Continue reading →

Last WW: Make Them Keep Reading

We’re already 13 days into 2016.  They say that a new year is a new chance. That it’s an opportunity to reset your life, or at least work on improving yourself in the ways that somehow eluded you the year before.

Many people pledge to eat better, exercise more, get a better job, and even write more often… Those are all great things to strive for.  Most resolutions are.

We’re just about 2 weeks in.  Many people at this point think that they have either lived up to your New Year’s Resolutions or already blown them.  I believe that way of thinking will only set you up for failure.

If you’re keeping up with a resolution, that’s awesome.  Good job.  However, once you get it into your head, “well, I did it” then you might have a problem keeping that momentum going.  You might find that later you’re saying, “well, I did it for awhile.”  Then you’re right back where you started, not doing the thing you wanted to do.

If you’ve already messed up your resolution, then I have good news: tomorrow is another day!  You don’t have to wait for a new year to come around to do the things you want to do.  Depending on your goal, every day, every hour, every week… is an opportunity to get back on track.

Did you want to lose weight and eat a whole pizza by yourself?  Well, you’ll have to eat again.  And that’s an opportunity to do what you set out to do.  If you want to write more, write more.  Doesn’t matter if you’ve been going strong for weeks or haven’t typed a word.  If you want it, you’ll find a way to do it.

Don’t let resolutions trip you up.

Last Week’s WW: Keep The Creativity Flowing

If you plan to be an author, some day you will publish.  Maybe it’ll be with the Big Five, or perhaps you’ll self-published.  Maybe you’re already published.  However it happens, it’ll happen, and you’ll probably want to shout it from the roof top.  You should do this, well, maybe not from the literal roof top, that could be dangerous.  But you’re excited, and you have every right to be.  Publishing is a huge accomplishment, be proud.

The thing is, not everyone will be as excited as you.   Continue reading →

Last Week’s WW: Structure

Sometimes, I have a lot of ideas.  Occasionally, too many.  Other times, they just won’t seem to come.  Lately I’ve been feeling all of this.  I’ve been letting my writing anxieties build.  I’ve been avoiding writing.  I stopped the creative flow and I feared that the well had dried up.  It seemed like the harder I tried to think of an idea, the further away I got from it.  Maybe I was trying to hard.  I just hated feeling like I had nothing to do.  I hated having a bunch of ideas, but no passion and no real insight into any of them.

How do we over come this? Continue reading →

Last WW: Don’t Let Your Characters Just Stand There

Whether your a planner or a pantser, a story needs to have structure.  The first thought that comes to mind is: beginning, middle, end.  Sure, a logical story goes in that order.  Even one told out of linear progression still, at its heart, has a beginning, middle, and end.  However, if you want to go beyond basic, you should really have four parts.

Part One:  Continue reading →