It’s likely that you may have heard the saying “most editors are failed writers,” and this sentiment is not only untrue, but quite insulting. The idea actually came out of a parlay between T.S. Eliot and his future editor Robert Giroux. Of course, Eliot being Eliot said, “Perhaps, but so are most writers.” But, as…

The Age-Old Debate of Writing as a “Real Job” Even now in the 2020’s, many folks still see writing as a lovely little hobby where you scribble down your thoughts, sip tea, and wait for inspiration to strike. Meanwhile “real adults” do real jobs like constructing skyscrapers or assembling Chinese-produced IKEA furniture. It’s almost as…

Since the 2020 pandemic, my primary focus in my life was to make the best of my writing archives. As of September 2022, however, my focus has shifted slightly: make my writing archives better. This is, in fact, a very straightforward process. Find the posts that used to get love and improve them, then find…

So you want to become a better article writer? Here is my simple three-step process to do just that! OK, there you have it. Now go forth into the world and write your heart out! Right, there’s a bit more to it than that. Isn’t there? Obviously, being highly literate definitely helps anyone. But as…

Growing up in the nineties, grunge was king and the internet made a noise like a dying robot when it connected. Back then, getting to the top of your class involved being really bad at something first. But to get better, you had to actually know you were bad, understand why you were, and then,…

As I sit here this morning, I’m still churning through yet another batch of “back burner” essay projects. I can’t help but marvel at how, after all these years of getting my writing organized, I still have over 400 essays that feel completely unworthy of publishing. It’s not even that I’m overly picky with what…

A writer’s life is an endless collection of bits and bobs, odds and ends, and other assorted nonsense that don’t quite fit together. It’s like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle where the picture on the box keeps changing, then some sadist throws in a handful of pieces from another puzzle just to keep things…

Despite having written hundreds of poems, over the past decade I’ve kept poetry at arm’s length. It’s still within my reach, should I choose to try writing verse again. But without the benefit of daily practice, I haven’t been able to return to the craft with much enthusiasm. I’ve long reserved poetry as a means…

You may not think your own life story is all that interesting. But, what matters most in storytelling is how your story is told. It’s not so much the content, but rather the presentation. The point of view is also key. Both biographical and autobiographical stories are told with some inherent bias or deficiency on…

It’s been said many times that the blank page is like a canvas. Frankly, a blank page is much more like a desert. It can be the most dreaded thing for any writer to face, being vast, empty, and seemingly infinite. Ironically, it’s what a writer faces all the time.  When you set yourself to…