Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Show Notes Summary: This is a time to dream upsome big goals for 2016 and think about how you can expand your reach and stretch yourself, and I definitely applaud and encourage that. But it can also be a time to go small—to use your words to connect with one or two peopleat a time. By "small," I mean brief, but also "intimate." You could: pull out a note card and write a letter craft an email to an old friend pen a poem and slipit under somebody's windshield wiper leavea love note under a pillow Small, focused, writing projects have some side benefits beyond blessing the recipient of your writing.By writing to someone specific, you develop your voice. You’ll be a little more comfortable and relaxed when writing that note or typing that email for someone you know well. You might insert a little inside joke, tell a story, and play with a more informal style. You’ll probably keep it somewhat tight and brief; then again, maybe you’ll be a bit more leisurely. When you know your audience well, you can tailor the message to them. You keep specificity instead of defaulting to generalities. Brain Pickings offersexcerpts from a vintage book on letter writing: Though written, as all genuine letters are, for the private eye of one or two familiar friends, and without any thought of their publication, they nevertheless often form the most interesting and imperishable of an author’s productions...In other productions there is the restraint induced by the feeling that a thousand eyes are peering over the writer’s shoulder and scrutinizing every word; while letters are written when the mind is as it were in dressing-gown and slippers — free, natural, active, perfectly at home, and with all the fountains of fancy, wit, and sentiment in full play. When we write small, we can experience that same kind of natural, active approach that offers a kind of freedom and sense of play. Will you do it? Will you write small? If you write small—if you write that email or letter—would you let me know in the comments? You can just say, "I did it, Ann. I wrote small today." Ideas from this episode: While we're dreaming up big goals for 2016, we'll benefit from writing small. If you write small in the sense of writing for an intimate audience of one or two, you'll gaincreative freedom. When you know your audience well, you can tailor the message to them and practice specificity. Experiment with voice and tone in these small writing projects. These efforts will bless the recipient, and if you take advantage of the playful approach, they'll bless you, as well. Resources: "How to Write Letters: A Vintage Guide to the Lost Art of Epistolary Etiquette from 1876" * * * Listen for the full podcast. You can subscribe with iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you subscribe, rate, and leave a review. You can alsouse the feed with any podcast player you use. Connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

Show Notes Summary: During the holiday season, while traveling and hosting or visiting others, you may not be able to keep up your writing at the same pace. We discussed in the last episode the benefit of having a rut to run in, and yetas we head into these next couple of months, we may not be able to maintain our writing routines at the same level. Today I want to encourage you that even if you are unable to keep up even a modified version of your writing routine, you can stilldo one thing: pay attention, to draw attention. If you pay attention to the details, events and interactions surrounding you over the next few weeks and you have a way to collect and store them, you will be able to use all of that for later, when you’re writing, to drawattention. Oliver Burkeman in an article in The Guardian, highlights thoughts on writing from Steven Pinker, who points out that writing is inherently a psychological phenomenon, "a way that one mind can cause ideas to happen in another mind." So our job is to be the ones who see, to notice what’s going on in the world directly around us, and beyond. We can take notes and store them someplace where we can find them again when we sit down to work. It may not feel like writing, but it's the work of a writer. This can be a task for the holidays if you can’t find an hour to open your computer and write. You could press pause on your work-in-progressfor a few days, and instead, pay attention, take notes, and be ready to write, later, through story, description, the essay form, poetry, or fiction, in a way that draws the reader’s attention to something you’ve seen. This holiday season, pay attention. Gather what you need to recreate the scene, the moment, the revelation, the sensory experience, and store it up for later. Just type a few notes into Evernote or OneNote—wherever you would drop a few sentences or bullet points to jog your memory. When the days return to normal, you can pull those notes into Word, a Google Doc, or Scrivener, and start the process of “joint attention,” walking alongside your future reader. Write as if you’re saying, “Look here. Can you see it?” Pay attention, so you can draw your reader’s attention. Ideas from this episode: Should you write for yourself or for an audience?The answer is "for an audience," but not to impress them; using the concept of "joint attention," help them discern something you know they'd be able to see, if only they were looking in the right place. Our job as writers is to being the ones who see—to notice what’s going on in the world directly around us, and beyond. This holiday season, pay attention and gather what you need to recreate the scene, the moment, the revelation, the sensory experience—and store it up for later. When you can find time to sit at your computer, write as if you’re saying, “Look here. Can you see it?” Pay attention, so you can draw your reader’s attention. Resources: "This column will change your life: how to think about writing" (The Guardianarticle byOliver Burkeman) Write in the Middle of the Holidays #26 Why Writers Need a Rut to Run In(podcast episode) #13 Multi-sensory Writing * * * Listen for the full podcast. You can subscribe with iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you subscribe, rate, and leave a review. You can alsouse the feed with any podcast player you use. Connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive. ______________________________ Is your writing life all it can be? Let this book act as your personal coach, to explore the writing life you already have and the writing life you wish for, and close the gap between the two. "A genial marriage of practice and theory. For writers new and seasoned. This book is a winner." —Phil Gulley, author of Front Porch Tales

