Empathy – like writing – isn’t a gift. It’s a discipline. It takes some intentional effort and diligence to develop enormous empathy so that you can apply it to your writing.

I use what I call a ‘writing ladder,’” David told me. “If a tweet resonates – it gets a bunch of RTs and at replies – then I consider it good blog post fodder. If a blog post resonates, I’ll explore it with a riff in a speech and maybe another blog post or two. If a series of posts on the same topic resonates, that’s my next book.

Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple. – Woody Guthrie.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper. – E. B. White.

Because at some point, you do have to rush your own art. Otherwise, your art sits on its butt on the couch eating chips and salsa. However.

Your awesome site isn’t awesome. Getting your stories into the hands of the people who need them is awesome.

Today, I see my business as a content marketing company. In other words, my entire goal is to give more valuable, helpful, and remarkable content to consumers than anyone else in my field, which will in turn lead to more sales.

The truth is this: writing well is part habit, part knowledge of some fundamental rules, and part giving a damn.

If you aren’t having fun creating content, you’re doing it wrong.

As content strategist Jonathon Colman, who works for Facebook, told me: “Start with empathy. Continue with utility. Improve with analysis. Optimize with love.