Back in the early days of my Quest for Publication, I was equipped with naught but a trusty Pilot pen, a five-subject Mead notebook, and a plethora of ideas. Eventually, I upgraded to a keyboard and computer.
Writers spend a lot of time talking to themselves. We invent conversations between imaginary people, imagine a series of actions, and then transcribe what happens in our mind to the page.
I had the pleasure of talking with students at Waupun High School yesterday. My mission: to share my educational background, professional writing experiences, writing advice, and tips for getting published with the fledgling writers.
I’ve written some pretty strange things over the years, but few things pushed me farther outside my comfort zone than the business plan I recently put together.
My favorite questions tend to start with “what if.” Lately, however, this writer has been asking himself, “What now?”
When a writing project spans years, it’s important to acknowledge milestones along the way.
I’ll spare you the clichéd “Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, but I’ve been busy” post. I’ve never met a writer who wasn’t woefully short on time. Why should my situation be any different?
Yesterday morning, WordPress congratulated me on my blog’s third anniversary. There was even a fancy little trophy icon by the announcement.
The more I think about it, the more a term like “character-oriented” seems superfluous. Characters are but one element of a story. Like setting and plot, they are essential ingredients of a story. But are they any more important than the rest?
A writer’s mind can be a dangerous thing. Perhaps the most notorious forms of self-sabotage are writer’s block and a related syndrome: the sophomore slump.