dreams

How Success Raises the Stakes…in Our Life

May 16, 2013 Over-Achieving Perfectionist
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In writing, we always want the stakes to increase over the course of a story. The problems get bigger, the risks get bigger, and the reasons the characters need to succeed get bigger. The same concept can apply to real life. When we first start a blog, it doesn’t matter if we fall flat on our [...]

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Do You Want to Be a Famous Author?

May 7, 2013 Random Musings
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Every once in a while, I come across an article about figuring out our goals as an author. Heck, I’ve written posts along those lines. As we learn more about the industry and grow as authors, our goals might change, so it’s smart to revisit the question occasionally. But there’s a Step Two to that self-analyzing process that [...]

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Why Do You Enter Writing Contests?

April 25, 2013 Writing Stuff
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A couple of weeks ago, someone (I won’t name who because I don’t want to embarrass her) asked me what score I’d received in a writing contest. I didn’t want to answer at first. I worried about making her feel bad or seeming like I was bragging. Yet I could understand her question. She’d noticed I [...]

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What Should Newbie Writers Focus On?

September 27, 2012 Writing Stuff
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A couple of months ago, a teenage writer left a comment on Roz Morris’s blog, asking how she could afford an editor. She* didn’t want to get a job, because that would take away from her writing time, and she didn’t want to go to college, because she didn’t want to kill her creativity by [...]

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The High Bar of Finding an Agent or Publisher

September 18, 2012 Writing Stuff
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I think this week might secretly be listed on agents’ and publishers’ calendars as National Rejection Week. *smile* Okay, not really. But judging from the online conversations I had with writing friends over the past couple of days, it certainly feels that way to many of us. In other words, the rejections were flying in [...]

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Michael Hauge’s Workshop: You’re the Hero of Your Life

August 30, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Okay, I wasn’t going to do yet another post about Michael Hauge’s presentation at the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Conference. But an off-the-cuff, as-we-were-heading-out-the-door thought he gave to us at the end of his “Using Inner Conflict to Create Powerful Love Stories” workshop really stuck with me, and I wanted to share it with you. Over my past couple of blog [...]

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Bookstores vs. Backlist: A New Decision

August 23, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Several weeks ago, we discussed why authors shouldn’t worry about the ebook versus print debate but should instead focus on their readers’ online versus offline buying habits. Shortly after that post, I visited my local Barnes & Noble bookstore, a beautiful two-story building complete with an escalator. I love that place. But anyone who’s visited a Barnes [...]

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Five Lessons from a Book Tour Newbie — Guest: Suzanne Johnson

July 26, 2012 Writing Stuff
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I’m in Anaheim, California this week for the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Annual Conference, but I have another great guest here today. Suzanne Johnson just had her debut release a few months ago, and she’s been on fire with her stories. Her Royal Street debut came complete with a book tour. A book tour! For a debut author! [...]

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The Hard Work of Writing: Do You Embrace It?

July 3, 2012 Writing Stuff
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When you first started writing, did you realize how much work it would take? Or were you like most of us, thinking that you’d written your share of emails, essays, or Christmas letters and that writing a whole story wouldn’t be—couldn’t be—that much harder? But at some point—maybe it’s when we struggle to make the [...]

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Are You in This for the Long Haul?

May 29, 2012 Writing Stuff
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It’s tempting to put all our effort into a big debut or breakout book.  It’s natural to want our work to make a big splash and gain attention.  We might think that if we break out, we’ll have it made. But there’s a dark side to that approach, especially if our eyes are only on [...]

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