A young adult cousin of mine who is artistically talented hasn’t touched a brush in years. Why? She said recently it’s because her dad told her she couldn’t make a living at it. I think that may be somewhat of an excuse, but it raises an important issue. Do we do what we do as artists, musicians and writers to make money or make art? Her father...
Read More
I will admit that I was a little harried last week trying to stay on top of things. That’s my excuse for being what some might call careless in my eagerness to get everything done, including a post on my own blog. I wrote it, gave it a quick read, made it live and clicked that overdue item off my to- do list. And then I got this text from my proofreader/mom. “You...
Read More
(Note – this post has been edited and changes are indicated for purposes of demonstration.) Do you want to get your reader’s attention? Really? Are you sure? Of course you do. What a ridiculous question. Why have I even bothered to ask? It’s simple: I want your attention. It’s called a hook. As in the hook that goes on the end of a fishing line. You want to...
Read More
I’ve sat here for a solid five minutes or so starting this paragraph and then deleting and starting something else. After all these years and all the mounds of copy I’ve written, it should be easy, right? Sometimes it looks like it must have been easy – the words are so perfect, so engaging, so easy to read that it seems they must have flowed right off my fingers....
Read More
I’ve been teaching myself to draw. I’ve actually been working on it for many years now and I finally feel like I’m making a little bit of progress. But even though I’ve drawn some things I really like, I still get sweaty palms when I sit down in front of a blank page. I’m not sure of how the drawing will turn out. I fear it will be awful. I feel stymied by not...
Read More
One of the biggest, most troubling questions entrepreneurs and pretty much everyone else faces every day is: What should I be doing right now? Which should be followed closely by: What am I doing right now? Some of us are great at making lists, setting up our schedule and tackling tasks in order of importance. Others of us meander around and sometimes manage to get...
Read More
