Achieving the writing life of your dreams—is it possible? Are you closer to it than you were a year ago? Here are some articles to read and consider if you hope to make the dream of a writing life into a reality. “Are You Living Your Own Dream or Someone Else’s?” If we are not […]
Month: August 2018
When It’s Time to Update Your Writing Habits
Some writing habits can serve you all the days of your life. But other writing habits need to be moderated or tossed out when your season of life changes. I’m in a season like that right now, and one thing that works for me during such changing times is to read about famous authors’ writing […]
Are Your Writing Dreams Big Enough? Shoot for the Moon!
Every 7-10 years, I go through a restless writing period. I sense a need or desire to do something different, usually something “they say” is out of vogue or not the genre flavor of the month. Lately, something has been egging me on to try something more challenging. I’ll talk about that in the coming […]
Writers Finding Encouragement, from Without and Within
Talk about encouragement! I was sent this photo a couple weeks ago. Her name is Kathy Carter, and when she and her husband visited England recently, they stopped at Jane Austen’s home in Chawton. She is in the reading room, and she found my Jane Austen book, A Dangerous Tide, on the shelf. I was […]
Good Intentions, Plus RELIABLE Accountability, Spells Success
What do all success stories have in common? Action. Success is the result of action. What sustains and maintains that success? Repeated, reliable sustained action. You can’t succeed by doing nothing. You must recognize the importance of being intentional, or having good intentions. But that isn’t enough. The often overlooked step is making it tangible. […]
Lies We Writers Tell Ourselves and Others
I’ve tried very hard and written consistently during this summer, making good use of the time I’ve had between visiting company, having grandchildren overnight, taking trips, and attending birthday parties. And that statement is a big FAT lie. It’s a lie I’ve told myself this summer. And it’s a lie I’ve told others. Truthfully, I […]
How Does Your Talent Grow? (Or Can It?)
Is your amount of God-given writing talent a fixed quantity? We often hear that it is, but that you can study and practice to improve your writing skills. If that’s true, how would you respond to this email? “I know that publishing has changed drastically, but I don’t want to self-publish, and I don’t want […]
Finding–and Maintaining–Passion for Your Writing
“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality…Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson Where do you get this enthusiasm? It comes from having passion for your writing. […]
7 Habits of a Highly Effective Writer
“In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration.” ~~John Steinbeck. For several years, I’ve had a list of “The Seven Essential Habits of a Working Writer” scribbled on a scrap of paper and pinned to my bulletin board. I had copied the list from a book by author […]