But When Do We Get CAKE?!?!
How are you with reward systems? Are you the type of writer who says things like: “Okay, just 257 more words, and then I get to eat this piece of cake!” Or are you more like me, telling yourself that: “Maybe if I eat this piece of cake now, it will fuel and/or inspire...
Escaping Our Art
Usually, when we choose to do something, it’s for a very specific reason. Sometimes the reason is obvious, and sometimes it’s buried deep within our subconscious, but there’s almost always a reason — often two or more. I complete my “necessary” business tasks each day...
I Need To Tell You About This Horrible Blanket I’m Knitting
Is knitting still cool? Was it ever cool? Is “cool” still the right word to use for things that are, in other words, rad as heck? Huh. It’s… probably not a good sign if I’m diving into tangents in the opening line of my newsletter, is it? Anyway, I’ve been knitting....
Another New York Times Bestselling Author 👀
I hope you had the chance to watch my interview with New York Times bestselling author Anne Lamott this summer. (And if not, here’s a replay link!) I am excited to announce that I am partnering once again with Strengthening The Heartland to bring you another interview...
All Aboard The Struggle Bus!
Last week, I re-launched both my I Am A Writer and Seriously Successful Podcasters Facebook communities. I’d neglected them for a LONG TIME (yikes), and decided to take action and either revamp them or shut them down. … I’d continue with this story, but, uh, you...
Never Enough vs. Too Much Time
I’ve noticed I have a LOT of scarcity when it comes to time. Maybe you do, too. Time is one of the few things in life I feel I don’t have control over — and when I keep an eye on the clock, counting down the minutes that remain for me to work on a project, read a book...
Takeaways From My 2021 Writing Retreat
I just returned from a week-long writing retreat with my sister, Bec, and wow, was it amazing. I’ve come a long way since my disastrous 2015 retreat experience, and I strive to make each year’s retreat a little better, more productive, and (paradoxically) more...
42 Books: Part 3
I never intended this to be a 3-part series, yet here we are: part 3 of the list of all the books I’ve read so far in 2021. Whew! Ready? The Witch Elm by Tana French — This was the first mystery I’d ever read by Tana French, and holy heck was it powerful. I was glued...
42 Books: Part 2
In another life, I would have liked to have been a librarian. Or… whatever you’d call a professional book pusher. But as Kazuo Ishiguro said, “There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.” And in this one, I’m reading a lot of books. 😀 I...
42 Books: Part 1
My goal this year (and every year) is to read 52 books — essentially, a book a week. Many years, I don’t make it, largely because I de-prioritize reading for one reason or another. But this year, since I allowed myself to prioritize reading every day, I’m going to hit...
Writing: Hobby Or Discipline?
Writing is a paradox. It’s always been a paradox for me — a truth-filled thing that somehow contradicts itself at every turn. Writing is simultaneously hard work and deep joy, hobby and profession, something I do to make money and something I do to relax and unwind....
Too Scared To Create
I have a confession for you this week: I’ve been letting fear get the better of me for the last several months. You may have noticed that all of my Write Now podcast episodes since May 2021 have been interviews with other (amazing and brilliant!) writers and creators,...
Sick Days
I haven’t been feeling great lately, and some kind of Sickness (hopefully not Covid) has descended onto me and completely wiped out my energy. I told a friend earlier that if I had a traditional job, I would be calling off sick. I almost said “if I had a...
Who Are You?
I had a great Zoom call with my friend Kate Brauning last week, during which she asked me to consider who I am outside of my identity as a creator and entrepreneur. Hilariously/sadly/insert your own adjective here, I did not have an answer. The tunnel has been...
My Lawn Is Dead And I Don’t Care
Originally, I was going to title this “My Neighbors Hate Me,” but that felt clickbait-y, so I went with something more explanatory. My grandfather always had the nicest lawn. Lush, green, well-watered, and tender, with no pine needles or burgeoning thistles to stab...
The Dark Side Of Productivity
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I spend my time. Our society is obsessed with productivity — there are entire books, podcasts, courses, and lifestyles devoted to the topic. But while we think a lot about how much stuff we can do in a day (or a week or...
