The relationship between creativity and talent is a rocky one. For years I’ve heard variations of, “Do I need talent to be a good writer?” with “writer” easily substituted by other creative professions like painter, sculptor, and musician. At first, I was the one asking the question, an insecure teen wondering if I’d ever make…
Passion: it’s what so many of us crave and what so few of us pursue. Sometimes it’s a lack of self-knowledge– after all, you can’t chase something you don’t know exists. Others find there’s just not enough time in the day. So much of our lives are taken up by family obligations, errands, chores, and,…
If I were to describe my writing schedule before starting this blog, I’d pick the word “sporadic”. The writing folder on my computer, sorted by year, alternates between years with forty-plus documents and years that are completely barren. An entire bottom shelf of a bookcase is dedicated to notebooks I won’t throw out due to…
Everyone has a story they want to tell. For most, it’ll percolate in the back of their minds for most of their lives, drip-drip-dripping on long flights, empty commutes, and while doing the dishes. It rarely moves past the idle daydream stage, its existence reserved for downtime conversations of, “When I retire, maybe I’ll write…
Humans love to engage in challenges. When we’re small, we race down the block or count to ten to see who’s the fastest. As we get older we join sports, form clubs, and enter contests to compete, learn, and grow. Social media has expanded these opportunities, connecting people from all over the world to join…
If you’ve been following the Writing Rules series, you might have clicked on this blog post with some skepticism. Every “rule” so far has been a phrase, something catchy to teach new writers a simple trick to improve their prose. This rule is a little different; instead of one writing “rule” to pick apart, there…
Editing is hell. It may look peaceful from the outside. A writer sitting at their desk with a red pen, manuscript spread out, marking and noting along the margins. Maybe there’s a cup of tea steaming next to them or some gentle snowfall at the windowsill. Cleaning up your work sounds satisfying, but if you…
Everyone has pet peeves. Little, innocuous offenses that immediately annoy us or, in some cases, unholy rage. The range of offenses is wide, from bad drivers to slow walkers to open-mouthed chewing (I feel like I might be triggering some ambient rage just from mentioning some of these). Whatever your pet peeves are, they…
New writers are inundated with advice. Whether you’re in a workshop, discussing ideas with a friend, or watching an interview with a famous author, everyone wants to tell you how to write well. Even I, your friendly neighborhood hobbyist, am sitting here tapping away on my keyboard to put my writing opinions into the world.…
Every book is a journey, from the copyright pages to the acknowledgments. It could be a literal journey, a fictional hero traveling great distances to accomplish their goal like Frodo or Odysseus. Others are more cerebral, characters going on an internal journey of self-reflection and discovery. Nonfiction can take us on real, historical journeys or…
Tea Reads 