I love this article I just received from leadership coach Ann Golden Eglé about email miscommunication. Just this week, a friend and I discussed how easily emails—and worse texts—can be misconstrued. So while Ann focuses on emails in the work place, I would just...
Last night I watched "The Voice". I have to admit that I love that show. Something about all those aspiring singers reaching for their dreams touches me. I watch them overcome deep-rooted fears of failure and stretch themselves to find their inner power and tap their...
I'm traveling more for work these days, and not just in my little Teardrop Trailer. So my pups can't join me on these expeditions. What's a dog mom to do? Line up a roster of backup doggie parents as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that's not as easy as it sounds....
I just started working with a client who has been unfairly lambasted online. Google his name and a high-profile case arbitrated by a judge who did not understand the high-level finances involved immediately pops up. Of course, neither the background behind the case...
"I feel like I don't have grounding in my work as a writer," one of my writing coach clients said. I hear a variation on that theme fairly often. An excuse about why little to no writing has gotten done that week usually follows. I understand the problem. Most of the...
Jack Hart whose work as writing coach and editor at large for The Oregonian helped writers go on to win Pulitzer Prizes offers some gems in his book A Writer's Coach. He asserts that: Talent matters...But the writers who can manage their time and energy well will show...
I wish more writers would start in the middle of their books, blogs or chapters. That would spare them the angst of feeling that they have to write the perfect lead before they can move on. Whenever I think of writers who crumple up or delete their first pages (or...
There are a million ways to write a book and another million ways to edit it. All those possibilities can prove more than daunting; they can prove paralyzing. Thankfully, your perspective as a writer narrows down that list. So as you sift through everything from your...
Details aren't just luxuries when you're writing fiction or narrative nonfiction. They're the glue that will hold your readers' attention and convince them to stick with you. The judicious use of details brings a story to life, allowing the reader to experience the...
Keen observation enriches every writer's prose. We've talked about how detail brings prose to life by bringing readers into the story. As a reminder, saying something is beautiful or sad doesn't count as detail. You need to get specific, so readers can see the movie...
