Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach
254 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 112 ratingsReach your writing goals (and have fun!) by being more curious, creative, and productive. Ann provides practical tips and motivation for writers at all stages to improve their skills, pursue publishing, and expand their reach. Ann keeps most episodes short and focused so writers only need a few minutes to collect ideas, inspiration, resources and recommendations to apply to their work. She incorporates interviews from publishing professionals and authors like Allison Fallon, Ron Friedman, Shawn Smucker, and Jennifer Dukes Lee to bring additional insight. Ann and her guests cover everything from self-editing and goal-setting to administrative and scheduling challenges. Subscribe for ongoing coaching to advance your writing life and career. More at annkroeker.com.
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Episodes
Prep, Plan, and Pack to Get the Most out of Your Next (or First!) Writers’ Conference
April 09, 2024 12:00 - 5 MBAre you getting ready to attend a writers’ conference? Guess what? So am I! And I want to make the most of my time there, so let’s think through what will help with that. You’re likely going for at least two reasons: to learn and to connect. You might also be going to pitch your project. Let’s prep, plan, and pack to get the most out of this upcoming event, so you’re even better prepared to learn, connect, and pitch. And given that I work with a lot of published authors and speakers, it’s ...
How to Choose Your Next (or First!) Writers’ Conference
March 21, 2024 19:54 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBAttending my first writers’ conference proved to be life-changing—or at least career-changing. In the years since, I’ve attended a wide range of writing events, and each one has in some way substantially contributed to my career. Some deepened my knowledge, others expanded my professional network—most did both. I can’t imagine where I’d be without them. Could a writers’ conference be a life-changing/knowledge-deepening/network-expanding opportunity in your future, even this year? If yes, h...
Help! I want to write a book. Do I have what it takes?
January 10, 2024 13:00 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MBI stared at a blank screen. Why did I ever think I could pull this off? Until that moment, I’d only written short projects. Articles, essays, poems. As I sat staring at the screen, questioning myself in about every way possible, I was supposed to be writing my first book—a manuscript of over 50,000 words. Overwhelmed, I sat at the keyboard, frozen. Sound familiar? Have you felt inspired to write a book you believe will truly help people—even transform them—but you’re not sure you have wh...
Never Go to Bed without a Story to Tell
November 30, 2023 13:00 - 8 minutes - 8.08 MB"Never go to bed until you have a story to tell," says Kevin Lynch, Creative Director at Oatly. I heard him interviewed on a podcast and stopped jogging to write down what he said about that daily story: It could be a deep thing that you learned, it could be a movie that you saw, it could be a way you took home, it could be a conversation that you had…it could be anything.”1 Indeed, we can live a “storied life” without a celebrity-level lifestyle full of famous people and fabulous soirees. ...
Write Better and Faster (and Reach More People) When You Practice in Public
November 09, 2023 13:00 - 10 minutes - 9.87 MBWhen I was in college, practicing in public meant sitting under an oak tree on campus, flipping open my spiral-bound notebook, and scratching out a poem as students walked the path beside me. Creative writing classes gave me another way to practice in public, when my poems were workshopped by my peers. As a young adult building a freelance writing career, I submitted my work to literary journals and magazines—that was about the only way I could practice in public. Those low-tech days limit...
To Be More Creative, Write a Letter to Your Reader
October 26, 2023 12:00 - 8 minutes - 7.69 MBDear Writer, It’s easy to freeze up when we’re writing for the faceless masses or the random reader who happens upon our words. What do we say to all those people? How can we speak with heart to a total stranger? Next thing you know, we second-guess our ideas, our prose, our very selves. We fade to beige without saying what we really think, without being specific, without our signature wit and whimsy. What would that random person who doesn’t even know me think if I crack a joke? We los...
Are Creative Writing Prompts a Help or Hindrance?
October 12, 2023 12:00 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBLet’s look at the pros and cons of using writing prompts to decide if we’re fostering creativity or frittering away time. I remember the pleasure of writing about ladybugs for my high school freshman English class based on the prompt written on the board.1 And then there was the book I found a year or so at the library: Write to Discover Yourself. The author suggested we “portrait” the important people in our lives.2 I wrote pages and pages about my dad based on that prompt. Prompts contin...
