William Faulkner, a Nobel Prize-winning American author and considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, once said,

The writer’s only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one.

There are life lessons in everything. And sometimes the biggest life lessons are found in the least expected places. Here are the 12 Life Lessons I’ve learned, so far, from watching American Idol.

Toni Morrison said, when she started writing, “It was as though I had nothing left but my imagination. I wrote like someone with a dirty habit. Secretly. Compulsively. Slyly.”

Would you describe yourself as courageous? Probably not. Not many of us do. Yet courage is an attribute that I think all artists, writers and creative types must develop in order to create, revise, and ultimately launch their creations out into the world.

Let’s face it; life has a way of bending, stretching and compressing us, even when we do our best to avoid it. Resiliency is a trait that can be helpful to everyone on the planet. But it can be especially helpful to writers, artists, and creative types.

So many times our New Year’s resolutions lack the vitality that we need for them to take root in us and so many times we’re unsuccessful with them.

What if your New Year’s resolutions were strictly about adding vitality to your life? See the list of resolutions you may want to try.

One thing that it is commonly agreed upon at writer’s and artist’s conferences and books about craft is that those who somehow make it in the art and book world are those who possess one trait above all others: perseverance.

Top 10 Quotes about Writing and Creativity. Including quotes by Willa Cather, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Nora Ephron and more.

Here is a list of 100 things I’m grateful for. Creating a gratitude list can help return you to a sense of power and possibility. What would be on your list?

It happens to the best of us. We’re cruising along in life, things are going great or just so-so and then – wham! – something happens that stops us cold! It could be something at work, in a relationship, or something less clear-cut, like a fear that we’re not good enough or that our lives don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.