When I think about when I first started writing seriously, I can feel the cool breeze of that season and hear the leaves blowing. I remember what it felt like to write all night with the windows wide open and the curtains moving in an out like a breath, as though the house were alive. […]
Stuck in a Rut: Reread
All this week, I’m writing about ways to get out of a writing rut and recapture the spark from when you first started writing. Yesterday, I wrote about visiting old friends and how that can help. Today, I’m writing about rereading. * * * I recently sat down on a rainy day with my favorite […]
Stuck in a Rut: Revisit
While most of us began writing totally alone, it didn’t take long to begin sharing what we wrote with others. I started showing my writing to a couple close friends. Once they liked what they read, I had the confidence to show my writing to more people. Soon, I had a large group of people […]
How to Deal With a Writing Rejection Letter
Monday Morning My week began with rejection. In July, I had a request to read the full manuscript of my current novel by one of the top agencies on my dream list. Naturally, when you get a request for the entire book, you hope for the best. It was a good rejection letter as far […]
How to Read Out Loud
In seventh grade, I had to read something out loud in a class. I hated it because I was never good at reading out loud. Shortly after the difficult slog through whatever I was reading, I was given two IQ tests. It was determined that I was intelligent enough; the problem was that I was […]
Monday Motivation: Rewrites
“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” – James Michener One of the topics that always seems to come up in the writing group I’m in is how much we don’t like rewrites. I’m the most tolerant of rewrites, having rewritten the novel I just finished four times, but I still […]
A Room of Your Own
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on family vacations. Today: A Solitary Getaway. * * * If you’ve exhausted your vacation time and aren’t able to get away for a full week, consider a long weekend alone in a hotel. Maya Angelou keeps a hotel room when writing, […]
Road Trippin’
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on family vacations. Today: Road Trippin’. * * * I grew up north of Chicago–my father lived in Kansas City. I looked forward to seeing him each summer, but almost as much as the visit, I looked forward to the road trip […]
Retreating
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on vacations. Today: Your Own Writing Retreat. * * * Having trouble finding the right writing retreat? Not wanting to pay the cost of an expensive retreat? Why not pool your resources with other writers and create a retreat of your own? […]
Working on the Side
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on family vacations. Today: A Working Vacation. * * * Many writers dream about traveling and writing. To see the world and write about it on somebody else’s dime would be as good as it gets. A new travel writer doesn’t stand […]
Find Your Inner Thoreau
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on family vacations. Today: Finding your Inner Thoreau * * * In 1845, Henry David Thoreau left it all behind and retreated to the woods on Walden Pond. He had very little contact with others for two years. Thoreau wasn’t the only […]
A Sense of Place
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on family vacations. Today: Creating a Sense of Place. * * * As writers, we want to create a sense of place in all we do that leaves readers thinking, “Man, it’s like I was right there!” It’s not a hard thing […]
The Writing Pilgrimage
All this week, I’m discussing writing vacations and writing-related things you can do on family vacations. First up: The Author Pilgrimage… * * * Every June, Mark Finn makes a pilgrimage to Cross Plains, Texas. He goes to the tiny town for Robert E. Howard Days–a celebration of the writer best known for creating Conan […]
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