Stupid Work Is Stupid
When present me sat down on the couch and opened my computer …. nothing would happen. Planner that I am, I pulled out my calendar and faced the hard truth.
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Writing Believable Characters
Writing Believable Characters I liked the plot, but I just couldn’t get into this book. The main characters weren’t believable. It’s one of those critiques that is hard to counter. An unbelievable character is like a house guest that’s stayed too long, with everyone silently wishing they would leave or at least hide out in…
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Accepting Rejection
Accepting Rejection What comes after the final draft? Years ago, I had the pleasure of hanging out with science fiction author Joan D. Vinge as she regaled us with an account of printing out the final draft for what would be her first published novel, The Snow Queen. It was late at night, in the dead…
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ReTreat Yourself
ReTreat Yourself Last summer, over a year into the pandemic, my writing process got stale. I had started the pandemic with a goal: write my memoir. And I did for the first six months. I wrote daily and deliberately. I hired an editor and signed up for writing workshops. Then the holiday gods convinced me…
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Week 3: The Pushback
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Three: Recovering a Sense of Power Should you use anger to fuel your writing? Do you experience shame while creating art? Have you been...
Week 2: External Blockers (and Internal Doubts)
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Two: Recovering a Sense of Identity We’re on Week 2 of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, shifting from internal creative obstacles to external ones—namely...
Week One of the Artists Way
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek One: Recovering a Sense of Safety What if the real barrier to making art isn’t talent or time, but whether you feel safe enough...
The Morning Pages Experiment
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayThe Basic Tools Three pages. Every morning. No exceptions. No mercy. We’re going to unblock our inner artist using Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. For...
Starting the Artist’s Way (Send Help)
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WaySpiritual Electricity:The Basic Principles Over the past few months, we’ve taken a deep dive into AI writing tools. Now we’re coming up for air and...
Robot Reporters Need Not Apply: A Journalist’s Stand
Authors & AI SeriesRobot Reporters Need Not Apply:A Journalist’s Stand We’ve been looking at how AI chatbots have been upending fiction writing, but how about in news media? Today...
Teaching Kids to Write in the Age of ChatGPT
Authors & AI SeriesTeaching Kids to Write in the Age of ChatGPT What if chatbots result in the next generation never learning to write? It’s a doomsday scenario that...
Week 4: The Morning Pages Report
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Four: Recovering A Sense of Integrity Do Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages work? Specifically, do...
Week 3: The Pushback
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Three: Recovering a Sense of Power Should you use anger to fuel your writing?...
Week 2: External Blockers (and Internal Doubts)
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Two: Recovering a Sense of Identity We’re on Week 2 of Julia Cameron’s The...
Week One of the Artists Way
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek One: Recovering a Sense of Safety What if the real barrier to making art...
The Morning Pages Experiment
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayThe Basic Tools Three pages. Every morning. No exceptions. No mercy. We’re going to unblock...
Starting the Artist’s Way (Send Help)
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WaySpiritual Electricity:The Basic Principles Over the past few months, we’ve taken a deep dive into...
Robot Reporters Need Not Apply: A Journalist’s Stand
Authors & AI SeriesRobot Reporters Need Not Apply:A Journalist’s Stand We’ve been looking at how AI chatbots have been...
Teaching Kids to Write in the Age of ChatGPT
Authors & AI SeriesTeaching Kids to Write in the Age of ChatGPT What if chatbots result in the next...
AI and Your Manuscript: Editor Kristen Tate’s Honest Take
In our quest to cover the mind-blowing benefits AND the nightmare scenarios that AI chatbots are unleashing on the...
What’s Really Happening When AI Writes? An Interview with Bill Moore
We've been putting AI chatbots through creative writing challenges, but what are these systems actually doing when they write? In...
Not Your Usual Words to Write By: The AI Podcasting Challenge
Is nothing sacred? After exploring how AI might steal our writing jobs, we're now testing whether these digital usurpers...
AI & Authorship: Where’s the Line?
We've explored AI as brainstorming allies, critique partners, and research assistants. Now we're tackling the most contentious question: should...
Beyond the Book: AI Solutions for Author Marketing
Can AI truly enhance your creativity without taking over? Our previous episodes left us wondering, but in this episode...
Harnessing AI Without Losing Your Voice: A Talk with Kate Scott
Can AI truly enhance your creativity without taking over? Our previous episodes left us wondering, but in this episode...
Brave New Feedback: When your Critique Partner is a Chatbot
Submitting work to your first workshop or critique group is nerve-wracking – these aren’t your supportive friends or family,...
Week 4: The Morning Pages Report
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Four: Recovering A Sense of Integrity Do Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages work? Specifically, do they work for us? We begin this podcast by discussing...