Beat the Blank Page: 7 Clever Tricks to Pack It with Words
September 27, 2023 12:00 - 6 minutes - 5.7 MBChildren gaze at a vast blank wall and see opportunity—inspired, they grab a permanent marker and scrawl across the surface in loopy circles and jaggedy lines without hesitation. Why, then, do we adults stare at the blank page—not unlike a blank wall—and freeze up? Instead of scribbling out ideas that fill the white screen, we writers often come up empty, the blank page producing a blank mind. We get too far ahead of ourselves, thinking about readers before we’ve written a single word, afr...
Who Cheered You on throughout Your Writing Journey?
August 29, 2023 12:00 - 5 minutes - 4.99 MBWhen I was visiting my grandmother one summer afternoon, she pulled out a letter I sent her. "This is good," she said. "Really?" She pointed at the paragraphs and said the ideas were well organized, my writing flowed well, and I included lots of details. "It was interesting to read," she said. Then she looked up at me and smiled. "Maybe we have another writer in the family?” Did I gasp? Her words certainly sent a jolt through me. Did she know how badly I wanted to write? Could she hav...
Writers Who Make You Furiously Jealous Are Your Best Mentors
August 16, 2023 11:50 - 6 minutes - 6.24 MBJust as musicians credit their musical influences, writers, too, have literary inspirations who help them discover and shape their unique voice. At a White House event for poets in 2011, Billy Collins said to students about finding your voice: You’re searching for the poets who make you jealous...you're looking to get influenced by people who make you furiously jealous…And then copy them.1 Billy himself was influenced by the work of Wallace Stevens—I suppose he would say he was furiously j...
Come to Your Senses as You Write
August 02, 2023 18:49 - 6 minutes - 5.72 MBOn a sunny spring day, I sat with seven homeschoolers on a stretch of grass for a creative writing session. The older kids started to fidget before we even started. "What are we doing out here?" "We’re going to see what’s around us." A fifth grader pointed with his pen. "I see sky, clouds, cars, building. Done." The others laughed. "We’re going to be quiet and listen, too," I added. "I hear birds. Done." More chuckles. "Before we write," I began, "Let’s look at the sky. What color is i...
Want to Become a Better Writer? Journal Before You Write
July 21, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBJennifer Dukes Lee invites you to transform into a better writer through “beautifully ruthless self-discovery.” It starts in the pages of your journal. In a recent interview, she delves into the therapeutic benefits of daily gratitude journaling and its potential to rewire our brains. By writing down things we’re grateful for, our minds seek out the positive. Jennifer recommends guided journals when we're stymied by writer's block. The blank page of a traditional journal can overwhelm us...
No time to write? Make solid progress in just 5 minutes
June 20, 2023 12:00 - 5 MBDuring the early years of parenthood, I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. Why can't I have my own dedicated writing space? Why can't I have blocks of uninterrupted time? The overwhelming demands of being a stay-at-home mom almost shut down my creativity. In time, thank heavens, I stopped griping and started looking for solutions. My idea? Instead of waiting for the perfect conditions, I snatched time. No Time to Write? Snatch Every Opportunity I wrote when the kids were napp...
To Share or Not to Share: Which Personal Stories Should You Include in Your Writing?
June 01, 2023 12:00 - 4 minutes - 4.31 MBNearly everyone who writes personal stories in any form has agonized over how much to share. Will writing about an issue from childhood break Mom's heart? Should I change the name of a high school teacher? The next-door neighbor? The dog? The children? Are the hyacinths blooming by the mailbox worth mentioning? We write. We worry. Is this naval gazing or vulnerability? Will people feel I'm airing the dirty laundry or sharing my own struggles so others might find healing? https://youtu...
You’ve Spotted Another Writer’s Typo. Now What Do You Do?
May 18, 2023 12:00 - 7 minutes - 6.43 MBAs writers, we spend countless hours crafting and refining our work to perfection. We labor over word choices, sentence structure, and the perfect flow. Despite our best efforts—even after a pass through Grammarly—typos slip through. We tend to spot them in other people's projects, even if we miss them in our own. How do you react when you spot a typo in someone else's writing? Do you assume they're unprofessional and lose faith in them? Or do you extend grace and understand that mistakes ...
Save Time and Headaches: Create Citations as You Write
May 03, 2023 16:08 - 10 minutes - 9.42 MBYears ago, one of my clients updated me on her publishing journey. She turned in her manuscript on deadline, so that was a huge relief. Then her editor asked for one last piece she'd put off. "Ann, it took me two full weeks to track down everything for my endnotes. Two weeks!" This first-time author knew the editor would ask for endnotes, but she had not kept track of them as she wrote. Putting Off the Inevitable When words were flowing—forming chapters, shaping ideas—she didn't want to ...
