All writers need writing practice, and flash fiction based on a photo or other prompt is a great way to expand your creativity and maybe even break through writer’s block. It can build confidence, too, especially if you’re a beginner. The best part is that it doesn’t require a big time commitment. Flash fiction, also … Read more
Happy New Year, writers! What’s up your writerly sleeve for the coming year? You can set writing goals any time (remember that). After all, goal setting doesn’t have to be a big, shiny new year thing. Besides, January 1 and all the holiday hoopla and folderol that leads up to it isn’t always the most … Read more
No matter what kind of writer you are—fiction or non-fiction—you’re probably guilty of procrastinating somewhere along the way. Frustrating, isn’t it? Maybe you’ve started five novels and haven’t completed one. You’ve written rough drafts of essays and haven’t published any. You have brilliant ideas for magazine articles, but your drafts are hidden in the deep, … Read more
It’s a common question: “How do I become a writer?” The quick and easy response is “Write.” Just write. Keep writing until you get bloody good at it, and then write some more. But the best answer, really, depends on what kind of writer you want to become. What’s your definition of “a writer?” Minus … Read more
There’s no such thing as failure. Mistakes happen in your life to bring into focus more clearly who you really are. —Oprah Winfrey Since college, I’ve been both a fiction and a non-fiction writer, and I’ve had two main goals. I would go beyond the poetry and short stories I was writing, and I’d also … Read more
We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Most things are not as impossible as we think. The only way to find out is to try. —Scott Dinsmore Someone I didn’t know died in a freak accident a few days ago. I got the news from someone else I don’t … Read more
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.—President Franklin D. Roosevelt Overcoming fear requires effort no matter what you’re afraid of. It could be anything from a full-fledged phobia—of spiders, for example—to feeling nervous around someone like your boss or a celebrity. Fear can be healthy. If you’re afraid of a shadowy figure … Read more
Either you have a goal—or you don’t. Either you have a priority—or you don’t. Either writing matters to you—or it doesn’t. It’s that simple. Let’s get real here. I know all about the excuses. I know all about how life just somehow happens—yeah, right—and you get caught up in all sorts of stuff. You think … Read more
Dreaming of writing—and publishing—your own book? You envision a novel, a children’s picture book, or maybe a memoir. The book has a gorgeous cover, and right under the title is your name. Woo! You’re not the only one. Lots of writers just like you have the same dream. But compared to the number of dreamers, … Read more
If you’ve ever had a dog who’s your BFF, you probably nod your head when dog lovers talk about the lessons dogs teach. Oh, they don’t teach specific lessons directly. Not intentionally, as far as anyone knows. But if you listen up—if you can learn from someone whose idea of fun is peeing on fenceposts—you’ll … Read more