The Daily Writer

Every day, you are surrounded by news—news on the internet, news on television, news in the newspaper, news that other people deliver. Have you ever thought about how the “news” is actually created? What makes a “news” story, anyway? Have you ever noticed that the day’s news conveniently fits into a half-hour broadcast? Of course, we know that more things happen than fit into a news program, but w...

This one is for all the kids who were always picked last in middle school gym class. You remember what it was like: You’d stand there awkwardly with the group, each kid getting their name called by one of the team captains. Each time, you hoped you wouldn’t be the last one. But once again, it got down to four, then three, then two, and you were the only one left. On today’s episode, you’ll be remi...

We writers live in a world of “yesses.” We love to say yes to that podcast interview, that new idea, that speaking opportunity, or that client work. There’s a good reason we do this. We don’t want to waste opportunities to build relationships and reach new readers. But the problem is that every yes we speak is also a no to something else. We only have so much time on this earth and we have to defe...

There is a good chance that you know someone who has a tattoo, or you have one yourself. What is the purpose of a tattoo? It’s a way to mark your identity. But there is another kind of marking that can define you… scars. On today’s episode, you’ll discover that your scars do not detract from your power as a writer—they are an essential part of your story. ***   Are you looking for a community of e...

Why do we make writing so difficult? When you get down to it, writing is a very simple thing. We take a pen and write on paper or in a notebook. We sit in front of a computer screen and type on a keyboard. Or we dictate into a device that transcribes our language into words. On today’s episode, you’ll be reminded why the most important thing to do as a writer is simple: just write. ***     Are you...

One of the most famous episodes of  Seinfeld  is “The Contest.” In this episode, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer compete to see who can demonstrate self-control the longest. The one who wins will be known as “master of their domain.” The concept of self-mastery is an important one for writers. If we don’t master ourselves, nothing else matters. On today's episode, Kent highlights  why  it’s...

One of the most inspiring stories from the music world during the last few decades comes from the rock band the Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl was the drummer for the mega-successful band Nirvana. He was already an established musician in his own right. But when the lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide in 1994, nobody expected Dave Grohl to form his own band and take on the role of a s...

A powerful movie, if you haven’t seen it, is Dead Poets Society from 1989. The late Robin Williams plays, an English teacher who challenges his students with this line, from Walt Whitman’s poem “O Me! O Life!”: “… the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”   This leads to the question: what will your verse be?   On today’s episode, you’ll be encouraged to take the stage and share...

There are a lot of reasons people give for avoiding the hard work of writing. One of the most common ones is a lack of time. Others include not knowing what to write about, or confusion about processes like blogging or publishing. Another reason exists that is worse than all the others combined. It also has the distinction of being the most profoundly sad reason many people don’t write. On today’s...

One of the most important decisions you make as a writer is how to balance your input and output. Or to say it another way, how much time you devote to watching and consuming versus how much time you spend writing and creating. You probably have friends who watch a lot of TV, movies, or YouTube. They keep up with all the latest shows and anxiously want to discuss all the plot developments. It is o...

As a writer, you have to do things sometimes that make you uncomfortable. It might be networking, public speaking, learning self-publishing, joining a writing group, or a hundred other things that seem new and exciting, yet still make you feel anxious. The business leader and author Michael Hyatt said, “The most interesting things happen just on the other side of your comfort zone.” I think we can...

If you are familiar with the organization Alcoholics Anonymous, you have probably seen or heard about the way people sometimes introduce themselves at these meetings. “Hi, my name is Kent, and I’m an alcoholic.” Now, I’m not actually an alcoholic and I’ve never been to an AA meeting. But the phrase has been portrayed enough on TV and the movies that almost everyone is familiar with it. Why do they...

One of the most famous movies of all time, and what many consider to be the greatest movie of all time, is 1941’s Citizen Kane , starring Orson Welles. While it is certainly a great movie, and one of my personal favorites, it tends to overshadow Welles’ other great movies. One of them is The Third Man , released in 1949 and starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten, among others. The Third Man is a...

We writers, by definition, tend to be an introverted group of people who don’t like change. Most of us like systems, predictability, and routine. We prefer sitting in a room alone for hours in front of a computer screen instead of being in groups of people. Which is all well and good. But the downside of the typical writer personality is that we have a hard time with change and risk. However, we m...

This one is for all the 1980s rock fans out there. In 1985, the music group Heart was choosing songs to record for its 8th studio album, which was to be named simply, “Heart.” The group normally recorded songs they had written themselves, but they had been presented with a new song written by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin. Page was a singer-songwriter, who had co-written some notable tunes such as...

I've always been fascinated by personality assessments and typology. If you've been paying attention the last decade or two, the Enneagram has been the tool of choice for many people. A lot of organizations, companies, and churches use it to help people better understand themselves, and to enhance teamwork, as well. However, that's not the only use for the Enneagram. Many fiction au...

So many aspiring authors never write their books because they are always worried about what people will think. Will their book be “good enough” (whatever that means)? What will their family or friends think? Will their friends from high school ten, twenty, or thirty years ago think they are still cool? I say, “Who cares about all that?” Those people don’t matter in your journey as a writer. Here’s...

When we talk about your “writing voice,” we usually mean the unique way you communicate. It involves tone, language, turns of phrase, attitude, and more. But for a moment, let’s talk about your actual voice and how you can use it to improve your writing. On today’s episode, you’ll discover how reading your writing out loud can help you in the editing process. ***     Are you looking for a communit...

On this podcast, we focus heavily on writing habits because they help immensely in getting our writing done. Good writing habits don’t just involve things like productivity or trying to hit your count. One of the most important writing habits you can ever develop is to make a gratitude list every day. Over the last couple of years, I have been making more of an effort to integrate this habit of “g...

If you were to guess what the most requested image in the National Archives is, what would your guess be? Would it be something related to the moon landings? Maybe something historic, related to WWII or the Civil War? Maybe something from the turn of the century? If so, you’d be wildly off base. The most requested photo in the National Archives was taken on December 21, 1970, in the Oval Office. I...

We have been talking a lot about habits here on the podcast lately. Let’s talk for a moment about a habit that will boost your confidence and will be good for your business, also. It’s simply telling people that you’re a writer. On today’s episode, you’ll discover how taking ownership of your identity as a writer helps your motivation and enhances your marketing strategy. ***     Are you looking f...

Okay, it’s time for some real honest talk between writers. Just you and me, two friends gathered around the podcast, baring our souls together. I’ll be honest: I’m starting to have a real issue with all the writers who whine about writing being so hard. I mean… it is really so hard? When I think about “hard” things in life, sometimes I have trouble putting writing in the same league. On today’s ep...

One of the most difficult things for us to do as writers is get into a state of creative flow. Yet, it's also one of the most important things we can do. Without a state of flow, it is hard to make meaningful progress in our writing. We constantly have to deal with fits and starts, instead of enjoying steady progress. My guest today is the amazing Ken Carfagno. Ken is a successful cleaning bu...

There is a lot of pressure in the writing and publishing worlds to create the “right” words—words that are moving, effective, emotional, and whatever other superlatives we want to put on them. Is it important to impact the reader and make a big difference? Sure. But you don’t get the gold unless you dig for it. On today’s episode, Kent shares how adopting a miner’s mindset and work ethic is the on...

One of the most vital questions we can ask in our writing is, “What can I cut out?” This is a great habit to adopt because cutting makes your writing sharper, crisper, and cleaner. When you write, go back through it and take out all unnecessary adverbs, filler, and padding. Longer does not mean better. Longer usually means the piece is more diluted. On today’s episode, you’ll learn a simple way to...