Many writers think they need to make a specific piece “perfect” before they can publish it. I do agree that checking your logic and removing typos makes any piece much easier to read. However, these writers trip themselves up on the “perfection” part. If a writer gets stuck on the perfection part, they stop themselves […]
I reviewed where I was on that product value team post, the one that made me draw a picture. Yes, all 1200 words of it. That’s when I laughed out loud and decided to toss that post in the trash. That would allow me to start fresh. Why? I might be able to salvage the
I’m trying to finish my product value team series. I started what I thought was the next-to-last post. I’m still writing, almost 1200 words later. (1200 words!!) I’m stuck. Clearly not with the words. I got a lot of words. But with the ideas. I’m having trouble expressing what I mean. That’s when I realized
Some of the writers who take my writing workshop tell me they have writer’s block. But they can write me long emails, so it’s not literally writer’s block. However, they are stuck on something—something that prevents them from writing something useful. So they call it writer’s block. Instead, I suspect they have project block, where
My podcast this week is an excerpt from a fantasy short story. I will finish it today, mostly because it’s due! Yes, I’m traveling. Yes, I agree, I look terrible. Too bad. I meet my deadlines. I promised you a (mostly) weekly peek into my writing. You get it. (I expect to miss next week’s
I am so pleased to announce I have a short launch video for Effective Public Speaking: How to Use Content Marketing With Stories to Show Your Value. Len Epp, from Leanpub, interviewed me. We both had a great time. While I love to speak about my books, I find doing a video like this challenging.
How do you start a piece of writing? I often start with a “story,” an anecdote about a person with a problem. Long ago, I read a project status report from Clive. It was so boring that I skimmed it—only to read this as the last sentence: “This project is at substantial risk of not
Some writers don’t believe the promise of my Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer book. They don’t believe writing can be fun. Or that writing can free your mind to think of more ideas as you write. They tell me writing is a slog, that they hate it. And they can’t wait to finish the piece.
My podcast this week is from a short story I expect to finish today. I am sure the title will change. Enjoy! The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 14, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress.
In my most recent writing workshop, one writer, Suzy, had a little trouble staying focused for an entire 15-minute writing session. (For my recommended writing process, see Writing Secret 12: Subheadings Help Guide Readers Through Your Content for how I use 15-minute timeboxes.) Suzy realized she could not always write forward. Sometimes, she had to