dreams

How To Avoid the Publishing Kool-Aid

October 4, 2011 Writing Stuff
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This isn’t going to be one of those “let’s bash traditional publishing/self-publishing” posts.  There are still too many of those opinions on both sides, and I don’t want any part of that. Two people I respect blogged recently about publishing and kool-aid.  Agent Janet Reid posted about the ten things authors should be doing right now. [...]

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Have You Given Yourself Permission?

September 8, 2011 Writing Stuff
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I had a really bad day of writing on Tuesday.  My muse was off in his own little world.  I was frustrated about getting further behind on…well, everything.  And the words I did write felt like crap. (I know, I know.  It’s my own fault my muse was distracted, because in my last post I wondered how to [...]

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Do You Write for Yourself or Your Readers?

August 25, 2011 Writing Stuff
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Many writers, especially new ones, talk about how they write for themselves.  When we first start out, we might not know if we’ll even be able to finish the project, so it makes sense that we’re writing for ourselves. We want to get this story out of our head.  We want to see if we can write [...]

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What Wrong Turns Have You Made?

August 9, 2011 Random Musings
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Kristen Lamb asked an interesting question on her blog last week, Are We Born to Create?  Her posts often make me think and inspire my own posts here.  (Her unofficial muse skill is one of the reasons I’ve dubbed her “awesome-dipped-in-glitter” (TM).  *smile*) More specifically, she wondered if creative people are born to create.  Many [...]

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Harry Potter and Beyond: What Inspires You to Write?

July 19, 2011 News
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Today’s post is part of the #PotterChat blog hop, a collection of fantastic blogs, Twitter chats, and prizes.  Check out Susan Sipal’s post at Harry Potter for Writers for all the details. For those who didn’t win a prize in my Milestone Blogiversary Contest, you might want to complete the scavenger hunt of this blog hop, [...]

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When Is a Story Worth Writing? – Part One

January 18, 2011 Writing Stuff
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Every story begins with an idea.  Sometimes this idea comes to authors out of the blue.  Sometimes a dream provides the spark.  Sometimes “people watching” or an overheard conversation will trigger the thought.  But no matter where it comes from, the idea kicks off everything else, like a seed from which the story grows. These seeds [...]

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The Best Reason to Blog

November 25, 2010 Random Musings
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Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.  The day we eat too much food, roll our eyes at the antics of our extended family, and think about all the things we’re grateful for.  Or in my case, have epiphanies. So there I was, trying to think about my manuscript’s last-minute revisions while taking my shower, when [...]

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The Joy of…Drafting

October 19, 2010 Writing Stuff
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Most of my past year has been spent editing and revising, but for the past two days, I’ve been able to write fresh stuff for a shiny new project.  Oh, drafting, how I love thee. Really, is there anything more freeing than starting with a newborn idea and exploring?  Every scene, every line, every character’s [...]

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When Is Faking It Okay?

October 14, 2010 Random Musings
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After disclosing in my last post that my Muse is a perv, he’s been rather quiet.  So apparently he’s also shy.  Or the strong and silent type.  But that means I have no inspiration for today’s blog post.  That’s okay—I’ll fake it. Yes, yes, I know, I railed on faking story tension in another post.  [...]

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Do You Know What Will Make You Happy?

August 18, 2010 Random Musings
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My blog-home-away-home, Edittorrent, had another thought-provoking post yesterday.  You really should go read it, but if you don’t have the time, their point boils down to this: Know what will make you feel like a success as a writer.  I think this same idea can apply to just about anyone—not just writers. Know what will [...]

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