I know it’s not technically summer, but graduations happened, and the academic year ended, so it’s summer in my world. You may recall that summer is my favorite season. I love the sun, water, the smell of coconut and suntan oil, the slower pace of life… everything. There isn’t much about summer that I don’t love. 5 Things I’ll Need to … [Read more...]
My Favorite Books of April
April was a strong reading month for me. I’m working hard to stay up-to-date with my reading to reach my 2023 challenge to read 200 books. So far, it seems I’m staying pretty caught up. I’ll be thrilled if I hit the mid-year mark on schedule. My Favorite Books of April 2023 I read 16 books in April. Of those, I gave three nonfiction and … [Read more...]
How to Write More Without Spending More Time Writing
Sometimes you have a heavy writing load and need to crank out a lot of copy. This idea is especially true for freelance writers. It’s often feast or famine in freelancing, and you’re afraid to tell anyone “no” when good assignments are available. The next thing you know, you’ve taken a lot of work, and you’re slammed and trying to figure out how to … [Read more...]
Using Guest Posts to Build Your Credibility
I was a journalist for years. I had bylines on Page 1 and throughout the paper and wrote thousands of news stories. But the most recognition I’ve ever felt for my writing was when a tweet I posted was on a local billboard. An outdoor marketing company used to post tweets about local things on their billboard on one of the major highways where I … [Read more...]
Content Buckets: The Smartest Writing Hack I Know
I’ve always had more ideas than time. As a professional journalist, I pitched multiple stories for every deadline. As a professor, I consistently tweak classes or change assignments because of some big idea. As a writer, I never lack content topics. For me, ideas just come easily. I’m naturally curious and read a ton, both of which help keep … [Read more...]
My Favorite Book of March
I'm ahead, then as quickly as a blink, I'm behind. That's how my 2023 reading challenge is going so far. March wasn’t a great reading month. I only read 10 books. Of those, I gave a single book a perfect grade. My Favorite Book of March 2023 Of the 10 books I read in March, I gave one fiction book a perfect grade. Read my … [Read more...]
Why Sunday is My Favorite Day of the Week
I used to get the “Sunday Scaries.” You know the feeling when you spend most of your Sunday dreading the work week ahead? Now Sunday is my favorite day of the week. Yes, I changed jobs, so loving what I do AND where I do it certainly helped eliminate that Sunday foreboding. But perhaps an even bigger change was to decide to focus my … [Read more...]