Show Notes Summary: A writer needs a rut to run in. If you're troubled by the construction, let me also say it this way: a writer needs a rut in which to run. But about this rut...you might be thinking, "Hold on, now, how can a coach who encourages curiosity and creativity be promoting a rut?" After all, People get stuck in ruts and never change, never take risks, never explore new possibilities. Ruts are things to get out of not to fall into. Ruts feel like tedium. Monotony. Boredom. And there’s some truth to that, but I’m going to try to convince you to think differently about the monorail experience. When you have a rut to run in, parts of your life switch to autopilot and you don’t have to reinvent every single day. It simplifies life and frees up mental energy for greater willpower and creativity. It steadies you. Think of a rut as a habit or set of habits—a routine—that automates parts of your life. In anarticle in The New York Times, John Tierney, who wrote the book Willpower with Roy Baumeister, says, “The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts...there is a finite store of mental energy for exerting self-control." We writers need that self-control—that willpower—to stick with the job, to finish the story, to meet the deadline. And we need some creative energy to bring it all to life. Writers need a rut to run in. If we deplete our brains on a lot of inconsequential decisions, we're more likely to delay our writing and run off to the movies with a friend. We'll pay less attention to a long-term goal like, to finish a book, and just fiddle with Facebook for an hour. If we do manage to write, a brain lacking willpower will be tempted to default to tired, predictable expressions, too mentally fatigued to reach for something fresh. Baumeister says: [P]eople with the best self-control are the ones who structure their lives so as to conserve willpower...they establish habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of deciding every morning whether or not to force themselves to exercise, they set up regular appointments to work out with a friend. Instead of counting on willpower to remain robust all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for emergencies and important decisions. As writers, we want to conserve willpower so it’s available for some of the important decisions involved with creating and completing our art. A Guardianarticle quoted W.H. Auden: Decide what you want or ought to do with the day, then always do it at exactly the same moment every day, and passion will give you no trouble...Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition. What routine will you form to free your mind to create? What rut will you run in that will leave enough willpower to keep you seated at your desk to do the work you’ve set out to do? Pre-decide what your routine will be. Set it on repeat, day after day, so that it's automated, so it’s a habit, and it becomes a rut to run in, leaving you with mental space and energy … to write. Ideas from this episode: A writer needs a rut to run in, freeing his mind to stick with the work and generatecreative ideas. A rut to run in lassoes the power of routine, or a set of habits, to "automate" the more inconsequential parts of our lives. Structure your life to conserve willpower by reducing the number of decisions you need to make. Beethoven and Bergman lassoed the power of routine, running in ruts each day to free uptheir creativity. Pre-decide what your routine will be, then repeat it, day after day, to form the rut. Resources: Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue? (The New York Times article by John Tierney) Rise and shine: The daily routines of history's most creative minds (The Guardian article featuring W.H. Auden, and the routines of Beethoven and Ingmar Bergman, mentioned in the audio)

