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Random Musings

Can Karma Help You Become a Better Writer?

Arrows in a circle

Yesterday, author Jody Hedlund had a blog post about why most writers are blind to their own faults.  The first reason she mentioned really resonated with me: We naturally view our work through our maturity level. When we first start any new project, writing or otherwise, we don’t know what […]

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April 5, 2011

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Do You Know What Will Make You Happy?

Smiling sunburst

Yes, it’s cheesy, but that picture is me right now because today is my last day in the deadline cave.  Yay! As I’m finishing up my final push to the finish, I wanted to share this post from last summer.  I think it’s still relevant today, maybe even more so. […]

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March 17, 2011

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Have You Ever Been Tempted to Give Up?

White flag

First, let me state: No, I’m not giving up.  But this round in the deadline cave has been especially brutal, so I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind for a split second. This past weekend, my computer froze in the middle of saving my document […]

March 15, 2011

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You Might Be Under Deadline If…

Man's face covered with post-it notes

I’m in a deadline cave this week, so I have just a short post inspired by my current crazy schedule.  I’m so grateful to my awesome critique partners and beta readers.  They’re trying to keep me sane.  Or at least, they’re trying to keep me from going completely insane.  But […]

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February 22, 2011

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Should You Tweet Cheat?

Card hand with 5 Aces

Update below. No, I’m not talking about using Twitter to cheat in a relationship.  (Answer: No, if for no other reason than nothing is ever as secure as you think it is.)  I’m talking about whether you should cheat Twitter’s 140 character limit and use extended tweets. Ever since Twitter […]

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February 10, 2011

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Are Romance Heroes Good Role Models?

Couple holding hands

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, a recent USA Today article (5/14 ETA: article no longer in USA Today archives) gave the relationship advice that a man should: “look into her eyes, focus on what she says and really talk to her.”  Wow, earth-shattering ideas. Or not.  The suggestion to treat a woman like […]

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February 8, 2011

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What Does “Happily Ever After” Mean?

Special Effect - Light Swirled like a Tree

How were your holidays?  Was Santa good to you?  I got a Kindle and quality time with my family, so short of getting an agent and book contract, my Christmas couldn’t have been any better. As I mentioned last time, whether or not we’re disappointed often depends on what we’re […]

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December 28, 2010

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How to be a Twitter Ninja

Ninja Eyes

To prevent being overwhelmed by Twitter, one suggestion you’ll hear over and over is to use a program like TweetDeck to manage all those tweets by creating lists.  But did you know you can also use lists to become a Twitter Ninja? It’s true.  But before we get into the […]

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December 2, 2010

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The Best Reason to Blog

Thanksgiving Candle

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 […]

November 25, 2010

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How to Make Online Friends

Puppies

In my last post, I talked about the awesome and supportive writing community.  Based on the comments, a lot of people agree.  It’s great to have friends when you’re feeling up, down, or all alone.  But what if you’re not sure how to join that community? Thanks to Laurie London, […]

November 18, 2010

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