arrange • compose • conduct
When I started writing daily, it would have been easy to get in the habit of labeling each post with a few content tags. Even six months, in, it wouldn’t have taken me long to go back and amend the 180ish posts to more easily find topic-based essays. Now I’ve […]
Vacations take vigilance. I’m writing this on May 28, patiently waiting for Final Cut X to render a video for the Aces Concert on May 30. That, of course, is long in the past. To really take a break from your chosen work is harder and harder. Double it if […]
Don’t write it down until it’s the same three times. I learned this rule from others, especially Alice Parker, who has written with her usual clarity about her process in her books. As I’m writing, I’m constantly singing (shakily) and playing (barely passably) whatever I’m working on. And until it […]
In times of upheaval, I lean on touchstones–works of art that have shaped me and the continue to be sources of inspiration, influence, and solace. It might be rereading a favorite novel, a cherished poem, a movie, or (especially often) a favorite album with a good pair of headphones. How […]
I used to think linearly in my writing–work on one project until it’s done, and then start the next one. More recently, I’ve found two big benefits from having multiple current projects at once. First, it enables me to stay more consistently creative. Knowing that I have several things to […]
For a lot of skills, you get faster as you level up. What used to take you six hours takes you three. What took you an hour takes a couple of minutes. If you are charging an hourly rate, this can be a problem. And even if you don’t, it’s […]
If it’s written, especially on paper, it’s real. I was reminded that tonight when my kids were doing their night-time checklist. The sign reads “lunch boxes on counter” – and no matter how many times I remind them, “Dining table, not counter,” they end up on the kitchen counter. When […]
I’m working on a little behind-the-scenes housekeeping of my website in spare moments, in anticipation of a big milestone coming up. As I’ve looked back at some of my writing from across the years, the message I’m taking away is this: No one has read it all. That might sound […]