Writers are Different

I’m not sure if it’s nature or nurture, or both, but you have to admit, we writers seem a bit . . . odd to the rest of the world. Even to the people who know us best, and love us anyway. I asked a bunch of my writer friends for anecdotes that proved this.…

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Backstory – Done Right

Okay, I’m finally digging myself out of the butt-high pile of boxes – I should be back with a regular blog next week. In the meantime, here’s another edition of The Write Stuff: What do you think? Can you give us an example of backstory done right from a book or a movie?

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BE the Dude

I am butt-deep in packing paper and tripping over boxes from my move, so this week I’m dishing up another of my ‘Write Stuff’ videos: What do you think? Any other tips for us on how to be in the character’s head?

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Surviving Rejection – There’s a Trick!

Hey y’all. I’m busy packing to move, so I’m dishing another video from three years ago. Oddly, I took this the day before I broke my leg out on a river and the medics had to bring a sheriff’s boat to rescue me and take me to surgery in the hospital. Glad I didn’t know…

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WHY Do We Do This?

A straightforward, oddly depressing yet uplifting post to help you remember WHY we do this writing gig: How about you? What keeps you going? Share your tips!

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Marketing – the Longest 4-Letter Word

Hi all!  I’m going to be moving over the next few weeks (insert both a squee and a groan), so I’m not going to have the brain cells to conjure blogs. But never fear, I’m digging into my YouTube library for some old posts I did on writing craft, and you probably haven’t seen them.…

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What Marketing Books and Garage Sales Have in Common

I dislike garage sales. Both shopping at them and even more, having them. But we’re moving, and I refuse to haul stuff I don’t use to yet another house. So, much as I avoid them, I organized a neighborhood garage sale for this weekend, figuring it would help my neighbors lighten up on the junk,…

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How Spill Strong Emotion on the Page

I’ll admit, this blog was sparked by THIS one (it’s awesome-go read it-we’ll wait). It had a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald: “… I’m afraid the price for doing professional work is a good deal higher than you are prepared to pay at the moment. You’ve got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not…

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Overused Words

We all have them. Mine may be different than yours. They’re like whack-a-moles – you banish one, and two others pop up. You may think they don’t matter, but they do. They irritate the reader on a subconscious level. Use them enough, and they’ll remember they have to put the laundry in the dryer –…

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Cut Some Slack

I have a theory: I believe writers are by nature, more observant and aware of what’s going on around them than ‘normal’ people. So changes and threats in their environment hit them harder. That’s not science, just a personal observation of mine,  but I believe if you poll your writer friends, they may be struggling.…

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