Remember in the Wizard of Oz when the Wicked Witch of the West caught on fire? Bystander Dorothy did what any concerned person would do. She picked up a bucket of water and tossed it onto her. Sounds logical, even downright heroic, doesn’t it? The only problem with that is it was the wrong this to do. The remedy did more harm than good. I can hear the witch screaming, “I’m melting! I’m melting!” How many times have you experienced someone tossing water on your fire, only to give you a meltdown? Well-meaning people, especially those closest to us want to help us. The try to do what they think is best for us, particularly when it comes to our writing. They say things like, “well, honey, don’t get your […]
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The 10,000 Hour Rule
In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines the why and how behind successful men, women, cultures, musicians and athletes. In many cases he attributes the “10,000-Hour Rule”, as the key to success in any field is because, to a large extent, it is a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. As an author, I first thought, “Impossible!” I mean, 10,000 hours? Of writing? Before getting publishes? Most of people have day-jobs, you know? Gladwell uses Canadian hockey players as an example, describing a player’s rise from the junior leagues all the way to professional. He found that most, not all, NHL players were born in the first 3 months of a calendar year. Due to age cut offs to sign up for the […]
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When Things Heat Up, Part One: If You Can’t Take the Heat. . .
Most of the country completely skipped over spring and went right to scorching summer heat. Wow! For writers, June also means getting your manuscript ready to pitch at fall writer’s conferences. This month we’ll discuss the rigors and how to keep your cool when things heat up. I know you’ve heard, “if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Well that would be great advice, if you didn’t need to eat. Someone’s got to cook or you don’t eat, right? A better goal would be to learn to endure the heat. Let’s say your heat is not in the kitchen but at a writer’s conference, umm… gulp… in front of all those agents and editors. You can’t very well abandon the kitchen or you’ll never see your […]
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The Grunt and the Grind
You’ll never hear us say writing is easy around the My Book Therapy campus. No siree, Bob. Writing is hard. It’s work. Here’s what gets me. I have a great idea, I see it all—beginning, middle and end, then I sit down to write and my inspiration vanishes. The story feels too slow. Too muddy. Too awkward. The things I thought the protagonist wanted now don’t work. Or seem trite. I can’t find the layers. Everyone sounds like Gumby and Pokey. After sixteen books, the pit of despair in the middle of my stomach isn’t as deep, isn’t as fierce. But still, about 30K into a book with a deadline looming, I’m wondering how this book is going to pull together. In the end, they always do. Yay, God. I […]
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