What Should Newbie Writers Focus On?
Should young writers focus only on writing? Or is there value in experiencing a broad swath of life?
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The Inbox Explosion: How Do You Manage Yours?
I fully admit that one of my weaknesses is an out-of-control email inbox. Between my accounts for writing and day job, I have an obscene number of unread emails. (As in, a hundred times the number depicted in this picture.) Granted, the vast majority of those unread emails are list […]
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3 Reasons to Love the Writing Community
I’ve had a lot to be thankful for lately. My family and I got away for a fun vacation, my klutziness didn’t result in too many injuries out in the middle of nowhere, and I survived being without internet access for much of the time. *smile* I was also reminded—again—how awesome […]
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Are You in This for the Long Haul?
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 […]
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How Do You Handle Disappointments?
Over a thousand writers stared at their phones yesterday, willing them to ring. Only around 150 of them received the call they were waiting for. Yesterday the Romance Writers of America (RWA) announced the Golden Heart and RITA finalists. One of the largest writing organizations in the world released the names […]
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How Do You Write Through Life’s Chaos?
I didn’t want to write this post. I wanted to be stronger. I wanted to be professional. I wanted to hold this pain inside and not let my vulnerability show. If I can’t handle life’s combination of good and bad events without shattering, how will I survive the huge swings […]
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What Food Fuels Your Writing?
After all the serious posts lately, I need a break for something fun. And oh look, the calendar is playing along. It’s getting close to one of my favorite times of the year: Halloween. As a kid, I loved dressing up (in one of those semi-lame-made-from-stuff-in-mom-and-dad’s-closet costumes), going out trick-or-treating, […]
Have You Given Yourself Permission?
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 […]
Are All Distractions Bad?
Most writers have day jobs and families to take care of, so our writing time is precious. Yet the hour we had set aside for writing instead often goes to…something else. I’m no exception. I’ve spent too much “writing time” playing on Twitter or reading blog posts, etc. Sometimes I […]
Branding 101: Be Google-able
If someone does a Google search on our author name, will they find us? This issue comes up more frequently now as writers want to know if they should have a website and/or blog before they’re published. That’s a complicated question that doesn’t have an easy answer.
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