Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Your first workout will be bad.
Your first podcast will be bad.
Your first speech will be bad.
Your first video will be bad.
Your first ANYTHING will be bad.
but you cant make your 100th without making your first.
So put your ego aside, and start.
— Alec Zamora
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, haiku, poem, sentiment distilled, writing on December 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »
With crisp sunbright snow
on a cardinal’s red cape
winter welcomes you.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts, writing on December 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Last night I had an idea for today’s post, but now it’s gone missing because some days my mind is a sieve. I’m sure the idea was fabulous but I’ll have to wait until it comes back around.
In the meantime, my word of the day is “flawsome: someone who is both flawed and awesome.” And isn’t that all of us?
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, choices, creativity, life, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Here’s a lovely thought piece by Spencer Sekulin on making peace with the ghosts of lives unlived and becoming your imperfect, unpredictable, beautiful self.
Forgive Yourself for Not Becoming Everything You Wanted – Spencer Sekulin
To live one life, you need to condemn many others.
Yet to try to live all of them keeps you stuck, forever.
Spencer’s fiction is also terrific. If you’re looking for excellently written fantasy, check out his work!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, free fiction, humor, self reflection, Writers, writing on December 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Emily Bressler is helping you recognize, reflect on, and reject hypocrisy with this story at McSweeney’s:
I Work For an Evil Company, but Outside Work, I’m Actually a Really Good Person
I love my job. I make a great salary, there’s a clear path to promotion, and a never-ending supply of cold brew in the office. And even though my job requires me to commit sociopathic acts of evil that directly contribute to making the world a measurably worse place from Monday through Friday, five days a week, from morning to night, outside work, I’m actually a really good person.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on December 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »
What does James Patterson, one of the world’s top authors, have to say about leading a creative and happy life? Here are three suggestions that resonated with me:
James Patterson’s Maxims for a Happy Life
2. Pay attention to process rather than outcomes.
3. Excellence is less about talent and inspiration, more about hard work and persistence.
5. Focus on what’s getting better, rather than fretting over what’s getting worse.
For the full list, check out the article above, or listen to the full podcast with Arthur Brooks.
In the end, “how does Patterson find the work of writing? ‘I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it.’”
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on November 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up they will change the world.”
— Jack Ma
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, climate fiction, free fiction, Writers, writing on November 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Today, a free fiction short from Colby Devitt and the Grist Climate collection:
On the morning of April 8, 2200, Lake Ballona went missing. A pair of hikers ventured down from the Hollywood Hills on a day excursion into the Tongva Wetlands. Where the area’s largest body of freshwater met seawater to create a brackish habitat, they discovered an empty crater. Lake Ballona was gone. Vanished overnight. Only muddy puddles remained where the lake had swelled the day before. There were no signs of violence.
Excellent opener. I hope you enjoy the rest!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, take the win, work, Writers, writing on November 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Today is officially a crazy day. By that I mean a mad scramble to get day job work done, including the projects I expected and the three others I did not expect. Lots to juggle, and while I may have bobbled one tiny little thing, it all worked out fine in the end.
I also managed to get up early and write a very (very) short story before all the craziness began, so I’m calling it a win!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on November 25, 2025| 1 Comment »
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, and more complex. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
― E.F. Schumacher
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J.R. Johnson 
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