Write Now With Sarah Werner | For Writers, On Writing

A mission statement is a valuable tool for a writer -- it can help you understand your own story, remind you of your purpose, and guide you toward your goals. Today's episode of Write Now podcast will help you create one!

Poet & filmmaker Andrew Coons and I have a great conversation about career writing, anxiety, depression, self-worth, and getting back into the things you love after putting them on hold.

Stuck in a soul-sucking, toxic day job while you dream of being a paid writer? Today's episode covers 10 different career paths for writers just like you.

Today's show is an interview with Arab-American author Hend Hegazi, who has just published her second novel about gratefulness, forgiveness, and the universal yet hidden struggles we all deal with. I hope you enjoy it.

Meet Mark Messick, the 16-year-old bestselling author of more than eleven books. Today we're talking about possibility, positivity, and living the life you want to live. Join us!

Chances are, you've heard of the concept of a muse, whether you've read your fair share of Shakespeare or simply seen Disney's "Hercules". But can a muse possibly have an effect on us here in the modern world?

I know, I know. You hate networking. I hate networking. It feels so corporate and shallow and sell-out-y. But it's important for writers nonetheless. That's why this episode is here to help you navigate the turbulent waters of this essential skill.

Enjoy a great conversation about how to fit creative writing into a busy schedule with entrepreneur, author, and my own personal mentor, Melissa Johnson.

Is it true that there's "nothing new under the sun", that we just keep retelling the same 3 stories over and over, and that Hollywood is out of ideas? Find out in the latest episode of Write Now!

I absolutely loved interviewing bestselling Indian author (& striving yogi!) Karan Bajaj, whose new book, The Yoga of Max's Discontent, hit bookstores earier this month. Join us as we talk about the burden and freedom of a creative habit, the power of a journey, and so much more.

We hear it all the time: "We can't afford to pay our writers," or, "Your payment will be exposure and experience!" But is that true? Should we take that unpaid internship? Find out in Episode 041 of Write Now.

David is a church-custodian-turned-tow-truck-driver who is querying his first sci-fi novel. We're talking worldbuilding, NaNoWriMo, & hope in today's show.

Rejection happens to every writer. This week's episode explores different types of rejection and how some of them can actually help us to become better writers.

Diane & I talk about finding the courage to do what you love and love what you're doing, the ups and downs of self-publishing, and what it's like to be a "pantser".

The internet is brimming with writing advice -- both good and bad. Episode 039 of Write Now talks about how to determine which advice is worth following, and gives you a rundown of what I think are the worst offenders. Bad advice is bad. I think we've all received bad general advice at one time or another, such as: "Gun it! You can totally make it through that yellow light." "Aw, come on. You can totally handle one more drink." "You don't really need to study for the bar exam." "Your kids would totally respect you more if you dyed your hair blue." Sometimes it's easy to tell whether advice is good or bad -- it's just up to us to make the correct decision. But other times, the line between good and bad is a bit more blurry. Discerning good advice from bad advice. Advice, like so many things, is relative. Advice that's good for one person might be bad for another person (think of medical advice as an example here). So when you receive a piece of advice that sounds pretty good, ask yourself: Is it true? Wh

Episode 012: JoAnna Ver Meer Oh my friends, I am so very excited about today's Coffee Break episode (a.k.a. Tea Break, just for today). That's because I'm talking with my good friend & poet JoAnna Ver Meer, and I think that, by the end of this episode, you'll adore her as much as I do. "I don't think I would be a happy person if I couldn't write every day." Today's episode is a celebration of JoAnna's newest book of poetry, Syllables and Other Poems (published under her maiden name of JoAnna Tatman), and a look at how this poet balances her creative writing life with her technical writing life. "There's so much beauty around us that we miss it." JoAnna is a gentle and quiet spirit who has worked to develop a writer's mindfulness, read widely from the classics, and find confidence amidst her natural shyness. Listen to today's episode using the controls above or on iTunes, and while you're at it, be sure to follow Jo on Twitter or snag her books Walking After Rain or Syllables and Other Poems. (Again, her b

Episode 011: Matt Paulson You might remember Matt Paulson from one of my very first Coffee Break episodes, where we talked about his digital publishing company, automating the writing process, and blogging, as well as a book he had recently written. Five months later, Matt is publishing another book. It's called The Ten-Year Turnaround and it's about achieving financial freedom within a ten-year time period. "All writers are entrepreneurs, whether they realize it or not." Want to feel even more inadequate by comparison? Matt wrote this entire book while walking on a treadmill. "Fitbit tells you 'good job, you got your steps in,' and you also got a bunch of work done." During today's Coffee Break, we're talking about multitasking, being smart enough to know when you've hit a wall, the perks of self-publishing, and writing on the treadmill. Also, I recorded this after a very long week and while incredibly sleep-deprived, so I am in rare form. (You'll see.) And #neverforget: "Be a tool." ...Which reminds me, you

I ended the last episode of the Write Now podcast (#037) with the concept of giving yourself some grace. I ended up thinking about that concept for a long time after that, so decided to give grace its own episode. I hope you enjoy it here in Episode 038. My deep, dark secret. No, I'm not Batman. Let's just get that out of the way. My deep, dark secret is that often I don't like myself very much. Maybe you feel like this sometimes, too. Or a lot of the time. You see, I never feel like I'm quite enough. I'm never thin enough, tall enough, fashionable enough, smart enough, motivated enough, or driven enough. I don't clean my house enough and I'm certainly not wealthy enough. I don't write enough. I have really, really high standards for myself and the work I do. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, in and of itself. But it can have troubling echoes throughout your life. SET ALL THE GOALS??? Recently, I made the mistake of taking a leadership course that focused on setting (and achieving) goals. The course essenti

Episode 010: Kaitlyn Mirison Kaitlyn Mirison was one of the first people to get in touch with me when I first launched the Coffee Break offshoot of the Write Now podcast. And I am so grateful that she did. Kaitlyn is the author of An Artist's Pillars, and host of the Potential & Possibility Podcast, both of which encourage creative folks like you & me to believe in ourselves and deepen our experience of living. "It felt like I was standing on the sidelines of my life." For years, Katilyn worked as an accounting executive, a role in which she was successful but ultimately unfulfilled. She had dreamed of being a writer ever since she was a little girl, but those dreams had been crushed by fear and self-doubt. "At the very core, I didn't believe that I was valuable as a person." In this beautiful and moving episode, Kaitlyn talks about finding the permission you need to write, going against well-intentioned advice when necessary, making peace with your inner critic, and discovering your self-worth &