Born To Create

One of the best and worst things ever invented was the smartphone. It can be the worst thing because of all the distractions lurking on your phone. The notifications, games, email, and social media beckon to you every second. If smartphones were designed to be addictive, they are doing a great job. Yet, it’s also the best thing because of the convenience. This is especially true when it comes to options for getting your writing done faster. If you have never tried dictating your content, you are missing out on a fun and easy way to be a lot more productive. On today’s episode, you’ll learn how to best utilize your smartphone to save time when you’re writing. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic cre

A few weeks ago, I said “no” to an amazing opportunity to help writers. This was an opportunity to partner with an entrepreneur I greatly respect, a person who has been very influential in my life. He was one of the first people to help me see that I could make a living with writing, and I’ve read his books and listened to his podcasts for years. This opportunity would have let me help more people, expand my influence, and spend more time with people I highly respect. So why did I say no? On today’s episode, Kent shares a personal story to encourage you to invest your time wisely.   *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, po

There is a common narrative among successful people that you must be a morning person in order to do anything worthwhile. A pretty good percentage of the world’s most successful people get a very early start to their day, sometimes as early as 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. Remember, though, that for every successful writer who is an early bird, there is another one who was a night owl. On today’s episode, you’ll be encouraged that it doesn’t matter whether you are an early bird or a night owl—what matters is knowing when you’re at your peak. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!     Connect with Kent:     https:/

Writing is a serious business, but that doesn’t mean you always have to be serious. A great way to write more, and have more fun doing it, is to make a game of it. This is all part of a bigger picture of not taking yourself too seriously to begin with. Life is hard enough already without all the pressure we put on ourselves. So don’t be afraid to try new things and make a game out of your writing. On today’s episode, Kent shares how he makes a game out of writing. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!     Connect with Kent:     https://DailyWriterLife.com     Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sander

As writers, we have lots of project-based items to think about. These are big items that can take weeks or months to complete. This can include things like building a website, writing a book, creating a course, building an author platform, or starting a podcast. That is why it’s easy to get paralyzed by all the things you think you should be doing. On today’s episode, you’ll be reminded that it’s important to finish the little things now, so you can reach your bigger goals.   *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!     Connect with Kent:     https://DailyWriterLife.com     Facebook: https://facebook.com

In the 1980s, a university student named Francesco Cirillo was having trouble staying focused, so he decided he would try focusing for just ten minutes. As part of his experiment, he used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. “Pomodoro” is the Italian word for “tomato.” Therefore, a simple yet effective new productivity technique was born. If you’re having trouble getting focused and using your time well, I highly recommend using the Pomodoro Technique. This is a simple focus strategy used by people all over the world, and it works super well for writing. On today’s episode, Kent shares how you can use the Pomodoro Technique to increase your efficiency. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool f

We talk about books quite a bit here on this podcast, because after all, this is a writing podcast! But what happens after you write the book? That's only half the battle, and in a sense, your journey has only just begun. I'm excited to bring you this fun conversation with a good friend of mine who's going to give us lots of great insight into marketing your book, as well as how to build a business with your book. His name is Andy Storch, and he is the author of Own Your Career, Own Your Life: Stop Drifting and Take Control of Your Future. This is honestly one of the best professional and personal development books I have read in a long time. Andy teaches you how to own your career, take responsibility, do networking the right way, and a lot of other key habits and practices that will make you successful. Andy is also a consultant, coach, speaker, and facilitator specializing in the Talent Development space. Andy is also the host of three podcasts:  The Talent Development Hot Seat, Own Your Career, Own Your

In our quest to make more time to write, we tend to focus on the big distractions. It’s easy to feel like the world is against you as you deal with events, meetings, chores, and never-ending tasks. Those items can make it difficult to squeeze in writing time, for sure. However, there is a more insidious form of distraction, and those are the little things. On this episode, Kent advises us to be aware of, and eliminate, the seemingly harmless distractions that eat away our time, energy, and focus when we are trying to write. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!     Connect with Kent:     https://Daily

A big reason writers seem to struggle is that they perceive writing as a different type of job than it really is. Many writers look at writing as a white-collar job. A white-collar job is the type of work that is professional, typically done in an office, and focuses on leadership and administration. You rarely get your hands dirty with manual labor. A blue-collar job, on the other hand, is more hands-on and focuses on trades. Plumbing, construction, retail, and foodservice are good examples of blue-collar jobs. Life gets a lot easier when you understand that professional writing is a blue-collar job. On this episode, you’ll learn that writing is less about how creative or impassioned you feel, and more about your commitment to showing up and doing the work. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creativ

In the push and pull of everyday life, each day pretty much seems the same. We go to work, spend time with our families, take care of bills and housework, watch some TV or movies, and rinse and repeat for the next day. Today probably seems like every other day, but it’s not. This day will never come around again in the history of the universe. On this episode, you’ll discover that one of the greatest indicators of your writing success is how you view today. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!     Connect with Kent:     https://DailyWriterLife.com     Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders     I

