A good friend has dubbed it “The September Silence” — that time each year that I take a social media break in order to pretend the weather is cooler in Texas and turn my focus even more toward writing. At 11:57 p.m. on August 31, I logged out of all social media apps. And just […]
How To Know You’re A Good Writer
More than a couple times, I’ve heard a newer writer say, “I just want to submit my stuff and have somebody tell me I suck.” Aside from the masochistic urge of being knocked, if you know you suck, you’re wasting everybody’s time submitting. Even more than “I just want to submit my stuff and have […]
Something Writers Need to Understand
I hear it all the time: people hearing about something that falls outside their sphere of comfort that makes them say, “I just don’t understand that…” It can be related to a story somebody tells at work, or something seen on the news; it can be something somebody in an extended family does, or have […]
Monday Motivation: Learning from Musicians
I’ve known my friend Brent Meyer since high school. We’ve always supported what the other is up to, even though Brent’s always been focused on music, and my focus has always been on writing. Being friends with Brent, I’ve seen that no matter what one’s creative obsession, there are many parallels about what works no […]
2010: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
[While this is meant to be a writing-related post, it can apply to anything.] I’ve heard many friends say that 2010 went by in a blur. Looking back at 2010, in ways it seems like a blur to me, too — and in other ways it seems like a year that settled in for a […]
If Your Characters Could Talk
If your characters could talk, what would they say to you? Would the bad guy yell at you because just when it looked like you were going to let him carry out his evil plan exactly as planned, you pulled it away? In most cases, if you did everything right, you want a bad guy […]
What to Do When You Finish a Novel
You’ve finished a novel. So what? Many people feel like creating something big is enough, that in finishing a novel they’ve done all they need to do. If you write for yourself — and I’d argue there’s no better reason to write — you really have done all you need to do when you complete […]
Words You Shouldn’t Use in a Writing Pitch
Yesterday while working out, I listened to a podcast about business and work. Each time the interviewer asked a question meant to allow the interviewee the chance to talk about what he was selling, the interviewee said: “So yeah…it’s like blah blah blah. Basically, it’s a thing that will blah blah blah…” Those little lead-in […]
The Power of Healthy Arrogance
While I hear people talk about how so many people feel entitled to things, I bump into so many people who don’t feel entitled to things. I know many talented people who feel like they aren’t worthy of success, even if they leave the competition behind. They say things like, “That other guy deserved it […]
Do Something Scary
It’s two days until the scariest holiday: Halloween. (And the birthday of my favorite person.) Boo! I’ve done a couple scary things this month: I started podcasting, and I started freelancing. I’ve written about why podcasting was scary for me, here. Freelancing is something I’ve thought about doing, so when a couple opportunities came along, […]
The Little Things About Writing
When writing a novel, it’s typically a good practice to have each scene move the story forward. If you’re not moving the story forward, what is written should at least focus on the traits and motivations of characters. Sometimes, though, you just have to write that one little thing for no other reason than it’s […]
Monday Motivation: For the Love of Writing
My wife used to be a freelance artist. And then one day she came to no longer love what she did… It got old dealing with clients who approved preliminary sketches for finished art, only to not want to pay her for work because they changed their minds and wanted something else (and felt like […]
Stuck in a Rut: Old Work
I recently pulled some writing I hadn’t seen in ten years off an old computer. Some of it made me cringe, but some of it still holds up. I spent time reading old stories, some from when I first started writing. With years of writing experience behind me, I read with a much more critical […]
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