Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Latest Episodes:

The Writing Life Podcast: How Writers Increase Grit Oct 19, 2015

Show notes

The last time we were together we talked about one thing writers need to succeed, and if you listened, you know that thing is grit. In this episode I'm posing several ways writers can increase grit, so if you feel like a low-grit writer, listen and try some of the ideas. I believe you can grow in grit to become a more productive and successful writer. In the words of Louis Zamperini: Be hardy! Key ideas from this episode: Grow in grit by looking for other areas where you exhibit grit and funnel it into your writing Grow in grit by creating small wins Grow in grit by developing stamina through training for a race that relies on incremental progress Grow in grit by minimizing distractions to increase focus Grow in grit by arranging schedule and space to reflect prioritization of writing Grow in grit through courage, taking risks despite fear of failure or rejection Be hardy! Resources mentioned in this episode: Louis Zamperini's USC interview * * * Listen for the full six-minute podcast. You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes and Stitcher, where I'd love to have you leave a review. Use the feed with any podcast player you use. You can connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'm always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive. ______________________________ Is your writing life all it can be? Let this book act as your personal coach, to explore the writing life you already have and the writing life you wish for, and close the gap between the two. "A genial marriage of practice and theory. For writers new and seasoned. This book is a winner." —Phil Gulley, author of Front Porch Tales

The Writing Life Podcast: One Thing Every Writer Needs to Succeed Oct 12, 2015

Show notes

I help a lot of writing coach clients organize their writing lives or take a fresh look at their writing goals and projects. In the process, we often look at task management programs, time management systems, project management philosophies to find something they can implement that suits their personality. We experiment and almost always find some system that works for each person. This often helps the flow of their days and weeks so they make greater progress toward their goals. But there’s one thing writers need even more than a bullet journal or a filing system or Evernote or Asana or ToDoist or Wunderlist. One thing can make all the difference when facing a deadline, when sitting down to do the work, when sensing internal resistance to a project, when feeling stuck on something. One thing can help you succeed at your writing life more than anything else. This one thing sees you through hard times, when you’re questioning, distracted, discouraged or stuck. This one thing helps you achieve your long-range goals. You wanna know what that one thing is? It’s grit. Key ideas from this episode: Grit outweighs intelligence as an indicator of success Grit is more important than talent in achieving success The Grit Scale can rate your level of grit Will Ann's grit results surprise you? Grow in grit Funnel other areas where you exhibit grit into your writing Resources mentioned in this episode: Angela Lee Duckworth's TED Talk Take the Grit Scale Angela Duckworth and the Research on "Grit" * * * Listen for the full six-minute podcast. You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes and Stitcher, where I'd love to have you leave a review. Use the feed with any podcast player you use. You can connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'm always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

The Writing Life Podcast – How to Find and Generate Energy Oct 05, 2015

Show notes

In our last episode we talked about finding and following the energy. But what if you don’t feel the energy? What if your writing feels stale? What then? That's what Julie asked in her Facebook comment. Is it possible to find and almost generate energy? I think the answer is yes. Whether we change the environment around us or the environment of our minds, if you will, we can open up new channels for energy to affect us. Key ideas from this episode: Play, especially through Artist Dates. Learn, through podcasts, books, and articles online. Read models of great writing in your genre. Read models of great writing outside your genre. Connect with other creative people. Challenge yourself toward mastery. Take creative risks. I hope this gets you energized and in motion, so your writing life can flourish! Resources mentioned in this episode: Darren Rowse's podcast episode where he mentions his two reflective questions on energy Julie's comment on Facebook about feeling stale and wondering how to find energy Julia Cameron's Artist Dates Tweetspeak Poetry's infographics on writing in various forms: How to Write an Epic Poem, The Ballad, How to Write an Ode, How to Write a Ghazal, How to Write a Pantoum, How to Write a Haiku, How to Write a Sonnet Feedly 31 Days: a writing challenge every October, every day * * * Listen for the full podcast (7 mins). You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes, where I'd love to have you leave a review, and Stitcher. Use the feed with any podcast player you use. You can connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'm always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

