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Archive for Writing From Home
Reassessing Your Goals
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We all have them. Do you know what yours are? I’m talking about those objects of aspiration. Some folks call them goals.
Writing can be a lonely and daunting experience. There are times when I’m working steadily on a project, neglecting dusting, intellectual conversations with my spouse and the joy of baking cookies for my kids, only to suddenly wonder if anyone will ever read my words. Am I writing into a black hole? Does anyone care what I have to say? Will my work be rejected? Read More→
Making Your Voice Heard: Eight Steps to an Op-ed Piece
Posted by: | CommentsIs something keeping you up at night? Do you feel passionate about a controversial topic? Do you think that your idea should be shared so that others can react to it?
Consider letting your community know what’s on your mind by writing an op-ed piece. An opposite-editorials lets you share your thoughts with readers. Take some time to study a few of these in your city’s newspaper and then read along; you’ll figure out just how such an article can be written by you.
First, choose your timely topic—Linking your article to something that happened recently in the news is a great way to start. If a celebrity did or said something pertaining to your topic, even better. Use that celebrity’s actions to grab your readers’ attention. Read More→
Taking Care of Business
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Waiting for the publication date of your novel can be painful. The excitement, the anticipation, the thrill, the worry—don’t let any author kid you—all of those components are there. Before my first novel Rain Song came out, I reread Anne Lamott’s chapter on publication in her wise and funny book, Bird by Bird. For the first time, I understood how she felt as her pub date approached. It takes a lot of courage to let the world see what you have to offer. Instead of being doubtful about how the release of your book will play out, and spending time convincing yourself that your novel will only sell to your mother and little sister, spend some time making a list. There are more valuable things you can do besides worrying. Read More→
Walking Over Your Work
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Do you ever find yourself inside a writing spiral?
Sometimes we are so busy at being productive, that we lose sight of what is really important, our goals, our hopes, and how to obtain them. We are operating in a literary fog. There are times we need to take a step back and view our writing in a new light.
A great way to do this is to walk over your work.
Yes, you read that right. I am an advocate for walking on a daily basis. Now, before you stop reading and think, this is not for me, give me another chance. I’m not talking about doing a marathon. A simple short walk can benefit your writing.
Let me tell you why you benefit. Read More→
Writing with Hats
Posted by: | CommentsWhat is the difference between a good writer and a great one? We could hold lengthy discussions on that topic, coming up with a variety of differences. I think one would have to include editing. A great writer edits her work many times over. And over. A great writer constantly strives to improve her craft.
Just the word edit can cause for groans. But seldom is a piece so brilliant that it needs no polish to make it shine. When a novel of 80,000 words or more is complete and you type The End, the last thing you may feel like doing is fiddling with it again to check that it is the best it can be. It’s finished, it already is the best, right? Read More→
Rejected: How to decipher those letters and still stand tall
Posted by: | CommentsYou spent hours—no—days, working on an article for a particular magazine. Crossing your fingers, you submit it to the editor. It’s perfect. You read the guidelines, were inspired as you constructed it, and think it glows.
Five minutes later the editor responds. “No, thank you.”
What?
What?
Perhaps you write novels and have honed one to perfection, sent it in and received a rejection letter that says it is too sad or too juvenile or just too, too much.
Discouragement sets in. You eat your weight in your favorite flavor of ice cream.
Rejections are not something most writers thrive talking about. Rejections cause us to sink into a vile mood and pound our heads against the wall, asking, “What is wrong with me?” Read More→
Freelance Your Way with A How-To Article
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You’re an expert. You have knowledge worth sharing. Your kids might not agree all the time with this (especially not after you’ve given them a time-out or denied them a fistful of peanut M&Ms), but the truth is, you are. Due to your interests, experiences, and passions, you know things. You even know about things that not everyone knows about, things you can teach others how to do. That’s right; others want to learn how you accomplish something!
Using five simple tips, I’m going to teach you the steps for writing a how-to article that you can sell to a publication for money. Read More→
Staying Inspired!
Posted by: | CommentsInspiration hits you and you know what we’re going to do. You push aside the urge to make Grandma’s Grits Casserole, decline an invitation to the local high school play, forgo coffee with a friend, and set out to fulfill your heart’s calling. Filled with ideas that are brimming with brilliance, you can hardly wait to have that time for yourself to begin. The task? You’re going to write a novel!
You’re so inspired, it’s crazy. Wow, if only your ninth-grade literature teacher could see you now. You open a Word document, the empty file beckoning you to fill it with drama, adventure, romance, and hey, you’re good, let’s add some witty dialogue. Read More→
Teaching the World: Advice from a Thrivor
Posted by: | CommentsI teach a five-week online writing course called Writing the Heartache. People from all walks of life have taken the class and written some beautiful pieces from their pain.
The last week is when we discuss publication. Some of my attendees have no interest in going through the roadblocks of getting published, but others are adamant. And I feel they should be. Survivors, or Thrivors, as my friend Tabitha coins us, have a lot to teach the world. We’ve been through heartache, vast sorrow, anguish, and because of our experiences, we’ve changed. Perhaps we once had no interest in advocacy, now we have a firm cause. Read More→
YouTube: Jump in With the Crowd!
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I know your mama probably told you not to follow the crowd. I can hear her response to your, “But everybody does it!” ”Well,” she’d say, with her hands raised in disbelief, “If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you, too?”
The other day I decided to go along with the popular practice of posting a video on YouTube. Prior to my light-bulb-moment, I’d created a video for a writing workshop using Windows Movie Maker. The video served as a how-to for those who want to discover the value of writing from pain. Read More→
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