Find your muse in nature with this inspiring poetry prompt
April 01, 2023 20:37 - 4 minutes - 4.5 MBConsider a lowly stick, memorialized by my friend: Little Y StickFragile, knobby crossroads in my fingersBring me eyes to see how God is in my midst.1 Jennifer Dukes Lee penned that poem after we chatted about a prompt found in poemcrazy, by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge. Poemcrazy's Prompt In Chapter 31, Susan instructs us to find something in nature that attracts our attention. Maybe the object has a quality that we're attracted to, or maybe it's just speaking to us in some way.2 Jennife...
From Idea to Contract: The Inspiring Story of a First-Time Author, with Merideth Hite Estevez
March 15, 2023 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBGain inspiration from the journey of a first-time author who transformed her dream of writing into a reality by taking bold action. Merideth Hite Estevez's success story involved launching a captivating podcast and partnering with a coach (yep, that's me!) to develop a winning strategy. Her talent and tenacity helped her build a robust platform, create a winning book proposal, secure an agent, and land a publishing deal in just a few years. Although she felt like it took an eternity, that's ...
Trauma-Informed Writing Transforms You and Your Words, with Michelle Stiffler
February 01, 2023 21:39 - 1 hour - 5 MBToday we're exploring a topic that every writer is going to want to tune in and learn about: a trauma-informed approach to writing. To speak to that, I've invited Michelle Stiffler on the show to help us see how trauma-informed writing can transform both us and our words. This is one of the longest interviews I've published, but I believe it's one of the most important. Let's get right to it. Michelle Stiffler Michelle Stiffler is a certified trauma specialist, trauma-informed trainer, a...
What’s Your Christmas Reflection?
December 22, 2022 19:22 - 6 minutes - 5.63 MBI hosted a virtual Christmas party in my membership program, Your Platform Matters (YPM). At the party I encouraged a writing exercise: Christmas Reflections. I asked these writers to close their eyes and go back in time to a warm and wonderful Christmas memory from their childhood. Rather than trying to capture a big, sprawling scene, I asked them to zero in on a detail. Using the one-inch frame Anne Lamont talks about in Bird by Bird, they narrowed their focus to a detail that they coul...
AI writing tools keep getting better. How can writers keep up? (Interview with ChatGPT)
December 15, 2022 13:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBAI writing apps, programs, and tools are all over the news. People are reacting. They’re writing articles and opinion pieces, they're recording podcasts, they're discussing it in Twitter threads. Some say don't worry, AI writing tools can't write like humans. Others claim this is an inkling of what's ahead—they're going to surpass our skills. You'll find articles suggesting we sign up and use the tech as a free writing assistant to help with researching, drafting, and writer's block. Of c...
Do You Need Stephen King’s Pencil?
December 01, 2022 13:00 - 8 minutes - 5 MBPeople wonder about Stephen King’s pencil. Writers (including me) want to know what writing instrument he uses. Why? Maybe we all harbor a secret hope that if we get the same pencil as Stephen King, we'll end up as prolific and successful as Stephen King. Or if we discover what Annie Dillard writes with, we'll produce the same type of literary prose as Annie Dillard. Or if we use the same writing program as, well...fill in whatever writer you admire. If you use the same pencil, pen, wri...
How to Make Time to Write and Develop a System to Take Notes, with Bryan Collins
October 05, 2022 12:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBBryan Collins relies on a simple system that captures notes and ideas that flow directly into his projects when he sits down to write. His writing routine doesn't take all day yet achieves significant results. Find out how he works and test it out. When you combine that with his simple system for collecting inspiration for all of your writing projects, you'll be on your way to completing a full manuscript. Ready to do the work and write the truth? Learn from Bryan: how to “green-light”...
Poetry as a Playful and Pleasurable Creative Practice, with Mark McGuinness
September 07, 2022 15:43 - 82.5 MBWith inspiration from Mark McGuinness, you'll integrate poetry into your writing life as a pleasurable practice that elevates your prose. In this interview, Mark describes the vision for his podcast and his own poetic beginnings, and he urges writers (and readers) to simply enjoy poetry. You'll see ways poetry intersects with and impacts prose—you can even play a literary game he describes at the end. Learn from Mark: How a mouthful of air is a perfect image for poetry and podcastsHow c...
