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The tender new-green freshness of spring continues here in Northern Colorado because we’ve had so much rain. I don’t want to go inside, it’s so fragrant. Poppies and peonies and lilacs galore. I’ve obsessively planted my pots and window boxes (or rather porch boxes)...

The catkins are sprouting on the cottonwoods and the days are getting longer here in Northern Colorado. It’s been windy and dry which is scary - we had a fire warning yesterday - and at the same time, I feel spring energy crackling around me and it makes me want to...

Do you ever sit down to do your creative work or biz stuff or just life stuff and freeze? Where to start? At the first item on your list or somewhere else? What’s most important? No, that’s too scary to start with. Pick something easier like answer that email… Oh...

As you may know, if you've been here awhile (and if not howdy new reader and welcome!) I started writing a novel after a 10-year (or 15? I’m so bad with time) hiatus from writing fiction. The idea for my contemporary fantasy novel came to me while leading my last...

If you’ve been around for awhile (and if you’re new, waving hi! Thank you for subscribing!) you know I’m the author of ​nine non-fiction books​ and I’m working on a novel. Woot! I’ve been a working writer, and now ​non-fiction book coach​, supporting herself and her...

There is a pesky phenomenon rearing its pesky head fairly often for my coaching clients and my artist pals. It shows up whining and lamenting: “I’m a has-been, a dud, I can’t pull this off. I don’t have what it takes.” Or “My project is doomed, doomed I tell you, and...

A book coaching client quipped to me recently, “I know what I do with you is not therapy but gosh, writing a book brings up a lot.” She might have used a stronger word than gosh. 🥰 I said, “You become the person who can write your book by writing it.” Meaning the only...

One thing I often hear from my book coaching clients and writing friends - and okay from myself! - is “I thought I was finished.” I said it to a friend yesterday. 😜 “I thought I was finished developing my main character. I thought I’d nailed her already.” When in...

Have you ever thought about what role desire plays in your writing and creating? I’d say a starring role. Center stage. Cue the spotlight. Or for another metaphor, desire is your creativity’s engine and fuel. Desire gets you there and it keeps you going. Without...

A few months ago I asked this question on social media, Do you ever find that, for no reason you can ascertain, a colleague you were super friendly with and supportive of, gives you the cold shoulder? It's hard not to take it personally. Also hard for me to ask...

I received a question from a reader recently that I wanted to share with you. She asked me if it was okay that she wrote hundreds of pages every year when she had no intention of sharing her work. Was it still worthwhile? she wanted to know. Was it a waste of time? I...

As a writing coach, I get to work on some fascinating projects and one of those is Good For a Girl by Lauren Fleshman. When Lauren called me in December 2020 in a bit of a panic because she was afraid she wouldn’t meet her book deadline without help, I was excited to...

We all have certain deep psychological tendencies or patterns that recur. Mindfulness, therapy, self-compassion, journaling, and a host of other techniques can help soften their sticky grip on our choices and reactions but rarely, if ever, will a deeply rooted...

I’m turning 60 near the end of this year and as feels appropriate, my desires are shifting. Changing. Ripening. I admit to some trepidation writing to you about aging as the subject is still somewhat taboo in our culture. I had a famous friend say to me recently when...

“How many words should I write a day?” is a question I hear almost every week from at least one of my writing clients.  I understand why writers ask, ‘how many words should I write a day?’, because we are the type of animal who loves and even needs to measure things. ...

This is part 4 of 4 to help you create with more ease, focus, and intention. Here is Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. If you want to get better at your creative work, at some point, you need Skillful feedback (oh no 😝) Putting your head down and working away can seem like a...