by Rochelle Melander Last week, we went to see Piano Men 2 at the Milwaukee Rep. Two men play and sing songs on pianos, based on audience requests. The performers played songs as diverse as “Ring of Fire,” “Green Acres,” and “Hey Jude.” They encouraged the audience to sing along—loud and proud—whether we were good or not. When they played the Peanuts theme song, they asked us to bop. We did. I experienced something I hadn’t for a long time: a spark of inspiration and hope. Ideas for my writing projects and coaching business popped into my head. I felt a little more inspired than I had in a ..read more

By Elizabeth Cole A couple of months ago, I tried out the dictation feature on my phone’s Notes app, mostly because I was sick of using the keyboard and having my fingers get cold after hours of typing. I had tried dictation years before, and got totally frustrated by how slow and clunky it was. But I am delighted to report that the tools have improved immensely. This time around, I wrote something like 15,000 words per week using dictation, compared to the 4000 or 5000 per week I was struggling to attain the old-fashioned way. And I did it in less time! It’s especially suited for writing ..read more

What My Heroes Taught Me about Writing: Wang Zhenyi by Rochelle Melander It’s made to believe, Women are the same as Men; Are you not convinced, Daughters can also be heroic? — Wang Zhenyi Wang Zhenyi (1768-1797), a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, textbook writer, and poet, lived at a time when women had no legal rights and were rarely educated. Largely self-taught, Zhenyi took complicated mathematical and astronomical events and wrote books that students could understand, opening up new worlds for ordinary people. She was prolific writer, writing at least 12 books as well as academic art ..read more

by Rochelle Melander I’m teaching art and writing at a local school. When I present an assignment, one of my second-grade students always says, “I can’t.” It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Draw a circle. “I can’t.” Give that circle a face. “I can’t.” How about drawing hair on that head? “I can’t.” To encourage him, I said, “There is no can’t. There’s only try.” He looked at me, puzzled. I used different words. “Try drawing hair. If it doesn’t work the first time, you can try again.” He tried. It worked. Whew. The artist Corita Kent said, “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fa ..read more

by Rochelle Melander It’s important to stand still sometimes. Think of it as a little rest in the long journey of your life. This is your harbor. And your boat is just dropping anchor here for a little while. And after you’re well rested, you can set sail again. –Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop We all need fallow time: the space between projects when we search for a new idea. But sometimes we don’t choose the idle periods. Instead, something happens to us—and we can’t write. We get sick. We experience a life crisis or transition. We get busy with work or volunteer duties ..read more

by Rochelle Melander “I never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself.” ~ Florence Nightingale Happy Women’s History Month! To celebrate, I’ll be writing about some of my favorite heroes and how they can teach you about writing. Today’s tip features Florence Nightingale. I’m so impressed by her innovative ways of sharing information—she inspires me to try new things. Florence Nightingale is known as the founder of modern nursing. In her book, Notes on Nursing, she presente ..read more

by Rochelle Melander Creativity is just connecting things. -Steve Jobs I’m taking a Poetry class this winter with Pomelo books. Our task: to take a subject we know a lot about and write a funny poem using a skill like alliteration, idioms, or synonyms. The challenge has been great fun. It also provided me with an idea to spice up my regular writing. I’m hoping it will help you, too. It’s easy to get bored when writing about the same thing repeatedly. To make it interesting, try this writing exercise. Step One. Make a list of three to five of your most common topics. My list includes produc ..read more

by Rochelle Melander Ninety years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, Sojourner Truth refused to get off a streetcar in Washington, D.C. In 1865, a conductor dislocated Truth’s arm when he tried to toss her off. Truth sued the District of Columbia and won. The conductor lost his job, and the company had to enforce DC’s desegregation law. Sojourner Truth never learned to read or write. In defiance of the popular anti-slavery narratives that equated literacy with freedom, Truth refused to learn. She preferred the spoken word. Still, Truth could not escape the popularity of ..read more

by Rochelle Melander I’m always looking for something to spark my creativity and help me think differently about writing. When I happened across the 100-day project this past week, I felt that little zing: perhaps this could be it. Perhaps this could be the thing that helps writers get out of a slump. Read on to learn what it is and how to make it work for you. What it is Starting February 18, 2024, artists commit to doing something daily for 100 consecutive days. The creative task should take 5 to 15 minutes. Many participants share their work on Instagram with the hashtag #the100dayProjec ..read more

by Rochelle Melander “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.” —Corita Kent On NPR’s Morning Edition, A Martínez interviewed members of The Groundlings, a Los Angeles-based improv and sketch comedy troupe. Michael Churven said this about the process, “You bomb so much, and your best teacher is your last bomb. I’ve never learned so much as when I failed miserably on the stage, ’cause you learn firstly to just let it go, which I think is a key ingredient. And secondly, it forces you to think, OK, what was missing in that sketch?” Wow. Instead of fearing failure ..read more