by Susan Lovett | Jul 29, 2026 | Story, Writing |
Life gets weird sometimes. It’s illogical and random. A loved one dies unexpectedly, you get fired without warning, a car blows through a red light and plows into you. There’s no reason behind it, just erratic happenings. It doesn’t work that way in stories. Every...
by Susan Lovett | Jul 15, 2026 | For Writers |
There are always two stories: the one in our head and the one on the page, and they are rarely the same. It’s enough to throw your hands in the air and admit defeat. Giving up on your story doesn’t happen because your story isn’t good. It’s not...
by Susan Lovett | Jul 7, 2026 | For Writers |
Writing is a lonely act. We toil away with nothing between us and the words on the page. That loneliness often leads writers to seek out communities and writing groups, which can be great or terrible, depending on the group. Writing Groups What often happens is that...
by Susan Lovett | Jun 30, 2026 | Story, Writing |
Most people start writing projects by deciding what they want to say or who they want to say it to, and that’s great when you are ready to write. But are you ready to write yet? Do you know how to write great sentences that pull readers in? Do you understand how...
by Susan Lovett | Jun 25, 2026 | Blog, For Writers |
There’s a lot of noise on the internet these days. People promising outstanding results with little to no effort, or a method for powering up productivity that borders on crazy anime levels. I’m not like that. My promises are more reasonable. I’ll...
by Susan Lovett | Jun 16, 2026 | Business, For Writers |
“Recalculating.” “Your 20-minute timer starting now.” “Speed camera ahead.” “To repeat these options, press 9.” “We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes.” Can you hear it? Those mechanical voices...
by Susan Lovett | Jun 2, 2026 | Blog, Neuroscience |
“The worst date of my life began with an apology and ended with a proposal. No joke.” Do you want to know more? Probably. We all love a good story, but have you ever asked why? Why do we lean in when someone sets the scene? Why do we want to know more when someone...
by Susan Lovett | May 26, 2026 | Business |
Speeches need to captivate, or they get ignored. We’ve all heard speeches that probably looked great on paper, but that died in delivery. It wasn’t because the information was wrong or bad. It was likely because the delivery was stilted because it wasn’t written for...
by Susan Lovett | May 19, 2026 | Business |
No one likes a saggy middle. It’s the speech-giving equivalent of a “soggy bottom” (this was for my fellow Great British Bake Off fans). In this series, we’ve talked about how to pick a topic for your speech and how to open and close a talk, now it’s time to address...
by Susan Lovett | May 12, 2026 | Business |
You have seven seconds to capture someone’s attention when giving a speech. Seven. That’s all. That’s roughly the average time for a play in professional football. Or enough time to read the first few lines of the crawl in the Star Wars: A New Hope film. It’s not a...
by Susan Lovett | May 5, 2026 | Business |
What the heck do I say? That’s the first question we often ask ourselves when we need to give a speech or share our ideas in a presentation. What should I talk about? But that’s a problem. It’s too broad a question to answer effectively, and it will stop you before...
by Susan Lovett | Apr 28, 2026 | Writing |
You are writing the truth and it matters. But does it capture attention? Is your reader or audience interested? Do they lean in for more? They will…with a bit of creative flair. That’s where the creative in creative nonfiction comes in—in the tone, style, rhythm, and...