The Writing Life Podcast: Find and Follow the Energy Oct 02, 2015

Show notes

[The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription. This episode is about seven minutes long.] It is so hard to write something when there's no energy for it. Now, I don't mean lack of energy because you didn't get enough sleep or because you haven’t had your second cup of coffee yet. I mean, it’s hard to write when there’s no enthusiasm for the project—when there's no excitement for it. It’s hard to write when you’re missing that feeling of eager anticipation for digging in, when you’re lacking curiosity at what the finished product will be. I’m not saying you won’t have to work, but even when a project is challenging, I hope the writer still senses energy for it. One reason some writers secure a writing coach is because they’re lacking energy and trying to figure out why their writing lives or their writing projects are feeling kind of stuck and sluggish. They’re wondering where the energy is and how to find it. As a coach, I ask questions. I listen. And one of the things I’m listening for is energy. Sometimes I can sense energy on the page, too. I’ll be reading a draft someone’s working on, and when I get to know a writer, I can tell by the tone of the piece where the energy is and where it kind of ran out. I’m trying to help them find and follow the energy. Find and Follow the Energy of a Writing Project The following are signs that a project you're working on has internal energy associated with it: Is it hard to pull yourself away from the work? Do you find yourself thinking about it while you're falling asleep coming up with more ideas to scribble on a notepad in the dark? Do you find it hard to stop talking to others about it with an excited voice? Is it easier to do something you wouldn't normally do in order to finish the work (for example, you find yourself getting up earlier because you can't wait to get going)? Do feel like more ideas are spinning off of this this one? Are you going to be sad when the work is done, even though you’re excited and proud of the finished product? Find and Follow the Energy in Response to Your Writing Here are a few signs that your writing is producing energetic responses from others: Did your editor seem thrilled, even if you had to go back and make some changes? Were people reacting more on social media through likes, shares, and interactions? Did people contact you by email to talk with you more about it? This energy is harder to gauge because we can’t climb inside someone’s mind to see or feel their energy, but these are a few indicators you may have found a sweet spot for your writing life. Consider Your Writing Goals Take a minute to think through and list your goals, short-term or long-term, big or small: Maybe you want to submit to a literary journal an essay you recently wrote. Maybe you want to finish up a poem you’ve been working on for a long time. Maybe you want to pitch an article to a business magazine. Maybe you want to start a blog, or start your blog back up if you have one and it's been dormant. Maybe you want to launch a big project like a book, or you want to join November's NaNoWriMo. Now, what is behind those goals? Are they obligatory in some way? Do you think it’s “the right next step” for a writer at your stage? Or did you gravitate to them because of the energy? Find and follow the energy. Because if we follow that energy, we’re on our way to a satisfying writing life. Would you tell me a little about what energizes you—and what drains you—here in the comments? You can also visit my Facebook page to join the conversation there. Related resource:

Bless, Address, or Press Sep 21, 2015

Show notes

[The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription. Also, this episode is about six minutes long.] The last couple of podcast episodes have focused how to affirm the writer in your life who has asked for input—and how to err on the side of encouragement. As a continuation of this discussion, I’d like to share with you an idea for how you can ask for input from individuals or groups. First, decide what level of input you truly want. Then ask the person or group to bless your piece, assess your piece, or press your piece. This bless, assess, or press idea originates with the National Writing Project for teachers, which I heard about from my friend Kris. Here's the basic idea. Bless If you want the reader to bless your work, you want encouragement for what is working, but not necessarily feedback on what’s not working. You ask for "bless" when you truly want your reviewer to only affirm, affirm, affirm. Assess When you ask the person to assess your work, you ask for assess one specific problem or concern. Focus in on something you’re unsure about—something that an outside reader’s response would help you sort out. Be specific. For example, should this person critique the organization or tone of your piece? Does the idea make sense or need more evidence to support what you’re saying, or more examples to be better understood? Press When you ask for someone to press, you want the reviewer or editor to press into your work at all levels, offering constructive criticism to help the project improve in any way, from idea and organizational levels down to later concerns such as grammar and punctuation. Again, when someone presses your work, he can bless your work, as well as assess specific concerns you might throw out. If you don’t ask for a specific level, you might be hoping for someone to assess your work, giving high-level organizational input, only to see that person press your work, offering a sea of red ink focused on placement of commas and semicolons. Writer: Thank the Reviewer When you receive the reviewer’s input, remember this person has taken time to read and respond and provide the input you requested. Someone is investing in your writing life—someone believes in you. Thank them. Maybe take them out to lunch! You can more easily ask for follow-up input on a revision when you have professional arrangements that include more give and take—for example, this kind of second-round review process could be built into a class, a writing group’s workshop process, a writing partnership, or a writing coach and client relationship. Reviewer: Ask the Writer What Level Input to Provide You can also use these three levels if you’ve been asked to give input. Confirm with the writer, “Do you want me to bless, assess, or press your piece?” If the writer has never heard of these terms, you can introduce the ideas, providing a common language and understanding. Do your best to stick with that level of feedback, remembering that good writing requires a level of risk—writers are putting themselves out there when they produce something and ask for input. So if you’re reviewing at the address or press level, remember to bless them, too. Like I’ve said before, show them where they shine. Related resource: NWP Writing and Technology: A Professional Writing Retreat

Offering Writing Input with the 6 to 1 Ratio (and Clicker Training for Writers) Sep 15, 2015

