When I was a track coach, I designed most of my practices to focus on interval training. Instead of running the entire distance of the races my runners participated in, they would run only a fraction of those distances at speeds that would total a personal record. The idea is that you train your body…
The Learning Log
The Way History Should Be Written
I’m a big fan of historian David McCullough. I admire his approach to writing. I am inspired by his story of how he became a writer. I will forever think of his voice when I think about the Civil War. Most of all, I love the way he writes history. Most of my experience with history,…
The Follow, Like, Like, Like Strategy: How to Get More Instagram Followers
Instagram seems to be rising in popularity and usage faster than any other social network right now. For newcomers to the platform, it can be difficult to find new followers. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, which have share features that make it easy for your content to appear in the newsfeeds of influencers, Instagram only allows…
Deliberate Practice for Writers
Angela Duckworth summarizes the basic requirements for deliberate practice (K. Anders Ericsson) as: A clearly defined stretch goal Full concentration and effort Immediate and informative feedback Repetition with reflection and refinement Angela Duckworth, Grit As a writer, I try to write every day. How can I make these writing sessions deliberate practice? A clearly defined…
Should I build a website for the launch of my book?
In the past I advised authors to buy the domain name of the title of their book so they could build a website for the launch and for book resources. As an alternative to the domain name, authors could always buy some variation of the title plus “book” as many other authors have done. One…
