How to Be Happy as a Writer
This week, let’s make ourselves a pact. I’ll stop comparing myself to other writers – and so will you.
Resources
Playing The “Too Many Drafts” Game (in which Everyone is a Winner)
Do you know this game? If you’re a writer, you do: It’s where you write a draft, but it’s not right, so you put it aside and try again. And again.
If this describes you, congratulations! You’re a writer. And there’s hope for your draft.
Regaining Momentum
Writing after a dry period is really hard, but there’s no secret to getting back into it. There are only a few simple steps.
The Two Most Important Things I Know About Writing
These two things seem contradictory. Spoiler alert: they’re not.
Learning From Those Who Came Before
We write our stories, and we do the best we can. For many of us, that means we write from perspective born of backgrounds we didn’t control, educations we weren’t aware were cheap, and information we didn’t know was dated.
Why Neil Gaiman?
I’m going to tell you precisely why I love Neil Gaiman’s work, and I’ll do it by breaking down one of my favorite short stories.
Stop Thinking About Marketing
The reason we feel the need to hold baby creations up to some 30-year pro’s for comparison is because our culture teaches us to judge all art according to salability – but salability is not the point of art.
Just Keep Writing (even when it hurts)
So I wrote today for the first time since my dad died. It was not, shall we say, a *good* experience.
Writing Fatigue (and what to do about it)
This month is not about producing something publishable. It’s about teaching yourself to just keep writing, to ignore the inner editor, and to let yourself just spill words onto the page.
Your Trajectory Is Not Fixed
Here’s a lie I’ll bet you’ve been told: “You have to figure out what you want to do before it’s too late.”
An Uncomfortable Truth (About Writing)
Fellow writer, this will not feel good to read, but it is VERY IMPORTANT.
Experiments in Sales: Draft2Digital
I got so many requests for books on outside Amazon that I decided to give Draft2Digital a try again. Here are the results.
Keep Going (Just Like Pixar)
Two of my favorite go-to videos when I’m feeling down about writing. Take a few minutes and watch. Your heart will thank you.
Lose the Guilt: You Don’t Have to Write Every Day
For those of us who need to write, there’s good news: you can still be a writer even if you can’t write every day.
You Can Do This
Bad Crap is happening. No matter where any of us fall on the political spectrum, we can see that. It’s frightening. It hijacks imagination and energy, leaving only fear. So what’s a creator to do?
We Need Strong Women in Fiction
I didn’t grow up seeing strong women represented – and neither did the rest of my generation. There was a cost.
It’s okay if someone doesn’t like your book
Fellow writer, this is an important fact: It’s okay if someone doesn’t like your book.
Finding Time to Write
Bad news: you will never FIND time to write. Good news: there is still hope for you, struggling writer.
Neil Gaiman’s Writing Rules (In Wallpaper Form)
May these encourage your creativity, whatever else you do. Enjoy!
Awesome Writing Quotes (For those days when you need a boost)
A ton of writer’s quotes to help you get through it all. Nothing fancy. Just encouragement. Enjoy!
“Don’t Waste Your Talent” and Other Lies
Are there times when you’re unwilling to say you’re a writer?
The Doubting Writer’s Manifesto
Bad thought-habits are hard to break.
I know I’m not the only one who struggles with them. For all of us who must deal with poisonous doubts spewing from our abused subconscious, I present the Doubting Writer’s Manifesto.
The Importance of Creativity When the World Goes Dim
Write. Paint. Create. Don’t let the darkness of this world stop you. Every time you pick up the pen, you’re pushing it back by inches.
Your Muse is a Liar, And This is a GOOD THING.
When your muse to you, it’s giving you the tools to become a great writer. Let me show you how.
How to Kick 2017 in the Ass: WRITE.
This year, you need to write. The power you hold as a storyteller is without measure.
Everybody Hurts: How Forgiveness Applies to Your Character
Pain changes your character. It’s important you know how that character handles it.
When Writers Freeze
Writer’s freeze: when you know where you need to go, and maybe how to get there, but when you sit down to write it, your brain just stalls.
Location As a Character
Your location affects your other characters and plot every bit as much as your protagonist, antagonist, awesome sidekicks, eponymous heroes, or sarcastic love-interests.
Making Your Villain 3D: What’s His Favorite Food?
