Ouch. My Writing Reality Check

February 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for Ouch. My Writing Reality Check

The last four months have been the most productive of my life in terms of fiction output. I’ve cranked out almost 90,000 words on this novel draft and written more blog topics and consistently recorded morning pages and signed my first fiction contract (for a short story, but I’ll take it). Even though the novel [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Writing as Its Own Reward

February 4, 2010
Thumbnail image for Writing as Its Own Reward

Yesterday morning, I woke up at five-thirty and went through my morning ritual: brewed a pot of assam tea, wrote three pages in my journal, and advanced my current novel by another 1,000-plus words. The day went downhill from there. The fraud department from my bank, JPMorgan Chase, called to let me know that someone [...]

Share
Read the full article →

How Writing Whittles My Waist

February 3, 2010
Some woman's waist - not mine

You’ve probably heard the advice about choosing one, and only one, goal to pursue. The idea is that you’ll increase your chances of success because you’re focusing your attention. Consider time, that elusive resource we never have enough of – even though we all technically have the same amount: 24 hours per day. If I [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Embracing Joie de Vivre in Writing

January 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Embracing Joie de Vivre in Writing

Tonight, I took a mini-vacation to Europe, no passport required. For dinner, I grabbed my notebook and fountain pen and headed for Le Pain Quotidien, a fantastic Belgian bakery with locations around the world. Sitting at a communal table with a chewy macaroon before me, listening to Europeans chatting in their native tongues, it was [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Anne Rice: ‘You have to write’

January 26, 2010
Ann Rice Writing Video on YouTube

Since I read The Witching Hour in college, Anne Rice has long been one of my favorite writers. Now, she’s quickly becoming one of my marketing role models because of her active Facebook and YouTube presence. Here’s a short video with Anne’s advice for aspiring writers. Enjoy!

Share
Read the full article →

Writing in the Moment

January 26, 2010
Thumbnail image for Writing in the Moment

When I decided to start this blog, I had grand designs to plan an introductory series that explained the genesis and philosophy, my goals, etc. But before I could execute, a random blog topic popped into my head, so I worked on that instead. Now, a few days later, several more random topics have jumped [...]

Share
Read the full article →

The Power of the Pen

January 25, 2010
Thumbnail image for The Power of the Pen

A few years back, I made the switch from Windows-based computers to Macs. At the time, I thought my nifty new toy, a sleek MacBook Pro, would transform my work into play. Not surprisingly, work still felt like work, although the fun factor did improve. The novelty of my new computer, however, did not overcome [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Writing for the Sake of Writing

January 24, 2010
Thumbnail image for Writing for the Sake of Writing

This morning, I didn’t feel like writing, even after dragging myself out of bed for that express purpose. You see, I had done something really, really dumb: I found an old notebook and started reading through it. In addition to reading long-forgotten snippets of writing, I also stumbled across feedback for an earlier draft of [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Next Entries →