I started Been Writing? over 10 years ago. TEN YEARS. In those ten years, I've had a rollercoaster of a writing career, but the one thing I come back to again and again, is my love of talking with other authors - talking through career choices, goals, and manuscripts. I've done this at writing conferences, … Continue reading MOVING!
Dear Writer, You’re not Alone
It's past midnight and you're dying for sleep, but lie awake with your characters screaming to get out. Dear writer, you're not alone. You've created the story of your heart, and you send it into the world, only to earn a growing list of pass letters. Dear writer, you're not alone. You're tired and wonder … Continue reading Dear Writer, You’re not Alone
COMMON MISTAKES: The Big Picture Edition
I don't love framing posts about writing in a negative light, but honestly, this is the easiest way to talk about the things I see SO often, that I'll never be able to do them in my own writing again (at least I'd like to think so, but probably that's wishful thinking). I'd also like … Continue reading COMMON MISTAKES: The Big Picture Edition
The Crippling Possibility of Success
Here's the wonderful and terrible thing about creative work: YOU COULD MAKE IT BIG. One painting, one song, one poem, one video, one...book...could change your entire life. Twilight, Harry Potter, Where the Crawdads Sing, To Kill a Mockingbird, and so many others that I could go on for a LONG time. An author's breakout novel, … Continue reading The Crippling Possibility of Success
A Few Notes From a Freelance Editor
I've been editing for friends in exchange for other bookish favors for almost ten years. I've been doing freelance editing for about three, when I decided that I needed a day job that wasn't related to my creativity. The other day I ran across a book review where the reviewer was bashing the editor of … Continue reading A Few Notes From a Freelance Editor
Trying New Genres – What I Learned
I spent a few years ignoring timelines and ignoring the honest WANT to keep up with having books under contract, and I experimented. I wrote a thriller/horror with a supernatural/sci-fi style twist (think X-Files) and started another one or two in that same genre, and I wrote a MG novel with a hint of magic, … Continue reading Trying New Genres – What I Learned
Let. Go.
I've been in a few conversations lately that remind me how much writers treat their works like their children. I have a good friend who I'm sure will hit the publishing world in a big way at some point. There's a fantasy he's been working on for a long time. It's the first writing project … Continue reading Let. Go.
STOP APOLOGIZING
I see people apologizing for their genre, what they write, where or how they're published... Or, maybe apologizing isn't the right word. The right word is dismissing their accomplishments. STOP THIS. If you weren't comparing yourself to someone else, would you be using phrases like, "Oh, I just do (insert thing here)..." or "It's not … Continue reading STOP APOLOGIZING
Edit Rounds, Typos, and the Finished Project…
This meme has been floating around, and got my re-thinking about something I think on often... HOW DO TYPOS SURVIVE? For those traditionally published, you KNOW that typos make it into the final version of your book - almost every single time. (I'll admit to a tiny part of me being giddy when I find … Continue reading Edit Rounds, Typos, and the Finished Project…
Four Letter Word
FOUR LETTER WORD and what it takes to get a story right. I met Christa Desir sometime in 2012, and I feel SO incredibly lucky to know her for about a million reasons. I started writing an intro to her publication story of this book, but she says it all much better, so here's the … Continue reading Four Letter Word
Been Writing? 