The Daily Writer

The greatest superhero movie ever made is 2008’s The Dark Knight. The movie is admired for many reasons, the biggest of which is Heath Ledger’s amazing performance as Batman’s arch-nemesis, the Joker.

But one of the most underrated aspects of the film is Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Harvey Dent, the Gotham City District Attorney. Before he becomes the villain known as Two-Face, he is known for his positive attitude, so much so that he carries a two-headed coin and says, “I make my own luck.”

On this episode, you'll learn to develop the same skill.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

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As writers, we thrive on creativity. Without the ability to be creative, we are forever stuck with the same thoughts, the same stories, and the same ideas.

There are many ways fill your creative well. One of the simplest and most effective things you can do is to stop trying too hard to be consciously creative and let your subconscious work on your behalf.

On this episode, you'll learn how to harness a source of creativity you have probably been ignoring.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

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The central idea of the Daily Writer podcast is the importance of habits and routines to our writing success.

There may be some authors who have great success by producing books in sudden bursts of energy every once in a while. However, the vast majority of working writers have schedules, habits, routines, and rituals for a consistent production schedule.

On this episode, you'll learn about the writing routines of five famous authors: E. B. White, Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, Jodi Picoult, and Toni Morrison. You'll also learn how to apply these lessons to your own writing.

Learn more about the routines & rituals of famous authors:

• https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/11/20/daily-routines-writers/
• https://jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers
• Daily Rituals by Mason Curry

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Sign up for the Daily Writer email: DailyWriterLife.com/email 

Connect with Kent:

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As a writer, one of the most valuable skills you can learn is storytelling. Stories are the way we process information and make sense of the world around us. 

I’m thrilled to be talking with Doug Phillips, who is the Professor of New Testament and Greek Studies, and the Chair of the Biblical Education Division at St. Louis Christian College, where I am also a Professor. Doug has multiple advanced degrees and is also working on a PhD in New Testament from Asbury Theological Seminary.

On this episode, we’re going to do a deep dive into the topic of storytelling in the Bible. Doug shares his journey to becoming a professor and helps us understand why Jesus’ parables were so powerful. 

You’ll learn what makes an effective story, the key components of Jesus’ parables, and how to start applying those lessons to your own communication.

Resources:

Email Doug

How to Read the Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken

The Revolutionary Communicator: 7 Principles Jesus Lived to Impact, Connect and Lead by Jedd Medefind & Erik Lokkesmoe

The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story by John Walsh

The ESV Study Bible, the best Study Bible on the market that will help you understand literary genres in the Bible.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Connect with Kent:

https://DailyWriterLife.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

Here is a question to consider: what activities actually produce writing?

This is not a trick question, but a serious one. Why? Because it’s easy for us to fall under the spell of doing writing-related activities while secretly avoiding hard work of writing.

There’s that course to take. That writing group to be involved in. That new writing craft book to read. That movie to watch so you can analyze the story structure. That fellow writer to have coffee with.

On this episode, Kent asks you to consider whether those writing-related activities are helping you get the work done.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

First drafts are hard. Let’s just get that out of the way right here and now.

The deeper question is, why? Why does it take so much effort to produce a first draft, even if we know we will have many opportunities to make improvements before the final version is done?

On this episode, you'll learn why perfectionism is so dangerous, and how to avoid it.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

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In the world of writers, there are two kinds of people: the mere mortals, and the towering giants.

We stand in awe of their creative output and their success. And we wonder, how do they get it done? How do they write so many books and stay consistent for years or even decades on end?

On this episode, Kent shares advice from Stephen King on writing routines.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

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One of the most common themes of successful writers is that they are consistent. They establish a habit or routine for getting the work done and they stick with it.

Let’s get even more granular, down to the level of words. After all, the fundamental building block of any book is words. Those words are put into sentences, then paragraphs, then chapters, then a complete book. 

On this episode, Kent shares advice from novelist Neil Gaiman on how to get your writing done.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

If you have spent much time around other writers, you have probably observed that as a whole, writers are a pretty congenial bunch.

We don’t normally see fist fights or shouting matches at writing conventions. (Although I admit that would be fun to see.) Writers are the kind of people you want to go hang out with at a coffee shop.

But if we’re not careful, this congeniality, this nice guy or nice gal approach, can work against us. We can easily slip into a passivity that lets other people roll right over us and our writing goals.

On this episode, Kent encourages you to protect your writing time.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community. 

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

One of the most successful writers of all time also happens to have written one of the most helpful writing craft books of all time. His name is Stephen King, and the book I'm talking about is of course On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

We recently discussed this book in our Daily Writer Community. Each month, we focus on a book that helps us with marketing, writing, or creativity. We had a great time discussing and applying this book.

On this episode, I review seven lessons about writing we can learn from this amazing book.

1. Use your writing to support your life.
2. Have a dedicated writing space.
3. Create a production schedule.
4. Believe that you can be a good writer.
5. Encourage someone to write.
6. Write with an ideal reader in mind.
7. Excavate stories instead of creating them.

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Are you looking for a community of enthusiastic, generous writers to help you build better habits and grow your writing business? Check out our Daily Writer Community.

Connect with Kent:

https://DailyWriterLife.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kent-sanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders