I love paradox. The most important insights I’ve found came wrapped in paradox. For example, play is by definition doing something that has no practical purpose. Yet play provides essential, practical rewards. Shigeru Miyamoto, inventor of Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda, told The New Yorker, “Anything that is impractical can … More Practical Writers Need Impractical Play
Are you starving the Golden Goose? As I wrote in Around the Writer’s Block, “Your creative genius is the goose that lays the golden eggs. If you, like the shortsighted farmer in the fable, don’t care for the goose, you’ll never see another golden egg…” To make your writing practice sustainable, you must care for … More Is Your Writing Practice Sustainable?
Stephen King declares in On Writing, “If you don’t want to work your ass off, you have no business trying to write well… (p. 144).” Most writers I know are willing to work hard, to show up, put in the effort and challenge themselves to make the writing the best it can be. For my … More If You Want Your Writing to Work, You Must Play
Remember that writing project that you stalled out on (or are currently stalled with)? The one you just couldn’t get any traction on because your brain is in neutral or reverse? Obviously, you need to shift gears to a creative brain state to get moving on that again. The trouble is there isn’t just one … More Do You Know How to Shift Your Brain to “Creative OverDrive”?
What a strange prejudice we have against play. But play is essential to creativity. If you’re feeling stuck with your writing, play is the prescription. … More The P-word
Bane of Your Resistance 