Try This Writing Prompt to Get the Creative Juices Flowing!
August 25, 2022 12:00 - 4 minutes - 7.35 MBWriters working on projects that are destined to be published—to be read—can struggle with nerves. We edit our words before they have a chance to breathe on the page. We hold back our true feelings and opinions. We forget to play with language. Serious Writers Need to Play I tend to encourage my clients to move toward practical goals, to create work that is going to be published. But at the same time, I also encourage writers to play, to get past the gates we put in front of ourselves...
Prepare for Publishing with Insights from Literary Agent Lucinda Halpern
May 24, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutes - 5 MBLiterary agent Lucinda Halpern prepares us to navigate the industry and prepare for publishing. With her insights, we'll position our project—and ourselves as authors—to pitch agents and get noticed. After listening to (or reading) what she has to say, you're going to feel more confident than ever as you prepare to pitch.
What’s a Writing Coach (and what kind do I need)?
February 08, 2022 13:42 - 15 minutes - 21.7 MBHave you ever wondered what a writing coach is? As you can imagine, I get asked this a lot. I mean, it is baked into my branding, and I love sharing insights I've gained over my years of coaching. Let's start with the simplest, broadest definition of what a writing coach is and does: A writing coach provides you with input and support designed to close the gap between where you are as a writer and where you want to be. I coauthored the book On Being a Writer with Charity Singleton Craig (...
Find Your Book Midwife, Say “Yes” Before You’re Ready, Pitch to Build Platform, and Authentically Engage with Readers (interview with author Clarissa Moll)
December 16, 2021 20:43 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBFor author Clarissa Moll, hiring a writing coach was like finding her book midwife, and she urges writers to seek that kind of intimate, knowledgeable support and input for their own writing and publishing journey. In this interview, Clarissa shares her approach to writing, platform, and publishing, like: make a list of 10 things whenever you're stuck or developing an ideasay “Yes” before you’re readypitch publications as a core platform-building activityauthentically engage with readers—sh...
10 Ways to Start the Writing Process When You’re Staring at a Blank Page
September 28, 2021 12:00 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBLouis L'Amour is attributed as saying, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”1 Sounds easy enough, but a lot of times we can’t even find the faucet. Or we find the faucet but fail to turn it on. Either way, we want to write, but no words flow. Is that you? Are you ready to begin writing but you don’t know where to start—you don’t know how to get the words to flow? I’ve got 10 options for you—ten faucets, if you will. I’ll bet one stands ou...
Embrace These 4 Key Roles for a Flourishing Writing Life
July 27, 2021 12:00 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBI was an English major with a creative writing emphasis. When I looked to my future, I saw myself writing. Over the years I managed to build a writing career, but as an English major, I wasn’t prepared for the business aspects of writing. Invoices, receipts, taxes? That was all foreign to me. Sharing my writing through speaking and social media? That’s not what I imagined when I launched my writing life. I thought I’d be...writing. But I had to understand and embrace the four key roles t...
How Simple Systems Can Unlock Your Writing Productivity, with Kari Roberts
July 06, 2021 12:00 - 41 minutes - 38 MBIf you're like me, you struggle to carve out time to write...you wish you could uncomplicate life and get more done. Good news! I have business coach and online business manager Kari Roberts on the show to help us think through simple systems that can unlock our writing productivity and creativity. "It's like you're on a treadmill," she says. "You're running in place, but you're not going anywhere. So you're not really getting anything done." Sound familiar? Kari knows our struggles and of...
Decoding Greatness: Discover the Fast Track to Writing Success
June 08, 2021 12:00 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBWhat if the stories we've been told about success are wrong? What if you could unlock secrets that shave years off your writing journey? In this interview, Ron Friedman demystifies the writing process and introduces a surprising path—a fast track, if you will. He says "it is the path by which so many writers and artists and inventors and entrepreneurs have succeeded." What's the path? Reverse engineering. https://youtu.be/agCtQaSQfXw To reverse engineer, we start with extraordinary pr...
Do you view your writing life as a profession?
May 25, 2021 12:00 - 11 minutes - 15.1 MBI watched the professor of my advanced poetry class open the lid of a metal box crammed with 3x5 cards. He wiggled out one of the worn cards covered with notes and held it up. On this card was the title of one of his poems along with the date of the latest version. Below that he had written names of literary magazines where he’d submitted that poem, followed by their response. “One poem per card,” he said. He showed us how he tucked the card behind the month when he was supposed to hear b...
