Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
As a business coach, I recently had occasion to research what makes people successful, and I found this great article that I’m going to steal and talk about writing – success is success no matter what business you are in, and, believe it or not, writing is a business. I’ve used his headings, but changed it …
Continue reading “Five Attitudes Toward Success”
Caryn is down for a bit after some minor surgery. Today we’re running one of her best-loved posts on the trials of writing erotic fiction. We know you’ll love this post and Caryn will be back with us all in no time. When Fifty Shades of Grey crashed into the publishing world, everyone was aghast. On so …
Continue reading “Retro Caryn: Writing Erotic Romance”
Many years ago in graduate school I taught a class on nonfiction critique writing. Most of my students had no experience critiquing another person’s writing so we spent a lot of time talking about the elements of a good critique. It didn’t take long for me to realize they needed an acronym to help them …
Continue reading “The Formula for Great Critiques is R.I.T.E.”
Author Ellen Mulholland nominated me and the Writeonsisters for this One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks so much, Ellen! Check out her Blog For New Writers for tips on developing characters, mapping outlines and making Scrivener your best pal. Now, the rules of this blog hop state that I am to share seven things about myself, …
Continue reading “7 Things I Know About Writing”
Sister Sharon’s post about NaNoWriMo got me thinking. Writers have different ways to get productive – the output varies, but the method usually stays the same for each of us. Like superstitious sportsmen, we follow a pattern that seems to work for us. I have my own preparation method, but I’ve heard of others who do …
Continue reading “NaNoWriMo and the Night of Writing Dangerously.”
When I posted a few years ago about the upcoming NaNoWriMo, one of my Facebook friends asked me if NaNoWriMo was a new boutique stuffed animal for grandparents to buy. Uh, no. I was taken aback at first, but, really, National Novel Writing Month would only be familiar to those of us who chose writing …
Continue reading “NaNoWriMo is NOT a Cuddly Stuffed Animal”
Last week I blogged about the difference between critique partners and cheerleaders (answer these 5 questions to find out which is which). In short, cheerleaders are friends or family members who cheer us on and love our writing no matter how bad it is. Cherish their enthusiasm, but never rely on them for helpful feedback. …
Continue reading “Not All Feedback is Created Equal”
We’re running a retro-post for Robin this week while she’s moving into her new house…actually her very first post! Hurry back, Robin, we miss you! It’s funny how some journeys sound idyllic on paper. You set forth with clear blue skies and total assurance of your own capabilities, and then the wind kicks up. Within seconds, you’re lost among …
Continue reading “Retro Robin Post: Defeat Fear & Leap”
This weekend my best friend from university was in town for a visit. We went to school for Television, me focused on screenwriting, her on the business side of the industry. She’s always been my biggest cheerleader, genuinely thinking everything I write, even the shit I came up with in first year, is great. Cheerleaders …
Continue reading “Cheerleaders vs Critique Partners”
As you know, I recently relocated from New York to Virginia and as is the case when most people move, I was looking for new opportunities to meet people, especially since I miss my evenings at the coffee shop with my old writer group and mostly communicate with them via computer. Luckily, I found this …
Continue reading “Moody Musings…”