Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Somewhere along the way, you stopped writing.  Life got in the way.  You lost your confidence. You ran out of time. You ran out of ideas. You hit a huge block you can't get past. Maybe you thought writing belonged to younger-you, when the stakes were lower and you took more risks. For one reason or another, the words stopped flowing. You set aside your pen. You stopped calling yourself a writer. You scribble in a journal now and then, but nothing beyond that. This happens. One day, you’re an unstoppable force—a creativity marvel, spinning out stories like a professional word-weaver. The next, you’re staring at a blank page, feeling the weight of fear, doubt, and a lack of motivation. You face external hurdles. It doesn’t help that the world seems to conspire against you. Every interruption, every demand on your time, feels like you're yanked away from your true calling. You wonder if that original spark is gone for good, snuffed out. I’ve been there. When my dad needed loads of care

Is Substack the best platform for writers? Is it right for you? In this interview, publishing expert Jane Friedman explores Substack's social media-like features, blogging-like functionality, podcast-host possibilities...and its implications for writers. From using Substack "Notes" to community cross-promotion, it's an ecosystem worth understanding. Substack is more than just newsletters—it's a blog, social media, podcast host, and email marketing tool all-in-one platform. Perfect for beginners, but should we trust it with all of our content? Learn the pros and cons of Substack on our latest episode of the "Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach" podcast after skimming the show notes and summary below. But first... Meet Jane Friedman: Jane Friedman has 25 years of experience in book publishing, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers. She’s the co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet, a paid newsletter about the book publishing industry with over 2,500 subscribers, and has prev

“A writer — and, I believe, generally all persons — must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource," writer Jorge Luis Borges said in an interview, when asked about his blindness. "All things have been given to us for a purpose," he continued, "and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.”1 You may be familiar with Kate Bowler’s book Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, and you might think it would push back against the wording of this sentiment. Everything That Happens Can Shape Your Writing But I take the quote’s overall message to mean we can work with whatever happens, good or bad. In fact, that’s kind of what Kate Bowler has done. Her misfortunes shaped her art. This summer brought our family celebrations, gatherings, challenges, and losses. And they came so fast, I couldn’t find time to

“The best advice I can give you to help you grow as a writer is to experience life.” We came to hear about queries and proposals. We wanted to learn how this speaker organized submissions and kept track of contact information. But at this breakout session at this writers’ conference, she insisted: “I know you think your writing career is all about composing articles and books, but you have to be able to say something. Both fiction and nonfiction writers need material, so get out there and live life—take risks!” The Power of Risks To illustrate, she shared her own story about trying to waterski for the first time as an adult. Despite feeling intimidated, she took the plunge. The experience provided her with vivid sensations and emotions to write about, enriching her work with concrete details. Her story prompted me to recall my own adventure. Earlier that same summer, I'd been invited to waterski, as well. Although I ended up with a spectacular wipeout, the memory of that risky experience sta

When I was a child just beginning to speak, my parents drove late into the evening to the rural property they bought. As they drove up the gravel driveway, the sky spread out above us with stars glittering like a million diamonds spread out on a jeweler’s vast black velvet display. Across the fields, a million lightning bugs hovered in the tall grass, their gleaming bodies flickering on and off. I pointed at the sky. “’Tars!” Then I pointed at the field. “Baby ’tars!” Perhaps I was destined to become a poet from early on, but my confidence in landing on that perfect metaphor virtually disappeared over the years. As a young adult, when I was writing books and blog posts, I rarely integrated metaphors into my writing, and it showed. My work was straightforward. Plainspoken.  While there’s nothing wrong with clear writing—in fact, that’s the foundation of nonfiction according to Ayn Rand (clarity first, then jazziness, she says1)—it lacked punch and pizzazz. My writing didn’t lift off the page

