When I started writing, I lived on an Iowa farm, in a county known nationwide as the “black dirt capital of the world.” Record crops were grown there, in the most nutrient-dense soil in the country. Then I moved to Texas twelve years ago. I tried for years to grow something–anything–in my front yard. I […]
Month: November 2015
Unlocking Your Potential
Winston Churchill once said, “Continuous effort–not strength or intelligence–is the key to unlocking our potential.” I believe he’s right. Over the years, the writers I’ve seen succeed were the ones who refused to give up. I’ve been surprised sometimes too. Some of my most brilliant writing students gave up after a rejection or two and never […]
Jane Austen and Me
I’ve been thinking about Jane Austen a lot since visiting her home in Chawton, England, in September. Another time and another place, but some lessons to learn that apply to me as a writer today. Kinship of Writers Jane’s home in Chawton was where she revised Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice for publication. […]
Successes and Setbacks
“The only copy of your manuscript is stolen from your car. Articles and stories come back with unfailing rejection…Finances grow ever more perilous. This is, with variations, the script for the first ten or fifteen years of many successful writers’ careers. But they hung on.” This quote comes from one of my favorite book of […]
Writing Momentum: the Unexpected Bonus
During the six weeks so far of running the October-November writing challenges, I have rarely missed writing daily. My goal for putting my writing first each day was to accumulate more pages. Despite a couple of personal setbacks, that has certainly happened. I’ve logged in anywhere from twenty minutes to four hours, depending on the day’s […]
Facing Your Creative Fears (Part 2)
(First read Part 1 of “Facing Your Creative Fears.”) 3. Third, if your fears are real, face them squarely and deal with them. Do you really lack sufficient writing skills? If so, enroll in a course. Study writing books on your own. Analyze the books you love best to see how those authors did what […]
Facing Your Creative Fears
“Every tomorrow has two handles,” Henry Ward Beecher once said. “We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” I’ve been thinking about this while hostessing the October and November writing challenges and reading between the lines of some questions and comments. It’s a Choice…Really! All our writing […]