Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Attending my first writers’ conference proved to be life-changing—or at least career-changing. In the years since, I’ve attended a wide range of writing events, and each one has in some way substantially contributed to my career. Some deepened my knowledge, others expanded my professional network—most did both. I can’t imagine where I’d be without them. Could a writers’ conference be a life-changi...

Dear Writer, It’s easy to freeze up when we’re writing for the faceless masses or the random reader who happens upon our words. What do we say to all those people? How can we speak with heart to a total stranger? Next thing you know, we second-guess our ideas, our prose, our very selves. We fade to beige without saying what we really think, without being specific, without our signature wit and whi...

Let’s look at the pros and cons of using writing prompts to decide if we’re fostering creativity or frittering away time. I remember the pleasure of writing about ladybugs for my high school freshman English class based on the prompt written on the board.1 And then there was the book I found a year or so at the library: Write to Discover Yourself. The author suggested we “portrait” the important p...

Children gaze at a vast blank wall and see opportunity—inspired, they grab a permanent marker and scrawl across the surface in loopy circles and jaggedy lines without hesitation.  Why, then, do we adults stare at the blank page—not unlike a blank wall—and freeze up? Instead of scribbling out ideas that fill the white screen, we writers often come up empty, the blank page producing a blank mind. We...

When I was visiting my grandmother one summer afternoon, she pulled out a letter I sent her. “This is good,” she said. “Really?” She pointed at the paragraphs and said the ideas were well organized, my writing flowed well, and I included lots of details. “It was interesting to read,” she said. Then she looked up at me and smiled. “Maybe we have another writer in the family?” Did I gasp? Her words...

Just as musicians credit their musical influences, writers, too, have literary inspirations who help them discover and shape their unique voice. At a White House event for poets in 2011, Billy Collins said to students about finding your voice: You’re searching for the poets who make you jealous…you’re looking to get influenced by people who make you furiously jealous…And then copy them.1 Billy him...

On a sunny spring day, I sat with seven homeschoolers on a stretch of grass for a creative writing session. The older kids started to fidget before we even started. “What are we doing out here?” “We’re going to see what’s around us.” A fifth grader pointed with his pen. “I see sky, clouds, cars, building. Done.” The others laughed. “We’re going to be quiet and listen, too,” I added. “I hear birds....

Jennifer Dukes Lee ​invites you to transform into a better writer​ through “beautifully ruthless self-discovery.” It starts in the pages of your journal. In a recent interview, she delves into the therapeutic benefits of daily gratitude journaling and its potential to rewire our brains. By writing down things we’re grateful for, our minds seek out the positive. Jennifer recommends guided journals...

During the early years of parenthood, I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. Why can’t I have my own dedicated writing space? Why can’t I have blocks of uninterrupted time? The overwhelming demands of being a stay-at-home mom almost shut down my creativity. In time, thank heavens, I stopped griping and started looking for solutions. My idea? Instead of waiting for the perfect conditions,...

Nearly everyone who writes personal stories in any form has agonized over how much to share. Will writing about an issue from childhood break Mom’s heart? Should I change the name of a high school teacher? The next-door neighbor? The dog? The children? Are the hyacinths blooming by the mailbox worth mentioning? We write. We worry. Is this naval gazing or vulnerability? Will people feel I’m airing...

As writers, we spend countless hours crafting and refining our work to perfection. We labor over word choices, sentence structure, and the perfect flow. Despite our best efforts—even after a pass through Grammarly—typos slip through. We tend to spot them in other people’s projects, even if we miss them in our own. How do you react when you spot a typo in someone else’s writing? Do you assume they’...

Years ago, one of my clients updated me on her publishing journey. She turned in her manuscript on deadline, so that was a huge relief. Then her editor asked for one last piece she’d put off. “Ann, it took me two full weeks to track down everything for my endnotes. Two weeks!” This first-time author knew the editor would ask for endnotes, but she had not kept track of them as she wrote. Putting Of...

