Fearless Writing with Bill Kenower

The False Division Between Work and Fun

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As we grow up, it’s easy to start believing that work and fun can’t be one and the same. This may be true in some professions, but it shouldn’t ...

Take The Pressure Off And Find Your Voice

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Often, the biggest obstacle to finding our voice is the pressure we put on ourselves to be “good” or be acceptable. If you take the pressure off, ...

The Only Story I Tell

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

All my stories end the same way: Life is friendly, and the natural relationship between people is love. The reason there are so many to tell is there ...

Your Job Isn’t Complicated

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Amuse, entertain, and inspire yourself, and mean what you say. If you can do that, the rest will take care of itself. 

How Writing Teaches Us to Care About Our Lives

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s easy to start thinking that the lives of all the people you care for are somehow more important than yours. Writing reminds us again and again ...

Writing and the Perils of Adulthood

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes the most difficult part of writing stems from the fact that we’re adults, and have become increasingly concerned with our own survival, ra...

The Hardest Habit I’ve Had to Break

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Where Fearless Writing began. It took reach a very dark place for me to understand how quietly addicted to praise and validation I was. Here’s the s...

The Power of Patience

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writing is often about waiting for the right story, the right scene, the right word. Learn to trust what you know is true about what works and what do...

Thoughts Are Nothing and Everything

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A writer’s primary tool is thought. Every time we sit down to write, we practice choosing the ones that serve us, and the ones that don’t.

Validate Yourself

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You can’t look for your validation from anyone other yourself, which you do every time you write a sentence that satisfies you.

The Power Of Listening

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Creativity is very active, but all the stories and songs and poems that have ever been written began with listening, when artist heard the inspiration...

A Writer’s Pep-Talk

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We all need one sometimes. It’s easy to lose track of why we do this, where our confidence comes from – so here you go. Enjoy!

Writing And Our Own Happiness

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing feels better than getting in the flow. Yet this fantastic experience requires nothing but the focus of own attention. A great reminder when we...

The REAL Craft Of Writing

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writing is about the search for the effortless path. Our job is to test for resistance with every scene, sentence, and word. When we meet it, we have ...

What’s Waiting For You At The Desk?

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes we have a low-running fear of writing. We’ve created unfriendly story about what’s waiting for us at the desk. We have to change that st...

Write From Love, Not Fear

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fear is always a movement away from, love is a movement toward. Both are creative, but only one creates on purpose.

What Really Pleases You?

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You would think we wouldn’t need to ask this, but it’s easy sometimes to accept experiences AND stories we don’t really like. Pay close attentio...

The Problem With “Hard” Work

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writers sometimes romanticize how hard writing can be. It’s important to remember that effortlessness is the essence of our best work.

Your Inherent Confidence

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your confidence doesn’t come from success. It’s something you’re born with that you have to find every time you write.Jane Friedman interview on...

Writing And The Eternal

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your stories may or may not live on forever, but what you tap into to write them is eternal.

Love Your Stories Unconditionally

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writing teaches us that our focus is everything. Nothing can control our focus but ourselves. The conditions of our life will change, but our focus wi...

Write Like There’s Nothing Wrong With You

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s no such thing as good and bad in a story – just what belongs or what doesn’t. The same is true for you. There’s nothing wrong with you...

You Don’t Have To Be Original

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every story has already been told – but that’s all right. By telling your specific version, you’ll help us remember why love matters, why life m...

The Power of Creative Questions

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A creative question is one to which only you have the answer. These are the most important questions in our lives, and writing is a great way to pract...

Your Book Is A Conversation

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You start the conversation, and your reader finishes it. What’s the conversation YOU want to have?

Listen To This if You’re Blocked

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You don’t have to please anyone. You don’t have to care about your results. You don’t have to be good enough. You just have to get into that tru...

What Pleases You Most Will Please Others

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard to remember, especially as an artist, but you’re only job is to please yourself. Forget the applause and the reviews. Those only come af...

You're Not Alone

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writing is all about connection. I know you’re alone in your workroom, but when you get in that flow, you are connecting to something in all of us. ...

Interest Is More Important Than Ability

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s critical to learn your craft, but all that learning is driven by interest. Interest is the fuel that drives our creative engine, and without it...

Addicted To Praise

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s easy for artists to become distracted by and even addicted to praise. It may feel good, but it’s a bottomless need that will never be satisfi...

Coming Out

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone needs to “come out” in one way or another, to be who they really are rather than who they believe they’re supposed to be. Writing is a ...

Never Stop Creating

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Life is creative and so are you. But when you stop participating deliberately in that creation, life seems random and you feel out of control. Take wh...

Small Steps

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s impossible to overstate how important it is to think in small steps. After all, every novel or memoir is written one sentence at a time. If you...

