To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. —Aristotle No one loves criticism, rejection, or failure. But if you’re going to be a writer, you’re going to get a hefty dose of all three. Expecting it doesn’t make it easier. Every time I encounter one of these roadblocks, I stumble. I want to eat...Read More
Every single day she fought a war to get to her desk before her little bundle of energy had been dissipated, to push aside or cull through an intricate web of slight threads pulling her in a thousand different directions… —May Sarton, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing May Sarton published Mrs. Stevens Hears the...Read More
Around my birthday, I wandered into my favorite Indie bookstore, Boswell Book Company (just blocks from my house!) and looked for a signed copy of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I’d been eying it for weeks, waiting for an opportunity to treat myself. But I’d waited too long—they were sold out. Boswell...Read More
The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything. —John Irving Last week during the class I taught online (Three Shifts You Must Make To Succeed As An Author), a participant mentioned that she’d tried...Read More
Dear Writers, Today at 7:00 PM CDT, I’ll be speaking at Nonfiction Writers’ University. I’ll be talking about Three Shifts You Must Make To Succeed As An Author. The class is free, but you must sign up here. We’re still in the middle of the July Write-A-Thon. We didn’t get enough people to do the...Read More
Dear Writers, Today, we’re starting the July Write-A-Thon (and the second half of 2014!), and today’s tip talks about why you need to write-a-thon. If you want more support, follow the Write Now! Coach Facebook page for daily encouragement, and write! And, think about coming to my class next Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 7:00...Read More
“…I had formed the habit of working in my studio almost every single day. Rain or shine, eager or dragging my feet, I just plain forced myself to work.” —Anne Truitt (Daybook, p. 126) When I was in second grade, I read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. The novel taught me to think beyond what...Read More
I never use that word, retire. —B.B. King Last summer, we attended a B. B. King concert. As the night began, King shouted: “I’m B. B. King, and I’m 87 years old!” (He’s 88 now.) Then he launched into a song with his deep baritone voice. As I...Read More
Instead of thinking outside the box, get rid of the box. —Deepak Chopra In a study published in Psychological Science, Angela Leung of Singapore Management University and her coauthors enacted the popular metaphor thinking “outside the box”. They created two comfortable work environments, one literally inside a box and one on the outside. Then they...Read More
Join the summer Write Now! Coach Write-A-Thon and get that project started or finished or anything in between. How does it work? Set your goal, follow the Write Now! Coach Facebook page for daily encouragement, and write! What kind of a goal? Do I have to write 50,000 words? Nope. This isn’t NaNoWriMo. You can choose...Read More