What’s My Motivation?
I have a really weird relationship with motivation — and perhaps you do, too. Every once in a while, my eyelids fly open at 6am and I bounce out of bed, eager and excited to tackle the day’s work. I love these days and am incredibly grateful for them. The other 360...
Figuring Out Life
I feel like life has been tough for a lot of us lately. I’ve been attempting to balance priorities and obligations and it hasn’t been going very well. I hope this doesn’t sound too complain-y, or like a big ol’ pile of first-world problems,...
Sneaky Procrastination
It was Saturday afternoon. I had taken care of everything on my to-do list. It was too hot and humid to go outside, and I had just brewed a fresh cup of my favorite tea. I was wearing cozy sweatpants and a hoodie, and I had seated myself at my desk, prepared to write....
The Leap Is A Lie
Searching for validation takes a lot of time and energy, but we all do it because we want to feel like our work is good and that people enjoy it. However, are we receiving validation from people we respect, or are we relying on the standards of others to determine our worth?
You’re Not Doing It Wrong
I did a lot of research into various writing practices for Episode 121 of Write Now with Sarah Werner, which came out last Wednesday. I read about writers who wake up at 4:00 a.m. and writers who sleep in until noon. I read about writers who write every day and...
My Biggest Writing Fear Right Now
Have you ever had someone else articulate something that you weren’t able to — and the second they did, your eyes opened up wide, you hopped up and down in your chair, and you started yelling, “Oooh! Oh, that’s ME!”? This past week, I finally opened up my copy of...
You’re Invited!
I’m so excited to announce that I’ve been invited to interview New York Times bestselling author Anne Lamott for her upcoming virtual event on May 24, 2021! We’ll be talking about resilience, courage, and her new book, Dusk Night Dawn. Oh, and best of all, the event...
Searching For Answers
I spend a lot of my time searching for answers — in books, in podcasts, in webinars and talks, in formal lessons, in quiz results, in music, and in many of the everyday conversations I have. The answers are responses to questions that I may have explicitly asked —...
We’ve Lost… That Valid Feeling…
In last Wednesday’s create-along, we ended up having a fantastic conversation about our need for external validation. I’m talking about constantly refreshing your download statistics after posting a new podcast episode to your RSS feed, compulsively checking your...
Beating Myself Up For Not Being Mary Oliver
Back in 2015, I went on a wilderness writing retreat in the northern woods of Minnesota. I recorded a Write Now podcast episode about it (including some of it from the three-seasons porch of the little hermitage where I stayed), but today, I realize that the episode...
Bulletproof
I was texting with my lovely friend and fellow creator Jordan earlier this week, and we ended up discussing how we’ve both been feeling weighed down by creative pressure lately, and how the threat of burnout also seems to loom closer than usual. As we enter our...
Do You Take Your Own Advice?
I’m one of those people who has lots of advice for other writers, podcasters, and creators. It’s the entire basis of my podcast Write Now with Sarah Werner, as well as the vast majority of interviews and public speaking gigs I’ve done over the past several years....
You Can Do This
Hey. I know it’s Monday. I know that things have been tough lately. I’ve talked with so many creators who are tired, hurt, worn out, burned out, and full of fear that I’m wondering if this is the “new normal” I keep hearing about. But it doesn’t have to be. And if...
Be The Author
I have a short, simple reflection for you this week. I was taking a social media webinar last week with Amie McNee, and she said something really surprising — and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. She said, “I had to BE the author I wanted to be in...
Creativity Is In The Here & Now
I think a lot about the future. So much so that I feel like I live there most of the time. For me, everything is about future plans, future goals, and what’s next, from my next project all the way to my next meal. It’s one reason I love speculative and science...
Who Do You Think You Are?
Do you ever doubt your creative abilities? Because I do! … My own creative abilities, I mean. Not yours. It can be really hard to believe in ourselves constantly, even if deep down, we know we’re good at what we do. Because those doubts can creep in about not only our...