I made a last-minute decision heading to the most recent writer's conference I attended. I’d planned to take my classy, professional, sleek gray backpack that I’d purchased to replace the original purple one I mentioned in an earlier episode.  As I loaded it, I realized that to stay fortified, I needed to carry snacks and lunch each day—maybe even dinner—and it wouldn’t all squeeze into the professional-looking slim gray bag. I needed a bigger backpack. I dug around in my closet and found an older, different, ridiculously large purple backpack that I use for long trips.  It wasn’t professional-looking at all, but my lunches would fit just right, so I showed up at this much anticipated writing festival with a purple backpack after all, and podcast listeners attending the conference would stop me.  They’d heard the episode about planning and packing for a writing event. They’d shout, “The purple backpack!” and I’d say, “You’re a listener!” and we’d have a great time talking about writing.  So that’

Are you getting ready to attend a writers’ conference? Guess what? So am I! And I want to make the most of my time there, so let’s think through what will help with that. You’re likely going for at least two reasons: to learn and to connect. You might also be going to pitch your project. Let’s prep, plan, and pack to get the most out of this upcoming event, so you’re even better prepared to learn, connect, and pitch. And given that I work with a lot of published authors and speakers, it’s possible you’re one of the presenters. One day I might share detailed speaker recommendations, but for now I did weave in a few suggestions to make your faculty conference experience a little easier, too. Event Binder First, I should mention the Event Binder. This idea originated with Kathi Lipp on an episode of Writing at the Red House. Years ago I heard her describe what she includes in her “dossier,” as she calls it, and I’ve adopted and adapted the list to make it my own. I load it up with all travel in

Attending my first writers’ conference proved to be life-changing—or at least career-changing. In the years since, I’ve attended a wide range of writing events, and each one has in some way substantially contributed to my career. Some deepened my knowledge, others expanded my professional network—most did both. I can’t imagine where I’d be without them. Could a writers’ conference be a life-changing/knowledge-deepening/network-expanding opportunity in your future, even this year? If yes, how do you determine the right conference for you? This post is the first of a short series on how to get the most out of your next (or first!) writers’ conference, starting with how to choose your next (or first!) writers’ conference.  The Gifts of a Writers' Conference In the early days of my writing career, I explored freelance writing. Thanks to a mentor, I learned how to pitch myself as a writer for companies looking to outsource things like company newsletters and I gained a few core clients. That l

I stared at a blank screen. Why did I ever think I could pull this off? Until that moment, I’d only written short projects. Articles, essays, poems.  As I sat staring at the screen, questioning myself in about every way possible, I was supposed to be writing my first book—a manuscript of over 50,000 words. Overwhelmed, I sat at the keyboard, frozen. Sound familiar? Have you felt inspired to write a book you believe will truly help people—even transform them—but you’re not sure you have what it takes?  Well, once upon a time, this multi-published writing coach was in the exact same place. I was staring at the screen, inspired to write a book, but doubting myself: Do I have what it takes to write a book? Could I Write Something as Big as a Book? How does an essayist-poet-freelancer embark on the massive task of completing a 55,000-word manuscript? That question felt unanswerable and I felt inadequate. This prose-freezing self-doubt was a huge problem, however, because I’d signed a

"Never go to bed until you have a story to tell," says Kevin Lynch, Creative Director at Oatly. I heard him interviewed on a podcast and stopped jogging to write down what he said about that daily story: It could be a deep thing that you learned, it could be a movie that you saw, it could be a way you took home, it could be a conversation that you had…it could be anything.”1 Indeed, we can live a “storied life” without a celebrity-level lifestyle full of famous people and fabulous soirees. We’re living “story-worthy” moments each day—we simply need to notice them…and capture them. Every day we have understated interactions and flashes of insight that create meaning. In fact, simpler, subtler, more relatable stories can captivate readers far better than wild escapades that don’t show any change. These daily stories serve as fodder for our work, weaving into what we write as anecdotes, illustrations. Sometimes they serve as the narrative spine of a full-length project. Thus, the more st

