“For each letter received from a creditor, write fifty lines on an extraterrestrial subject and you will be saved.” – Charles Baudelaire, Born Apr. 9, 1821. Practical advice there – shockingly from a POET, no less. Poetry being the most useless kind of writing. But even in Baudelaire’s time, he knew that if you’re going […]
If You Want to Get Paid to Write, Write Where the Money Is Read More »
“If you’re too big to fit into fashion, then you just have to do your own fashion.” – Vivienne Westwood, Born Apr. 8, 1941. When I first went freelance and was trying to figure out this whole guruhood-as-a-business-model thing, I had a worry. What is going to be my “thing”? What is going to be
“Each of us is meant to have a character all our own, to be what no other can exactly be, and do what no other can exactly do.” – William Ellery Channing, Born Apr. 7, 1780. This is good advice in general, but I would add that if you can manage to be interesting, and
The “U” in USP Stands for “yoU” Read More »
“You don’t know what people are looking for. What you know is what you feel like might be missing.” – Pharrell Williams, Born Apr. 5, 1973. Here is one that people always struggle with. Folks like us know we want to gather an audience, but we don’t know what will attract them, and what will
The Secret of Creating Unique Material for Products, Content, Whatever, Etc… Read More »
“An artist never works under ideal conditions. If they existed, his work wouldn’t exist, for the artist doesn’t live in a vacuum. Some sort of pressure must exist. The artist exists because the world is not perfect. Art would be useless if the world were perfect, as man wouldn’t look for harmony but would simply
Emergent Challenges Aren’t Obstacles, But Opportunities to Make Better Work Read More »
“One forges one’s style on the terrible anvil of daily deadlines.” – Emile Zola, Born Apr. 2, 1840. What’s it take to be a good writer? Write every day. What’s it take to build a business? Make offers every day. What’s it take to build an audience? Add new followers every day. What’s it take
Consistent And Decent Always Outperforms Sporadic Excellence Read More »
“When people approach me about my films it is usually to tell me how much they hate them.” – Michael Winterbottom, Born Mar. 29, 1961. Any time you create anything, there are some people who seem to just want to tear it down because it exists. Because you bothered to try. I’m talking about haters.
Worried About Your Work? Here’s Whose Opinions Really Matter… Read More »
“If there be anything that can be called genius, it consists chiefly in ability to give that attention to a subject which keeps it steadily in the mind, till we have surveyed it accurately on all sides.” – Robert Quillen, Born Mar. 25, 1887. If you look at anything long enough, you’re going to notice
The Secret of Acquiring (And Portraying) Mastery Read More »
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris, Born Mar. 24, 1834. I want to talk about this in three ways. First…. While you can eventually apply that to your house, let’s at least start with your work space, wherever that may
Productivity is Dictated by Where You Work, and How You Practice Read More »
“Movie directors, or should I say people who create things, are very greedy and they can never be satisfied… That’s why they can keep on working. I’ve been able to work for so long because I think next time, I’ll make something good.” – Akira Kurosawa, Born Mar. 23, 1910. Today, let’s talk about defeat.
The Fear of Failure Feeds Your Forge – FEEL it, then USE it… Read More »
