Editor’s note: This month, we bring you brief reminders from pros around the world about what or who helped them forward in their careers.

Nearly every day, I’m grateful that my best friend and mentor, the late writing teacher and coach Donald M. Murray, entered my life to teach me that writing may be magical, but it’s not magic. It’s a process, a series of decisions and steps that every writer makes and takes, regardless of deadline, length or genre. And for teaching me that the more personal you are the more universal you become and to never apologize for being human.

Chip Scanlan ~ freelance writer, author, story coach

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