You are not broken. Your flaws are not fatal. Your eccentricities and sensitivities don’t make you a monster; they mark you as human. And what, if not that, are you meant to be? You are here to be the highest expression of yourself. You are a thread in the weave of humanity. You have all you need to know. You don’t need any more workshops, or trainings, or external degrees. You are eminently qualified to be you. The things that scare you are ...
Gift-Giving Season is Upon us. If you are lucky to have a writer or three in your life and you are stumped for gift ideas, I have few suggestions that will be sure to keep their words flowing all year long. And, just maybe, you might want to add a few of these to your wish list, too! Below are some of my favorite tools for writers: books, software, and more. In the holiday spirit, Shanna Great Gifts for The Writers in Your Life Moleskine Notebook (from $12.21 at Amazon). This is the ...
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. ~Ernest Hemingway How hard can it be, this writing thing? As a professional writer, I often hear non-writers suggest that copywriting must be easy for me since I am so good at it. That writing, for a writer, has got to be painless, just something we do naturally, like breathing. That a short project shouldn't take too long to complete because there are so ...
When I was in my twenties, I dated a man whose family traveled extensively. They lived in Saudi Arabia, the father was headmaster at an American school, and the entire family of six would travel all over the Middle East and Europe. The one good thing I remember from that train-wreck of a relationship was his family's mantra about packing before a trip: Never pack before midnight, and never pack sober. I reference that maxim often when people ask me for advice on packing light, not because I follow the ...
[caption id="attachment_2634" align="alignright" width="461"] photo credit: armosa studios[/caption] The 2012 World Domination Summit wrapped up this past weekend. And, unless you have been sequestered in a monastery, in silent meditation without internet access, you can barely get a pixel's distance from the phrase World Domination Summit. That is, of course, if you are on the web with any regularity and have a hunger for alternatives to the status quo and defining life on your own terms.
As the excitement builds for World Domination Summit, or WDS for shorthand, there are a few things you need to know if you are a WDS newbie. WDS, which takes place in Portland July 6-8, 2012, is the progeny of my friend Chris Guillebeau’s fertile mind. Wildly successful last year, this is the sophomore year for WDS. This year WDS will double in size setting loose 1,000 official attendees, and likely many more who come to hang out, on downtown ...
8/24 Update: The Merry Inksters is opening again soon! After taking a summer hiatus, The Merry Inksters support and accountability group for nonfiction writers is ready to open its virtual doors on September 15, 2012. If you are a blogger, author, writer, or an entrepreneur who needs to write (but you don't necessarily call yourself a writer), this group is for you! Read more below and get on the priority notification list. Tell me: Are you a nonfiction writer struggling to stay focused? ...
Smart entrepreneurs make smart decisions. This woman was no exception. I was recently chatting with a potential client about her process to revamp and rebrand her website and shift the focus to the current services that she provides. As we talked, she told me about her desire to make sweeping changes—colors, logo, overall feel and look, and, of course, the perfect content that would speak to her clients. In an effort to do something, anything, she decided to just change the header on her site—you know, jazz the space up ...
