-formed, and entirely out of focus, but she has one. She follows its trail until it becomes clear.
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