One if by land, two if by sea! The midnight ride of Paul Revere. “Give me liberty or give me death”. Old glory. You have a heritage of living free or die trying. For Americans, the soil beneath your feet was bought and paid for by the blood of your forefathers who fought and died for freedom. You have the inaliable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That right is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. So you want to be a writer? That’s illegal in some parts of the world, even in 2012. But not here. You can write to your heart’s content. You an peddle your story and publishers are free to put it out in print. In know writers sometimes get focused […]
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When Things Heat Up, Part 4: The Humidity of Fear
If you live in Florida or other humid climate, you completely the feeling expressed in the title. As I’m writing this, the humidity in central Florida is 100%, and it’s not even raining. If you walk outside, your clothes and hair stick to your skin. Perspiration immediately pops out and you find it difficult to suck in a breath. It is all-consuming and agonizing. It’s still May and we’re already praying for November. Fear is a humid emotion. It engulfs you. Sticks to you. Makes you gasp for air. The things writers face in their journey are, without a doubt, frightening. And, just like a summer day in Florida, it begins early and gets worse as the day goes by. A storm brews on the horizon and there is nothing […]
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6 Keys to success in your writing
I love May. It is a BEAUTIFUL time of year in Northwest Ohio. The evenings are still cool but the sun is warm. It is during this time of year that my business picks up, but my desire to work goes down. For those of us living in the north, the beautiful wreathing is counted in days rather than months. It can sometimes be hard to force yourself to sit behind the desk. That is why I wanted to share with you 6 success keys that I’ve used to maintain successful behaviors throughout the year [even when I want to play hookey!] Follow up- Each day follow up with someone or something. In the early days of your writing this may be nothing more than following up with your crit […]
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Don’t Be Fooled, Part Two: I Only Thought I Could…
Last week we talked about fool’s gold and not being attracted to bright, shiny objects. Today we’re going to journey in the opposite direction because I coach individuals all the time who fall into this trap. It goes something like this: You spend nights and weekends at the keyboard pouring your best efforts into creating the manuscript you just know will be a New York Times Best Seller. You save your pennies to register for a writer’s conference and practice your elevator speech until you recite it in your sleep. An agent and editor both want to see the manuscript so you run back to your hotel room you couldn’t afford and press the “send” button. Then you wait. You don’t want to leave your room to attend the workshop […]
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