Do Proliferating Ideas Threaten to Overtake You?

Do ideas flood your brain like a herd gone wild? Are you flailing around, physically and metaphorically, trying to corral them and drive them into the barn? Going mad trying to figure out how to use them all?

I am almost constantly barraged by ideas for essays, stories, poems, novel slivers, quirky descriptions, and metaphoric pearls. Ideas surface everywhere: as I work on the current creative piece, edit clients’ manuscripts, wash dishes, huff through workouts, wait on line, watch people, meditate, fall asleep, and even at business dinners.

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Are You Using Writing Models? If Not, You Should Be. Here is How and Why.

First, you may be asking, “What is a writing model?” A writing model is an example of writing like the one you need to produce.

Allow me to illustrate. Very early in my graduate program, I had never read a dissertation. But I knew I needed to write one. The best advice I received was to familiarize myself with the structure of a finished dissertation. I found dissertations that students in my own program had successfully written and defended under the guidance of my advisor.

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Chat GPT: Forget about it…

Unless you were on that island with Tom Hanks in Cast Away, you have likely heard a lot about ChatGPT, Bard, and other artificial intelligence chatbots in the last two months. I mean a lot. Like too much.

You have likely heard about the revolutionary changes coming to the web, the world, education, and more. I am here to tell you as authors, take a breath. Don’t give up the ship. It will all be okay.

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New TAA Workshops by James Lang now available

TAA recently added three new 90-Minute Virtual Workshops by James Lang, former Professor of English and the founding Director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption University: 1) “Writing Like a Teacher: Expanding the Audiences for Your Research”; 2) “Queries, Proposals, and Agents: The Mechanics of Submitting to Trade Book Publishers”; and 3) “Writing Accessible Prose: Attention Tools on the Page”. These TAA-sponsored virtual workshops are offered to institutions on a first-come first-served basis. Learn more about how you can bring these or other TAA virtual workshops to your campus for only $1,000.

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