In this Tipster, learn how unique is every writer's fight.

Yesterday, I left Chicago at 6:55 AM and flew to Dallas for about six hours.

I was home by 7:30 PM.

I wanted a few hours with an older mentor/friend who has influenced my life in countless ways.

He thought the best way for us to spend time...

In this Tipster post, we provide tips on how to create musicality in your writing--and develop your writing voice.

J.S. Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” is like chamomile tea with a splash of lemon and drizzle of honey: Smooth. Sweet. Warm. Inviting.
 
Not when I...

I grew up on the dry, windy prairies of the Dakotas.

My first pair of real shoes were a pair of cowboy boots. My first pet was a Shetland pony named "Topsy."

I am rural in the deepest parts of my soul. I am proud of that.

I attended a small private high school in South Dakota, thirteen miles from...

Over the holiday break, I finally reached 30k followers on Instagram, after hovering around 28k for months. 
 
And the followers keep following. As I write this, I’m nearing 31k.  
 
I suppose I’m experiencing a mini-viral moment.
 
And I do mean...

I wasn't a goal setter early on in my career.

I was 39 when I started my first small business.

And suddenly, I had to make plans for the year. Or I wouldn't make my house payment.

Goal setting became existential for me.

Today, I set three goals for five key areas of my life:
 

• Business;
• ...

At age 22, I received my most cherished and memorable Christmas gift: The Oxford English Dictionary (or OED) on CD-ROM.

Any nerves I had about marrying my fiancé (now husband) just a few days later were calmed by the thoughtfulness of that gift. He got me.

On numerous occasions, he heard me...

I rarely wring my hands about future catastrophic events.

I've got too many of my own troubles to think beyond dinner.

With four kids, two dogs, and college tuition for one more child still to pay, I'm focused on current reality.

But maybe I should worry more.

At least about A.I. (artificial...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Except for those schmaltzy Hallmark movies.
 
People call my bluff when I say my husband is the one who watches them. It’s true. If the World Cup isn’t on this December, a Hallmark movie will be.
 
My husband says he likes them...

You've probably heard some version of the phrase, "You don't know what you don't know."

And that's the absolute truth at the start of a writing project. For every writer.

You don't know what you don't know.

You have an idea for a project. You think the idea is fresh. But you worry that others may...

I am a fan of hypothetical scenarios, like “What if I was stranded on an island by myself…”

Without question, I’d be doomed. I’d never figure out how to make fire, spear fish, or build shelter.
 
But sometimes I think about what it would be like stranded on an...

First I got rejected, and then I got paid.

At the Big Bang of my writing life, years ago (in the heyday of magazines), I submitted an article to a publication. And it was promptly rejected.

I persisted in my writing aspirations, begging the editor for an opportunity.

He finally threw me a bone:...

I’m a decorating nut. My home has been featured in both Country Living and Flea Market Style magazine. And in Spring 2023, it will be published in a book called Lived In Style.
 
My style certainly isn’t for everyone. I am what people in the design...