Show notes

[The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription. Also, this episode is about 6 minutes long.] In the last episode, I encouraged anyone who is in a position read and respond to a writer’s work to affirm, affirm, affirm what’s working. I’m not talking about a formal reviewer online or at a newspaper who is reviewing a book. I’m thinking of someone in a writing group who's workshopping a short story or a someone giving a friend feedback about a poem. If you’re in that kind of situation—helping steer someone and encourage their growth as a writer—I recommended you err in the direction of honest affirmation. Honest affirmation is kind of like clicker training for writers. It works especially well when you have the luxury of taking a long-range view, trusting that over time, the writer will self-correct the more confident he grows from knowing what he does well. Sometimes, though, we don’t get that much time and have to point out a few things that would ideally be changed, eliminated, tweaked or rearranged to improve a writing project. The next best thing to rewarding the good with positive input and ignoring what’s not working is to put into place a 6 to 1 ratio of positive vs. negative feedback. Related resources: Positive Reinforcement: Reward What Works (Ignore the Rest) The Writing Life Podcast - Affirm, Affirm, Affirm Bethany Rohde's comment about ideally offering a balance of both critique and affirmation Can You Cope with Criticism at Work? What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage * * * Listen for the full podcast (6:22). You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes and Stitcher. You can also connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'm always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.

The Writing Life Podcast – Affirm, Affirm, Affirm Sep 08, 2015

Show notes

[The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription] As a coach, editor, workshop leader, and writing instructor, I’ve given a lot of feedback to writers at all levels. For several years I taught composition and creative writing to high school students. Working with students reminded me to deal tenderly with developing writers. Encourage them. Gently help them grow. Affirm in as many ways as possible. Because it’s so easy as a teacher to focus on correction and minimize affirmation but I learned I got far better results when I showed them what worked well in any given project. If I focused too much on what needed revision, they grew discouraged. So I tried to affirm, affirm, affirm. I’ve also worked with adult writers for over 20 years, giving input on their work, and I have come to realize adults can be as tender as teens. Writers producing any kind of writing—from a poem or personal narrative to a comedy sketch or brochure—they all need affirmation. Writers at every stage and every age need tons of affirmation to build confidence that they’re on the right track. Writers do need to develop thick skin to withstand the red pen and rejections we’ll get along this writing journey, and we must not mislead or lie about someone’s work; however, along the way, writers need to know what aspect of their writing is going well and what their strengths are. We can be a voice of health and life and energy to another writer. * * * Listen for the full podcast (4:22). You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes and Stitcher. You can also connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'm always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive. https://twitter.com/annkroeker/status/641409382803185664

The Writing Life Podcast – Non-Writing Writing Tasks Aug 30, 2015

Show notes

[The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription] A heads up: At over 13 minutes, this episode is significantly longer than my usual 3-6 minute podcast episodes. You sit down to write only to realize you've got a long list of tasks necessary to the work of writing, but after you check them off your list, you haven’t the word count to show for it. Let’s call these: “Non-writing Writing Tasks.” If you’ve never really thought about this category of tasks or planned for them, you’ve probably felt frustrated. Even though this kind of work is a support or extension of our writing, we can resent it or feel like we’re wasting valuable time. But if we’re going to be the least bit serious about our writing, we’re going to have to do some non-writing, writing tasks. It’s part of the work. It’s actually good news: You’re a writer—you have non-writing tasks to do associated with your projects and goals and deadlines! How to approach non-writing writing tasks: Acknowledge them Accept them Record them Attack them Actually write If you wonder what are some of your non-writing writing tasks, I offer ideas. In fact, one reason this episode got long is because I review a list of non-writing writing tasks for you to listen through and decide which belong on your own master to-do list. It’s a long list. Grab a pen and paper. Some of the resources mentioned in this podcast: 5 Non-Writing Tasks Writers Need to Master 5 Strategies for Writers to Manage Non-Writing Tasks Todoist.com for creating a master list Bullet Journal You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes and Stitcher. * * *

#14: Progress, Not Perfection Aug 05, 2015

Show notes

[Please listen for the full message. The following is only a glimpse of the topic … not a transcription] It’s about progress, not perfection. A friend of mine said that to me and I thought, wow, what a great concept for the writing life. I found out it’s a phrase used in 12 step programs, Read More... The original version of this article can be found here: The Writing Life Podcast – Progress, Not Perfection

The Writing Life Podcast - Episode 13: Multi-Sensory Writing Jul 16, 2015

Show notes

In this short podcast, I encourage writers to introduce at least three senses into their writing, whether they are working on fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Don't rely completely on the way things look. There's also the way things sound, smell, taste and feel. Pick three. Bring your writing to life. One, two, three ... and you're done. [If you received this as an email, please click over to the website to listen.] The workshop leader I mentioned referenced Flannery O'Connor, paraphrasing a section of "The Nature and Aim of Fiction" from Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose: A lady who writes, and whom I admire very much, wrote me that she had learned from Flaubert that it takes at least three activated sensuous strokes to make an object real; and she believes that this is connected with our having five senses. If you're deprived of any of them, you're in a bad way, but if you're deprived of more than two at once, you almost aren't present. (Emphasis mine.) For a scene to really come alive, include at least three senses. * * * If haven’t already subscribed to my blog’s RSS feed, submit your email via this subscription form. Then, as I publish new website content such as an article, story, or podcast, it’ll arrive in your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe to get updates from AnnKroeker.com * indicates required Email Address * First Name

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