It’s fun to write with others!
May 09, 2021 14:51 - 5 minutes - 5.06 MBAbout seven years ago, I partnered with Charity Singleton Craig to co-author On Being a Writer. While working on the draft, we often pulled up one of our shared Google Docs to review our drafts and notes in real time. In this way, we wove together our stories and experiences with relative ease. If we had a grade school report card at the end of the project, the teacher would have checked off “Plays nice with others.” Writing is most often a solitary act. But sometimes we get an opportunity...
Develop a Daily Writing Practice to Find Your Voice: Interview with Allison Fallon
March 29, 2021 12:00 - 50 minutes - 68.7 MBI listened to Allison Fallon's The Power of Writing It Down while jogging through my neighborhood. Those weren't my best runs, because I kept pulling out my phone to thumb-type a great quote before picking up the pace again. And yet they were fantastic runs, because Allison's words inspired me to re-establish a daily journaling practice. On that first outing—with her voice in my ears—I listened through the first chapters and returned refreshed and motivated. Allison's invitation to "unloc...
Shawn Smucker & Maile Silva on creative legacy, rejections, and being faithful to the work
February 13, 2021 23:24 - 1 hour - 85.4 MB[Ep 234] On this episode of the podcast, I hosted two novelists: Shawn Smucker and his wife, Maile Silva, for a literary discussion. Imagine you're at a writing conference and we're on stage to discuss the challenges they face as two writers at different points in the writing journey, living and working and raising a family together. How do they offer support and input? How do they find time to write? What are they proudest of? Shawn and Maile touch on topics like creative legacy, writin...
Winning Book Proposals Need These 3 Things
January 12, 2021 13:00 - 9 minutes - 13.3 MBWhen you seek traditional publishing for your nonfiction book, you don’t just write the book and send it off. Instead, you craft what’s called a book proposal—an essential business document expected by publishing professionals like agents and editors. With this document, you’re hoping to attract the attention and interest of industry gatekeepers so they’ll partner with you to publish your book. https://youtu.be/OqJNmiicPEQ (Watch, read, or listen—whatever works best!) Before the Book, the...
Resolved to Write a Nonfiction Book This Year? Let’s Do the Math!
December 21, 2020 17:37 - 8 minutes - 12.3 MBIf one of your New Year’s resolutions is to write a book in the year ahead, you’re going to have to do several things. One of those things you’ll have to do is...some math. But don’t worry—I’ve got a calculator! We’ll do the math together to determine the number of words you need to write each day to complete your book in the year ahead. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out that this number is within reach. You can pull this off. You can watch the video, listen with the podca...
How to Structure Your Nonfiction Book
December 11, 2020 13:00 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MB[231] You're tackling a non-fiction book and you're making progress. You're doing research, you're writing, and now you're staring at all those ideas. Your book needs form. It needs organization. It needs...structure. But how do you land on the best structure? How do you create it, craft it, build it? While there's no one standard way to organize your material—there's no one way to structure your nonfiction book—I offer four approaches you can take to determine what will work best for yo...
How to Read Like a Writer
November 16, 2020 13:00 - 10 minutes - 9.8 MBYou're a writer. So you write. But do you read? Of course you do, but how do you read? Do you read like a writer? There are ways writers can read that can be both inspiring and instructive, and that's what we're going to cover today, so you can see how reading, as Stephen King says, can serve as your "creative center." As we learn to read like a writer, you might be a little afraid I'm going to ruin a reading for you—that you'll no longer be able to read for pleasure, but don't worry. You...
How Do You Read Like a Writer?
November 16, 2020 13:00 - 10 minutes - 9.8 MBYou're a writer, so you write. But do you read? Silly question, I know, because of course you read. A better question is how do you read? Do you read like a writer? There are ways writers can read that can be both inspiring and instructive, and that's what we're going to cover today, so you can see how reading, as Stephen King says, can serve as your "creative center." As we learn to read like a writer, you might be a little afraid I'm going to ruin reading for you—that you'll no longer ...
5 Writing Strengths You Need to Succeed
November 02, 2020 21:16 - 9 minutes - 8.3 MBYou want to start out strong as a writer and succeed at your work. A lot of different strengths are at play to keep us at the keyboard or page, and the good news is—you may already have some of these strengths. If not, you can develop them over time. And some of them may surprise you. Let's look at five strengths you need to succeed as a writer: https://www.youtube.com/embed/1MyUBOrzjwY Today I'm trying something new, sharing this both in audio and video format. Let's hear from you: Af...
