Have I mentioned how much writers hate crafting query letters? Yes? Oh, fine. Well, maybe it’s just me, but trying to boil my story down to 2-3 paragraphs that will catch an agent’s eye is excruciating. Today, I spent some time perusing blogs by literary agents Nathan Bransford and Kristin Nelson, looking for inspiration. I also
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle According to success guru, Brian Tracy, it takes 21 days of repetition to form a good habit–although bad ones seem to require a much shorter period! So, how does one form a habit of excellence? Discipline! I’ve heard
Okay, celebration over. It’s time to get back to work. (Productivity guru Brian Tracy would be so proud.) Winning doesn’t mean anything except that a few people liked my writing enough to vote for it. If I want to get that writing published, there’s work to do! With helpful feedback from my awesome critique partner,
“I won! I won!” she yelled as she bounced around the room like a rubber ball… Okay, seriously. I just found out that I won the Contemporary category of the Heart-to-Heart Contest for Unpublished Authors, sponsored by the San Francisco Area Romance Writers of America. Woo hoo! Just to make sure it doesn’t go to
In August, I had the good fortune to attend a workshop by Mary Buckham and Dianna Love based on their great book, Break Into Fiction (hereafter called BIF). I read the book beforehand, and went through the workshop thinking how great all of the templates are because they force you to answer the tough questions
When I was in grad school at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA (or SLO, pronounced “slow” by the locals), one of the things I loved about the campus was all of the outdoor nooks and crannies where I could hole up and study while surrounded by trees and plants. The weather was spectacular
I thought I’d start my blog by talking about one of the best books I’ve read on the craft of writing. “Goal, Motivation & Conflict” by Debra Dixon. I had seen this book mentioned so many times in articles and other books that I finally bit the bullet and bought it–a decision I will not