Consistency over time is essential. The trick is making sure that what you do consistently supports your goals. If the goal changes, your activities must also shift. That advice came from Tim Grahl. I’ve just started a new podcast with him and the first episode airs today. It’s a reboot […]

I’m definitely a planner–for me, lists are things of beauty–but plans only work if they’re flexible. They’re designed to help you achieve a goal. If you’ve got a big enough goal, you won’t know exactly how to make it happen. By default then, your plan is a best guess. It’s […]

What are your goals? Are the activities that you spend your time on helping you achieve those goals?

Yesterday was deadlift day for me at the gym. Deadlifts are hard and most people shy away from them for fear of hurting their backs. However, they are an essential exercise to strengthen core muscles including those that support your spine. Every book has 15 scenes that form the core […]

Rewriting is to writing what improvisation is to acting. Actors improvise scenes countless ways in search of the perfect choice of behavior and expression. The same is true for writers. — Robert McKee

I’m studying narrative drive for a series of Story Grid articles and podcast episodes. Narrative drive has to do with how much information a reader has in relation to the characters in a book. As writers, we want to blurt out our entire story in the first chapter, but that […]