Weird question, isn’t it? But if you don’t know the answer, your characters might not be 3D.
A Better Way to Think About “Show, Don’t Tell”
This is a really simple, helpful way to understand “show, don’t tell.”
(And Yet More) Beating Writer’s Block
Writer’s block can be summed up in two ways: Being afraid to write because we think it sucks, and not knowing what to write next.
Arm Yourself: You’re Allowed to Be a Beginner
Bear with me. As I write this post, I’m more than a little mad. And I don’t mean “crazy,” either. I encountered a fellow the other day who spoke things so poisonous, so deadly to the creative mind, that I suspect he’s already left a battalion of writer-corpses in his wake.
And I’m not staying silent about it anymore.
No One Can Tell Your Story But You
Writing is a strange thing, filled with emotional roller-coasters and storms and deserts. Who would ever put themselves willingly through this? Well, you (and me). Why? Because you have something to say. The only person who can tell your story is you.
Why You Need to Write What Scares You
What would you write if you knew you couldn’t fail? I promise I’m not setting you up for failure. There is a very good reason I’m asking this question.
Let’s Talk About Fear, Part Two
Practice your tools to fight fear now, while the sun still shines, or you’ll be fumbling to find them in the dark.
Let’s Talk About Fear
According to last week‘s responses, failure is the number one fear that writers face. Maybe we should start by defining it.
How Did They Justify THAT?
Why does this matter? Because if you’re not writing your villains with the awareness that in their head, they’re not the villain, you may be writing a flat, 2D character.
Award: Top 50 Writing Blogs For 2016
Thank you, Bryan Hutchinson! I’m so glad my post inspired you.
Why I Left Smashwords
I’ve made a scary Indie-pub decision: I’m leaving Smashwords. Let me break down precisely why.
Need an Editor? Check This Out!
Editing resources for the enterprising indie author, and yes, this list is subject to update.
GeekGirlCon 2015
Hi, friends! We had so many requests for the resources from our panel that I decided to put them all online.
GeekGirlCon 2015 World Building Notes
Worldbuilding is a skeleton. You may not see a thing’s bones, but those bones determine the shape of the shape.
Kill Your Filter Words (And make your writing more powerful)
This one simple tip can add zest and power to your writing.
YA to MG: Young Adult Vs. Middle Grade
The key difference between YA and MG is the scope of focus for the antagonist and protagonist.
Ten Steps to Perfect Cover Design
Follow these ten steps, and your cover will look professional. Whether your cover looks good depends on the photos and fonts you choose, but if you follow these steps, your readers will thank you!
6 Ways to Manage Your Writing (and lots more ways NOT to)
It’s a lot simpler than you think.
3 Steps to Creating With a Broken Brain
I can’t see the word “oxygen.” Wanna know why?
A Million Discarded Words
It strikes me that today is a day for encouragement. May this post speed you on your way.
A Million Discarded Words
It strikes me that today is a day for encouragement. May this post speed you on your way.
Loneliness and Books
I took bookworm and made it mine, decided that geek meant smart, and tried with all my heart to transform the sorrow and pain and rejection and mockery and bullying into a badge of honor.
How to Build a Website (For Authors)
There are four aspects to this: hosting; a domain; design; and content.
I Freak Myself Out
I assumed I must be crazy, which I think is the default for any of us who go through something and keep it to ourselves.
Nano 2013, Here We Go!
Somehow, I am actually up to date on my wordcount. Today’s suggested goal is 13,333, and I am up to 12,650, which means by the end of the day, I will be right.
Editing Cake
Nobody (except for crazy people) ever said editing was easy (unless they meant, “easily drives you crazy”).
Entire scenes have to be rewritten, whole chapters gutted and sewed into new shape, and characters you thought you knew suddenly up and move to a different zip code of emotions without telling you why.
Interview With Jeff Goins
Do the hard thing — that’s where we grow. If you do that, you’ll never have to worry about restlessness or feeling like your life has a purpose.
How to Make Third-Person Perspective More Personal
Having trouble making your characters seem less distant? This will help.
This tip is nifty. This tip is seriously, unrepentantly nifty. To make your third-person point of view sound more personal, you have to remove the filter words.
How to Find Confidence
It’s like some kind of old-timey riddle: name a thing we all wish we had, yet hate when we see it in other people?
Yup, you guessed it: confidence.
