There is no such thing. The environment will never be quite right. Your emotional state is never going to be perfect. If you wait for inspiration, it is likely never going to come. Instead, push through. Show up, sit down, and type (SUSDAT). The magic happens most of the time after you show up. You…
On Writing
A collection of lessons, tools, and techniques on writing.
Find Your Whale Readers
In a recent podcast, Seth Godin talked about whales. He’s written about it before on his blog: “The management of whales.” A whale is a person that consumes far more than the typical person. In 2014 23% of Americans didn’t even read a book. There are some, however, who read more books on their own than…
Why Pixar Is So Successful
In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull explains why Pixar has been able to produce such massively successful animated films over the years. As an author, I wanted to see what I could learn from their success in my attempts to write better books. Here are the three main ideas I found useful from Catmull’s book: The…
Compartmentalize the Creative Process
I seem to fall into a trap as a writer again and again. I sit down and try to cram multiple modes of creativity into one sitting. I sit and stare at a blank page trying to come up with ideas for what to write. Then, I jot down a quick outline or skip that…
How C. S. Lewis Got the Idea for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: ‘Let’s try to make a story about it.’ C. S. Lewis, “It All Began…
