The Daily Writer

Ray Bradbury said, “Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”

Most of the time, we writers are focused on output. We spend most of our time focused on the content we are creating, whether it's blog posts, podcasts, books, articles, or client work.

But the basis for that content has to come from somewhere. There has to be an input. Our work as writers can't be focused just on the output.

That's why reading is such a critical part of what we do. In fact, last year I released a podcast episode called "10 Ways to Read More in Less Time," and I encourage you to go back and listen to it.

In this episode, I share five books that I believe every writer should read this year, and why you should read them.

The books are:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making & Marketing Working That Lasts by Ryan Holiday

You Must Write a Book: Boost Your Brand, Get More Business, and Become the Go-To Expert by Honoree Corder

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by Jessica Brody

Do the Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way by Steven Pressfield

Reading books by yourself is obviously helpful, but reading them with a group helps you apply what you are learning. Our Daily Writer Community features a monthly book discussion, in addition to weekly writing sprints, expert calls, courses, a private Facebook group, and so much more. If you want to run toward success instead of just walking, this group is definitely for you.

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If you spend much time around writers, you begin to see patterns. There are certain things most writers love, such as telling stories, creating content, and connecting with other writers.

However, there are also things that most writers don't enjoy. One of those things is marketing. Most writers perceive that marketing is a pain in the neck, something that distracts them from their real creative work.

But what if you could market in a way that makes use of your natural storytelling skills. What if you could it in a way that was natural and fun?

My guest today is here to help us do exactly that. His name is Keith Griffis, and he has been a digital marketer for the last 20 years. Keith is here to share his fascinating PowerStory framework, which uses the power of stories to help you communicate.

He has taught this same content at places such as MIT, Microsoft, and universities. He is also a self-described geek when it comes to neuroscience and the psychology of influence.

Keith is a wonderful storyteller, business strategist, and expert in marketing. In this conversation, he shares why storytelling skills are so vital today, the 5 power stories, how to use them in marketing, and much more.

Make sure to grab Keith's PowerStory template via this link. It will help you start telling better stories in your social media posts, blog posts, and content immediately.

You can also connect with Keith on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

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Do you ever feel overwhelmed as a writer?

No, that’s not a trick question. It’s just an acknowledgment that anyone writing in our modern world can easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities we have today.

It’s hard to know where to invest your time and energy. Some writers get paralyzed by all the choices and just give up out of sheer confusion. And if we’re all honest, we can probably relate.

In today's episode, Kent shares Ray Bradbury's secret to writing success.

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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.

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If you spend enough time around entrepreneurs or marketers, you can get the sense that writing is a one-dimensional pursuit that only has value if it brings you business results.

It’s true: writing can get you more consulting clients, a bigger audience, and more credibility and authority in your industry.

But there is another dimension to writing. It doesn’t focus on the external, but rather the internal. Henry Miller put it best when he said, “Writing is its own reward.” 

On this episode, Kent shares three internal rewards that writing can give you.

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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.

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Whatever you may think of Star Wars Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker, one thing is for certain: Kylo Ren’s journey is fascinating.

Throughout most of the previous two movies in the sequel trilogy, he’s a conflicted villain who is fighting against Rey, Poe and the rest of the Resistance. But after a battle with Rey on the wreckage of the second Death Star, he imagines a conversation with his father Han Solo.

This turning point sets Kylo Ren on a different path where he turns good and eventually helps Rey defeat the evil Emperor Palpatine.

Deadlines are the Kylo Ren of the writer’s world. We usually perceive them as a threat, as something to take away our joy and make writing more stressful and frustrating. That’s why it’s so much fun to ignore them. 

On this episode, Kent challenges us to embrace deadlines instead of ignoring 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.

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For new writers, one of the most surprising elements of the craft is how much editing and revision it takes to produce good work.

Until you get into writing as a serious hobby or a career, it may seem like writing should just come out clean and ready to publish. But experienced writers know this is not the case at all.

Effective writing doesn’t happen by accident. First you create a rough draft, then a solid first draft, then a second, third, and final draft. These drafts can vary depending on the project, of course.

On this episode, Kent challenges us to grow along with our writing.

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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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Imagine if you were a writer living two hundred years ago.

You probably lived on a farm and woke up at the crack of dawn with the sound of the rooster. You worked all day and went to bed not long after sundown.

If you were a writer, this would be an ideal environment to get your work done. There were not many distractions except for your family, a farm, and some animals.

That’s not the case today. We have a constant stream of distractions all around us. Social media, streaming services, email, notifications, text messages, and a hundred other things compete for our attention every second. 

On this episode, Kent asks how far you're willing to go in order to deal with distractions.

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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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Welcome to this special bonus episode of the daily writer podcast. I am excited to bring you this short bonus conversation with Jessica Brody, author of over twenty novels, as well as the amazing writing guide, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel.

She is also the founder of the online writing school Writing Mastery Academy, which I joined a few years ago. You can find out more by visiting her website.

If you are working on a book or plan on writing one, you will enjoy this brief conversation about traditional publishing vs. self-publishing.

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On this episode, we dive into a topic that may seem disconnected from writing. However, depression and other mental health issues affect writers just like they do everyone else.

In fact, writers and other creative types may be more at risk than the average person. Why? Because we already have lots of internal battles going on, and we tend to stay isolated.

I don't have all the answers, but I do have a story. On this episode, I share my decades-long journey through depression and how I learned to deal with it (most of the time).

Specifically, I share 5 lies I believed about depression and why each one is false:

Lie #1: I can manage my depression on my own.

Lie #2: Self-medicating my pain is an effective coping strategy.

Lie #3: I have no control over the forces that make my depression worse.

Lie #4: I don’t need professional help.

Lie #5: My struggle with depression means that I am deficient in some way.

Over the last few years I have learned to manage my depression pretty effectively. I still have occasional days when it gets the best of me, but it doesn’t have nearly the grip on my life it once did.

Life is hard enough as it is. When you add battling depression into the mix, it gets infinitely tougher. If you believe one or more of these five lies, it will pull you down even further. If you’re struggling with depression, I strongly encourage you to seek professional help. Make the choice today to get healthier not only for yourself, but for those you love.

If you are thinking of harming yourself, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.

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I'm excited to bring you my conversation with Jessica Brody. She is the author of the #1 bestselling novel-writing guide, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and the founder of the online writing school, Writing Mastery Academy.

Jessica has also written over twenty novels for teen, tweens, and adults. These include The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, A Week of Mondays, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, Better You Than Me, the Unremembered trilogy, and the System Divine series, which is a sci-fi reimagining of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, co-written with Joanne Rendell. 

Jessica's books have been translated and published in over 23 countries and several have been optioned for film and television.  She lives with her husband and three dogs near Portland, OR. Visit her online at JessicaBrody.com or on Instagram.

In this conversation, Jessica shares some great tips on how to make 2021 a great year as a writer. She also talks about writing routines, her book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, how to choose a story structure method, and lots of other tips for being successful as a writer.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders