How to Squeeze Writing Inspiration from Every Experience

By Mary Jaksch

Do you have days where you sit in front of  an empty page  – and find nothing, absolutely nothing you could write about? I used to. But now I’ve learned to squeeze inspiration from every experience.

What, every experience? Yes, I know it sounds a tall order. Read on to see how it works.

The secret of creativity

First of all we need to determine what triggers creativity. It’s quite simple:

Creative innovation happens through communication between regions of the brain that are not usually connected. (You can read more about that here).

Let’s imagine that you want to write an article about social media. Your page is empty and your brain is on slow-go. Then you start making a list of points you want to cover: Read more »

How to Write Quality Posts When You Have a Day Job


I’ll write that post … after I climb this mountain of paperwork.

By Leo Babauta

Not everyone has the luxury of a full-time blogger — you know, that lazy sonofagun who lays around on the couch all day, absent-mindedly pecking away at his keyboard while eating Cheetohs and watching reruns of Lost and The Office, writing his blog posts as the muse whispers to him in tidbits throughout the day.

No, not everyone is that lucky.

Some bloggers actually have — gasp! — day jobs! And all the pressures and time constraints that that entails: working late hours, no time for loved ones or exercise or outside goals as it is. Read more »

Writing Workshop: What are YOU writing?


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What are you working on right now?
A novel? Your best article ever? A poem? A film script?

Maybe you’ve just finished something you’re really proud of? Or you just can’t tell whether it should get a Pulitzer or be thrown into the trash?

Here’s your chance to share and discuss with each other what you are writing about.

Whet our appetite with the opening paragraph of your future bestseller, give us a link to your best article, or tell us what you are writing at the moment.

Who knows, your piece might even attract the notice of a major publishing house!

Here are some guidelines:

A. Writers:

* State what aspect you’re working on. For example, you might want to say, “Here’s a link to my article “Whatever” I’m currently working on eliminating superfluous words.”

B. Commenters:

* When commenting, first list everything you really like about a piece.
* Only then offer careful suggestions.
* Treat each other with respect, friendliness, caring, and honesty.
* Remember that we are all still learning.

Now it’s over to you. Take a deep breath. Then jump into the comment section and bring out your treasures!