You have a gift. You have ideas. You have the passion to form words into images, concepts, and aha moments for adoring readers. You can do this! Or, you can ruin it. So, here you go. If you want to fail as a writer… 1. Don’t write unless you feel like writing. Many people enjoy the idea of writing, but actually doing the work takes discipline, and discipline is not always fun. If you really want to write, you need … Read More »

Wikipedia calls writer’s block a “condition.” Sounds serious, doesn’t it? Like a chronic malady that a writer struggles to keep at bay, the threat of a recurrence is always lurking in the dark shadows of that last sentence, paragraph, or scene. It’s something you might get a bit of respite from, but is guaranteed to return at some point. I suspect anyone who writes has felt at one time or another that they are unable to move forward with their … Read More »

Sometimes writing is easy, when you feel deeply impassioned about something and know just how to say it. The words flow.  I think it was Truman Capote who said something like “I’ve always been able to throw words up in the air and have them come down in the right order.” Sometimes we can do that, too. When you’ve emptied the passion bucket, maybe all you have to do is tweak a sentence or two, choose a better word here … Read More »

Working as a reporter at the Pentagon, I learned a lot of fun acronyms. Among my favorites was MOOTW (Pron: MOOT wuh). It’s short for Military Operations Other Than War. When you think about it, that describes much of what the military is called upon to do: peacekeeping, humanitarian operations, disaster relief, dispute mediation, even diplomacy. I want to propose the creation of a new acronym: AOOTW (Pron: ah-OOT wuh)—Author Operations Other Than Writing. Like MOOTW for the military, AOOTW … Read More »

As a teacher of writing, I have had the pleasure of working with some creative, ambitious young authors who write with passion and originality. However, their fan base generally resided within the walls of our classroom. If you are a young author, and you would like to take your writing to the next level, this post is for you. Read the advice and check out the list of publications and contests. Take a step toward seeing your work in print! … Read More »

Writer’s block (shudder). Nobody needs to tell us wordfolk how painful and frustrating that condition that freezes up our creativity can be. But you know the old saying: “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.” Yes, fellow authors, even writer’s block can be put to good use to further our literary careers! I’m not guaranteeing that you’ll thank the Powers That Be for a spell of block, but at least you won’t have to look back on it in … Read More »