The Two Rules For Fun

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At its core, creativity must be fun. Here are the two rules for having fun that I learned while playing Dungeons & Dragons that apply to games, wr...

The Good We Can’t See

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s almost impossible to grasp the effect our work has in the world. Most of it happens where we can’t see it. But know that it’s happening, wh...

What To Do When Doubt Sets In

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the three steps I take whenever I start doubting and worrying about my work.  

You Don’t Need or Want to Know the Future

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writing teaches us every day that the pleasure of creating is discovery. The same can be true of life away from the desk, if we accept that we don’t...

Find Your Balance

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether you’re walking a balance beam or wondering whether you’re good enough, the goal isn’t perfection but rapid course correction. Balance is...

Your Curiosity Is Fearless

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It loves the unknown, which is the only place it can exist. It’s only when you doubt it, resist following it, that you suffer. It will never steer y...

You Always Have Something

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you have an imagination, curiosity, and desire you always have what you need to create anything you want. These can never leave you, but you have t...

Always Ask The Right Questions

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The imagination is faithful, but it doesn’t discriminate. It will answer any question you ask it. Make sure you only ask those to which you sincerel...

No Complaints!

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes our most creative moments stem from things that bother us – stories that we wished ended differently, or passages that seem sloggily writt...

Write Because Your Life Matters

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve spent a lot of time taking care of other people, it’s easy to start believing their lives, their happiness, their safety and well-being,...

Your Cabin On The Beach

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writers sit down every day at their desk and summon all kinds of feelings, from joy to grief. When you’re not writing, focus less on the result you ...

Look At The Swans!

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A story from my brother that serves as a great reminder of how easy it is to lock our attention onto what we don’t want. Creativity is all about thi...

Craft and Desire

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Our craft evolves to match our creative desires. With time, you will always be “good enough” to write the kind of story you most want to write.

When Readers Don’t Get It

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We can’t let fear of being misunderstood keep us from sharing our work. Not everyone can get everything, and that has to be okay.

Feeling Disconnected

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes we go a few days or weeks without writing and feel disconnected and dissatisfied. Try not to despair. Your true creative self is always with...

The Dream Has Always Been Real

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing we dream exists outside of us. Just like our stories, it starts within us and then we dream it forward onto the page and into the world.

How Writing Teaches Us To Be Free

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You must be willing to tell the story you most want to tell in the way you most want to tell it. That is freedom. 

Creating on Purpose

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writing is a great way to practice creating on purpose, rather than accidentally or by default. The blank page asks what we want, and only we can answ...

What’s Your Motivation?

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You need to know your character’s motivation to really understand them and tell compelling stories. You also need to be clear about your own motivat...

A Writer’s Best Practice

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Starting this week, begin practicing how you think when you sit down to write. Practice caring about the story, not what other people think about the ...

Big Announcement: Fearless Writing Retreat!

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I'll be hosting a Fearless Writing retreat January 26 - 31 in Portland, OR. Space is limited!I'd love to see you there.Retreat: https://www....

You Can’t Control What You Like

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all have a personal aesthetic that’s unique to us. We can’t control it; we can only obey it. In this way, what we create is not dissimilar to t...

Why I Publish

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It can be hard to connect to why we publish aside from money and possibly acclaim. It’s important to remember that if you’re sharing something you...

Fantasy and Reality

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writing has taught me, and continues to teach me, that the only thing real in life is love. You can’t manufacture it, you can only see it, find it, ...

Accepting All Changes

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When we work with an editor, we will inevitably accept most of the changes they make to our story. It’s good preparation for sharing our work with r...

Real Commitment

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At some point, every artist must commit to their work before they have evidence of success. Let your love of the work be reason enough to make this co...

What Comes Before Craft

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Learning your craft is critical, but all the know-how in the world is useless without the right mindset. Unless we wait with an open heart and curious...

Sometimes The Best Thing to Do Is Nothing

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When you’re struggling, when you think you’re no good, when you feel like your story stinks – don’t try to fix anything. Do nothing until the ...

Writing As A Way To Meet Yourself

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The point of writing is never the outcome. An outcome is just an excuse to focus in a meaningful way, and when we do, we meet ourselves in a way we ra...

Ignore the Odds

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The only real certainty in writing and in life comes when we follow that guidance that tells us what story to write and how best to write it. If you d...

More Fearless Marketing

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two helpful tips to get over our resistance to marketing: make it fun, and offer a conversation. It’s nearly impossible to do anything well that we ...

Pain-Free Writing

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When we write, we’re always seeking the effortless way forward. But we often meet resistance. The pain comes when we try to force our way through th...

Always Be Creative

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You’re an artist. You don’t have to stop being an artist just because you’re marketing your work. Keep being creative in everything you do. It’...

Writing and The Eternal

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

People deal with death and loss all the time. Yet writing requires us to tap into something eternal within ourselves, something undying that is always...

