I'm a strong believer in versatility, in trying different things and using different skills. Not only does versatility prevent boredom but it adds value. Doing one thing, and only one thing well, is a formula for obsolescence. 

At the core of all writing is a feeling for story and for words, and having the capability to organize "information" into narratives that engage readers. It's the same no matter the medium or genre, whether you're writing a script for a TV commercial, a play, an essay, a blog post for a business, an obituary of a brilliant scientist, a news story about a political protest, or a love poem.

I market myself as a "content marketer," but that doesn't mean I can't write many other things. Whether you market yourself as a poet or an essayist or a romance novelist or a copywriter, we're all trying to do the same thing -- make human connections with our words.

Many writers and creative professionals want to be specialists, and they're right. By following one niche or genre, you can improve what you do, make your reputation larger (big fish in small pond), and find more work. What I'm saying is this -- it's fine if clients, editors, and readers see you as "the go-to person for blog posts on retirement planning for Millennials." You might even market yourself that way if writing about retirement planning is a lucrative and growing market (it may well be, actually). Just don't define yourself that way in your own mind, don't dream about being "the go-to writer on retirement planning for Millennials," because it restricts your capacity to be creative and contribute your skills elsewhere.

If the "small pond" you happen to inhabit, as the big fish, ever dries up, what are you going to do? Keep floundering in the mud until your air runs out? Always be ready to adapt, even when you specialize. Especially when you specialize.

I'm proudly versatile, willing to try new kinds of writing and write about diverse topics. As Walt Whitman once wrote: "Do I contradict myself? So I contradict myself. I am large and contain multitudes." Whitman was my kind of artist, self-reflective, open to diversity and new experiences, never losing his joie de vivre and passion for the commonplace things around him -- which he never saw as commonplace, Be filled with wonder and passion for the new, no matter your age or specialization.

So to all creative types, and all human types, I'd offer the same suggestions: keep learning, keep trying, keep failing (because that is learning too), and don't be afraid to do things that might scare you. You should be doing things that scare you, at least sometimes. After all, you may find new, "scary" things that you like doing, that may even sustain you spiritually and financially.

I went from writing poems and personal essays in my twenties, to writing newspaper journalism in my thirties and forties, to writing business stories today. I've worked as a lawyer, a teacher, a business trainer, a banker, and a journalist. And I may just add a few more professions to the mix before I'm done.

Others may see this as a lack focus, that I don't know what I want to do with my life. I always say that I've done exactly what I've wanted with my life -- it just hasn't been one thing. It's just the way I'm built. Others may want to do one thing all their lives, and they have my respect and good wishes. But I am not them, nor they me.

As a creative person, I get bored easily and view too much routine as an enemy. Sometimes I just stumble my way along and find something I like, other times I just try something and move on from it, a lesson learned in what I don't like to do. I took a night class in computer programming about a decade ago. Guess what? It's something I tried, learned something about, actually use today in my writing for business clients, but don't wish to pursue as a career path. That said, some of my best friends are computer programmers -- they often tell me how they couldn't do what I do. I tell them that I couldn't do what they do.

We all have things we like to do. For some of us, it's one or two things. For others, it's many. I'm in the second camp. Learning is fun and ever-humbling, and it's good for us. T.S. Eliot used to say, "every writer is a failed writer." That's too pessimistic for me, but I understand what he means. The great novelist E.M. Forster once advised would-be writers to "keep failing, but fail better each time." As a rule for life, "fail better" isn't a bad one.

​What are your views on versatlity versus specializing?

I've always loved to walk. In the summer, when the hot sun goes down, you can often find me walking along the beach near my house. I especially enjoy walking on the sand or walking atop the long rock wall that abuts the local beach. I'll do it for an hour or two, but have been known to walk for as as much as five hours on some days. Why do I walk? Let me count the whys . . .

1. Walking is restorative. Walking empties my mind and gets me to focus on my surroundings. I listen to the waves lapping on the beach, or the cries of seagulls. I'll wave to other passing beach walkers like me, and sometimes pet their dogs and have a friendly chat about the weather. For any creative person who needs to be inside their heads for long periods in order to create, it helps to get completely out of your own head. For me, walking is meditative and therefore restorative.

2. Walking is healthy. Like many creative people, I often stress about the work I'm producing, not to mention the typical commercial worries like getting new clients or getting existing clients to pay. Such stresses can erode your physical and mental health, leading you to bad eating habits and an expanding waistline. I'm a big guy anyway, but walking helps me burn calories and keep more weight from creeping on me. As writers, we need to have healthy minds and healthy bodies. Walking is fine exercise, less jarring than jogging, more accessible than golf, less grueling than kickboxing. Walking also helps me sleep.