Show Notes Summary: Hundreds of thousands of writers are in the middle of National Novel Writing Month, or what is affectionately known as NaNoWriMo—where writers have signed up with the goal of completing a novel draft of 50,000 words. If you are among the participants—or if you decided to tackle a nonfiction project during the same month, tapping into the resources and momentum of NaNoWriMo—you’re heading toward the middle of the month and, presumably, the middle of your project’s draft. The middle is hard. A lot of people stop in the middle of things. How were you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions back in July? How about some hobby or craft you started but stopped about halfway through, that’s boxed up in the garage or basement? The halfway point is critical, because you know what it took to get to that point, so you know you need at least that much effort to finish. It can feel overwhelming. It’s easier to just stop and shelve the project. Click save. Say you’ll come back to it someday, but you know you probably won’t. Some people have trouble just getting started. Some people have trouble finishing. When you're stuck in the middle, you have to keep pushing through the middle. Keep the pen moving or, you know, the fingers tapping. If you’re in the middle of a project now, or you’re envisioning some of the half-finished drafts of poems, articles, essays, or novels, sitting on your hard drive, open a file today.Open the current project or dig into your archives. If you’re halfway through—if you’re stuck in the middle—you can begin again. You can finish. On Saturdays I post a writing quote—something to encourage you along the way. This past Saturday’s quote came from Ausonius. Begin, for half the deed is in beginning; Begin the other half, and you will finish. Begin the other half, friends. Begin—keep going—and you will finish. Ideas from this episode: The middle is hard; it's where a lot of people stop. NaNoWriMo participants are about halfway through their projects, and they can celebrate their progress; everyone should celebrate their progress if they made it to the middle. If you're halfway through any writing project, begin again—by beginning again, you will finish. Resources: Write in the Middle of Everyday Distractions: 7 Strategies for Getting Back on Track Write in the Middle: Yes, You Can Maximize Distraction-Free Writing Write in the Middle of Chaos NaNoWriMo NaNoWriMo stats WNFIN/NaNonFiWriMo How the Cuckoo Found Its Voice #1: Just Get Started (podcast) #14: Progress, Not Perfection(podcast) #21 One Thing Every Writer Needs to Succeed(podcast) Writing Quote - Begin, for half the deed is in beginning * * * Listen for the full podcast. You can subscribe with iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you subscribe, rate, and leave a review. You can alsouse the feed with any podcast player you use. Connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive. _______________________ Book Discussion - The Art of Memoir Do you read or write memoir? If so, you'll enjoy the bookdiscussion of Mary Karr's recent releaseThe Art of Memoir. On Saturday, I launched with questions about the preface, and on Tuesday we'll dive intothe first three chapters. Join the conversation Tuesdays at my Facebook page: Preface Chapters 1-3

Show Notes Summary: In the last episode, we discussed the urgency of acting on ideas. I quoted an editor my parents worked with who shouted, “Never, never, neversit on a story!”I warned you not to let somebody scoop you, because that idea was given to you. So take action, I said. And write. Today, I want to encourage you that if you waited a few beats too long and your idea was written up and sent out by someone else...you have some options. You can let it go, or let it grow. If you feel like you’ve been scooped, it’s possible you did get scooped and you need to simply let it go and move on to new ideas. But before you abandon it completely, maybe you’ll find you haven’t really been scooped—maybe you’ll see that your idea is quite a bit different from the piece that came out before yours. If so, you can continue with your idea as originally planned. And maybe you’ll see that your original idea did get scooped, but if you’re willing, you can let it grow, tweaking yours so it can find readers who have been waiting for someone to write beautifully on this topic. It might require letting go of your original vision for the topic, but by finding a more specific way to explore it, letting it grow into something with a new angle or audience, the idea may be richer and more interesting than you first imagined. Ideas from this episode: If someone truly scoops you on an idea or story, you can just let it go—generatenew ideas and move on. When youcompare your idea with the just-released version, you may find they're different enough you can continue without changing a thing. When youcompare your idea with the just-released version, you may find they're similar, but with some tweaks, you can let yours grow into something related but different. Let it grow by slanting to a specific audience. Let it grow by combining your idea with something else. Resources: Never, Never, Never Sit on a Story Write in the Middle of Everyday Distractions: 7 Strategies for Getting Back on Track Write in the Middle: Yes, You Can Maximize Distraction-Free Writing How to Generate Ideas for Writing * * * Listen for the full podcast. You can subscribe with iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you subscribe, rate, and leave a review. You can alsouse the feed with any podcast player you use. Connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive. _______________________ Book Discussion - The Art of Memoir Do you read or write memoir? If so, you'll enjoy the bookdiscussion of Mary Karr's recent releaseThe Art of Memoir. On Saturday, I launched with questions about the preface, and on Tuesday we'll dive intothe first three chapters. Join the conversationat my Facebook page.

