Cheryl Campbell is the author of the Burnt Mountain fantasy series and Echoes of War, book one in the upcoming Echoes trilogy. She describes herself as “a techie with a creative side, or perhaps a creative with a techie side.” There is no doubt that Cheryl is creative in both her approach and the results. […]

Writing Is Not Your Servant: Guest Post by Kathy Hopewell
Dr. Kathy Hopewell, writer, performer, teacher and blogger at The Freewriter’s Companion, candidly describes the disappointment of discovering that writing cannot be a command performance. Thanks to Kathy’s willingness to share her insights, you can follow Kathy’s suggestions for partnering with, instead of trying to dictate to, your writer-self and thus avoid that particular frustration. […]

Seven Things I Learned Through Process Play: Guest Post by Catherine Brennan
I met Catherine Brennan in one of my Loft classes. Her first reaction to Process (play for the sake of play) was a mix of anxiety and enthusiasm. As she played around with the idea of playing around to support her writing, she found creative play expanded her writing and her life as a writer […]

Standing In Your Truth: Guest Post by Donna Alward
When Donna Alward contacted me about giving a presentation to the Romance Writers of America Professional Author’s Network about writer’s burnout and the brain, she mentioned her own experience with burnout. She shares her courageous acknowledgement and insights in this rewrite of a post originally published on her blog. Donna is the author of over […]

Boost Three Habits with a Writing Buddy: Guest Post by Katy Perry
I loved having Katy Perry in my Loft classes. She not only gave the Three Habits “a try” as she writes, she embraced them and made them her own. Katy came into class with an abundance of native talent and already honed craft skills. Her willingness to make, track and honor commitments brings her writing […]

How I Make Time for Writing: Guest Post by Eileen Peterson
I met Eileen Peterson in a Loft class more than ten years ago. Eileen has a delightfully pragmatic approach to making life work as a working mom who writes and a writer who works and parents. Writers with or without children can benefit from Eileen’s insight into how to make time for writing. She’s honest […]

Thriving in Discomfort: Guest Post by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew
Writers, like any intelligent human being, do our best to avoid unnecessary discomfort. However, creativity requires a certain level of discomfort. Okay, full disclosure: what I really mean by “certain level of discomfort” is “a variable amount, that more often than not, is high, always higher than we wish, and usually equivalent to the joy […]

Writers Arm Yourselves with Resistance Fighting Tools: Guest Post by Dave Chesson
I’m pleased to introduce author and entrepreneur Dave Chesson as this week’s guest blogger. When Dave’s not light saber dueling with little jedi or sipping tea with princesses, he tests new book marketing tactics and helps authors improve their book sales. On his blog Kindlepreneur.com, Dave explains that he spent more than $15,000 in […]

Top 10 Routes thru Writer’s Resistance: Guest Post by C. L. Blacke
When I read C. L. Blacke’s blog about cultivating a writing practice, I knew you’d want to learn more about her routes around, over and through resistance. C.L. reports that, in the early years, trying to overcome writing resistance “felt like smashing my head against a wall and expecting it to move.” When she finally […]