“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” – E.L. Doctorow * * * Writing well takes time to learn. One doesn’t sit down for a couple weeks and suddenly produce a bestseller. The time needed to produce 85,000 words of even bad writing takes longer than it takes most […]
Monday Motivation: Against the Odds
“It is impossible to discourage the real writers — they don’t give a damn what you say, they’re going to write.” – Sinclair Lewis I’ve heard many working writers tell would-be writers that they should give up before ever really trying. There are many reasons for this: Some writers feel the industry is already too […]
Monday Motivation: Living
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” – Henry David Thoreau While a writer doesn’t have to pack it all up and move to a cabin in the middle of nowhere or travel to the far ends of the planet, it helps to have some […]
Monday Motivation: Happiness
Over the weekend, I replied to this post on Jane Friedman’s blog. (The entry is about happiness — in particular, about what we once believed would make us happy.) In replying, I wrote: I’ve found that I’m happiest when I do things I can do most days: going for walks and hikes, juggling, enjoying a […]
Monday Motivation: The Courage
One of my favorite books is John Irving’s, A Prayer for Owen Meany. There’s a line in the book that’s one of the best lines ever written: “If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” I’ve worked odd jobs, passed by […]
Monday Motivation: Failure
I’ve decided to reserve Mondays for something motivating to kick off the week. It may be a quote, an image, a writing challenge, or a post. It’s always good to begin a new week charged for writing or, at the very least, thinking about writing. This Monday, it’s a quote: “Failure is the condiment that […]