The Daily Writer

I'm thrilled to bring you this bonus interview with Joe Ricci. We dive into all my geeky questions about story structure and the specifics of writing for the Hallmark channel. Follow Kent Sanders: Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders  

I'm excited to bring you this conversation with one of the coolest and most interesting people I have met in a while. His name is Joe Ricci, and he is an actor, playwright, screenwriter, and director. Joe has been an actor in stage productions such as the off-Broadway hit “I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change,” the national tour of “Carousel,” the first national tour of “Saturday Night...

If you’re not mechanically inclined, maybe you can relate to this scenario. You’re driving down the road one day, and all of a sudden you realize that your car has been running kind of rough lately. The engine is a little bit noisier than it used to be and wonder what might be wrong. Then it dawns on that you can’t remember the last time to had the oil changed. You wonder if maybe you’ve done some...

Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists who ever lived. As a sculptor, painter, designer, architect, and so much more, he transformed history and was a major force of the Italian Renaissance.    But have you ever considered exactly what it was that made Michelangelo so great? Was it his creative genius? His relationship with powerful and influential people such as the Pope? His ability to org...

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. Reading is a critical part of the creative proces...

It is common in the entrepreneurial world to view a day job as the enemy of a writing career. You have a boss, you have office hours, and you have job responsibilities that feel a million miles away from the writing you want to do. If you want to build a full-time writing career or gain more financial freedom, then building your own business is certainly a great goal. But while you are in your day...

There is a strange dynamic within the world of writers. On the one hand, there is a huge amount of collaboration and community. We support each other, we buy each other’s books, we write books together, we share resources, and we generally try to spread the love. On the other hand, it is also easy to be jealous of other writers who we perceive to be more successful. We wonder why we don’t sell the...

On this bonus interview, Pastor John Stange shares his thoughts on the structure, writing, and marketing of his upcoming book, Dwell on These Things . I encourage you to listen to yesterday's interview with John if you haven't already. It will give you lots of context for the information in this episode. If you are working on a book, or considering writing a book, then you will find a lo...

Here in the first couple weeks of the year, everyone loves to talk about goals. But once a week or two passes, the reality of life kicks in and the idea of a nice goal is not enough to carry you through the messiness of life. Having a goal is not enough to make that goal a reality. That is where habits come in, which is the subject of today's episode. One of the most influential books of the...

On today's episode, I have the pleasure of interviewing my good friend John Stange about the release of his upcoming book, Dwell on These Things. Last month, John asked me to interview him for a special episode on his podcast. John and I talked about how the book can help people, especially right now in a time where man people are under a lot of stress financially and emotionally. A bit about...

As you begin to make progress toward your writing goals this year, you will run into some roadblocks. Life will get messy, you will feel tired, and even here in the first couple weeks of the year, you will probably feel like giving up.   But why do you feel like giving up? It all comes down to unrealistic expectations. We get discouraged when the picture we have in our head doesn’t match the reali...

You were having a perfectly good streak. Things were going well with your writing, and you were making great progress with your book, blog, client work, or something else you were working on. But then it happened. Maybe it was family drama. Maybe it was a work situation. Maybe an appliance or a car broke down. Or maybe there was political or social chaos that made it hard to focus. Whatever it was...

Here at the Daily Writer, we are a huge advocate for not just writing books, but for reading them. They are a critical facet of your growth as a writer. You will be hard-pressed to come across a great leader in modern history who has not also been a great reader. However, there is a danger in focusing too much on consuming ideas, and not enough on action. Reading doesn’t guarantee that your life,...

During this first week of the year, you will hear a lot of people talk about their goals. You will see social media posts, articles, emails, and news stories about all the big plans people are making for 2021. Perhaps you have set some goals for yourself. If so, congratulations! That is an important step toward being successful as a writer. Maybe you even shared them with a few friends or posted t...

It’s the beginning of a brand-new year. You have dreams. You have goals. You have big things you want to accomplish in the next twelve months. And your mind is consumed by one overriding question: “Can I do this?”   It’s not a question of whether anyone needs to give you permission. Rather, it’s a question of whether you can muster the resources, energy, creativity, discipline, and focus in order...

On this episode, I share details about the brand-new Daily Writer Community, which is now open for application! You'll learn why I'm launching this group, what's included, and how it's different than other writing groups. If you're looking for a small, intimate, supportive, generous, action-taking group of writers who are working to achieve their goals, then DW might be fo...

When it comes right down to it, everything about writing success comes down to productivity. We may have great ideas, we may feel inspired, and we may have great connections. We may even have a publishing contract. But if we don't actually produce the work, nothing else matters. I'm excited that my good friend Jennifer Harshman is here to give us some tips to become more productive in ou...

On today's special edition, I review the successes and challenges in my writing and business over the past year. I also share eight major goals I'll be working on in 2021. 2020 Successes: Ghostwrote two client books. Became a Literary Scout for Morgan James Publishing. Re-launched my podcast as The Daily Writer and changed to a daily format. Launched beta version of The Daily Writer Comm...

I’m taking a very short 1-week hiatus from the podcast to work on my next book and do some extra planning for 2021. We have nearly 300 episodes of the daily writer podcast published, so I encourage you to take some time to look back through the archive here and catch up on some episodes you might have missed. I especially want to encourage you to check out a few episodes from the last few months t...

Christmas means many things to many people. Some people look forward to parties and social events. Some people enjoy the lights and holiday displays in stores and homes. Some people love all the holiday entertainment you can enjoy, such as Hallmark movies and music specials. And of course, everybody loves gifts, especially kids. But for people of faith, Christmas is the time of year when we rememb...

If there is one word that describes our modern, hectic lifestyles, it’s “obligation.”  We are connected 24/7 to our devices, and literally anyone in the world with a smartphone can reach out to us. Our inboxes are filled with an email from marketers, influencers, clients, people who want something from us … and hopefully sometimes, from friends who are checking in. Our social media feeds are cramm...

In the year 532, the emperor Justinian stood gazing at the smoking ruins of Constantinople’s patriarchal church that had just been burned to the ground by riots. As the leader of the Byzantine empire, he wanted to build a cathedral that would surpass the glory of its predecessor, but also be a stunning place of worship and a testament to the beauty and creativity of the Byzantine tradition.   The...

If your writing was a cake, what would the ingredients be? You would certainly include structure. You’d think about the audience. If you were writing research, you would include some data or case studies. If writing fiction, you would make sure to include plot and characters. And if you want to work to be read, you must also think about publishing and marketing. All those are important, but there...

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the military historian Robert Cowley coordinated a fascinating series of books called What If? The books featured essays by prominent historians, each one looking at a particular “what if” question in history. For example: What if the Mayflower had never set sail? What if JFK had not been assassinated? What if Teddy Roosevelt had won re-election in 1912? What i...

One of the topics we often discuss on this podcast is doing client work. If you haven't yet considered it as a way to supplement your income, I encourage you to think about it. When you're starting with freelance writing, how do you get that first client? This is a critical question because getting that first client is very important. Once that happens, you have more confidence and momen...