E.R. COOK

Author. Artist. Dreamer.

  • Learning my craft: 15 minute story writing

    Learning my craft: 15 minute story writing

    So they say that writing is a craft, and like any craft, it takes time to get good. You need to practice and learn new skills and techniques. Find out your strengths and weaknesses. There’s a lot of ways to do this for writing, according to the internet. But I recently remembered something I tried…

  • Life as a PTPW: When inspiration won’t strike

    Writer’s block is as old as time. In fact, it seems cliché to write about it. I don’t have any sure-fire cures, and there’s nothing I can add that you couldn’t find with a simple search. But what I can talk about is that for all we hear and talk about writer’s block, we don’t…

  • Snowstorms and candles: Weather moods and writing

    I’ve gotten a gift this week. Twice I’ve woken up to snow. As I stepped into my cold office, lit the candles and looked out at the darkened landscape, I could just make out the small flakes drifting down in the early dawn light, muted gray by the clouds but allowing me to see the…

  • My Life as a PTPW: Making words while the sun shines

    My Life as a PTPW: Making words while the sun shines

    As I sit typing this, I have a Roomba running around my feet knocking into chairs. A bread machine with a loose something in it is noisily making dough for dinner rolls. The oven is steam cleaning. I’m contemplating if its worth getting the fall decorations (that I meant to put out in September) out…

  • What’s in a (pen) name?

    When I started writing this book, I toyed with the idea of a pen name. I waffled back and forth, weighing the pros and cons, and eventually decided to go with one. The more I looked at the book cover with my new name on it, I came to enjoy using the name. I even…