The Daily Writer

As a writer, you know you should be reading every day. You know that it’s a vital part of filling your creative well. But with so many great books out there, how do you decide which ones to read? What sort of system should you use to read more? On today’s episode, you’ll learn about how to read more, increase your productivity, and maximize your creativity. *** Are you looking for a community of e...

So… you’ve done it again. You promised yourself you wouldn’t do it, yet here you are, feeling guilty because you’ve given in to the temptation once again. Are we talking about some forbidden sin? No, we’re talking about downloading yet another free PDF that will languish on your hard drive. It’s one more resource you won’t read, but you will still feel guilty because you know it will probably help...

Mike Kim is a business coach and marketing strategist who specializes in personal branding, product launch strategies, and copywriting. His core philosophy of marketing is this: “Marketing isn’t about closing a sale, it’s about opening a relationship.” Mike is one of my favorite communicators. As a writer, speaker, podcaster, and copywriting expert, he has the uncanny ability to cut through the no...

David Hancock is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author, and the founder of Morgan James Publishing. As the founder of Morgan James Publishing, David was selected for Fast Company Magazine’s Fast 50 for his leadership, creative thinking, significant accomplishments, and incredible impact on the industry over the last ten years. I wanted to have David as a guest not only because o...

In the world of computers, WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get.” It refers to an editing system or interface where the content you see onscreen shows exactly how it will look when it’s printed or displayed elsewhere. But WYSIWYG can also refer to the writing life as a whole. What you see is truly what you get. On today’s episode, you’ll be reminded that your perspective radically chan...

Every writer has felt like this at one time or another. You’re chugging along with your content and things are going smoothly. The ideas are flowing. You’re feeling great. Then, it happens. You hit the wall. The creative juices have dried up and you sit there wondering where to go from here. On today’s episode, Kent shares three strategies you can use to get your creative juices flowing again. ***...

Have you ever written something and expected people to immediately love it? Maybe you wrote an article, book, or social media post and felt disappointed that it wasn't a hit. But if you look to other industries such as music and baseball, you will have a hit less than three out of ten times. Every time you step up to the plate, or go into that recording studio, or sit down to write, you’re pu...

One of the tropes that seems to follow creative types around is the myth of the “tortured artist.” The myth goes something like this: creative work is very, very difficult, and it requires the artist to give their blood, sweat, and tears to their creative work. But where does this myth come from? We don’t have time for a long history lesson here, but here is one explanation for why creative types,...

Why do we writers feel like giving up? It often comes down to unrealistic expectations. We get discouraged when the picture we have in our head doesn’t match the reality in front of us. We see the messiness in front of us and assume that the great books we love, or any great works of art for that matter, are perfect by comparison. On today’s episode, you’ll be encouraged that you don’t have to be...

My guest today is Dan Miller, and he’s the author of an amazing book that has impacted so many people, 48 Days to the Work and Life You Love (which was recently released with a new edition). Dan has also written many other books and has been the host of the 48 Days podcast for over ten years without missing a single week. That’s impressive! Over the last five or six years, there has been no one wh...

Lauren V. Davis works with people all over the world to overcome their personal branding discontent and grow their presence so that they can focus on sales, exposure, leadership, and community impact through her marketing consultancy Lauren Davis Creative and her podcast, the Business Event Playbook. Her expert social media advice has been featured in articles by Huffington Post, Readers Digest, a...

What do powerful words look like? When you think of powerful words, you probably imagine Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, or JFK giving a speech about America’s mission to go to the moon. Or maybe you imagine an author like Maya Angelou talking about how she overcame a difficult childhood. But powerful words aren’t just reserved for classic speeches or world-renowned books. In fa...

Have you ever stopped to wonder why we sometimes don’t do the things we really want to do? For many years, statistics have shown that at least 8 out of every 10 people want to write a book. Why, then, do so many not follow through on their writing dreams? On today’s episode, you’ll be emboldened to push past your fear and chase your dreams. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, gene...

One of the most important lessons we can ever learn as writers is that good writing happens in stages. Whenever you read a great book chapter, blog post, screenplay, or speech, it did not begin that way. It was most likely outlined, drafted, revised, and edited, probably several times, before it took its final shape. This is the way almost all good writing, as well as all good art, is created. On...

We never quite escape this impulse of wanting to be done with our education. We move on to middle school, high school, most likely college, and perhaps grad school. At every level, there is a sense in which we just want to be done so we can move on with life. If you want to grow as a writer or artist, you have to change your mindset about learning. Learning is the match that lights the fire of pas...

There is something quite magical about a book. Of course, you already know that since you’re a writer. You’re already committed to the art and craft of writing books. But it’s interesting that so many writers don’t make a lot of time to read. We love books and are committed to creating them… but we struggle with fitting reading into our schedules. On today’s episode, Kent shares a simple, yet effe...

Terry is an award-winning author who has written four novels. The most recent one completed a trilogy, which was a pretty amazing accomplishment in itself. Terry is also an editor, and, in fact, edited a book I ghostwrote for a client last year, and he did an amazing job. Terry has a background in the US Navy, and also with NASA as a project manager. Based on his experience in project management,...

Dixie is a coach, consultant, and firestarter who is transforming leadership, culture, and creative productivity. She is the author of the fantastic book, Just Blow It Up: Firepower for Creating an Unlimited Life . Dixie is also a contributor at Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines. I first got to know Dixie when I was writing and editing for The Good Men Project. She is an amazing encourager and coa...

In the faith community, there is a lot of talk about the concept of calling. Most Christian leaders have experienced some type of calling toward their work. Most writers feel this way about their work, too. You probably feel some type of nudge or pull toward your creative work. When we do the work to fulfill our calling, we have a deep sense of joy and we also serve others with our gifts. On this...

As writers, there is a constant pressure to conform to what we think others want from us. In the midst of trying to find your own voice, it is easy to get so enamored with other people we admire that we forget what made them successful in the first place: they found their unique voice and the topics they cared most about, and then they kept working at it until they carved out their own niche. You...

There is a part of each one of us that wants to be admired. We want to be respected. One way we do this as writers is by trying to appear smart. We use big words and sometimes throw in obscure references in the hopes that others will think we are accomplished and intelligent. Sometimes big words are necessary, of course, depending on the context. However, for the most part, the best writing is sim...

We all have regrets. We all do stupid things and waste vast amounts of time we wish we had back. It’s important to be aware of this, and yet we also need to forgive ourselves so we can move on. Regret is a powerful obstacle that can prevent us from doing our best work. You can’t go back and change the past. But you can live with more intentionality and purpose from this day forward. On this episod...

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a reset button to go back and re-do past mistakes?  Unfortunately, you only have one life. We each have a limited number of days. This ay you’re living won’t come around again. What will you do with this day you have been given, which will slip through your hands so quickly, and which you can never get back again? On this episode, you’ll be emboldened to seize each day,...

On this episode, I share some updates about current ghostwriting projects, what’s happening in the Daily Writer Community, a new group coaching program I’m considering, and what’s going on in my personal life. ***     Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our  Daily Writer Community .      Check o...

Kristin is the founder of Pen & Peacock Writing , which specializes in writing websites and digital marketing that inspire readers to take action while creating better brand recognition and top-of-mind product awareness. She writes, produces, and edits website content, blogs, landing pages, eNewsletters, eBooks, and much more. Kristin is also a published poet and ghostwriter. I've asked K...