Questions come in all sizes. There’s the age-old: where did I put my keys? The hometown fav: are you really going to wear that? And the esoteric: who would I be if I could be anyone? I’ve been pondering questions and how, as a writer, I can use them to my advantage. Are questions good guideposts? I think about questions [...]
Video. When I watch myself in a video it's sort of an out-of-body experience; is that really me on the screen? Do I look like that? Why do I keep doing that weird thing with my eyebrows? We are forever critical of ourselves and our presentation to the public. So many of our students are [...]
We tried not to talk about work. It was Saturday, for crying out loud! But over coffee this weekend, my new friend Jane and I couldn’t help ourselves. We both love what we do. And we’re still getting to know each other. So eventually our stories turned occupational.I make my living helping businesspeople choose and use the stories [...]
I am a writer who has earned her living writing and teaching storytelling for many many years, so you would think I would be a whiz at getting my work done. Work being, writing. Sigh. I so envy those creators who can sit at their desk, tune out the world, and produce amazing copy, stories, [...]
Last week Jeff Herrington told me about a clever set of metrics he created to help businesspeople master the lessons he teaches in his writing workshops. His approach is so smart, I’ve been thinking about meaningful metrics ever since. After Jeff coaches a group to create strong, action-oriented content, the client sends him periodic samples of [...]
You might call me a serial dater. I fall in love quickly, get bored or flummoxed, then off to the next one I go. Love affairs happen in all aspects of life and here, it's software I'm thinking about. There are so many apps and so little time to figure them all out. Like human relationships, [...]
About a year ago, I relocated to a small Midwestern farm town called Geneseo, Illinois. It’s a picturesque little community full of Victorian-era homes and tree-lined streets. Straight out of a Hallmark movie, you know? You really should come and visit us sometime. When my husband suggested we ditch the Chicago suburbs and move to Geneseo, [...]
Whenever I tell people what I do for a living—helping people bring storytelling and creativity into the workplace—I’m met with immediate interest. “Wow! Cool! That sounds like so much fun.” It is! And not just fun, but useful. The ability to craft and tell a good story is oh-so-valuable to any business. My livelihood depends on [...]
It started out as a joke, a silly way for us to blow off steam. We invented something out of sheer frustration.Ever since I started teaching creative writing, students have been asking me for the magical elixir: What is the formula for writing a story?I found this exasperating and annoying.After a deep breath to calm myself, [...]
How To Be Creative is a theme that surfaces again and again when I sit down to write. Not because people flock to me asking, “Oh Beth, you creative wizard, will you please publish your wisdom?!” Nope, that’s not the spark that lights my blog-posting flame. Most of the time, my creativity-focused posts begin from a [...]