Novelist Notions: Writing, Creativity, and Personal Growth

How Reclaiming My Reading Habit Enriched My Words and My Well-being Introduction I do a lot of writing, including articles such as this one where I talk about writing, books, and how those things interact to create a positive effect on my mental health. Though it is widely talked about in the writing community, I still think the relationship between reading and writing is underrated, underappreciated, and underutilized. In a world dominated by screens and instantaneous connection, the genuine cozy feeling of sitting back in a comfortable chair and sinking your mind into a well-crafted novel or a thought-provoking essay feels like a lost art. Yet, as I’ve recently rediscovered, renewing the long-lost love of reading to which we writers are often predisposed can spark some profound changes not just in our writing but also our thinking and our approach to life’s nuances.  In today’s installment, I’ll take you through the multifaceted importance of reading. I’ll place a particular focu...

Balancing Privacy and Visibility in the Digital Age For many writers—including this one—the act of writing is as much an intimate and private act as it is expressive. We are observant, quiet thinkers. Stephen King once referred to writers as the “secret agents of the arts.” While some people like being among other people, and sometimes the center of attention, we feel most comfortable working behind closed doors and away from all the noise of the outside world. In today’s digital climate, however, that is becoming more difficult to do. As much as we’d rather avoid it, social media has slowly become a tool we can’t succeed without. As much as we’d rather avoid it, social media, when used correctly, can empower and expose us as writers, offering opportunities which were previously unheard of. With this opportunity, however, comes exposure and a level of public engagement that for some, like myself, can feel uncomfortable or even overwhelming. Social Media: The Necessary Evil It’s no secr...

A Rocky Beginning: The Unexpected Hurdle When I think of a family vacation during Wisconsin's summer, especially one I'd been looking forward to all year to this point, I think of picturesque sunsets, family campfires, and time spent alone in my solo cabin that I don't get at home. I think of time spent fishing, though I don't get as much enjoyment from that as I did as a younger man. What I don't think of, especially as an adult who I'd like to think is pretty good with money, is an unfortunate clerical error that threatened to derail my entire stay before it got started. The mix-up involved a misunderstanding regarding billing. Foolishly, I thought we’d pay when we left as we’d done at other places in the past, So I had taken most of the cash I had in my bank account and put it toward my credit card that I’d planned to use to pay for the trip. To my unfortunate surprise, the proprietor wanted up-front payment---which, in hindsiight, I should have been prepared...

Why I Chose to Pursue a Year-Round Lakefront Digital Lifestyle in my Home State Over Being a Digital Nomad When I first discovered the idea of becoming a digital nomad, which like a lot of my ideas, came from a night spent jumping down YouTube rabbit holes, I was immediately captivated. The idea of living a life of freedom, adventure, and the promise of working anywhere in the world excited me. I had visions of living the writer’s life, clicking away at my laptop keyboard in a sun-soaked cafe in Kuala Lumpur, or strolling through the markets of Penang after a productive morning of writing. These visions fueled me, giving me the ambition I needed to pursue such a life. This dream was only intensified when I discovered Andrew Henderson and the Nomad Capitalist YouTube channel. As I went through the catalog of videos, I saw the many people they have helped seek more freedom, opportunity, and a truly global lifestyle experience, and wondered if I could join that group. Chasing the Digital ...

Balancing Technology and Tradition in America’s Pastime Baseball, often affectionately called America’s pastime, is a sport deeply rooted in rich history and timeless tradition. The game is full of rituals, nuances, and numbers that have captivated fans for generations. I became a fan in the mid-90’s, when Hall of Famers like Chipper Jones and Atlanta’s “Big 3”, Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, were in their prime. Whether it was from my great-aunt’s living room, the stands in Milwaukee, or from my phone speakers via the modern radio app, baseball, particularly Braves baseball, has shaped my life. With time and technology, however, comes change. I saw the writing on the wall when K-Zone came into being. As the tech improved, fans could see more from their living room than ever before. From K-Zone to StatCast, teams, players and fans alike had more at their fingertips than ever before. I even catch myself looking at my TV screen after some pitches and thinking, "You missed that one, bl...

  How Unforeseen Turns Reveal Life’s True Purpose It’s human nature to make plans. We all have a plan for our lives at some point. Life, the wonderful blessing that it is, has a way of taking those plans and giving them a friendly—or not-so-friendly—twist, sending us in a direction we didn’t envision at first. If you’d told me when I graduated high school that I’d be sitting here, pouring my passions onto a page and knowing somebody somewhere is reading them, I’d think you were insane. I didn’t know then about my passion for the law, short of my dad jokingly telling me I’d make a good lawyer after talking my way out of whatever trouble I may have been in. It wasn’t until later, when I considered my passion for true crime and cop shows, that I realized that if circumstances were different, I’d have gone into police work. Yet, as I reflect on my journey, I can’t help but smile. I may not be patrolling the streets in a cruiser or a detective in a nice suit investigating a suspicious d...

Practical Advice for Writers and Bloggers to Stay Focused As a writer, there’s nothing more satisfying than a productive writing session. There’s a special thrill you get when the words flow easily and you hit “Submit” or “Publish” with a confident smile instead of a doubtful look of dread. The truth of the matter is, those moments of clarity and confidence are rare. Distractions often creep in, laying waste to even the best laid plans. Whether internal or external, mental or physical, distractions pose a constant threat to a writer’s production. Today, I’d like to have a conversation with you about these interruptions and explore some methods I have discovered and used to overcome them. I’ll even share a few personal stories, because that’s what I do, and I’ve been there.  External Distractions: The World Beyond Your Keyboard The Noise and Chaos Around You Picture this: You’re deep in a storyline, or in my case a blog post, when your neighbor decides it’s a good idea to mow their ...