In the fall of 2019 I spent several weeks researching a mystery series set in a small village in the North Yorkshire Dales. The locals who own the shops depend on tourist trade from daily bus tours and mountain bike groups. In early 2020 villagers sent out a plea for the tourists to please stay […]
success
Wounds from the Game of Writing: Earning Battle Scars
Wounds: we all get them. During the 1988 Jamboree encampment of 32,000 Boy Scouts, one troop (38 Scouts) led the entire Jamboree in cuts treated at the medical tent. The huge number of nicks from busy knives sounded negative until someone toured the camp and saw the unique artistic walking sticks each boy in that […]
Climbing Out of a Writing Hole
“How does a project get a year behind schedule? One day at a time.” ~~Fred Brooks (IBM computer software developer) While I’m not behind a whole year on my current writing project, this question has been ricocheting around in my mind lately. I have writing deadlines stacked up for many months, for which I am truly […]
Change the Equation This Year
Four areas are essential to your success in 2015, according to Randy Ingermanson. Consider his four factors below when making this year’s writing goals. Don’t set goals that only target areas where you’re already successful. Instead, ask yourself, “Am I strong–or at least growing–in each of these four areas?” They’re all necessary. If one area […]
Writer Imaging (Part 3)
(First read “Writer Imaging” Part 1 and Part 2.) Here are the final attributes of a happy writing life… 4. Staying focused on the positive. View your writing life as a series of opportunities and growth experiences, even though some experiences (like rejection slips) may involve pain. Daily there are good things to focus on […]
Writer Imaging: Your Vision of Success
Picture this: you’re feeling strong and confident. Your writing is going well, you’re in the flow. That is, until you see her, that Famous Writer, on the cover of Writer’s Digest or being interviewed on the “Morning Show.” Rejection slips and cash flow crunches are just distant memories to her. Or maybe it happens closer to home. […]
Want to Be Successful? Take Aim and Keep Shooting
Consider this quote from basketball great Michael Jordan: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” His point? To be so successful, […]
To Survive as a Writer: Finding Margin
Certain Type A personalities seem to thrive on overloaded lives, but most writers don’t. Our best ideas – and energy to write about them – require some peace and quiet, some “down” time. To get that, we must rebuild margin into our lives. Defining Margin What exactly is margin? According to Richard Swenson M.D. author […]
Ask About the Numbers
While discussing goals with several writer friends, I found myself becoming depressed. We were analyzing how 2012 had gone. Each person shared their goals for the past year and how they had succeeded or failed. Until I heard the other reports, I had been happy with most of my year. While I hadn’t yet completed […]
Measuring Success: Changing Times, Changing Goals
Before reading a great article last week, I secretly feared I had lost my drive to write. Not my “want to.” Just my drive. For thirty years I’ve set goals, worked hard toward meeting them (some called me “driven”), achieved most of them, then set more. I happily set one-year goals, five-year goals, and ten-year […]