stop waiting. start writing.
It's here. The Spring 2019 Challenge begins now. Your goals are set. Your calendar is ready. The words and ideas are whirling through your head. Writers from around the country and across the world have accepted the challenge to spend the next 100 days committed to writing every day. It's an exciting thought. Just imagine … Continue reading What to Expect from Write 100
When I started Write 100 back in February with the first 100-day challenge launching in early March, I didn't know what would happen. Would the project catch on? Would others find it helpful, inspiring, useful? Or would it just be me writing on my own but pretending there were others following along? There were many … Continue reading Writing Together
Somewhere in my basement sits a box containing a faded grade-school project asking the age-old question: what do you want to be when you grow up? The girl whose two favorite book series were, not coincidentally, both about girls who were aspiring authors (the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, and the Anne of Green … Continue reading Your Words Matter
If you haven't noticed, writers like to write about writing. It's only natural. The written word is our natural form of expression and mental processing so we write about our experiences with the craft and pursuit of our art. But writing about writing also serves to connect us to one another. We learn from the … Continue reading The Writer’s Library
Less is more. Shorter is … Continue reading Less is More
"You don’t want to look like your heroes - you want to see like your heroes." -Austin Kleon Read. Extensively. Broadly. Deeply. That’s the first piece of advice given to writers. It’s tied with that other great piece of writing advice: write. But why do writers need to read? Usually this advice is dispensed in … Continue reading See Like Your Heroes
We're more than a third of the way through our 100 days of writing and closing in on the 50 day milestone. Already we've heard from guest writers; we've shared ups and downs. There are many more to come, I assure you. In the coming weeks there are yet more writers stopping by for a … Continue reading Ready to Rest
Have you ever heard a writer talk about her characters as if… they were real? Like, as if the writer were not entirely in control of her own work? It used to be my pet peeve to hear writers say “my main character told me _____,” or in more ludicrous scenarios, “my main character refused … Continue reading Do Your Characters Talk to You? Should They?
Feedback is critical for a writer. It's also tricky. Good feedback can help you unlock parts of your story and discover new possibilities, whereas bad feedback can set you back, send you down a wrong path, and even derail the necessary confidence. The dividing line between the two is often thin. So how do you navigate … Continue reading Take Critique Like A Pro
The Write 100 Challenge is a long haul, and the writing life even more so. These coming weeks have the potential to shape you, as a writer and as a person. But how will they shape you? These virtues of the writing life are foundational for the work we seek to do. Make it your … Continue reading 6 Virtues of the Writing Life