by Cherie Tucker
May 2014
In today’s paper, a quote ended with:
“Therefore, we’ve fallen flat on our face.”
When a sentence like that came up in one of my classes, someone asked if it shouldn’t be “flat on our faces.” The conversation then continued like this:
“How many faces do they have?”
“Maybe they shared one.”
Read Moreby Jenn Scott
May 2014
What are people interested in more than just about anything else? Other people! The human mind is a storytelling mind made to weave various pieces of information together into a complete picture that helps us understand the motivations of the “characters” in our lives.
Read Moreby Jennifer Paros
May 2014
Geniuses are often perceived as having special brains, but the truth is that without the determination to give full attention to their internal drives and passions, there could be no such thing as genius. This determined personal focus is available to all of us, though societal expectations sometimes mark it as noncompliant and problematic. In actuality, an intense bias for one’s inner life may be an indicator of a brilliant system hard at work, striving to establish its unique creative drive.
Read Moreby Patricia Fry
May 2014
How do you approach your live audiences? Do you give them what they expect? What do they hope for when they come to listen to you speak about your book?
For the most part, they expect to learn something and to be entertained. While a few people will come out to support you, most are in the audience because they want something from you. They are interested in the theme of your book. They want information, resources, insight, inspiration, and/or motivation.
Read Moreby Susan Sloate
April 2014
I love Amazon. Seriously. Though I’ve heard grumbling for years about Amazon sweeping other booksellers into oblivion, it seems clear to me that Amazon might just be a writer’s best friend—the website that attracts and informs millions, offers writers opportunity to publish their work through a variety of companies, and has a ton of tools to help invisible writers become visible.
Read Moreby Jennifer Paros
April 2014
I was all bent out of shape - over something I cannot now remember - feeling crummy yet still determined to get out and run some errands. As I got in the car and put my seatbelt on, I determined to at least try to feel a little better though the momentum of frustration and unhappiness was strong.
Read Moreby Kristen Lamb
April 2014
Publishing has entered The Digital Age and bullies abound more than ever. The Internet gives psychos access to torment us 24-7 no matter where we go. There are people who are simply made of spite and hate and they will spread misery and pain as far as they can for no reason other than to make others suffer.
Read Moreby Judith Kirscht
April 2014
I should envy those who wrote voraciously from the time they were six and always knew they would become writers. For me the writer was a hidden twin who emerged in blips over the years and didn’t become fully visible until I was in my forties. But the process has reaped its own rewards, leaving me amazed at the mystery of the imagination and fascinated by the human psyche. It has also allowed me to see the potential of fruitful interaction of our left and right brains.
Read Moreby Katie Hafner
April 2014
I have been a journalist for 35 years, happily writing about the lives of others, while just as happily dodging my own story.
That changed in the summer of 2009 when, in the wake of a crisis in her life, my mother moved from San Diego to San Francisco – and in with my teenage daughter and me. My mother was 77. I was 51. We planned to live together for a year, as an experiment in multigenerational living.
Read Moreby Cherie Tucker
March 2014
If you have only one adjective describing something, there is no need for a comma to separate it from the word being described. (That’s a beautiful rose.) If you wax rhapsodic and add more adjectives, then you need commas. (That’s a beautiful, delicate, perfect, red rose.) Most of you have that one down. But the crime of separating subjects from their verbs with a single comma is becoming epidemic.
Read Moreby Noelle Sterne
March 2014
With WordPress and other DIY websites becoming ever easier, many writers are savvy enough to design and post their own sites. But some of us aren’t, or can’t face trekking up the learning curve. When I needed a website for publication of my book Trust Your Life: Forgive Yourself and Go After Your Dreams, I didn’t want a prepackaged site (a la WordPress), although they can be fine. But I needed a site that reflected the themes of my book and so resolved to hire a web designer.
Read Moreby Jenn Scott
March 2014
Recently I was talking to some writer friends and the discussion turned to asking for feedback about one’s work. When should a writer ask for feedback and whom should they ask? What is the impact of getting feedback at different points in the writing process? Of course everyone loves positive feedback but how do writers handle less than positive feedback, perhaps even criticism?
Read Moreby Jennifer Paros
March 2014
I was working on a birthday card for my father, and time was getting tight. I started questioning and criticizing the drawing I was making, and these thoughts were corroding my clarity and sense of security. For a while, I purposefully avoided acting on the urge to show a preliminary print of the image to my husband, sensing it was a bad idea. Eventually, however, I did.
Read Moreby Kristen Lamb
March 2014
The world is drowning in choices, and discoverability is nothing short of a nightmare, especially when it comes to books. Cheap and FREE! no longer hold the same influence and, in the face of limitless options, consumers (code for readers) will often purchase based off feelings. This is why likability is key for using social media effectively. Writers are no longer selling information or stories—we’re selling ourselves, which just confirms for me that writing really is the oldest profession in the world.
Read Moreby Erin Brown
March 2014
You’ve slaved over your manuscript, day and night, year after year, decade after decade (okay, if that’s the case, perhaps you really should call it a day), and now it’s complete. It’s time to throw that baby out into the world, awaiting the ultimate embrace, all the while mentally preparing for the incredibly tough road through Rejection-ville. At this point, you should have a title for your precious tome. Trust me, Working Title, Untitled, and Suck It, Call It Whatever You Want are not viable options, as tempting as they are.
Read Moreby Cherie Tucker
February 2014
It’s time for New Year’s Reminders. We did talk about using the apostrophe with the New Year’s holiday before, but it’s been quite a while, and since both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have come and gone and you might be asking people what they did to celebrate, here’s a quick review of how to do that correctly.
Read Moreby Jennifer Paros
February 2014
Sometimes, while out and about, I become aware I am talking to myself. Once I was in the produce section of the supermarket, holding a melon, and speaking my thoughts (quietly) – How long will it take to ripen? Is it good? It doesn’t smell sweet . . and when I looked up a young man had taken notice of me. It was then I realized there was a high likelihood he was curious, not in a flattering way, but in a that-lady-might-be-crazy kind of way.
Read Moreby Kristen Lamb
February 2014
Twitter is one of the most powerful forms of social media for authors and one of the best ways to go viral. Yet, I’m amazed at how many writers ignore or abuse this platform due to ignorance or misinformation. Twitter is a tool, and when used improperly it’s ineffective and can even create epic damage.
Try hanging pictures with a chainsaw and see how that works out.
Read Moreby Linda DeMers Hummel
February 2014
In my childhood two worries consumed me — bear attacks and appendicitis. They were long shots at best, since my neighborhood barely had a squirrel, and appendicitis never got any closer to me than the boy across the street, who was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Although he recovered in a few days, I knew it was just a matter of time before appendicitis came looking for me, too.
Read Moreby Lisa Fernow
February 2014
I had the pleasure to interview Bill Kenower recently and we got to talking about why people write. That got me thinking.
One reason I write is to experience Eureka moments. The flash of recognition when you catch a glimpse of your unconscious mind at work. When you realize you’ve tapped into a deeper meaning you didn’t intend. When your synapses fire and say, Howdy.
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