This past year, I fell well short of my goal to read 40 books in a year. That being said, I enjoyed some of the best books I’ve ever read. My least favorite book this year was King Solomon’s Mines. My favorite fictional character goes to Tiffany Aching for a third year in a row, …
If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve been there – the dark forest of writing. There are no words here, no progress, only suffocating doubt and self-loathing. Every writer has experienced this before and just when we think this feeling will never surface it’s ugly face again, there it is. Getting stuck is easy. …
Continue reading Writer, Need Inspiration? Here Are Three Ways To Get It
Several months ago I felt creatively empty and faced a deadline. The horrible reality behind this toxic pairing is that I want to be a published author and meeting this deadline would cause this dream to come true. Have you ever been in this place? It’s very different from procrastination and similar to writers block. But the source of the emptiness …
Continue reading Resistance, Chuck Close, & The Work Behind Our Art
Here’s a list of books I read in 2016. I started keeping track in 2011 after a conversation with my friend Matthew Landrum. I try to complete two to three books each month. You can find previous lists here: 2011 2012 2013 2014 …
Last week I listened to a podcast about creativity. In it writer Jeff Goins and Dr. Keith Sawyer discuss how creative people function and the contents of Dr. Sawyer’s book Zig Zag. One idea they mentioned was that writing or creativity does not have to be perfect. But there should be movement from one project to another. Besides …
Last year I signed up for a 10K run. Immediately thereafter, I was hit with a flood of panic. The run was less than two months away and I had not even jogged in six months. In my mind I knew I would fail. But I decided to try anyway. After I crossed the finish line, I slowed …
Continue reading Why Small Moments Are The Most Important Ones
Nearly every day I put my son to bed and then his two older sisters. My wife handles our three month old. And almost every evening my daughter Clara asks me the same question. “Daddy, what are we going to do in the morning?” I’ve had many answers to this question. Occasionally, they morph into …
When I first started writing I had no children. I could get up as early as I liked and stay up as late as possible, as long as my full time job did not suffer. At one point, I got up at five thirty every Saturday morning and wrote for four hours. It was a …
Continue reading How To Integrate Your Dream Into Your Busy Life
Imagine you hire a contractor to build you a house. They don’t return your calls and then suddenly show up on day one with random bits of wood, insulation, a few screws, and a hard hat. Then they crack open a book titled, Building Your Own Home for Dummies. They’d be fired in like a …
Continue reading Why You Should Plan Your New Year’s Resolution Right Now
Holidays. This one word can bring of flood of emotions. But, I believe if we maintain the right perspective and use our time well, we can make Thanksgiving awesome. How? See my 5 ways to make Thanksgiving awesome below. Be intentional with your thanks. Often we are so busy we only stop to sleep. Being thankful when …
PART-TIME NOVEL 