Welcome to the archive of wayward writings, mostly curated from my newsletter.

I originally wrote the following post in late 2014/early 2015 for my old blog, Roadside Fires. Or was it Lifting Weights at Midnight? So much in my life has changed, it's practically unrecognizable except for the running theme against perfectionism and toward taking risks for the sake of listening to our deepest needs and instincts to be great in the process of being bad.

As writers, we have the power to change the thoughts of our readers. It's important to not make a mess of things while we're in there.

A slideshow to showcase how to find what should stay and what should be cut from our story.

Had he just been a bit more kind, it wouldn't have taken me have a lifetime to truly absorb, appreciate, and implement his feedback. I'll be honest: there are still parts of storytelling that hold me up when it comes to my own writing: why is that necessary, who cares about my tragedy, who would want to hear me whine? These echoes of doubt haven't come from writing instructors, but from those characters in the story of my life who have the most to lose from me telling my s

Everyone can write — I'm even in a college textbook alongside Michelle Obama and Roxane Gay called Everyone's an Author (3rd Edition with...

At its best, a stinker gives you good information on how to make your message heard. Maybe you need more precise language; perhaps you allowed yourself to go on a sidequest in your own story and lost the thread (Psst, I'm teaching a workshop on how to avoid this and still have fun!); or maybe you need to find your target audience. On my old desk at Adventure Cycling, I had a post-it note that said, "Try being brave maybe." To be brave means to risk the stinkers, to make somet

Are You Hearing Your Voice or the Voice You've Been Trained to Use? The best feedback I received from a participant at last year's Pedal...

As fellow writers, I'm sure you each understand the bliss in getting into the flow, and agony of getting flushed from it by stress, distractions, or a secret third thing. But I wouldn't be a successful writer and editor if I didn't find workarounds. One of the reasons I host my retreats in the most beautiful landscapes I know is because it can help break through those blockages. Movement and creativity go hand-in-hand for me and for many others, and nature can be our greatest

Three simple considerations for stronger storytelling, plus some melted plastic

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