Are you building a cathedral?

Sage CohenFierce writing, The life poetic4 Comments

In one of my favorite allegories, a traveler in medieval times comes upon a stonemason at work. He asks, “What are you doing?” The man looks weary and unhappy. He responds, “Can’t you see I am cutting and laying down stone? My back is killing me, and I can’t wait to stop.” The traveler continues on his way and comes … Read More

We’re better together

Sage CohenFierce writing, Sage sightings, Study with SageLeave a Comment

Writing is commonly thought to be a solo activity. But I believe that a sustainable writing life takes a village. When we feel connected to community and are engaged in collaboration, our productivity and satisfaction can exponentially increase. When we gather to share our work, explore our ideas, and declare our intentions, we increase our odds of success. {tweet it} Why? … Read More

Are your writing goals big enough?

Sage CohenFierce writing7 Comments

“I kept hearing advice, like ‘just get out of bed, just make pot of coffee.’ If my goal is only to get out of bed, I’d never accomplish anything,” she said. Her advice to others coming out of a difficult situation? “Set goals impossibly big — look at the big picture.” The headline got my attention: “Single mom builds 3,500-square-foot … Read More

Are you the poetry lady (or man)?

Sage CohenThe life poetic16 Comments

As my dog, Hamachi, and I descended our front steps into the well-worn rhythm of our morning walk, a car pulled into the space behind my own at the curb. Machi and I both pricked our ears in anticipation as the man behind the wheel got out and strode toward us. Was he delivering a package? Did he need help with something? “Hi!” he … Read More

Yes, no, and what really matters

Sage CohenFierce writing, Productive writing6 Comments

It’s that time time of year when many of us are reckoning with how 2016 went down while also anticipating what 2017 will be. Here at Sage Headquarters, I’m appreciating a practice I’ve adopted this year that makes this process a bit more streamlined than usual. It started like this. When I turned 47 this year, I promised myself that … Read More

There is a crack in everything

Sage CohenProductive writing, The life poetic14 Comments

I believe we don’t live in our lives; we live in the stories we tell about our lives. What happened is far less significant than how we interpret what it means to us—and how this leads us forward. Which is why I have dedicated a lifetime to studying the possibilities of language, poem, and story. One of my great teachers … Read More

Gerri Ravyn Stanfield on story medicine and revolutionary healing

Sage CohenProductive writingLeave a Comment

I first discovered Gerri Ravyn Stanfield when a friend forwarded her newsletter to me. Poems are my medicine, and I felt inhaled by the poem Ravyn had shared–and then breathed back into the world more awake, more aware, more myself. This led me to acupuncture treatment with Ravyn, through which we restored some of my core stories and foundational strengths. Ravyn … Read More

Mantu Joshi on writing and living fierce

Sage CohenProductive writing2 Comments

Mantu Joshi wrote me in 2014 to tell me that my book The Productive Writer had helped him believe he could write a book. In two hours a week for two years, he wrote that book. And now it was published. He invited me to his book launch reading for The Resilient Parent, which happened to be in my city. I attended. I wept through the entire reading. This … Read More

Raise your set point

Sage CohenProductive writing2 Comments

How would you act if you were sure you deserved the writing life you want? I ask this question in a chapter titled “You’re Worth It” in Fierce on the Page, my latest book from Writer’s Digest Books. In it, I propose that if you don’t think you deserve success, it doesn’t matter how many great productivity strategies you’ve tried. … Read More

And then there were none

Sage CohenThe life poetic17 Comments

There is a woman in my neighborhood who walks. 13 years ago, when I was new in my house, my two young, strapping dogs jumped her two young, beautiful dogs as they were passing by and we were getting into the car. In this shocking and unprecedented moment, something deep down in our tribal animal brains was decided. Our packs … Read More