The craft of writing can be a solitary one, but it doesn’t have to be. The Internet provides a means to always be connected to friends, family and colleagues. It can also be an enormous time-sink but that is a conversation for another time. I want to talk about the availability of community, both writing and otherwise through the Internet and daily life. Is community really important? I know of writers who prefer to be alone and separated from their writing peers at work and in everyday life and I respect that. I also think those people are missing out on something; the ability to talk the craft and exchange ideas. “What kind of ideas?” you may ask. Well, speaking […]
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Remember to Plan for Success
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 moreDon’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 […]
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