ALICIA N. INGRAM

My new friend and gracious host, Carlos, lounged in a rooftop hammock opposite of mine. We were sipping tequila while listening to the waves crashing to the beach shore in Mexico. “Eight thousand pesos,“ he announced proudly. Good at writing but not so much with math, I punched the numbers into the currency converter app on my phone to confirm. Wait...whaaaat?! The rent for an apartment with a beachfront view was 400 US Dollars?! In that moment, I decided, I too, was going t

When I started a travel blog several years ago, I quickly realized that keeping the blog monster regularly fed was hard. On my off days, writing was a breeze. But during non-stop flying days, I didn't always feel like writing. Yet in an effort to write more, I decided to sign up for one of those free writing challenges. No matter what, I committed to writing 500 words a day for 20 days straight. Those first few days weren't that fun. I would sit down and have to be okay with

"I got one more for you: So there was this guy Marty and Marty couldn't see too well...." It was the fourth story and our weekly call was running over. But I didn't mind. Don, my client, told the best stories. They were always interesting, many were hilarious and definitely book worthy. As much as Don loved telling his stories, I loved hearing them. However, my final recommendation was to exclude the story he just told from the book. He was bummed, I was bummed, but I knew th

Writing is both a spiritual and mental exercise. When you’re aligned, it seems like the words just flow from another realm and into your mind. When you’re off your game, that’s usually when the writing stops. Like exercise, you may not feel like doing it, but it’s good for you. Clarity comes with time, focus and discipline. It comes with putting in the work of writing and rewriting. If you’re waiting for the clarity to return, staying in action makes a world of difference. Gr