What is it about Susan Boyle that has captured the imaginations of people all over the world? The video of her audition on Britain’s Got Talent has been viewed on YouTube over 100 million times and counting. Articles and blog posts about her pop up daily like spring flowers.

Many people dream of writing the great American novel. It’s a beautiful dream and here are my top five tips for making it a reality.

It is harrowing for me to try to teach 20-year-old students, who earnestly want to improve their writing. The best I can think to tell them is: Quit smoking, and observe posted speed limits. This will improve your odds of getting old enough to be wise.

–Barbara Kingsolver

How often do you get one of those truly great ideas in life and you forget to write it down? So many good ideas, even epiphanies, come to us at inconvenient times: the middle of the night, the middle of a meeting, in the shower, or whenever. Our muse has a mind and a schedule of her own that doesn’t always respect or honor our timing of things.

The snow-capped Rocky Mountains surround me like ancient grandparents who want to tell me their stories and pass their wisdom on to me. There are no fresh words to describe this level of jaw-dropping beauty. Majestic, timeless, awesome, are overused. Yet every time I sit and witness this scene, I feel refreshed, renewed.