This blog may only innumerate 7 benefits of writing retreats, but I can assure you that in my case those benefits have been innumerable. I attended my first writing retreat when my kids were ages 2, 4, 11 and 13. Raising four children should be reason enough to run away to write, but allow me to elaborate on what I …
We’ve all been there, eyes glazed over as we listen to an expert in their field ramble on using their industry lingo oblivious that they’ve lost us. In the doctor’s office, in the accountant or lawyer’s office, on a call with some customer service department for a technology device and the acronyms start flying past us at warp speed. Allow …
I was recently tagged in a Facebook post from a friend of a friend. This lady was over the moon excited that she’d finally finished writing her book, and I was tagged because she was looking for someone who had connections to editors and traditional publishers. In her post, she wrote, “I’ve finally completed my book and I don’t know …
Let me ease the mind of all of you who have embarked on a new journey of choosing to write a book and are now hesitating in front of a blank page waiting for the perfect sentence to flow out of your fingers, or are reading what you’ve just spent hours writing only to think it is complete and utter …
Why is it that when the warm weather comes along, we suddenly slough off all our wonderful, productive habits as we apply a layer of sunscreen? You know what it’s like: you just get into the groove of writing that book you always wanted to write and then, bam, it’s vacation time and your precious habit is being hijacked by …
Do you battle with how much to share about your life in your memoir? There are a few sides from which you can approach this issue. What can you write legally? What can you share with the world with your head held high? Be honest, is there a note of revenge? And most importantly, does it serve the story? Legally …
I have believed for a long time that writers (and other artists) have a more active and louder inner critic than the rest of the world. I see it every day with my clients and listen to the war waging in my own mind all the time. There are times that I sit down to my computer in my comfortable …
The biggest indicator to me that someone is new to writing stories is that they miss the opportunity to set the scene and anchor the reader in the story. I recoil with embarrassment when I go back and read my first attempts at writing a book! It consisted mainly of dialogue and introspection. Two talking heads floating in space does …
First, I urge you to set realistic writing goals. I am usually quite vocal about the vile taste that rises in my mouth when I hear about “write your book in a weekend” type programs. They make me want to pull my hair out! You might be able to write the first draft of a lead magnet to sell for …
There seems to be a new decision to be made in today’s book market besides writing in first or third person and that is writing in past tense or present tense. You can pick up various books in most genres and see that all possible combinations are being used from first person present tense to the tried and true third …