Writers are creative by nature, and we like our independence. One of the reasons we do this in the first place is to have control over our creative work. We want to express ourselves, to make a difference in the world, or maybe even make a living with our writing. Why, then, do we give up so easily when it comes to making time to write? If we say writing is important, then why do we let everyone else’s needs and priorities crowd out our writing time? On this episode, you’ll be reminded that it’s vital to take command of your time, so you can reach your writing goals.   *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and

We human beings have an amazing capacity for deception. We will go to almost any length to avoid facing the truth or giving a concrete answer to a question that makes us uncomfortable. And let’s face it: we writers are pretty good with words and language! But this gift comes at a steep price. The price is that it’s easy to dodge the question of when we are actually going to write. It’s fairly easy to deceive others. We can tell them we will write later. As long as they aren’t physically checking up on us, we can squirm our way past the question of when we’re going to write. But there is a much more dangerous kind of deception, and that is when we deceive ourselves. On today’s episode, Kent shares a powerful habit you can incorporate in 2022, so you can be less stressed about your writing and more efficient when you do it. *** Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.      Check out our

I'm honored to have my good friend, Jim Woods, on the show today to help us develop our storytelling chops. Jim is a novelist, story coach, and editor. He has worked with many authors over the years, including some whose books have been on the New York Times bestseller list. Jim is the host of the Finish Your Book Podcast. He is also the founder of Storycrafting, a coaching service that helps you craft your story. Storytelling is one of my favorite topics, so we had a lot of fun in this interview geeking out over stories. Jim walks us through several questions such as these: What's the simplest way to create a story? What separates a great story from a pretty good story?  How can you fix your story?  How can you build a solid writing habit? You can find Jim at his Storycrafting site, his personal website, or on Facebook. Make sure to also check out his Write Your Book Podcast. ***   Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing busine

We all know time travel isn’t really possible. Or is it? As appealing as it might seem to hop in a DeLorean and travel thirty years into the future, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. However, you can travel into the future in your mind. On this episode, Kent reminds us of the importance of being intentional as you move into the future. ***   Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!   Connect with Kent:  https://DailyWriterLife.com  Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders  Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders  Twitter: ht

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Mark Revisky:  “What is the balance between work, leisure, and creative endeavors? Many times my creative work is separate from those two areas.” ***   Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!   Connect with Kent:  https://DailyWriterLife.com  Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders  Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders  Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders

I'm thrilled to bring you this bonus interview with Joe Ricci. We dive into all my geeky questions about story structure and the specifics of writing for the Hallmark channel. ***   Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!   Connect with Kent:  https://DailyWriterLife.com  Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders  Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders  Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders

Christmas means many things to many people. Some people look forward to parties and social events. Some people enjoy the lights and holiday displays in stores and homes. Some people love all the holiday entertainment you can enjoy, such as Hallmark movies and music specials. And of course, everybody loves gifts, especially kids. But for people of faith, Christmas is the time of year when we remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Even though we may enjoy all the festivities, gifts, and celebration, nothing is more meaningful than remembering the hope we have in Jesus. It’s fascinating to read the accounts of Jesus’ birth from the Gospels. Those passages have been immortalized not only in church but in pop culture as well. We all remember how Linus quoted from Luke chapter 2 in the popular TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” But have you ever stopped to consider exactly how these passages were written? We think of the Bible as a sacred text, which it is, but it was also written by regular people wh

It’s tempting to overlook your wins, especially when it seems like everyone else around you is having more success. On today’s episode, you’ll learn why it’s important to celebrate your wins and stop comparing yourself to others. ***   Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow. Writing prompts Writing prompts are a fantastic creative tool for creative writing, journaling, teaching, social media posts, podcasting, and more!   Connect with Kent:  https://DailyWriterLife.com  Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders  Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders  Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders

When you hear the term "creative writing," what comes to mind? If you're like most people, you probably think of fiction-based writing like novels, screenplays, and short stories. But did you know that the concept of creative writing also applies to a wide array of nonfiction formats as well?   I'm very excited to have a guest on this episode who is here to help us improve our creative writing skills, particularly with nonfiction. His name is Christopher Johnston, and he has published more than 3,500 articles in publications including American Theatre, Christian Science Monitor, History Magazine and Scientific American.   His book, Shattering Silences: Strategies to Prevent Sexual Assault, Heal Survivors, and Bring Assailants to Justice was published in May 2018.   Christopher also wrote The Way I Saw It, the memoirs of the late Marc Wyse, co-founder of Wyse Advertising, which was published in 2013.   Christopher is currently writing a biography of industrialist Frederick C. Crawford, founding chairm

In 2019, I sat in a darkened theater with my son Ben. We were there to watch a movie I had been anticipating for two years: The Rise of Skywalker. I enjoyed the movie, but let’s be honest: it was a mess. It was clear that the filmmakers of Rise were trying to walk back on story points from the previous movie, The Last Jedi… which had already taken a hard right turn from the story in the previous film, The Force Awakens. Any way you slice it, Lucasfilm obviously did not have the story for this trilogy planned out in advance. And it showed. On this episode, I dive into the #1 writing lesson you can learn from Disney’s Star Wars trilogy. I also break down 3 specific ways to apply this to your next article, blog post, or another piece of content. ***   Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.   Check out our Daily Writing Prompts, which will help you break through creative blocks, brainst