My parents were editors at a major metropolitan newspaper, and my dad often quoted his managing editor, whofulfilled all '50s and '60s movie newsroom stereotypes—puffing on a cigar, shouting across the newsroom.When this editor realized one of his reporters had been scooped by a competing newspaper, he shouted for all the newsroom to hear: “Never, never,neversit on a story!” Though I’ve not been in the newspaper business other than writing the occasional feature story, I’ve seen this in my writing life. I’ve learned this lesson. “Never, never, neversit on a story!” And that’s what I’m here to tell you today. The times I’ve done nothing more than toy with a story, talking about it with friends and family, tossing it around like I’ve got all the time in the world to develop it, someone else goes ahead and writes it. Seriously.It’s happened to me multiple times. If you’ve got an idea in you, don’t sit on it. Don’t just think about it or chat about it with friends and family. Do something today to make it a reality. Don’t let somebody scoop you. That idea was given to you. And youwill create it for readers, so it's for them, too. Take action. Get that idea in motion. Develop it. Finish it. It might be hard and challenging at times, it’s going to feel risky—but you will have made it a reality. Never, never, never sit on a story. When it’s done, you’ll be so glad. So will your readers. Ideas from this episode: Never sit on a story or someonemayscoop you. Take action today...and tomorrow. Don't just do a little and stop. That, too, is sitting on a story. Fear of failure—fear of rejection—keeps some people from taking action. Reject rejection and write the story. Resources mentioned in this episode: Reviewer Leanne Sowul's website * * * Listen for the full podcast. You can subscribe toThe Writing Life with Ann Kroekerwith iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you subscribe, rate, and leave a review. You can alsouse the feed with any podcast player you use. Connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

The last time we were together we talked about one thing writers need to succeed, and if you listened, you know that thingis grit. In this episode I'm posing several wayswriters can increase grit, so if you feel like a low-grit writer, listen and try some of the ideas. I believe you can grow in grit to become a more productive and successful writer. In the words of Louis Zamperini: Be hardy! Key ideas from this episode: Grow in grit by looking forother areas where you exhibitgrit and funnel it into your writing Grow in grit by creating small wins Grow in grit by developing stamina throughtraining for a race that relies onincremental progress Grow in grit by minimizing distractions to increase focus Grow in grit by arranging schedule and space to reflect prioritization of writing Grow in grit through courage, taking risks despite fear of failure or rejection Be hardy! Resources mentioned in this episode: Louis Zamperini's USC interview * * * Listen for the full six-minute podcast. You can subscribe toThe Writing Life with Ann Kroekerwith iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you leave a review.Use the feed with any podcast player you use. You can connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive. ______________________________ Is your writing life all it can be? Let this book act as your personal coach, to explore the writing life you already have and the writing life you wish for, and close the gap between the two. "A genial marriage of practice and theory. For writers new and seasoned. This book is a winner." —Phil Gulley, author of Front Porch Tales

I help a lot of writing coach clientsorganize their writing lives or take a fresh look at their writing goals and projects. In the process, we often look at task management programs, time management systems, project management philosophies to find something they can implement that suits their personality. We experiment and almost always find some system that works for each person. This often helps the flow of their days and weeks so theymake greater progress toward their goals. But there’s one thing writers need even more than a bullet journal or a filing system or Evernote or Asana or ToDoist or Wunderlist. One thing can make all the difference when facing a deadline, when sitting down to do the work, when sensing internal resistance to a project, when feeling stuck on something. One thing can help you succeed at your writing life more than anything else. This one thing sees you through hard times, when you’re questioning, distracted, discouraged or stuck. This one thing helps you achieve your long-range goals. You wanna know what that one thing is? It’s grit. Key ideas from this episode: Grit outweighs intelligence as an indicator of success Grit is more important than talent in achieving success The Grit Scale can rate your level of grit WillAnn's gritresults surprise you? Grow in grit Funnel other areas where you exhibitgrit into your writing Resources mentioned in this episode: Angela Lee Duckworth's TED Talk Take theGrit Scale Angela Duckworth and the Research on "Grit" * * * Listen for the full six-minute podcast. You can subscribe toThe Writing Life with Ann Kroekerwith iTunesandStitcher,where I'd love to have you leave a review.Use the feed with any podcast player you use. You can connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

