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The “Secret” to Success Can’t Be Bought

Wax seal on an envelope with text: Psst... Want to Buy the Secret to Success?

Unfortunately, some writers believe that paying for a workshop, class, or conference is necessary to succeed, and some sales pitches play to our fears by implying they can teach us the “secret” to success. But while these resources can help us as writers, they’re not required to succeed.

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January 26, 2016

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Blogiversary Winners & Writing Flexibility

Sketches of sea shells with text: Writing Flexibility

Some writers can find themselves paralyzed by the thought of needing to get their first draft “right.” That’s crazy-making, however. A draft—a first draft especially—is a tool to help us discover the story we want to tell, the characters we want to meet, and the themes we want to explore. That’s it.

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July 14, 2015

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What Does It Mean to Give Up?

White flag with text: What Does It Mean If We Surrender?

Ever heard the advice: “If you can stop writing, you should stop writing”? I’m here to say *pfft* to that. I gave up writing for years, yet I’m now a multi-published author. Choices we made about writing yesterday don’t determine today.

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May 21, 2015

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How to Be a Better Hooker (in Writing!) — Guest: Mary Buckham

Fishing hook with text: Improve Our Writing with Hooks

One of the ways we create compelling writing is by creating a need within our readers to keep turning pages. So a common piece of advice is to create hooks—phrases, sentences, ideas, questions, etc.—to fuel that need within readers. Today, Mary Buckham’s here to touch on the 9 types of hooks and to answer frequent questions about hooks.

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March 31, 2015

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Writing Active Settings, Part 1 — Guest: Mary Buckham

Place setting on a table with text: Using Point of View to Bring Settings to Life

The trick to sharing setting information (which our readers do need) without dragging down the pace is to write active descriptions. Active descriptions let the reader imagine the setting in their mind, keep them anchored in the story, and slip in information so seamlessly that they never realize they’re reading descriptions.

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July 22, 2014

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