Explore every episode of the podcast Fearless Writing with Bill Kenower

Whether you’re ghost writing or working entirely from your own inspiration, we’re all on assignment in one way or another. 

You don’t have to write for two or three hours a day to be a successful writer. Even 30 minutes a day can be enough to stay connected to your work and write a book of any length.

Writing teaches us that how we feel is more important than anything. Don’t wait until you publish the book or win the award to feel successful. Seek it now in any way you can.

The imagination is so powerful, its connection to others is often as intimate as touch. 

You don’t have to have been homeless or abused or addicted to have a life full enough to tell any story. 

Sometimes it may seem like our opportunities have dried up, but that’s almost always because we have begun to doubt. 

There are times when feedback from an editor or friend or writing group is helpful. But not if you’re looking for validation. That has to come from you.

Though most of us work alone, there are times when focused collaboration can free up our stuck thinking. 

Anything we think about other writers, we inevitably think about ourselves. Be kind to everyone, including yourself. 

I know things are scary and crazy for a lot of us right now, but that shouldn’t mean you abandon doing the what you love. The world is always a better place when we do what means the most to us. 

Yes, there are times you don’t know the way forward, and yes, you will almost certainly experience rejection. But don’t tell yourself writing IS hard. When it’s going well, when you find that story, it’s naturally effortless.

If you set your intentions before you begin anything new, whether a story or a year, you can start to develop new habits. 

As we grow up, it’s easy to start believing that work and fun can’t be one and the same. This may be true in some professions, but it shouldn’t be so in the arts. No fun for the writer; no fun for the reader.

Often, the biggest obstacle to finding our voice is the pressure we put on ourselves to be “good” or be acceptable. If you take the pressure off, your voice will come naturally. 

All my stories end the same way: Life is friendly, and the natural relationship between people is love. The reason there are so many to tell is there are so many times this doesn’t seem to be the case. 

Amuse, entertain, and inspire yourself, and mean what you say. If you can do that, the rest will take care of itself.

It’s easy to start thinking that the lives of all the people you care for are somehow more important than yours. Writing reminds us again and again that this has never been true. 

Sometimes the most difficult part of writing stems from the fact that we’re adults, and have become increasingly concerned with our own survival, rather than what pleases us most.

Where Fearless Writing began. It took reach a very dark place for me to understand how quietly addicted to praise and validation I was. Here’s the story.

Writing is often about waiting for the right story, the right scene, the right word. Learn to trust what you know is true about what works and what doesn’t.

A writer’s primary tool is thought. Every time we sit down to write, we practice choosing the ones that serve us, and the ones that don’t.

You can’t look for your validation from anyone other yourself, which you do every time you write a sentence that satisfies you.

Creativity is very active, but all the stories and songs and poems that have ever been written began with listening, when artist heard the inspiration offered to them.

We all need one sometimes. It’s easy to lose track of why we do this, where our confidence comes from – so here you go. Enjoy!

Nothing feels better than getting in the flow. Yet this fantastic experience requires nothing but the focus of own attention. A great reminder when we’re feeling down.

Writing is about the search for the effortless path. Our job is to test for resistance with every scene, sentence, and word. When we meet it, we have to find a different way forward.

Sometimes we have a low-running fear of writing. We’ve created unfriendly story about what’s waiting for us at the desk. We have to change that story and make it as friendly as possible 

Fear is always a movement away from, love is a movement toward. Both are creative, but only one creates on purpose.

You would think we wouldn’t need to ask this, but it’s easy sometimes to accept experiences AND stories we don’t really like. Pay close attention to your preferences. They’re your best guide.

Writers sometimes romanticize how hard writing can be. It’s important to remember that effortlessness is the essence of our best work.

Your confidence doesn’t come from success. It’s something you’re born with that you have to find every time you write.

Jane Friedman interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UHldR_smYVs?si=Fb0klOIBQOpA7iHS

Your stories may or may not live on forever, but what you tap into to write them is eternal.

Writing teaches us that our focus is everything. Nothing can control our focus but ourselves. The conditions of our life will change, but our focus will always be in our control.

There’s no such thing as good and bad in a story – just what belongs or what doesn’t. The same is true for you. There’s nothing wrong with you that success will fix. There’s just the right path or the wrong path 

Every story has already been told – but that’s all right. By telling your specific version, you’ll help us remember why love matters, why life matters, why we matter. Your readers will never tire of hearing that.

A creative question is one to which only you have the answer. These are the most important questions in our lives, and writing is a great way to practice getting the “right” answer.

You start the conversation, and your reader finishes it. What’s the conversation YOU want to have?

You don’t have to please anyone. You don’t have to care about your results. You don’t have to be good enough. You just have to get into that true writing headspace, and let the rest take care of itself.

It’s hard to remember, especially as an artist, but you’re only job is to please yourself. Forget the applause and the reviews. Those only come after you’ve satisfied your own unique aesthetic.  

Writing is all about connection. I know you’re alone in your workroom, but when you get in that flow, you are connecting to something in all of us. 

It’s critical to learn your craft, but all that learning is driven by interest. Interest is the fuel that drives our creative engine, and without it, we will stall. 

It’s easy for artists to become distracted by and even addicted to praise. It may feel good, but it’s a bottomless need that will never be satisfied.

Everyone needs to “come out” in one way or another, to be who they really are rather than who they believe they’re supposed to be. Writing is a great way to practice this kind of authenticity.

Life is creative and so are you. But when you stop participating deliberately in that creation, life seems random and you feel out of control. Take what you learn at the page and apply it to your whole life.

It’s impossible to overstate how important it is to think in small steps. After all, every novel or memoir is written one sentence at a time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, think small. It’s how you get someplace big.

At its core, creativity must be fun. Here are the two rules for having fun that I learned while playing Dungeons & Dragons that apply to games, writing, and life.

It’s almost impossible to grasp the effect our work has in the world. Most of it happens where we can’t see it. But know that it’s happening, whether you ever learn of it or not.

Here are the three steps I take whenever I start doubting and worrying about my work.  

Writing teaches us every day that the pleasure of creating is discovery. The same can be true of life away from the desk, if we accept that we don’t need or want to know the future.

Whether you’re walking a balance beam or wondering whether you’re good enough, the goal isn’t perfection but rapid course correction. Balance is always available if you pay close attention to how you feel.