The Elusive Art of Being Yourself

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It shouldn’t be hard to be yourself. What else could you possibly be? Yet writing, and the arts in general, have taught me like nothing else that be...

Meet Your Own Expectations

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes our stories don’t meet our readers expectations of what a story is supposed to be. That’s okay. Our job is always to meet our own expect...

No Bad Writers

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever we think about other writers, we think about ourselves. Never call an author whose work you don’t enjoy “bad.” It’s only a matter of ...

You Don’t Have to Listen to Criticism

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Getting feedback from writing groups, beta readers, agents, and editors is just fine. But once the story or book is finished, it’s okay not to liste...

Every Choice Matters

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes in life it can feel like our choices don’t matter. But writing teaches us that all our choices matter, the big ones and the small ones. Th...

Asking The Right Questions

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writing is all about asking questions and waiting for answers. But we don’t want to ask the wrong questions, the ones to which we only want one answ...

Writing and What You Can Never Be Taken From You

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writing has taught me like nothing else that what matters most in life can’t be given to me or taken from me.

What’s The Good Part?

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Stories can help tune us to the good part of life, what always exists beneath the surface. The good part is why life is worth living, though it’s ea...

What Writing Taught Me About Being With Other People

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just as we can’t worry what people think of our stuff while we’re writing, so too the best way to be with others in social situations is to not tr...

The Best Writing Strategy

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Very simple: show up, be curious, be interested, be open, and the details necessary to tell your story will come to you. Do your job and let the rest ...

Embrace Your Uniqueness And Others Will Too

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not anyone else job to accept what is unique about you or your work. That’s your job. Once you have, however, others will have to agree with ...

Give It Away

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our readers' lives and preferences influence how they receive our story. We can’t control that. So, we must give it away, metaphorically, and t...

Success As A Measure Of Interest

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If we’re not sincerely, authentically, personally interested in what we’re writing, we won’t succeed. As creative people, we must constantly ask...

Forgive Your Mistakes

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The only way to learn is from experience, and everyone has to experience something to learn not to do it. As creative people, we will make mistakes, a...

The Meaning Is Always In You

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The page is blank. You may be writing about the world you’ve experienced, but the meaning you find for your stories always starts in you – nowhere...

Trust What Comes Easily

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Artists can start believing too much in struggle and in what they find difficult. However, what comes most easily to us is usually the expression of o...

Inviting Inspiration

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writing requires inspired ideas. But we can’t demand them, can’t use our craft to manufacture them. But we can practice putting ourselves into the...

Find Your Intellectual Family

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Richard Bach pointed out: writers aren’t looking for an editor or a publisher, but a member of their intellectual family. They’re out there, bu...

Trust Your Reader

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We need our readers to fill in what we leave out; it’s what really finishes a story. This means we have to trust them, even though sometimes they do...

Nothing Better Than Joy

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Beethoven no doubt knew – there’s nothing better than joy, and creativity teaches us again and again it’s always inside of us, never outside ...

The Real Value of Being an Author

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The time I learned why being an author is so valuable, and how we can use this authority to allow people to believe the stories they actually want to ...

When Our Pain Isn’t Real

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A true story about how physical pain and suffering taught me a lot about all suffering. If I’m honest, most of it wasn’t real, wasn’t necessary....

Writing As A Cure for Loneliness

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re like me, you prefer to be alone while you write. But you’re also never lonely, at least not when it’s going well. That’s because lon...

When The Best Plan Is No Plan

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just like you can’t know every sentence in a paragraph before you write it, so too you can’t know how your career or life will unfold. As creative...

You’re the Author of Your Life

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes editing is hard because all those passages we reread and don’t like remind us of the parts of our life that seem to have happened to us bu...

The Intentional Arc

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every story has three arcs: The Physical, The Emotional, and The Intentional. The last is the most important – why you’re telling the story, the g...

Experience, Not Results

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s easy for writers to put all their attention on results – the finished book, the contract, the sales – and start believing that the experien...

Writing and Stage Fright

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writing can be like a performance since we never really know what’s going to happen when sit down at the desk. We must trust we’ll know what to wr...

Why Do We Write?

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not for the money, though that’s always nice. And it’s not for the recognition or praise. No, it’s always so we can receive what we want ...

The Hard Part: Rewriting

24 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This one of the most common hard parts for writers is taking that messy first draft and turning into something we’d actually like to share with othe...

Finding Your Voice

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our voice is not an expression of some discovered style, or of talent, or intelligence, but rather our unique interest. Let your work express that, wh...

The Importance Of Small Successes

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The big successes – the completed book, the published novel, the good sales – are always an accumulation of little successes. Yet writers often do...

Finding Your Readers

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes writers feel like beggars asking for handouts as they submit their work. But we’re not. We’re not asking for anything, we’re giving so...