Discover your natural gifts and a wealth of inner material to keep you creating — Do you ever find yourself staring at a blank page or canvas or stage, wondering what to create next? Do you sometimes feel that all your old subjects and approaches have run dry and you don’t know where to turn for new ideas? In this essay I will share with…

Cultivate your mastery of these to write powerful poetry — The basic units of poetry are the word, the line, and the stanza. These are the building blocks that make a poem. By developing a strong feeling and deep understanding of each of these, you develop your mastery as a poet. So, let’s take a good look at each of…

How to heal yourself and your relationships of these toxic twins — Among the panoply of human emotions, there are two that are profoundly toxic to our well-being and the well-being of others: blame and shame. What do I mean by toxic? They act like poisons in our bodies, hearts, and minds. …

A blockbusting tool for generating new writing, plus revision steps to make it shine — Recently, I wrote an essay about my experience going to hear well-known author Pam Houston give a reading and taking a workshop with her the next day. I share Pam Houston’s unique process for generating new writing and then structuring finished books out of those raw materials. …

A simple, daily, 4-step plan for staying sane and inspired in trying times — In these extraordinary and challenging times, the arts offer much-needed solace, connection, upliftment and inspiration. Fortunately, many artists and arts organizations are making all sorts of offerings available for free online right now. …

and entice their inspiration to strike more often — Resistance to Routine Many artists resist routines. They rebel against structures and systems. They don’t want to be confined or told what to do, even by themselves. They want to live freely and spontaneously. But often this resistance is actually masking fear and robbing them of creativity and fulfillment. They fear they won’t…

The challenges and gifts of a creative life (and the costs of not answering the call) — You set out on a journey of heart, following an inner calling, a desire, a need, a longing to be creative. The destination is not certain. The results are far from guaranteed, the dangers real. But you must go. Your heart calls you. Those who ignore the call do so…

Surprisingly wise instructions from a nursery rhyme — Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream, Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is a but a dream. These familiar lyrics offer surprisingly clear, wise guidance on how to live our best lives. My husband, Dr. Don Williams, gave a talk on this some years ago. I want to…

Tools to generate and structure new work, plus what upset me — A couple of weeks ago I went to a talk and reading by much-loved author Pam Houston and then took her writing workshop the next day. I came away inspired, with her latest memoir, Deep Creek, under my arm, and new tools to use and teach, but I was also…