Read. Literature. Contemporary stories from thoughtful writers. Read memoirs. New essays and The Essays of E. B. White [I recommend “Death of a Pig.”]. Pulitzer Prize winners like Elizabeth Strout. Read Facebook posts by Anne Lamott and Humans of New York. The Bible. Anything Brene Brown writes. Jane Austen. Reread the stories you loved as a child: The Velvet Room, Treasure Island, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys…Harry Potter…Beatrix Potter, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. By now, you have books and stories and authors in your head you think I’ve missed. 🙂 Your view of humanity will expand. Your language and vocabulary will expand. Your compassion will expand. Your relationships will improve (there are studies that show readers are better lovers, and I mean, heart lovers.) You know what else will improve? With no college or masters degree or Ph.D., your writing will soar in leaps and bounds. I’ve seen evidence […]