Finishing ahead of schedule
Distance running and long form writing can both be painful. They can also be fun. So I’m grateful, going into Thanksgiving week, that my two …Read More
Category Archives: Creativity
“That was my own little MFA” — novelist Camille Pagán on frustration and success
I got to know Camille Pagán years ago when we were both young writers in NYC. I profiled her for a City Journal article on …Read More
Notes on NaNoWriMo and pacing
I’m having fun with my NaNoWriMo novel. I started a fresh file and am writing from the beginning. While the characters are the same as …Read More
Looking for a good fall read?
I love fall. Yesterday, driving to pick up my son at swimming, I was so taken with the slanted early evening light reflecting off the …Read More
The art of the mini-retreat
I wrote a post for Fast Company recently on how to create a mini retreat. I realized it had been a while since I’d done …Read More
How to make time to think
I am writing this while getting my car serviced. Pennsylvania requires an emissions inspection yearly, and my sticker expires at the end of June. June …Read More
My 2015 List of 100 Dreams
In 168 Hours, I recommended creating something called a “List of 100 Dreams.” This exercise, which was shared with me by career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine, …Read More
In it for the long haul
In my post on being creative on demand, I mentioned the goal of getting to a place where most of your work is stuff that …Read More
My advice for a first-time book author, and not about the writing part
Dear first-time author: Congrats on your book contract! This is a major accomplishment. You’re no doubt nervous about writing a 75,000 word manuscript over the next …Read More
How to be creative on demand
“Deep in the countryside of Bordeaux, France, anyone out wandering one early-January night in 2013 might have caught a curious sight: a black-haired woman in …Read More