In my January newsletter I addressed the age-old either-or debate about writing style—plotting out your work before writing (plotters) or writing by the seat of your pants (pantsters)—and attempted to rebrand them as navigators and wanderers. Briefly explaining the differences between the two and confessing I’m a chronic navigator, I then touched on the benefits …
Continue reading How to Be a Plotter and a Pantster: Webinar July 26, 2021
In the latest Art-Committed Life newsletter, I seek to give back to the creative community with links to creative writing resources as well as reflections on key issues in the life of a creative. You'll learn about a new online writing community featuring workshops by accomplished authors and creative writing instructors that also includes opportunities …
In my latest Art-Committed life newsletter, I take a fresh approach to the stereotypical two types of creative, the "plotter" and the "pantser," including if they're really as different as we believe. I also provide great news about a fiction writer featured in a past issue, and share an update of my own creative journey. …
Continue reading The Latest Art-Committed Life Newsletter: Plotter v. Pantser and More
The New Year is almost here, and I'm sure we all can't wait to put 2020 behind us. This seems a good time to remind you that if you want to keep reading insights on creativity, writing, and living an art-committed life, you'll want to sign up for the Art-Committed Life newsletter. Published approximately monthly, …
Continue reading Catch Up On The Art-Committed Life Newsletter!
I’ll start with a caveat: Be cautious regarding advice on how to cope during a global pandemic. Unless the individual lived through the 1918 Spanish flu, he or she has as much experience with the current situation as you or I. That said, some advice out there is not only misleading but possibly dangerous. I’m …
I've written before about how our subconscious minds play a critical role in our creative process. That breakthrough insight you received recently in the shower? That was your subconscious, taking advantage of the fact that you were free from distraction (including our everpresent smartphones). For the past quarter-century or so, I've proactively asked my subconscious …
Continue reading My Subconscious: This Creative Writer’s Best Friend
So the retreat to the Mojave Desert paid off, and I've now officially completed the first draft of my novel-in-progress. I started outlining the story this summer, and it has evolved significantly from first doodles to 110,000-word draft. As a published author and professional writer, I know the most important step is yet to come: …
Continue reading Three Lessons I Learned While Writing a Novel First Draft
Many of my Twitter peeps are deep into #NaNoWriMo right now, this masochistic movement every November where writers produce a full first draft of a novel in 30 days. I'm exhausted just writing that sentence. While I've been an on-and-off creative writer for nearly three decades now, I've never participated in NaNoWriMo. Part of it …
Many fiction authors seem to have a preference in writing a novel; they either must write the book in order from beginning to end, or they must follow their muse where it leads them, writing ahead as needed. It appears there is consensus among novelists for a beginning-to-end approach, however. That would be consistent with …
Continue reading What is Your Writing Process? Writing in Order
A non-writer may ask you, "How is your book coming?" A fellow writer may ask you, "What draft are you on?" To the first question I usually reply, "It's going well, thanks," and then quickly change the subject. To the second, my typical response is, "It depends." Many creative writers plow through their WIP in …
The Artist's Road 