Dealing With the Word “No”
Each time you get a “no,” it can really feel like that was it – the end. You will get another chance. I’m going to share two really simple (though challenging) things that kept me going through all the “no’s,” until I finally had my “yes.”
How (And When) to Handle Critics
Lemme tell ya something: you are never going to make everyone happy.
So, About Those ‘Lazy’ Self-Publishers….
I love Sue Grafton’s work. I respect her as a person. However, some of the statements she made in a recent interview… Wow. Ouch.
Beating “Mediocrity”
For a long time, I refused to write because I was afraid of being mediocre. I was afraid that if I tried my best, my very best, it would turn out to be not-very-good. And then, I wouldn’t have any more hope.
See, in my head, as long as I didn’t try, I had the possibility of being good, and then I could hope. Does that sound familiar?
Letting Go of Publishers Marketplace
This is kind of a big deal to me.
Publishers Marketplace is one of THE best resources for agents and authors and anyone with a professional interest in the literary world.
Target Fixation
What are you desperate to avoid?
A fantastic note from Jim Butcher….
The only person who can kill your dream is YOU.
Holes in the Cheese
Life. It is crazy.
I will be more personal later, but for now, have some links.
There Are No New Stories by Liana Brooks
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment.” How to Write 300,000 Words in a Year, from Chris Guillebeau.
Eye Exam FTW
Don’t you love the throw-away sunglasses? My eyes are dilated. They won’t UN-dilate.
I think I need to lie down.
Writing Links Roundup
What Makes a Compelling Story, Pt. 4
So you’ve developed your characters, answered all the important questions, and your readers love them. You’ve developed your world, made it rich and full and extremely real. What’s next?
Conflict.
What Makes a Compelling Story, Pt. 3
It affects YA authors, who tend to be considerably older than the people they’re writing about. It affects fantasy/sci-fi authors, who are responsible for creating something that feels new and different but still relatable. It affects everything. But it isn’t impossible to do.
What Makes a Compelling Story, Pt. 2
Unlike the character concepts in part one, you may think wordl-building doesn’t apply to you. But even a modern, magicless YA has world-building, and if you do it wrong, your readers can tell.
What Makes a Compelling Story
There are two key things to a damn good story: 1. You can’t put it down. 2. When you finish, it won’t leave your head.
Writing Resources
It’s writing-links time! First off, an amazing post about what it takes to stay in publishing for the long haul, by agent Rachelle Gardner.
Catching Up
So there’s a lot going on right now.
1. Grandma is very ill – senile dementia plus a bad fall has left her less than well.
The Odds, Originality, and Short Stories
Just a few quick but important links for you today:
1. The Odds, by Matthew Hill.
» Read more about: The Odds, Originality, and Short Stories »
Obsessions, Delusions, and Writer’s Block
Three fantastic links for you today. From Nicola Morgan:
In which I define what I mean by a Delusional Wannabe
A delusional wannabe is someone who desperately wants to be published, falls sadly short in either ability or a publishable idea or both, AND is not prepared to work as hard as possible to find out exactly how and why she falls short in one or both of those things.
» Read more about: Obsessions, Delusions, and Writer’s Block »
Why I Did Not Submit to Penguin
I’ve just sent out a manuscript in response to a request for a full. This isn’t the first time that’s happened, and it’s probably not the last.
Survival of the Nuttiest
1. Final huge crazy edit of Mab is Dead before sending manuscript to agent who requested full.
2.
New Hair, New Day
This Independence Day is important for a number of reasons, both historical and personal. I may not be at leisure to say why, so I’ll do this instead:
Time for some new hair.
Beating Writer’s Block
So it’s happened. After months of fantastic productivity, sometimes exceeding 8,000 words a day, I am reduced to staring at my computer like a zombie.
I Have Gone Crazy
I’ve ordered business cards. It’s all uphill from here, folks.
(Why did I do this, you might ask?
Editing The Sundered
So I’m finally able to take my finished manuscript – The Sundered – and begin the editing process.
Ouch
I had a fairly uncomfortable realization today, and it got me thinking.
See, there are “issues” popping up in my books.
The Roaring Secret
What is a roaring secret, you might ask?
It’s not hidden at all. It’s something said over and over again by those who understand it, vocally, publically, loudly: Persist, no matter how long it takes.