It’s always a good idea to have a plan for what comes next, whether youare successful or suffer a setback. I don’t mean planning what you are going to spend your newfound riches on (in the case of winning the lottery or becoming a famous, successful author). I mean knowing deep down what the next steps need to be. Take getting a book published, for example. You get your contract. Now what? Ideally you should already be out beating the bushes for promotional/marketing opportunities. Get to meet bookstore managers for signings, librarians for readings and newspapers for writeups. I was thinking about this today in regards to this site specifically. I started my podcast in January and planned to get familiar […]
Read moreCategory: Irreverent Muse
Don’t be Afraid to Ignore Your Writing Prejudices
Every writer has a preferred genre to write in whether it is Fantasy, Literary Fiction, YA Adventure or a myriad of others. I also believe that every writer has a genre that they avoid like the plague. It might be Romance (eww, mushy stuff) or Westerns (hate horses and cowboys) or Horror (afraid of being afraid). Whatever it is, most writers, myself included, would never dream of venturing into those forbidden areas. I should say, I used to be one of those writers. For me there used to be several “Forbidden” genres. I would never consider horror or YA or erotica. They weren’t my bag, so to speak. In one case in particular (YA), I’m ashamed to say I thought […]
Read moreThe Excitement of a New Story
If you are a writer, chances are you know how necessary, and painful, editing your work can be. You finish writing your newest masterwork and all you want to do is get it out to an adoring audience. But you know that there is still work to be done and so you go through it over and over (and over again). By the time you think it might be good enough to go to an agent or publisher you are thoroughly sick of it. You might even be tired of writing. Sound familiar? But what about all those other stories flitting through your mind? The first thing you should remember is that it isn’t the writing that you are tired […]
Read moreStop and Smell the Roses
Writer’s write, but is that all they should do? It’s a question I haven’t asked myself in quite a while. I’ve been so caught up in getting my podcast going, my Fantasy novel edited and new story ideas generated that I forgot to slow down. I haven’t exactly been neglecting my friends and family, but I do think I’ve been running on autopilot to some extent. I’m not sure what clued me in but I have realized that in order to write about people and the lives they lead, I need to appreciate the life I have too. That’s not to say that I shouldn’t think about writing or actually sit down and do the writing. It simply means that […]
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