In our last episode we talked about finding and following the energy. But what if you don’t feel the energy? What if your writing feels stale? What then? That's whatJulie askedin her Facebook comment. Is it possible to find and almost generate energy? I think the answer is yes. Whether we change the environment around us or the environment of our minds, if you will, we can open up new channels for energy to affect us. Key ideas from this episode: Play, especially through Artist Dates. Learn, through podcasts, books, and articles online. Read models of great writing in your genre. Read models of great writing outside your genre. Connect with other creative people. Challenge yourself toward mastery. Take creative risks. I hope this gets you energized and in motion, so your writing life can flourish! Resources mentioned in this episode: Darren Rowse's podcast episode where he mentions his two reflective questions on energy Julie's comment on Facebook about feeling stale and wondering how to find energy Julia Cameron's Artist Dates Tweetspeak Poetry's infographics on writing in various forms: How to Write an Epic Poem, The Ballad, How to Write an Ode, How to Write a Ghazal, How to Write a Pantoum, How to Write a Haiku, How to Write a Sonnet Feedly 31 Days: a writing challenge every October, every day * * * Listen for the full podcast (7 mins). You can subscribe toThe Writing Life with Ann Kroekerwith iTunes, where I'd love to have you leave a review,andStitcher. Use the feed with any podcast player you use. You can connect with me on TwitterandFacebook, where I'm always sharingideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

[The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription. This episode is about sevenminutes long.] It is so hard to write something when there's no energy for it. Now, I don't mean lack of energy because you didn't get enough sleep or because you haven’t had your second cup of coffee yet. I mean, it’s hard to write when there’s no enthusiasm for the project—when there's no excitement for it. It’s hard to write when you’re missing that feeling of eager anticipation for digging in, when you’re lacking curiosity at what the finished product will be. I’m not saying you won’t have to work, buteven when a project is challenging, I hope the writer still senses energy for it. One reason some writers secure a writing coach is because they’re lacking energy and trying to figure out why their writing lives or their writing projects are feeling kind of stuck and sluggish. They’re wondering where the energy is and how to find it. As a coach,I ask questions. I listen. And one of the things I’m listening for is energy. Sometimes I can sense energy on the page, too. I’ll be reading a draft someone’s working on, and when I get to know a writer, I can tell by the tone of the piece where the energy is and where it kind of ran out. I’m trying to help them find and follow the energy. Find and Follow the Energy of a Writing Project The following are signs that a project you're working onhas internal energy associated with it: Is it hard to pull yourself away from the work? Do you find yourself thinking about it while you're falling asleep coming up with more ideas to scribble on a notepad in the dark? Do you find it hard to stop talking to others about it with an excited voice? Is it easier to do something you wouldn't normally do in order to finish the work (for example, you find yourself getting up earlier because you can't wait to get going)? Do feel like more ideas are spinning off of this this one? Are you going to be sad when the work is done, even though you’re excited and proud of the finished product? Find and Follow the Energy in Response to Your Writing Here are a few signs that your writing is producing energetic responses from others: Did your editor seem thrilled, even if you had to go back and make some changes? Were people reacting more on social media through likes, shares, and interactions? Did people contact you by email to talk with you more about it? This energy is harder to gauge because we can’t climb inside someone’s mind to see or feel their energy, but these are a few indicators you may have found a sweet spot for your writing life. Consider Your Writing Goals Take a minute to think through and list your goals, short-term or long-term, big or small: Maybe you want to submit to a literary journal an essay you recently wrote. Maybe you want to finish up a poem you’ve been working on for a long time. Maybe you want to pitch an article to a business magazine. Maybe you want to start a blog, or start your blog back up if you have one and it's been dormant. Maybe you want to launch a big project like a book, or you want to join November's NaNoWriMo. Now, what is behind those goals? Are they obligatory in some way? Do you think it’s “the right next step” for a writer at your stage? Or did you gravitate to them because of the energy? Find and follow the energy. Because if we follow that energy, we’re on our way to a satisfying writing life. Would you tell me a little about what energizes you—and what drains you—here in the comments? You can also visit my Facebook page to join the conversation there. Related resource: NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month 2015 * * * Listen for the full podcast (7 mins). You can subscribe toThe Writing Life with Ann Kroekerwith iTunes andStitcher. You can also sign up to receive content for creatives delivered straight to your inbox,