When I began training in the martial arts, one of the first things I had to learn and accept was that I had to trust my teacher. I didn’t know what was expected of me, and I certainly didn’t believe that I could do any of it. But my teacher thought I could learn…
Tag: The Writing Craft
Big Projects and Productivity
A comment on a previous post points out that people sometimes get stuck on long projects and stall because they haven’t figured out the next step. “Write a book” seems a little daunting. You can’t get it done today. So you shy away from getting started at all. Productivity gurus talk about figuring out…
Selling the Book of Your Heart
Writing yesterday’s post got me to thinking about what happens when it’s time to sell the book of your heart. Most of us write because we want to put our words in front of readers, so it’s discouraging when the manuscript sits in the trunk in your attic or languishes on your hard drive for twenty…
Writing the book of your heart
In the recent issue of a members-only magazine (thus no link here), a writer suggests that because the down economy has affected book publishing as it has affected the entire universe, editors are becoming more conservative and writers should write with an eye toward what the market wants (i.e., the tried and true). Now, she…
Waiting for Your Big Break?
Me, too. Of course, the older I get, the bigger the break needs to be for me to be impressed by it. When I was first starting out, I just wanted someone – anyone! – to publish an essay or a story that I’d written. Then I wanted someone to publish my book. Then my next book. Then…