Girl In Space Is One Of The Top 10 Best Fiction Podcasts
I am INCREDIBLY honored and grateful to find Girl In Space in the top 10 of Podyssey’s “15 Best Fiction Podcasts Of All Time” list. Just… wow. Thank you! Now, several weeks ago on Twitter, I talked about how my show has won awards and gained...
Social Media For Creators in 2021
I don’t know if this is how it is for you, but for me… social media is an absolute roller coaster. I’m either feverishly posting multiple times a day on multiple platforms, or I’m completely burned out, overwhelmed, and radio silent. It’s rarely anywhere in between. ...
The Plateau
If (like me) you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know the horror that lies in the word “plateau.” A plateau is a point that you reach in your progress… and sometimes don’t progress beyond. In geological terms, a plateau is “an area of relatively high level ground”....
From Surviving To Thriving
Have you ever felt like you were in “survival mode”? Or… are you perhaps even feeling that way today? Survival mode happens when we give over to our most basic survival instincts — driven by extreme fear or stress, we’re living minute-to-minute, in constant...
I Don’t Know What To Write!
Do you ever just sit down and… you have no idea what to write, or create, or even do? Well, you’re not alone. I sat down to write this week’s newsletter, opened up my little idea folder, and… realized I hadn’t prepped for this week with an idea. “I have no idea what...
The Un-Goals
I was sitting here, working on my 2021 goals, and thinking about what I could add this year to challenge myself as a creator while bringing extra value to my audience, when I had a REALIZATION. A big one. I had already written down all of the things from 2020 that I...
Do You Feel Productive Enough?
I’m writing this email, which will arrive in your inbox on Monday the 11th, on the evening of Friday the 8th during my Create-Along livestream. (I’m trying to get better at doing things ahead of time!) So far, this week has been… well. Not fantastic. On Monday and...
Useful Tools For Creators
Happy 2021! I’m so excited to start out the new year with you. Over the last few weeks of 2020, we’ve been talking about prioritizing and protecting your time for writing and creating. This isn’t a switch that can be flipped in a moment or even a day — it’s a change...
Sliding Into 2021
Are you doing any planning for 2021? It’s so hard to realize that the new year is upon us when 2020 has seemed so eternal, so heavy, and so all-encompassing. It’s hard to remember that there is indeed life beyond 2020! It can also seem a little...
The Marketing Enigma
I know, I know. The title of today’s email contains the dreaded M-word: Marketing. The thing that is so easy to confuse with selling, selling your soul, or simply selling out. Other people get it confused with being fake, harassing others, yelling into a void, or...
Protecting Yourself And Your Time
We’ve talked before about choosing how we spend our time, and the importance of understanding why we make the choices that we do. But once you’ve made that choice about how to spend your time… do you commit to it? And, more importantly, do you protect your time? By...
The Cat’s Out Of The Bag
Yesterday, a friend alerted me to a Deadline article that very casually mentioned several “podcasts in various stages of development to be adapted [for television, including] sci-fi drama Girl In Space.”
What Are You Getting Out Of It?
Usually, when we choose to do something, it’s for a reason. Sometimes the reason is obvious and sometimes it’s buried deep within our subconscious, but there’s almost always a reason — sometimes two or more. I complete my work each day so that I can continue to afford...
The Blank Page
When I stare at a blank page, I’m not filling it with words and ideas and phrases and flourishes in my mind. Rather, I’m filling my own mind with doubts and anxieties and second-guesses.
Gratitude In 2020
I feel like, as an adult in the 21st century, I need to be figuratively dining on this perpetual and perfectly proportioned banquet of intentional joy, acceptable grief, and purposeful gratitude. Always back to gratitude.
The Problem With Expectations
Even though we can try to be intentional with them… sometimes our expectations seem to spring up out of nowhere, sparked by unspoken desires or inspired by something as small an innocuous as another person’s Instagram post.
I Can Do A Magic Trick
I can do a magic trick — I can log in to a social media account and make all of my time disappear! I know, it sounds impossible that one or two or even three whole hours could simply vanish while I’m scrolling past photos of lattes and incendiary political tweets, but… it’s true! Can you relate? Are you a magician, too?