I’ve been taking online and in-person workshops for several years now. I took a week-long in-person writing workshop last year and learned a ton. We had writing and technique assignments. Our instructor told us to complete the writing first and then write the techniques. I did the writing and didn’t complete one of the technique […]
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I’m working on a writing project with a geographically distributed team. We all have full-time paying jobs and this is a professional project with no monetary compensation. We worked as an agile team, in iterations, pairing, helping each other write the best expression of our ideas. We turned over our draft and waited for copyediting
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Mark and I watched Money Monster last weekend. One of the characters asked, “When is it your call?” (No, I don’t remember who or the total context. It was about the responsibility of recommending stocks to people.) The idea was “When is it your responsibility?” I got to thinking about who makes which calls about
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This time of year, I see signs, “Please do not touch the tree.” There are plenty of signs that say, “Please do not….” I often wonder this: Why not ask for the behavior you want? I understand that the owners/people in charge want us to not do something. I’m a little contrary, especially when it comes
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I had an appointment this morning and was driving on the highway this morning, at the end of rush hour. There was still plenty of traffic. At that time the road was still busy, but there was more space between the cars. One guy swerved in and out, trying to get past the clump of
I’m working with a number of clients on changing how they work. Some of it is project portfolio work. Some of it is how they manage programs or how the product owners manage the backlogs and roadmaps. Even in my writing workshops, people have to change something to accomplish their goals. I’ve been asking this
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The comments to How Do You Reply to a Thank You? made me think. (Thank you!!) I realized that being in a position of honor might trigger emotions you (and I) might not feel ready for. The first time someone told me how I had helped his career with one of my talks, I had
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I thank people often, because people help me all the time. People carry things for me. They might help me over uneven ground/steps. In the grocery store, I often have to ask for help to reach the top shelves. Sigh. I have a bad case of TDS (too darn short). I say, “Thank you,” or “I
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I’m in a writer’s workshop this week, having a blast. We write a lot: openings and short stories. Since it’s a fiction workshop, I feel quite vulnerable as a writer. I’m learning how to write fiction. I can’t tell if it’s any good. I can’t tell if my author voice is working. I’ve been receiving
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I’m teaching my writing workshop this month. I made a point of explaining the difference between cycling between parts of the document and rewriting. I often cycle. I realize I forgot to say something key at the beginning. Or, I started the piece with one idea in mind and it morphed into something else. I
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