Favorite writing advice: “Trust the story.” Who said the writing advice trust the story: Patricia Ann McNair, creative writing professor Why: The story knows what it wants to be. You just need to get out of the way ~ with your thoughts on what it should be or what you want it to be, trying to …
Favorite writing advice: “Slow down & SEE it.” Who said the writing advice slow down & see it: Ann Hemenway, fiction writing professor (& University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop grad so she knows her stuff) Why: Sometimes going fast is the best thing to do the first time through so you can get it all …
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” ~ Stephen King To be a good writer, you must read to learn what is good writing Reading good writing can teach you about structure, dialogue, pacing, plot, using symbols & imagery to convey a …
“Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you’ll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.” ~ Stephen King There are documented scientific reasons about the importance of reading, according to a seminar I once attended given by a neurologist who had been studying the brain for three …
Here’s a shout-out to a lovely lady named Ann Best, who became my personal hero one day last month. On the same day I received a comment on my blog that ripped me as a person apart, Ann wrote this comment for me on a guest post I had written: I’m so glad I subscribe …
Favorite writing advice: “A writer should always feel like he’s in over his head. That’s part of what makes good writing compelling.” Who said the writing advice about feeling in over your head: Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize winner for The Hours Why: Show of hands: How many people when confronted with a task that feels …
My Favorite Writing Advice: Feeling In Over Your Head Read More »
A while ago I wrote a couple posts about being careful not only about what you say to yourself but also about who else you listen to. This post, about the ability to speak strength to yourself, goes along with those. Not only do you have to stop ~ I mean right now ~ the self-defeating …
“If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.” ~ Anna Quindlen I’m writing this post because I need a reminder about what’s important to me. When I started this independent-publishing journey, I was happy …
Favorite writing advice: “You must allow yourself to fail on the page.” Who said the writing advice about failing on the page: Jaimee Wriston Colbert, fiction writing professor Why: Perfectionism will kill your writing goals. You’ll never get off the ground if you’re afraid to fail. I was afraid of failure, afraid of what people …
This lovely 5-star review of my novel, SMALL AS A MUSTARD SEED, comes from Tom Clementson over at the Kindle Book Review. Tom’s an American military guy, currently stationed in Afghanistan. We met on Twitter (find Tom: @TCAbn) & I mentioned my book, that the story, among other things, dealt with a Korean War veteran. …
Small as a Mustard Seed: The Preeminent Emotional Reading Experience Read More »
