I was scheduled to go to a writer’s retreat this last week. Three days in a cabin in Glen Eyre, packed with good food, good friends, and a wonderful mentor. Long walks, gorgeous red rocks, sunsets, and laughter. Obviously, it didn’t happen. There are a lot of things getting canceled just now—for everybody. Flights, concerts,…
Tag: writer’s pitch
Devouring Stories
Last week we started talking about things writers can do to move their careers forward when the next step seems impossibly far off. Sometimes ‘making it as a writer’ seems like it’s full of huge, gigantic leaps forward: finishing a book, finding an agent, getting published, working full-time as a writer, earning this award, being…
What Next Step??
I wrote a post recently about doing the next right thing. Since that’s my version of a New Year’s Resolution, I’ve been thinking about it quite a lot. I also went to go see Frozen 2 over the weekend with my younger sisters. In case you were wondering, it was fabulous. I loved it. But…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Passion
I should tell you something about me, in case we ever meet in person. I always—always—have a story going in my head. Seriously. Every day. It never stops. It might be pushed to the back burner in my brain, I might be able to smile and talk to you and be totally engaged in our…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Hope
Can I ask you a question, just between us writers and anyone else who happens to swing by my blog and see this post? What are you hoping for? When you sit down to write, where do you see your book going? Or, rather, where do you want it to go? What are the big…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Work Ethic
I’m going to make a crazy statement to start off today’s post. Are you ready? Here it is. The most talented writers will not necessarily be the most successful. There. I said it. You can lynch me now. Are you shocked by my crazy pronouncement? I don’t take it back. In fact, I stand by…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Resilience
I’m going to tell you a secret today. Not everyone is going to like what you write. In fact, some people are going to hate it. They are going to leave a one-star review, write a nasty summary, and leave you a little shattered on your keyboard. Hopefully, this will not happen often. Since you…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Enthusiasm
I still get excited about my writing. After seven years on the same set of books, that sounds crazy doesn’t it? Don’t the characters get stale? Doesn’t the world get boring? Actually . . . they do. Sometimes. I have days when I’m not excited about what I’m writing. We all do. In fact, I…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Tenacity
One of the questions that I get way too often in my life is, “How are your books coming?” It’s understandable, actually. People know I’m working on a book series. They know I’ve been working on it for a long time—seven years, in fact. And most people aren’t aware of how slow the publishing industry…
Eight Characteristics Of Serious Writers: Empathy
When I was a teenager, I read a book with a main character that didn’t react emotionally to anything. His mentor died. His family died. Everything he had was torn away from him, and he was left running for his life from people who wanted desperately to either kill him or shove him into prison…