Consider a lowly stick, memorialized by my friend: Little Y StickFragile, knobby crossroads in my fingersBring me eyes to see how God is in my midst.1 ​Jennifer Dukes Lee penned that poem after we chatted about a prompt found in poemcrazy, by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge. Poemcrazy’s Prompt In Chapter 31, Susan instructs us to find something in nature that attracts our attention. Maybe the object ha...

Gain inspiration from the journey of a first-time author who transformed her dream of writing into a reality by taking bold action. Merideth Hite Estevez’s success story involved launching a captivating podcast and partnering with a coach (yep, that’s me!) to develop a winning strategy. Her talent and tenacity helped her build a robust platform, create a winning book proposal, secure an agent, and...

Today we’re exploring a topic that every writer is going to want to tune in and learn about: a trauma-informed approach to writing. To speak to that, I’ve invited Michelle Stiffler on the show to help us see how trauma-informed writing can transform both us and our words. This is one of the longest interviews I’ve published, but I believe it’s one of the most important. Let’s get right to it. Mich...

I hosted a virtual Christmas party in my membership program, Your Platform Matters (YPM) . At the party I encouraged a writing exercise: Christmas Reflections. I asked these writers to close their eyes and go back in time to a warm and wonderful Christmas memory from their childhood. Rather than trying to capture a big, sprawling scene, I asked them to zero in on a detail. Using the one-inch frame...

AI writing apps, programs, and tools are all over the news. People are reacting. They’re writing articles and opinion pieces, they’re recording podcasts, they’re discussing it in Twitter threads. Some say don’t worry, AI writing tools can’t write like humans. Others claim this is an inkling of what’s ahead—they’re going to surpass our skills. You’ll find articles suggesting we sign up and use the...

People wonder about Stephen King’s pencil. Writers (including me) want to know what writing instrument he uses. Why? Maybe we all harbor a secret hope that if we get the same pencil as Stephen King, we’ll end up as prolific and successful as Stephen King. Or if we discover what Annie Dillard writes with, we’ll produce the same type of literary prose as Annie Dillard. Or if we use the same writing...

Bryan Collins relies on a simple system that captures notes and ideas that flow directly into his projects when he sits down to write. His writing routine doesn’t take all day yet achieves significant results. Find out how he works and test it out. When you combine that with his simple system for collecting inspiration for all of your writing projects, you’ll be on your way to completing a full ma...

With inspiration from Mark McGuinness, you’ll integrate poetry into your writing life as a pleasurable practice that elevates your prose. In this interview, Mark describes the vision for his podcast and his own poetic beginnings, and he urges writers (and readers) to simply enjoy poetry. You’ll also discover the impact poetry can have on us as readers and writers. You’ll see ways it intersects wit...

Writers working on projects that are destined to be published—to be read—can struggle with nerves. We edit our words before they have a chance to breathe on the page. We hold back our true feelings and opinions. We forget to play with language. Serious Writers Need to Play I tend to encourage my clients to move toward practical goals, to create work that is going to be published. But at the same t...

Literary agent Lucinda Halpern prepares us to navigate the industry and prepare for publishing. With her insights, we’ll position our project—and ourselves as authors—to pitch agents and get noticed. She reveals what literary agents are really looking for when it comes to platform and clears up the concern about how much or how little to share of your book’s ideas on social media. And if you’re wo...

Have you ever wondered what a writing coach is? As you can imagine, I get asked this a lot. I mean, it is baked into my branding, and I love sharing insights I’ve gained over my years of coaching. Let’s start with the simplest, broadest definition of what a writing coach is and does: A writing coach provides you with input and support designed to close the gap between where you are as a writer and...

For author Clarissa Moll, hiring a writing coach was like finding her book midwife, and she urges writers to seek that kind of intimate, knowledgeable support and input for their own writing and publishing journey. In this interview, Clarissa shares her approach to writing, platform, and publishing, like: make a list of 10 things whenever you’re stuck or developing an idea say “Yes” before you’re...

Louis L’Amour is attributed as saying, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”1 Sounds easy enough, but a lot of times we can’t even find the faucet. Or we find the faucet but fail to turn it on. Either way, we want to write, but no words flow. Is that you? Are you ready to begin writing but you don’t know where to start—you don’t know how to get the...