Tag Archive for 'encouragement'

from my heart to YOURS

Published on June 18, 2010 in Writing Tags: , , . ______________________________________

Are you ready for the weekend, my dears????

me too.

Here’s my totally shameless Newspaper Blackout poetry rip-off (molly-fied, of course):::::

Do you know what it means??
I think I do.
I mean, as I was scribbling things out I found a meaning.
I think randomness is rarely as random as it’s meant to be, but I’ll write more on that some other time.

If nothing else, it means enjoy your awesome weekend because every day is a gift to be savored.

xoxo

Peace♥

p.s. to see my inspiration, visit here: www.austinkleon.com
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You can get pulished, my friend

Published on May 7, 2010 in Writing Tags: , , . ______________________________________

INSPIRATION FOR FRIDAY♥♥♥

source:http://www.eso.org/public/images/vlt-mw-potw/

reach for the stars, right? heehee

At the DFW conference, Jodi Thomas gave an awesome keynote speech about her writing journey. People made her feel like she should give up. Her writing was rejected. She never won any contests. Her writing teacher avoided her. She gave up. Almost. She couldn’t stop writing. She had an amazing passion for it. So she kept it up. Now the number of her published books is greater than the number of my age.

Anyone can write a book. I really believe this.

However, most people don’t. And of the people who do, only a small fraction can get published by a major publisher.

That doesn’t discourage me one bit.

It encourages me. Here’s what I adore about the writing world:

  • We love to help each other.
  • We’re driven to write, so lots of aspiring authors share their learning experiences.
  • Editors and agents write books and blogs and articles about ways to be the cream of the slush.
  • If you’re bad at grammar, there are books to read that will help with that.
  • If you’re bad at writing, practice makes perfect.
  • If the publishing industry is daunting, there are books and blogs and articles that break it down into understandable bits.
  • There are conferences where you can meet inspiring people.
  • There are critique groups where you can get your work ripped to shreds so that it grows stronger with each revision.
  • There if a treasure trove of delicious fiction to read read read and learn from.

In my opinion, the odds are against us UNLESS we go all out and improve and stretch in every way possible. If you’re willing to grow and you’ve got the stamina to keep writing until something works and shove it in a drawer if it doesn’t, then I know you can get published.

I read the most inspiring quote that I’ve come across in my journey as a writer on Kate Lacy’s blog:

Courage doesn’t always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

Beautiful, huh?

Peace♥

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How to be a good reviser

Published on April 19, 2010 in Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . ______________________________________

As Nathan Bransford says, revision in semi-important.  I am going through like my 5th terrible, yucky, draining, life-killing revision, and I thought, Shouldn’t this be easier?”

So I looked up all these easy ways, and I thought  that today I would share tips for a super fast, super excellent revision process.  Seriously, these will sike you out of your mind:

.

  • Insert your personal opinions in rants and long, forced character soliloquies. This is per Mary Kole again. Your readers what to know your every whim, and they won’t mind taking a break from the plot for a few minutes to get a look inside your genius brain.
  • If you don’t have an extensive prologue, you need one. Agent Kristen says you need to fill those readers in on every bit of backstory possible!
  • Just writing he said and she said is way too boring and old fashioned.  Spice it up with words like expostulated, admonished, objected, and best of all, remonstrated.  See how colorful that is??? Barry Lyga is great at this.
  • Don’t worry about little things like plot.  If your writing is edgy enough, (which is a big deal per YA highway), no one will notice if little Billy has no real purpose in the story.

If you follow these tips, you’re sure to have your revision done in one easy sweep and be snatched up by top agents in no time.  Good luck!

Told you it was a sike.

But this isn’t a sike: Wednesday we have a very special interview with none other than the Honorable Queen of Funny and Sarcasm herself, T.H. Mafi. Yay!

Peace♥
***Oh wait.  I almost forgot to tell you about this contest. Super cool from a super cool 16 yr old author!

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In case you’re feeling like giving up because you might be crazy and why did I become a writer anyways…

Published on March 30, 2010 in Writing Tags: , , , , , , , . ______________________________________

We all have bad days.

Even Natalie Whipple, who is talented enough to land the awesome Nathan Brandsford as an agent, struggles with writer self-esteem and has some great points to make about it. Like the fact that you wouldn’t be a writer if you didn’t think you had something to offer.

Nate the Great himself has some encouraging words about frustration and negativity. I especially like his part about the power of the spoken “whatever.”

Neil Gaiman. Yes, even Neil Gaiman has considered giving up. He has a hilarious pep talk on the NANOWRIMO website. Seriously, I am a shark, and you cannot even wallow in the uniqueness of your despair because, like, everyone gets that way. (That sentence makes more sense once you read the article. I promise.) Continue reading ‘In case you’re feeling like giving up because you might be crazy and why did I become a writer anyways…’

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