Story: What is the story I am telling myself about what happened?

Somewhere along the way, we were sold the idea that writing is only a commodity.

Writing is not some elite activity reserved for the uniquely gifted. Writing is communication, self-discovery, creativity, spirituality, and self-expression. Writing is the essential tool we use to find and practice our sense of voice. Writing is a distinctly human impulse. Why on earth should you be excluded from the practice?

A narrator can notice things that a protagonist cannot. They can notice patterns—the facts, thoughts, and feelings that repeat again and again and again.

Like it or not, writing is not an optional activity in our modern lives.

Interesting questions make for interesting stories, interesting writing, and interesting lives.

Would you rather your influence be wide or deep?

To influence someone means to have a transformative effect on their lives. To be a player in their story.

Where his life experience didn’t match his old way of thinking, there were holes in his outline. His life story didn’t answer the questions the way his words did.