And what to do instead — Brainstorming is for amateurs. It’s for people who don’t take writing seriously. It’s for the kind of people who’d go barefoot into a war zone with bedhead, morning breath, and nothing but their underwear. They’d come under artillery fire and start thinking “Wow! What’s up with all these fireworks? It’s…

On experiencing aha-moments — Once upon a time, over two thousand years ago, well before they had tomato sauce in Italy, there was this dude who ran around naked through the streets of a Sicilian town named Syracuse. While he ran with his soppressata frantically wiggling through the fresh air like a breakdancing worm…

They come from the shouting class — Most people who go to a public restroom just go there for a quick bladder or bowel blast-off. But a few, while sitting on the porcelain throne, take out a Sharpie and begin to scrawl on the walls. And although it’s only a tiny minority of bathroom visitors who do…

5 reasons your stories are met with silence — “Hello? Anyone out there??? Geez… What’s up with people?! Heeeeellloooo???” You put all this effort into writing this incredible blog post, clicked submit on your favorite blogging platform, and now it’s been several days and not even crickets cared to leave a comment. “Chirp chirp,” that’s all you ask for…

On playing it too safe — Failure stinks. It stinks when your submission is rejected. It stinks when your latest blog post bombs. It stinks when readers hate you and every single word you wrote. But you know what? Never failing stinks even more. Because if you never fail, you’re playing it too safe. That’s what…

Reasons to both embrace and reject it — Perfectionism is a superpower. But it’s not a superpower like being able to fly, telekinesis, or shooting laser beams out of your eyes. It’s more like having the ability to pass through some walls. Sure, it’s amazing when you gallop towards a wall at full speed and zip through it…

Six simple steps to follow — If we writers were cooks, this is how we would prepare a meal: Stand in our empty kitchen with its empty fridge and empty pantry. Try to cook. Get frustrated after 20 minutes because we’re unable to conjure a meal out of thin air. Complain about suffering from chef’s block. …

Novelty trumps good writing — Here’s something you’ve never read before: Booble bobble bimpam foo. And here’s another thing that is probably just as new to you, but which should make a bit more sense: Will, will Will will Will Will’s will? Confused? Well, that’s a grammatically correct English sentence. Try to parse it. Okay…

Share that trivial insight! — As a writer, there’s one thing that keeps happening to me all the time. First, I read about an idea that’s new to me, something I’ve never heard before, something truly novel, something that makes me look at the world in an entirely new way as if someone had ripped…