A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * How do you write about Difficult Topics? How do you message to an audience about the Hard Stuff? At a time everything is wildly […]
best writing advice
How to Get Better at Writing: 10 Ideas to Ignite Your Best Work This Year
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * <Hand over heart; eyes to the heavens.> This year, you resolve to…. 1. WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Get it […]
How to Build a Daily Writing Habit
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * I’m typing this with one hand—let’s call it Lefty, because it’s my left hand. Righty hangs by my side, injured but itching to get […]
How to Turn Editing Into the Best Part of Writing
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Long before I wrote books and your favorite newsletter 😊, I wrote for a financial newspaper about Federal Reserve regs and housing prices. […]
Specific Writing Is More Relatable Writing: Standout Sentences #1
Normally I celebrate standout marketing writing. But this week I’m sharing a line from a novel I’m reading. It’s simple. It’s compact. And it’s perfect: “His skin was not just clammy but the color and consistency of actual clams.” —Ann Patchett, Bel Canto Ann is describing a Bel Canto character—a Russian bureaucrat named Fyodorov. I […]
6 Signs That It’s Time for You to Write Your Book Already [A Checklist]
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * From time to time I answer reader questions. This is one of those times. <Hoists mailbag onto table. Rummages around. Pulls out reader letter.>* […]
TikTok with the Best Writing Advice (No Really)
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * I sense I’m being watched. Followed. Stalked, almost. He’s quiet as a ninja. And like a ninja, he seems everywhere at once. Often […]
What I Learned in 3 Years of Writing a Newsletter
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Three years ago this week—in January 2018—I decided to start a newsletter. Why? I wanted connection—not one-to-many social media connection, but me-to-you direct […]
How to Write a First Draft of Anything
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * I re-posted the image above on Instagram a few days ago. Don’t we go into any new project (or year) with a vision in […]