Yes, that’s right… I’m committed.  Now before you jump up and shout “It’s about time!  I’ve been saying you should be committed for years…”, I’ve got to break the sad news that it’s not that kind of committed. The committed I’m talking about today is the commitment to The Writing Show’s “First Chapter Contest”.  I know I said I would be doing it; heck I even challenged the other SWNers just to put some additional pressure on myself (or was it on them?  I’m never quite clear on that point).  So what’s the big newsflash? Well… I went ahead and paid my entry fee.  Pretty heady stuff!  And no, I haven’t actually submitted my first chapter yet, but I will.  Honest! The […]

It could be a two-hour creative writing seminar at the local Library or it could be a multi-month, full-blown University or Correspondance course on writing the next great novel.  The question is, are they useful? I guess that depends on what you’re trying to get out of the course. If your goal is to shortcut the whole writing process and instantly become the next JK Rowling, then no, they aren’t terribly useful.  The only thing that will help you with that is a genie and a magic lamp.  A Leprechaun might work too. But if your intention is to learn something new about writing, practice your writing skills and start your writing momentum, then maybe, just maybe this is the way […]

Where do ideas come from?  Anyone who has suffered writer’s block has probably asked themselves that question in the wee hours, perhaps punctuated by the occasional blow to the head with the heel of a hand. I know I have. Oddly enough, the smack to the head doesn’t generally do more than give me a headache and a strong urge to lay on the floor to avoid falling down.  However, I have found something that generates more ideas than any other source… Any ideas?  Yup, you guessed it… That source is indeed music (did the title give it away?) It’s funny, but whenever I seem to be stuck for something to write about, music seems to kick start the creative juices.  Case in […]

I don’t know about you, but I crave feedback.  Feedback about my writing, feedback about my job, feedback… well you get the point.  And yet, that thing I crave seems to be one of the hardest things to come by. I’ll admit, I haven’t always been as forthcoming with it myself, so maybe I shouldn’t expect others to provide it either.  Still… When I submitted my book the first time, I purposely chose a publisher that asked for the entire manuscript up front.  My reasoning was, if they were going to read the entire thing, they would be more likely to comment on what worked and what didn’t.  What I didn’t consider was that they had to read the entire […]