3. Walking is social. When I walk, I often do it with my wife and/or friends. Walking a few hours with someone you care about is a great way to catch up, take in some nature, and maybe grab an adult beverage afterwards, when you feel you've "earned" that glass of red sangria. On most nights, walking is the way I catch up with my wife. We talk about our days, our stressors big and small, and bring up any issues that need discussing.

4. Walking spurs creativity. According to a landmark study from Stanford University, walking enhances our ability to generate creative ideas. That same study showed that walking improves mood and increases our cognitive functioning. I've actually had great ideas pop into my head "out of nowhere" while walking. I then pull out my phone and create a new note in Evernote, so I can remember the idea later. Many creative people have had the same experience, finding breakthrough ideas and solutions while they're walking. 

5. Walking gets us out of the house. I always say that writers need to get out of the house. You need to be in the world, with people, with nature, moving around, rather than sitting in front of a computer or TV screen. Walking is an easily-accessible antidote to the blues, at least it has been for me. Sometimes our minds can become our worst enemies, tricking us into believing we're hopeless and isolating us from the help we need. When I get the blues as we all do on occasion (alas), I just get up out of my chair, go outside, and start walking. It has the power to re-set me, getting me out of any rut.

Do you walk or exercise or do some activity to spur creativity? Share it with us . . 

Creative people, especially writers, often have the reputation of being prima donnas, and this is not a flattering description. I'm not Noah Webster, but I define a "prima donna" as an overly sensitive or unusually tempermental person who possesses an inflated or irrational view of their own importance. I know that sounds like one of our current presidential candidates, but it applies to many writers too, alas.

As a writer, you are indeed important, or at least your work is. But I can guarantee you this: if you don't work well with others, you will not work at all. Writing is always a collaborative process. Remember, you actually WANT another person to work with you -- I call this person "the reader." But in order to get work, you'll also need to work with clients and editors. You may be the most brilliant, genius writer ever, but do you think clients and editors want to work with someone who acts like a petulant child?

I have a suggestion for prima donnas, no matter how brilliant they are: stop acting like the world revolves around your work because nobody cares about you until you care about them first. This goes for readers, clients, editors, and everyone else in the writer's life (next door neighbors, the UPS dude, etc.).

Here are three of my favorite suggestions for writers who are also would-be prima donnas:

1. Respect the contributions of others. Guess what, amigo, we all need help in this world, even a certain presidential candidate. When you ask for or receive help, express gratitude. So, for example, when a client or editor emails you to offer an assignment, even if that assignment doesn't allow you to fully "express your creative genius" (why don't my clients pay me to write sonnets, I've often asked myself?), then offer them a thank you. Expressions of gratitude cost us nothing, and may even help us sustain our careers and financial futures. 

I actually go out of my way to say thank you. Last week, I was having difficulties collecting money from an institutional client of mine, one of the largest state universities in the nation. I called around, but got no real satisfaction. Finally, I reached a woman who went out of her way to listen to my issue and then helped get my payment processed. Did I thank her on the phone? Yes. Did I follow up and thank her by email? Yes. Did I write a glowing email to her manager, cc'ing her, about her willingness to help me? Yes. The NEXT time I have problems getting payment processed from this client, I'll have someone in my corner to help me. Why? Because I expressed gratitude. Acting like a self-entitled jerk gets you nowhere -- in fact, it turns potential collaborators into enemies.

2. Give people the benefit of the doubt. While it may be true that other people are not as "creatively gifted" or intelligent as you (lucky you, Mr. Prima Donna!), you should give them the benefit of the doubt, at least the first time you deal with them. When that client offers you an assignment to write about the new federal regulation coming down the block, two thoughts might run through your head: (1) the client is insulting my creative genius by asking me to write about something that doesn't take advantage of all my gifts as a writer; or (2) the client and the client's target audience is concerned about the new regulation and wants someone (you, in this case) to offer insights about what it could mean. 

Giving the client the benefit of the doubt means realizing that thought #2 is the real situation, and thought #1 makes you a prima donna. Clients and editors have problems, and are asking you to help solve them. While you are involved, and can make money by solving their problem, it's not ALL about YOU. If you don't help solve their problem, they'll just find another writer (a non-Prima Donna) who will.

3. Practice humility, always. I strongly believe that humility is part of what makes a writer great. Being willing to admit when you don't know something, and being ready to learn and ask others for help, doesn't make you weak. Quite the opposite. Clients and editors, and everyone else in your life, are human beings just like you. They make mistakes and are doing their best, just like you. Understanding this better connects you to these people. Failing to understand this makes you a prima donna, and will isolate you. It's your choice . . .Do you have any tips on how to sop being a prima donna, dear reader? Share 'em if you got 'em!