Tweet Hi fellow writers! So far 2017 started with a lot of hustle and bustle, and recovery from illness, which has left me nil time to write. I still have hope for the new year, however. The end of 2016 was filled with a lot of exciting things. One of my stories on Ikea in Hawaii for Hawaii Business magazine, for example, made it to the top 10 stories in 2016! You can read it here. On a completely separate note, I ended up being in the magazine with a mom friend. It was an exciting day for this non-glamorous mom…
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Tweet I often tell friends it’s harder and better than people say. I was talking about parenting, but it also applies to writing. Last night, my two-year old son was up multiple times with a nervously high fever. When your baby’s sick, everything else goes out the window. But on a day to day basis, there’s teething, tantrums and toddler troublemaking. There’s always reasons to not write especially when you have a child pulling at your pants. And real, understandable, legitimate reasons too. Like sleep. I caught this post on Writing & Parenting in my Twitter feed today, and it…
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Tweet I hope not because I’d cringe over my early parcels of prose. And whether I consider myself to be a “great” writer on any given day may force me to close up shop. Yet many people (disgruntled writers, elitist writers, etc.) may persuade you otherwise. In fact, that writer may be you. If you’re waiting for your portfolio to catch up with the title, you’ll be waiting forever. Anyway, the writer you are today is much better than who you were yesterday. It’s a rare few who enter this world brimming with talent. Most of us have to learn…
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Tweet The process of writing can seem nebulous. On a conscious level, you are aware that putting butt to chair and pen to pad creates a flow of ideas. But where it comes from seems a lot less clear. Does a writer need to be in fits of rage or a constant cynic to engender passionate pieces of prose? I often wonder if it’s like me and running. It only feels good when it’s bad. In other words, catch me running begrudgingly when all is well in the world, but I’ll pass you if I’m down in the dumps. But…
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Tweet What’s one of the hardest battles you’ll fight as a writer? The battle within yourself. Working on an article recently, I found myself on the front lines defending my creative prose with an ardent editor. Unforgiving and rigid, she was on task to cut away my unnecessary words and fluffy copy for something more streamlined. It was a hard battle lost my friends. All the more so because that editor was me. Every writer has two sides of their brain that battles for attention. My right brain is the more feisty one relentlessly slipping in creative allegories for fun.…
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Tweet There are a lot of people who want to be writers. Some of them are friends and acquaintances I’ve met along my path. They envy me in a shameless way. My life seems as close to Carrie Bradshaw as possible without the single life and the large shoe closet. Many, I believe, think that I spend all day shopping and galavanting. Yes it is partially that I suppose. But the truth is, I spend more days sitting on my butt, pulling out my hair, trying to find the best words to squeeze into my prose. It’s not fun nor…
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Tweet There’s always a reason to give up. Let me count the ways. Your mounting bills, the bad economy, the competition, your lack of time, fear of rejection, there’s already enough books out there, your stuff’s no good, no one will read it, you hate feeling vulnerable, etc. And it doesn’t get easier. They ebb and flow, rising as your confidence rises. They strengthen as your courage deepens. In fact, the more you grow, the greater the challenges become. Over time you either grow accustomed to them or you begin to listen. If you choose the latter, you may lose…
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Tweet Is inspiration really that important to your writing? If you read my other blog, The Inspiring Bee, you can probably guess what I think. But I might be alone in my thoughts. I just wrote an article for The Writer magazine with quotes from a handful of writers I admire on why inspiration may not be necessary to get writing. In fact, they list at least three reasons why you may be wasting your time if you’re waiting for inspiration to strike. What do you think? Does inspiration help your writing soar or is simply an excuse to procrastinate?…
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Tweet Inspiration doesn’t have to come from tools per se. It can come from waterfalls and mountaintops and from trekking through the forest. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be pretty where you are. I once felt inspired in a bar with my husband watching football. If you’ve got inspiration covered and are enjoying the free flow of content coming through your fingers, feel free to share your techniques below. If you’re like me and you occasionally get stuck, you may need additional ideas to keep the ideas coming. I’m always on the lookout for new ways to delve…
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Tweet I only discovered it recently. But I’m more apt to write in a crazy fit of inspiration if I’m accompanied by lots of people talking in a crowded room, the smell of coffee wafting in around me and settling on my clothes, and in the rim of a nice, comfy, worn out cheeks indented chair. That and a working vintage typewriter. I scored one recently at a flea market. I got there late with only 20 minutes to spare and saw it sitting pretty amongst dusty vases, non-affordable credenzas and chotskies I would never buy. I’ve been secretly drooling…