You don't need to be a master researcher to turn up lots of writing advice if you're looking to hone your craft. A quick search of the Web or your local bookstore will reveal numerous articles, books, and manuals on how to be a better, quicker, or more successful writer. All of these strategies and techniques, some more helpful than others, require a sharp brain, some creativity, and the energy to see a project to completion. Many tips ...

Walking down the street, wearing your favorite green high-tops and a black and white striped sweater over slim jeans (you could be a guy or a gal), you pass a homeless person, a few small birds pecking at some seeds on the sidewalk, and a rosebush pushing against a fence, pale pink buds threatening to burst open. You see none of this. Vaguely aware that you did pass the homeless person (he asked you for spare change), but you couldn’t pick ...

Yesterday I awoke with a start, the mid-morning light streaming through the tall windows of my bedroom and the dull buzz of a Kir Royale headache echoing in my brain. Stretching my legs under the comfort of my warm duvet, I negotiated getting vertical from horizontal. So far, so good. The delightful aroma of chocolate and butter, two of the most amazing elements on the planet, filled my apartment making my stomach grumble as I slipped into the kitchen to start a pot ...

Hello there! Yes, you, right there. Tap, tap, yes, you on the other side of the screen. What’s wrong, cupcake? You seem to be a bit upset. Or maybe frustrated—or perhaps you are feeling the dreaded O-word…overwhelmed. You see, I can tell, because when you are overwhelmed or frustrated, or you know, just plain maxed out, you start to complain a bit. Ok, more than a bit—a lot. And if you have been reading me for a while you know that I want you to be and ...

I like words. You have probably guessed this if you have read any of my posts, articles, or poetry floating around the interwebs (and on the two-dimensional page). I like words so much that I have built my livelihood around assembling them into strands with other words, more commonly known as sentences. Then I take those sentences and weave them together to make more or less coherent paragraphs and so on. The possibilities are endless. As a word lover I spend a fair amount of time, maybe too much ...

I laugh out loud in the strangest places. Yesterday, I was sitting alone in my local coffee shop hangout, reading an essay by David Sedaris, when the impulse overtook me. My initial attempt to stifle the laughter, fueled by a momentary concern of what others might think, gave way to audible laughter. And not a polite little chuckle, but an eye-watering, I-don’t-give-a-damn-who’s-watching, laughing fit. Yes, people stared at me. I didn't care. I laugh when I ride my Vespa. I laugh at ...

I  recently returned from Portland, OR where I spent a heady weekend at an event called the World Domination Summit. WDS, the progeny of my friend Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity,  was a convening of more than 500 nonconformists, entrepreneurs, bloggers, creatives, visionaries, and other cool folks. And, although I did not have the opportunity to commune with all 500+ fab and friendly souls, those with whom I did renewed my faith in humankind. Yes, ...