Tips and Advice About Writing and Self-Publishing
It’s almost fall but this week it’s felt like summer. Hot, humid, and air conditioning time again. The leaves are falling and piling up. There’s something about raking them when it’s hot that feels strange to me. Years ago, it used to be chilly and you’d want to head indoors for something hot. How things…
Judy Penz Sheluk is back again and shares with us a story that illustrates how when one door closes another one opens… It was July 7, and I was enjoying a well-deserved six-week vacation at our camp on Lake Superior when the email arrived in my inbox: my traditional publisher, Barking Rain Press (BRP), announced that…
For this week’s short story prompt, another photo one. Your character opens the front door to see these three figures sitting outside. How did they get there, who put them there and why? For those of you opting to journal, has anything strange like this happened to you? Objects mysteriously showing up and had no idea where…
Read more Wednesday Writing and Journaling Prompts-Strange Objects
Last week, I listened to an interview with an artist who was talking about how to free yourself from a creative block. She gave lots of great tips but one in particular struck a chord with me. Rituals. You’ve heard me mention many times that I didn’t write novels for almost a decade after my…
This might seem like a strange quote to motivate you to write, but think about this. What if the story you’ve been hesitating to write, putting off finishing, or even too afraid to submit, is one that’s going to bring a smile to someone’s face? A story so beautiful it turns a bad day into…
I hadn’t realized today was Friday the 13th until I turned on my laptop this morning. I come from a family with tales of just about every supersition that’s out there. Still to this day, I still won’t put a hat on the bed or new shoes on the kitchen table, I could go on for quite awhile.…
Today’s guest blogger is Mike Lord who shares with us his writing process and why he decided to self-publish his books… People often ask me when I prefer to write. With me it’s not like that at all: When I think of a story I work out the plot and an outline of the characters…
To kick off the fall writing prompts, this first one is a photo one- Here it is- Imagine your character is looking up at this view. Where are they? Why are they there? What happens after they see this view? If you want to journal, imagine you’re looking up at the trees. What…
The Hi Susan letters are piling up so I thought I’d devote this Tuesday to responding to one of them. Luanne sent me this one… I’m thinking about writing my story in present tense. Do you think it’s a good idea or should I avoid it at all costs? This is a question with no…
I always say if something you do isn’t fun or isn’t fun any more, it’s time to call it a day. This quote reminds me that sometimes writing is a struggle but if it’s something you love to do, that struggle eventually fades into nothingness. It’s that X factor that eventually separates the published…
