The learning curve we face when deciding to become a writer is always longer than we think because we don’t know what all we don’t know. So how can we track our progress? How can we tell whether we’re improving? How can we feel good about our writing?
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Our characters have to overcome many obstacles throughout our plot, but changing the obstacles doesn’t always fix story problems. Sure, sometimes an obstacle doesn’t fit the story, but too often, the obstacle itself isn’t what’s broken—it’s the storytelling around the obstacle.
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Links in the back of our book can lead to our other books or to a mailing list signup. But the internet is fluid and websites and pages change. How can we make sure our links won’t go bad?
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The journey to writing is filled with many obstacles, yet something keeps us going. Maybe if we understand what’s been most helpful for us becoming and/or remaining a writer—not including writing skill—we’ll be better prepared to face our obstacles now and into the future.
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If readers like our books, they might want to check out our other stories. Let’s take a look at our options for using buy links to increase the chances that they’ll purchase our work…
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As writers, we face deadlines and commitments every time we turn around. So we’re likely to be familiar with the pressure of deadlines and the expectation of meeting our commitments. But what happens when we can’t meet them? How bad is it for us and our reputation?
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Last Friday, Angela Quarles’s book Must Love Chainmail was named a finalist in RWA’s RITA award, and my writing bestie’s success reminded me of an important lesson for all of us. The road to success can look an awful lot like chaos. *smile*
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Life happens. No matter our intentions or plans or dedication, things will go wrong, slip from the schedule, or get missed. This doesn’t make us bad or a failure. It makes us human.
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Our stories consist of many elements—from backstory to dialogue—that each contribute to our story. Yet we can overdo those elements with an information dump. How can we include the different elements while making sure we don’t cross over into Info Dump Land? Let’s talk options…
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A writer’s life can quickly shift from leisure time to impossible deadlines, which can interfere with our healthy habits. To maintain our health, we should occasionally analyze our self-care habits and routines—especially when we have time between the chaos.
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