When I was in college, practicing in public meant sitting under an oak tree on campus, flipping open my spiral-bound notebook, and scratching out a poem as students walked the path beside me.  Creative writing classes gave me another way to practice in public, when my poems were workshopped by my peers. As a young adult building a freelance writing career, I submitted my work to literary journals and magazines—that was about the only way I could practice in public. Those low-tech days limited how and where we could share our words.  Today, the world has exploded with numerous ways to practice in public—I can share my work with you using tools I couldn’t have dreamed of when I sat under that oak tree on campus. Some of my content goes out through my coaching newsletter, my Substack newsletter called Story Hatchery, social media, and my website.  Tools to Practice in Public At the click of a button, from the palms of our hands, we can instantly share our work with the world using: websites

Dear Writer, It’s easy to freeze up when we’re writing for the faceless masses or the random reader who happens upon our words. What do we say to all those people? How can we speak with heart to a total stranger? Next thing you know, we second-guess our ideas, our prose, our very selves. We fade to beige without saying what we really think, without being specific, without our signature wit and whimsy.  What would that random person who doesn’t even know me think if I crack a joke? We lose our creativity, our passion, our joy. We freeze. We get stuck.  We’re afraid to stand out, so we play it safe. We write dull, ordinary prose that could be penned by anyone at all, even ChatGPT. Unlock Your Creative Voice: Write a Letter to Your Reader One way to unlock creativity is to write a letter—a letter to your reader. And not just any nameless, faceless reader but a specific person you actually know. Dear Anthony… Dear Paula… Dear Lissa… When you think of the kind of person yo

Let’s look at the pros and cons of using writing prompts to decide if we’re fostering creativity or frittering away time. I remember the pleasure of writing about ladybugs for my high school freshman English class based on the prompt written on the board.1 And then there was the book I found a year or so at the library: Write to Discover Yourself. The author suggested we “portrait” the important people in our lives.2 I wrote pages and pages about my dad based on that prompt. Prompts continued to play a big role in my creative writing journey when college professors supplied our class with poetry prompts. Those prompts did exactly what they were designed for: they sparked creativity, teased out long-buried memories, and helped me spin creative storylines I would never have imagined on my own. Prompts have so effectively opened me up, I decided to gather a collection for others to use called 52 Creative Writing Prompts, to help get pens moving and ideas flowing.  Do Prompts Distract or De

Children gaze at a vast blank wall and see opportunity—inspired, they grab a permanent marker and scrawl across the surface in loopy circles and jaggedy lines without hesitation.  Why, then, do we adults stare at the blank page—not unlike a blank wall—and freeze up? Instead of scribbling out ideas that fill the white screen, we writers often come up empty, the blank page producing a blank mind. We get too far ahead of ourselves, thinking about readers before we’ve written a single word, afraid of what they’ll think. Or we second-guess our ideas or skills. We worry about that and more, and next thing you know…we stop writing and stare at that blinding white abyss, paralyzed. The blank page need not intimidate or cripple us. Why? Because with the ideas below, you can fill that great expanse with words so that it’s never really blank when you open it. Try one of them the next time you open a document and feel fear trickling down to your fingertips. I hope they’ll free you up long before you freeze an

When I was visiting my grandmother one summer afternoon, she pulled out a letter I sent her. "This is good," she said. "Really?" She pointed at the paragraphs and said the ideas were well organized, my writing flowed well, and I included lots of details. "It was interesting to read," she said. Then she looked up at me and smiled. "Maybe we have another writer in the family?” Did I gasp? Her words certainly sent a jolt through me. Did she know how badly I wanted to write? Could she have known how much I yearned to be a writer? Surely the thought of me as a writer seemed far-fetched to her. After all, my mother was a seasoned editor and columnist, endowed with innate writing talents—Grandma saw her earn accolades in college and as a career journalist. My father was an editor at a prominent metropolitan newspaper, shaping stories, crafting headlines, and curating front-page content. Even my brother, a skilled wordsmith, showed promise as a creative writer, event

