If You Want To Write a Great Book, Interruptions Are the Devil
“Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name.” ~ Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil.” Over the centuries, the devil has gone by many names. Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephistopheles come to mind. But if you’re a writer you know the only one that matters. It’s...
Great Writing Is More Than Writing
"The process of writing is not the process of typing on the keyboard; it's the process of crawling around on my carpet, organizing my piles [of paper].” David Brooks’ quote sounds weird. We’re used to imagining the work of writing as some form of sitting or standing...
How To Get the Most Writing Bang for Your Walking Buck
Walking is one of the best things you can do to improve your writing. Walking helps you keep fit. It keeps the blood flowing, and it helps you get good ideas. So just go out and take a walk, right? Well, no, because not all walking is going to be helpful in terms of...
The Magic of Creativity
It's a funny thing about creativity. The very things that make you successful in other areas can be the things that stifle the spirit of discovery. So much of our work is about busyiness, about doing things whether they make sense or not, just to feel like you're...
Feedback Is the Breakfast of Champions. How Nutritional Is Your Feedback?
Ken Blanchard is the first person I ever heard say, “Feedback is ‘The Breakfast of Champions.’” Feedback is important for athletes, managers, and authors. Without feedback, you cannot see all the possibilities or flaws in your work. If you want to write a great book,...
Using Poetry To Improve Your Nonfiction Writing
“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful." ~ Rita Dove Good news! You don’t have to let poets have all the fun. You can use poetry to make your language stronger and your descriptions more vivid. I know this because I wanted to be a poet once. When...
2 Reasons Why You Need Help To Write Your Book
The bookcase just didn’t fit in. When Bill and I lived in the same city, we spent a good deal of time together, mostly investigating the local brew pubs. Then we each moved to different cities but stayed in touch. I was giving a speech in his town and stayed an extra...
How to Write a Book Introduction that Engages the Reader
It’s been a long day, but now dinner is done, and Dave sinks into his favorite chair. He reaches over and picks up a copy of your book for the first time since he bought it. He opens it and begins to read. In the next six minutes, something very important will happen....
4 Ways to Make Progress on Your Book Every Day
Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer studied the inner work life of 238 people by analyzing more than 12,000 daily work diary entries. That research resulted in what they call “The Progress Principle.” Here it is from their book with that name. “Of all the positive events...
4 Kinds of Business Books and How to Make Them Great
When clients come to me for the first time, they usually have a pretty good idea of what they want to write about. Normally, they haven’t done much to plan their book. That starts with deciding what kind of book they choose to write. There are, conservatively...
