Casualty of Words

Up your newsletter etiquette.

Newsletters are the bomb! Here's a few dos (but there's always more!)

Rejection is a gift? Get outta town!

Dealing with the downer of a broken streak.

A great tidbit of wisdom from producer Rick Rubin.

Don't let dirty dishes pile up.

We're in service of readers.

If you're scared, you're probably heading in the right direction.

There might be three, 54, or 101, but here's my 21 steps (subject to change) for book writing.

Embrace the slow burn.

Diversify the art portfolio and it might set you free.

We can learn a lot from chefs and cooks about abundant mindsets.

Longhand gives you the chance to grow from the undeleted wreckage.

The only sure way to fail is by not even trying.

What to do when your writing needs momentum.

As writers, the reader doesn't need to feel the heft of the work.

What Scottie Pippen can teach you about what NOT to do in memoir.

Color coding a piece shows off its structural parts.

Permanently blaze the trail, and leave the tool behind.

Hat tips to Kevin Wilson and Bronwen Dickey.

The easy answer, don't read them, but ...

The incredible power of leaving review, a writer's duty.

Just ask the question.

The choreography of those with more status and those without it is all around us.

Maybe It's Time to Delete Our Social Media Accounts

Through re-interpretation of influences comes voice.

The perils of being a generalist.

Journal prompt: Third stone from the sun

A letter from Ernest Hemingway to Maxwell Perkins.

Their song, your style.

Constantly seeking advice robs of the best teacher of all: mistakes.

Vol. IV of Casualty of Words is here, so here's a little teaser as we start to roll out a new volume of CoWs!

Journal prompt: struggle within

And so ends Vol. III of Casualty of Words.

Time to fill the well back up!

Something changed in 2010.

The quitting question.

One is fast; one is slow; which is better?

Writing prompt: How can you turn more conversations from interstates to back roads?

Pave the road for those coming up behind you.

Give your whole self over to the thing.

Does your story suffer from the Quidditch Problem?

An extra level of anxiety from a few days away.

Right on your bookshelf, the answers are already there.

A rant about writing retreats.

Pushing the limits without injury.

To quote my friend Kevin Wilson, "It's simple. It's just not that easy."

Every word is a chance to get better.

AI shoveling coal into your furnace.

Before you google, try this.