Just as musicians credit their musical influences, writers, too, have literary inspirations who help them discover and shape their unique voice. At a White House event for poets in 2011, Billy Collins said to students about finding your voice: You’re searching for the poets who make you jealous...you're looking to get influenced by people who make you furiously jealous…And then copy them.1 Billy himself was influenced by the work of Wallace Stevens—I suppose he would say he was furiously jealous of him. Anne Lamott's Seemingly Effortless Prose Author Shauna Niequist openly mentions the influence of Anne Lamott on her work. The first time I read Anne Lamott, I thought, “Is this allowed? People can write like this and it gets published?” I laughed at her sometimes-crass and often sarcastic style. She opened the door to a whole new way of writing, with honesty and sass. While hers was not exactly my style, I admired the conversational tone—the seemingly stream-of-consciousness flow of idea

On a sunny spring day, I sat with seven homeschoolers on a stretch of grass for a creative writing session. The older kids started to fidget before we even started. "What are we doing out here?" "We’re going to see what’s around us." A fifth grader pointed with his pen. "I see sky, clouds, cars, building. Done." The others laughed. "We’re going to be quiet and listen, too," I added. "I hear birds. Done." More chuckles. "Before we write," I began, "Let’s look at the sky. What color is it?" Someone said blue. "What kind of blue? There are so many blues. Is it dark blue like these navy pants? Or is it blue like turquoise? Or is it the kind of blue you want to swim in? Or the color of your mom’s eyes?" They looked up. "Write down phrases that describe this particular blue at this particular moment of this particular day. Compare it to other things that are blue." They studied the sky, and one by one, each started writing. "What else do you see—you mentioned clouds. What kind of

Jennifer Dukes Lee ​invites you to transform into a better writer​ through “beautifully ruthless self-discovery.” It starts in the pages of your journal. In a recent interview, she delves into the therapeutic benefits of daily gratitude journaling and its potential to rewire our brains. By writing down things we’re grateful for, our minds seek out the positive. Jennifer recommends guided journals when we're stymied by writer's block. The blank page of a traditional journal can overwhelm us. What should we say? Where should we start? Guided journals aren't blank pages—they provide prompts and structure when you’re stuck or unsure of what to write. She stresses that journaling serves as a valuable tool for self-discovery and creative expression. When you use journaling to explore your experiences, memories, and struggles, you can weave your discoveries into your writing. This deep dive into the human condition adds depth and authenticity to all our writing: poetry, creative nonfiction, online wri

During the early years of parenthood, I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. Why can't I have my own dedicated writing space? Why can't I have blocks of uninterrupted time? The overwhelming demands of being a stay-at-home mom almost shut down my creativity. In time, thank heavens, I stopped griping and started looking for solutions. My idea? Instead of waiting for the perfect conditions, I snatched time. No Time to Write? Snatch Every Opportunity I wrote when the kids were napping. I wrote late at night. I wrote when they were engrossed in a movie. I squeezed writing into the tiny openings in my days. Sometimes I only had five minutes, but I wrote. By making the most of a few free moments here and there, I kept my writing identity alive. Contain the Creativity This spontaneous approach made for a messy writing life, however. I left a trail of pens throughout the house. I scratched fleeting phrases onto the backs of envelopes. I scribbled a line of poetry onto a

Nearly everyone who writes personal stories in any form has agonized over how much to share. Will writing about an issue from childhood break Mom's heart? Should I change the name of a high school teacher? The next-door neighbor? The dog? The children? Are the hyacinths blooming by the mailbox worth mentioning? We write. We worry. Is this naval gazing or vulnerability? Will people feel I'm airing the dirty laundry or sharing my own struggles so others might find healing? https://youtu.be/bzd7a8J4UXc Stories Bring YOU into Your Writing But...stories! Goodness, stories set your projects apart from all other essays, articles, and books, because only you had that encounter, that experience, that struggle, that transformation. When you make a claim and support it with your own life story, no one else could have written that piece. Stories create connection between reader and writer. Stories convey universal truths through specific situations. You don't have to share y