See this time as an opportunity to create something new, for yourself—and others — I went out to start my car one recent morning and the battery was dead. My daughter had taken the car and left the interior overhead light on all night. So I called AAA, and soon a young man with a local tow service arrived to jump-start my car. …

The president’s incouciance over the coronavirus devastation boggles the mind, and doesn't surprise. Why didn’t we pay attention? — Note: I wrote this on my blog in December 2016. As we watch the president lie and blame others for his own ineptitude, it’s striking how relevant this is almost three and a half years later. And while the nation stuggles with an unprecented viral infection and devasting job losses…

Some Thoughts From the Inside of My House — and Head Week One Okay, this isn’t so bad. I work from home. I’ve been Zooming with clients for years. No big deal. Can’t walk with my friends or meet for lunch, but we can do this for a while. Reading…

Since We’re All Stuck at Home, How Can You Carve Out Some Time to Write? — I love it when someone says, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world, “I’m writing a book!” You ask some polite questions, and you find out, 1) they’ve never written a book before, 2) they’ve never written anything that’s been published before, and/or 3) they’ve never written anything…

It’s the most effective and efficient way to find potential readers — There are two important reasons writers should embrace and engage in social media: first, it builds a fan (or customer) base and, second, it allows you to interact with readers, which also strengthens your customer base. Engaging in social media need not take a lot of time. If you plan…

And More Time to Think Means More Thoughtful Time to Write — During the past thirty years I moved at lightning speed, first taking care of husband and child, then my elderly mother and other family members. Full-time career. Freelance writing. Pursuing, madly pursuing, something that seemed always to be just out of reach. So I stopped. I went back to school…

Sometimes writing in past tense is necessary to understand the present — and the future — I have a client who has written a beautiful literary mystery in first-person present. I remember telling him initially that I thought he should consider past tense. Present tense can seem unnatural — even jarring in some cases. …

April is National Poetry Month—Here Are Some Ways Poetry Can Improve Your Life — Like most folks, when I was in grade school, I had to memorize poetry. I can still recite the beginning of Joyce Kilmers’ poem “Trees”: “I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree.” But not much else. Sadly. Still, as a college student I learned…

It’s not urgent, but it is important — here are some tips for treating it as such — Many writers have day jobs — or night jobs, or both. We have spouses and children, we have in-laws. We have community or faith obligations. We volunteer. We have little “spare” time. Most of us would say writing is a priority. …