The best blog writing workshop: this is my #1 pick for a blog writing workshop that will teach you how to hook readers and not let them go!

Yesterday morning I sat down at my computer and wondered why I didn’t pick a job that could be—I don’t know—easier? I had to draft comp copy for a proposal, and I could not get the words to flow. It was painful.

This happens to me Every. Time. I get it bad when I’m sitting down to write sections of a proposal. Or drafting a pitch letter. Or writing a blog post.

And that? That is sad. Sad like my inability to contain coffee inside my cup.

It doesn’t matter if we know, intellectually, that it’s just resistance staring back at us, trickling fear into our veins drip by drip. I’ve read every book in the genre—The War of Art, Big Magic, Bird by Bird—and I still get a turn in my stomach at the thought of sitting down to write.

Only two things have helped me woman up and write what needs to be written each day:

1. Terrible first drafts. (The first drafts of my book projects are a horror show.)
2. The Sticky Blogging Brainstorming worksheet.

That brainstorming worksheet lives in a folder on my computer called “Start Here Before Writing,” and it’s the PDF equivalent of smashing the glass case holding the fire extinguisher. (That is, if you were allowed to smash that case every time you turned on the stove. Apparently I really rely on my emergency devices.)

Now, when I’m thinking about the 10,000 reasons I should check email again instead of drafting that pitch letter, I turn off my wifi, open my brainstorming worksheet, open a Word document, and start doing some terrible drafting.

Because terrible drafts turn into better drafts which turn into good drafts which turn into Done.

And Done is a beautiful feeling.

But I will admit that the brainstorming worksheet wouldn’t be the game-changer it is without all the other methods I learned in Kelly’s Sticky Blogging blog writing workshop. That class really helped me understand the science behind hooking a reader and not letting them go—something I wish I could teach all writers as well as Kelly does.

That’s why I love to sing the praises of Kelly’s class far and wide, and why I’m excited she’s finally opening up to new students for the first time this year. Honestly, I’m tempted to sign Jarrett up this year, but he’d kill me.

But if you won’t kill me for being a bit bossy: you should sign up for Kelly’s free blog writing workshop! It’s called How to Get More Traffic with Fewer Posts, and this is the last week she’ll be offering it this year. You can learn a ton from her in just 1 hour, and she’s running her free sessions this Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

I’m going to be re-watching her blog writing workshop this afternoon as a reward for hitting my proposal writing goals for the day. I hope to see you there!

Click here to learn more and register for the free workshop!

5 quick reads for the week

1. I have plenty of time to write, said no one on the planet ever. Here are 3 ways to fix it.
2. Laundry is the first thing I would set on fire if I actually had a fire extinguisher. This makes it slightly easier.
3. “Writing nonfiction is not about telling your story.”
4. I am ELATED that my wonderful author, Nik, made it on this New Yorker list of the top 3 fall cookbooks.
5. I know you’ve lied about reading some of these classic novels; haven’t we all?

What we’re eating this week

This week is a tirefire! But a good tirefire! The first half of this week we’re puttering away in Alexandria and doing our regular normal boring things. On Thursday: WE’RE MOVING.

Well, almost. We’re closing on our new house this Thursday and then moving in a bit later in the month. But it is a doozy because not only are we moving from an apartment to a house, we’re also moving to an entirely new cute little town.  

So here’s what you eat when you sort of have two kitchens but one of them does not have a refrigerator yet:

Monday: Baked drumsticks and Greek salad. See? Regular, normal, and boring.

Tuesday: Burgers with coleslaw and corn on the cob. What could be more mundane?

Wednesday: Salmon with cauliflower mash and brussels sprouts. Yawn!

Thursday: Closing on our house, after which we will glamorously celebrate with a rare bottle of Foggy Ridge Final Call and even more glamorously dine at Lemaire. Good thing I saved up all my Excitement Points this week so I can cash them in BIG TIME now.

Friday: Cup-o-noodle soup because—ha! —we have no refrigerator yet. Please send us positive, temperature-controlled vibes. And if you want live-action updates on our new house and our exciting new microwave-ramen lifestyle, follow along on Instagram.

Cheers!