Tweet I’m going to share a weird secret about myself… I call myself an author even though I haven’t been published yet. I only tell this to myself and my husband because I know the word author comes with years of hard work and rejection, which I haven’t yet earned. But I’ll tell you why I think of myself this way. Seeing myself as an author dictates the decisions I make. It motivates me when my inbox is quiet. It prepares me for the opportunity if and when it should arise. It silences the voices that say you’re not good…
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Tweet It’s the top of the new year. While you’re still returning gifts and spending those gift cards, I bet writing’s in the back of your mind. And here’s what it’s saying. You shouldn’t write because: You’re not a “real” writer. This could mean different things depending on your triggers. You may equate real writer, for example, with paid or published writer. Maybe it means being an author or a traditionally published author. You have nothing to write about. Sometimes the belief that we have to write something profound and award-winning can make us feel like what we have to…
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Tweet This is a great holiday gift idea if you’re one of those early Christmas shoppers who like to get presents done before Thanksgiving. But it’s also a perfect pick me up if the world has got you down lately. Admittedly, I’ve become a big fan of subscription boxes from kid-themed like this one to spa-indulgent. Right now, getting a box or two in the mail is a must-need ray of sunshine on an otherwise dismal stay at home day. If you’re in need of a little writing inspiration, you might choose to go straight to the Scribbler Subscription box,…
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Tweet It happens to the best of us. Sometimes creative blocks last a few hours after a walk or shower. Sometimes they drag on for months, even years. It’s during these times that we’re likely to give up. That brilliant premise that got us to our feet every morning now seems like a distant dream or worse a terrible idea. Yet we hear of writers who became authors after years, a decade even, after slogging through a single manuscript. If we give up, the buck stops there. But what if there were ways can we reignite that flame of passion for…
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Tweet Just this Thanksgiving, I sent out a silent prayer of thanks for an inbox void of rejection letters. Guess what I received a few hours later? Thank you agent for taking time from your busy holiday schedule to decline my manuscript! In my writer’s critique group, I am the only one who has sent over a 100 submissions with not one acceptance letter. Yet, I continue to work on my craft every single day. Am I crazy? I just have faith that with time and hard work, I’ll eventually get there. But even I lose hope every once in…
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Tweet I haven’t been blogging here lately because I’ve been in a whirlwind of writing. I realized while lying in bed that there is madness to my process. I can drum up ideas quite quickly and when I do, there are a few steps that fuel my inspiration through the hard, stuck, I-can’t-write-another-thing parts. I steal moments to write. Before I had kids, I had all kinds of time to write. But I spent it mostly pretending to write while I lavishly devoured the hours because there were so many of them. These days, I’m usually giving a kid a…
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Tweet Initially, I struggled with this powerhouse of a word. I was apt, for example, to bark at a customer service representative or get teed off if someone cut me off in traffic. But age and children can soften one’s heart. I developed compassion. This has helped me be a better daughter, friend, mother, partner and a writer. How does compassion affect your writing? This has been key in my ability to raise my writing to the next level. In the nonfiction arena, it’s given me a new perspective. Instead of how best do I write this piece, it’s made me…
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Tweet Instead of blogging about writing, I’ve just been writing, which is a good thing. But it means this blog has been as inhabited as a desert scene in a Western. Cue in the rolling tumbleweeds. That being said, I wanted to still contribute to it with things that inspire me. Particularly, on the subject of writing. Author Elizabeth Gilbert has been killing it with her Magic Lessons podcast. And I’m so not even trying to compete. But I wanted to throw out this little words of inspiration out there for those of you in the throes of NaNoWriMo. If…
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Tweet I used to struggle with what came out of me onto a fresh page. It was never as beautiful or brilliant as it was in my mind. In my mind, I was an eccentric, quirky, and stunning writer. One the world had yet to seen. In reality, my words were mediocre at best. It kind of depressed me. Thus, began the slog of my writing career. Every time I wrote, I suffered a little on the inside. Why was I doing it? Why was I torturing myself when my writing sucked? I would never be an award winning writer.…
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Tweet {guest post by Linda Craig} It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a novel, an article that’s about to be published online, a script for a film or anything else; you’re probably bound to a specific timeline. As any other writer, you would probably want to write as much content as possible in a shorter period of time. If you’re looking for productivity boosters, maybe you’ll get inspired by the practices of some of the most successful writers known to this day. Here are 10 secret practices that have helped authors to become more successful: Word count goals Anthony Trollope,…