The Daily Writer

Sometimes the writing life feels like a set of never-ending tasks. There is that next blog post to write. That book chapter to revise. That client work to email. That sermon to write. But this is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a beautiful thing. It means that we have work to do, that people value us, that we have readers. Most of all, it means that we are doing the daily work. We have to be carefu...

On today's episode, I share wins from the Daily Writer Community and share a chapter from my book The Artist's Suitcase: 26 Essentials for the Creative Journey . The excerpt is below. *** 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 . Connect with Kent: https://DailyW...

In this special bonus interview, Tommy Breedlove shares some behind-the-scenes insights from the creation of his amazing book, Legendary: A Simple Playbook for Building and Living a Legendary Life and Being Remembered as a Legend . This is not only a well-written book, but it has an amazing cover. In this conversation, Tommy shares the origin of the design as well as some strategies he used to mar...

Today's episode goes much deeper than strategies for writing and publishing. It goes to the core of who we are as people. I am honored to share this conversation with Tommy Breedlove, author of the Wall Street Journal  and USA Today bestselling book, Legendary: A Simple Playbook for Building and Living a Legendary Life and Being Remembered as a Legend . His purpose in life is to guide ambitio...

One of the most important lessons we can ever learn as writers as that good writing happens in stages. Whenever you read a great book chapter, blog book, 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. Tak...

Most of us live in the present moment. We focus on the things we are doing today, next week, or perhaps later this year. But that’s about as far as it goes. Just for a moment, set aside the distractions and think about the year 2026. It’s five years into the future. You will be five years older. How do you want your life to be different? What goals do you want to have achieved? What does your worl...

Writers have always been fascinated by the relationship between writing and courage. Does it take courage to write? Or does writing produce courage? The answer is yes. Both are true. For example, many authors and writing teachers the last few decades have talked about how you need courage to write. And that is certainly true. Writing is hard work. It is self-expression. It can create change or pro...

There’s a wonderful scene in a wonderful little movie called The Empire Strikes Back . There are lots of wonderful scenes in Empire, but there’s one in particular one that has great application for writers. Luke Skywalker is training with the Jedi Master Yoda on the planet Dagobah. They are both getting frustrated because Luke is not catching onto the lessons as quickly as he wants. Yoda tells him...

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. It happens to the best of us. Even to the very best of us, like Ernest Hemingway. What did he did do when he...

Ray Bradbury said, “Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” Most of the time, we writers are focused on output. We spend most of our time focused on the content we are creating, whether it's blog posts, podcasts, books, articles, or client work. But the basis for that content has to come...

If you spend much time around writers, you begin to see patterns. There are certain things most writers love, such as telling stories, creating content, and connecting with other writers. However, there are also things that most writers don't enjoy. One of those things is marketing. Most writers perceive that marketing is a pain in the neck, something that distracts them from their real creat...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed as a writer? No, that’s not a trick question. It’s just an acknowledgment that anyone writing in our modern world can easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities we have today. It’s hard to know where to invest your time and energy. Some writers get paralyzed by all the choices and just give up out of sheer confusion. And if we’re all honest, we can pro...

If you spend enough time around entrepreneurs or marketers, you can get the sense that writing is a one-dimensional pursuit that only has value if it brings you business results. It’s true: writing can get you more consulting clients, a bigger audience, and more credibility and authority in your industry. But there is another dimension to writing. It doesn’t focus on the external, but rather the i...

Whatever you may think of Star Wars Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker , one thing is for certain: Kylo Ren’s journey is fascinating. Throughout most of the previous two movies in the sequel trilogy, he’s a conflicted villain who is fighting against Rey, Poe and the rest of the Resistance. But after a battle with Rey on the wreckage of the second Death Star, he imagines a conversation with his fath...

For new writers, one of the most surprising elements of the craft is how much editing and revision it takes to produce good work. Until you get into writing as a serious hobby or a career, it may seem like writing should just come out clean and ready to publish. But experienced writers know this is not the case at all. Effective writing doesn’t happen by accident. First you create a rough draft, t...

Imagine if you were a writer living two hundred years ago. You probably lived on a farm and woke up at the crack of dawn with the sound of the rooster. You worked all day and went to bed not long after sundown. If you were a writer, this would be an ideal environment to get your work done. There were not many distractions except for your family, a farm, and some animals. That’s not the case today....

On this episode, we dive into a topic that may seem disconnected from writing. However, depression and other mental health issues affect writers just like they do everyone else. In fact, writers and other creative types may be more at risk than the average person. Why? Because we already have lots of internal battles going on, and we tend to stay isolated. I don't have all the answers, but I...

Welcome to this special bonus episode of the daily writer podcast. I am excited to bring you this short bonus conversation with Jessica Brody, author of over twenty novels, as well as the amazing writing guide, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel . She is also the founder of the online writing school Writing Mastery Academy , which I joined a few years ago. You can find out more by visiting her website ....

I'm excited to bring you my conversation with Jessica Brody. She is the author of the #1 bestselling novel-writing guide, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and the founder of the online writing school, Writing Mastery Academy . Jessica has also written over twenty novels for teen, tweens, and adults. These include The Geography of Lost Things , The Chaos of Standing Still , A Week of Mondays , 52...

So, you’re feeling tired. You’re feeling discouraged. You’re partway through your first draft and it’s not coming together just as you’d like. Or perhaps you’ve already launched your book and it’s not getting the attention it deserves. You’ve spent what feels like every ounce of energy on writing it … and now you’re supposed to market it also? It makes you want to give up. Maybe it’s neither the f...

Writers often talk about the need to feel inspired before they write. But what exactly does it mean to feel inspired? And more importantly, how do we get it on a daily basis? Inspiration comes when we have that creative spark which allows us to get moving. It helps us overcome interia and conquer the fear of the blank page. But how do we capture it? Is it even possible? On today's episode, Ke...

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? But the problem is not just out there. It’s in here, too. We can think of times when we shrunk back and didn’t follow through on our goals. Is i...

Writing is mainly a solitary activity. Most books, articles, blog posts, and other content is created by people working alone. Yes, there are editors and others along the way who help, but writing is primarily done by people sitting at a desk doing their craft by themselves. It’s easy to feel a bit isolated. Stephen King identified this problem and also proposed a solution when he said, “Writing i...

It’s the sinking feeling every writer knows. You had a brilliant idea but didn’t write it down. Now you could kick yourself because you can’t remember it. Inspiration can strike at the most inconvenient times. Sometimes it wakes you up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it comes while you’re in aisle 10 of the grocery store. Sometimes it decides to visit when you’re on a phone call or in a meet...

It has been quite an eventful week at the Daily Writer. This past week, I did an official public launch of the Daily Writer Community. I know that I have mentioned it several times already here on the podcast, and I even did a full episode a couple of weeks ago sharing about it. But this past week was the first time I really put it out there on social media and shared it more widely than I ever ha...