Validate Your Idea to Produce Your Best Project (Back to Basics)
August 17, 2020 19:25 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MB[Ep 228] You have an idea for your next writing project. That's great! Before you get too far—before you write too much—you need to be sure this idea is going to fly with your audience. You need to validate it so you move forward with a concept that, depending on your purpose, will truly resonate, connect, teach, persuade, inform, or entertain. Let's look at three ways to validate project ideas: Validate “in house”: run it through personal filtersValidate through research: check what e...
Back to Basics: 6 Methods to Right-Size Your Next Writing Project
July 16, 2020 18:43 - 9 minutes - 13 MB[Ep 227] Have you ever written a blog post and found it's growing too big and unwieldy? Or you set out to develop a book only to realize you don't have enough material to fill a 45K- or 50K-word manuscript? If so, you're struggling with Goldilocks Syndrome: your idea is too big or too small for the project’s purpose and the way it’ll be published or shared with the world. You’re trying to cram everything you know about, say, computers into 800 to 1,000 words. You’ve got the makings of a b...
Back to Basics: Generate Ideas to Find What You Have to Say
June 24, 2020 12:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MB[Ep 226] With my Back to Basics series, I'm providing tools you can apply to your next project in hopes it will make the writing process easier and the final product stronger than ever—so you can make an impact. Last time, we started by identifying a project's high-level elements—its Topic, Audience, Purpose, and Medium. After that, you can focus on the message of your project; that is, given your topic, what is this project’s IDEA. What do you write about? Is it running, longevity, RV tr...
Ep 225: Improve Your Writing by Getting Back to Basics
May 12, 2020 19:41 - 13 minutes - 18.3 MB[Ep 225] You’re inspired. An idea seizes you and before the energy fizzles, you whip out a laptop, open a new document, and slam out words. Get it down fast—start writing and discover along the way what you want to say. I support this approach! Capture the core idea while your creativity sizzles—before your vision fades! At some point, however, you need to take a minute to be sure you know four key elements of this project or else your final product may miss the mark. For everything we wr...
Ep 224: Find What You Need and Write What You Can
April 15, 2020 12:00 - 9 minutes - 12.8 MB[Ep 224] At the close of a brilliant blue-sky summer-warm April afternoon, a heavy thunderstorm swept across my state, pelting us with hail and hurtling branches across yards. We stared in awe at Zeus-explosive lightning strikes that flashed and boomed, backlighting trees that swayed like storm-tossed ship masts, nearly snapping. After a series of mighty cracks, the power went out and stayed out for eight hours. Cell service, too. During the strangest season of a lifetime, when staying in...
Ep 223: One Thing Writers Can Do in a Pandemic: Document the Days
March 17, 2020 16:46 - 7 minutes - 10.1 MB[Ep 223] As I write this, a pandemic is spreading across the planet. I surely hope you and those you love are spared any sickness during this worldwide crisis. I’m stating this in part to document my day in the midst of these extraordinary circumstances. This is something we can do as writers: Document the days. Keep a Journal If You Can Record your story as it’s unfolding; capture and preserve—in real time, in your voice—what will become source material for future historians or for your o...
Ep 222: Can a Poem a Day Make Us Better Writers?
March 08, 2020 21:00 - 7 minutes - 10.4 MB[Ep 222] My most effective year teaching high school composition was the one I began with poetry. From day one, I introduced literary devices through poems, inviting students to spot metaphor and simile, hyperbole and imagery, rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. With a focus on a single poem, we could zero in on just a few observations and they could use those as inspiration, even models, for their assignments. Later, armed with a range of literary tools and techniques, the students confidently...
What’s a Book Proposal (and why do I need one)?
February 17, 2020 03:20 - 18 minutes - 25.3 MB[Ep 221] If you’re trying to land an agent and eventually a contract with a publisher, you can’t get around it: you need to craft a compelling proposal to pitch your nonfiction book. This may be the first time you’ve heard about this and you’re reeling from the thought that you can’t just send your manuscript directly to a publisher or agent. I’ll fill you in. Let’s look at what a book proposal is and why you need one to pursue traditional publishing. A Book Proposal Is a Business Document...