Category: Educational

You’ve written a fantastic article – or at least the outline of a fantastic article.  It is often best to hold off writing the actual article until you’ve found a publisher so you can slant the article the way the publisher desires. But you’ve done your research, have a solid premise and a killer topic. Now you’re ready to query some publications and find your article a home. Here are some things you do NOT want to do: Continue reading “Things To Avoid When You Query For An Article”

Bricklayers lay brick. Nurses nurse. Accountants do accounting. Actors act. Writers write … except for when writers don’t write, then things get a little confusing. Commercial writers don’t have the option of giving in to writer’s block or being distracted, they have contracts to fulfill. Freelancers can and do wander away from “the grindstone” occasionally. These are the top excuses: Continue reading “Top 5 Excuses When Writers Don’t Write”

We live in troubled times. Because there are a lot of bad people who want to hurt us, the people who say they’re protecting us sometimes seem more like bad people than good people. Whether they are or not is a discussion for another venue. The point here is that as writers, we sometimes do research into troubling topics. Fiction authors need factual info to weave into their stories. Non-Fic writers research topics of discussion. Both can stray into subjects that can get you flagged by the N.S.A. or other authorities as someone to watch.

Is this a real concern? That depends on what you’re researching and how deeply you’re diving. If you’re digging to learn everything you can about locating and joining an ISIS terror cell, you may well get put on a watch list. If you then dig into the building of bombs from domestic items like a pressure cooker, you may wind up having to explain yourself. What can you do to reduce the risk of having men in black knocking on your door? Continue reading “Avoiding the N.S.A.”

Writers hear voices in their heads. That may sound psychotic, but it’s not: everyone does but most people ignore them. We listen. We listen intently.

When we listen to the wrong voices, it can be damaging to our work … and our psyche. When those voices whisper to us, “you’re not good enough to do this”, “you have nothing new to say”, “this has been said before” we need to hush those voices … or at least turn them around.

Even if it is true that what we’re pursuing has been said before – King Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV) – there are always new ways of saying it. Your perspective of a common issue may be something fresh and new. You can also make a point by coming at an issue with satire, as I did in 6 Reasons to Stick with Legacy Publishing.

The “you’re not good enough” accusation may have truth in it. No one (except possibly Harper Lee) nails a best seller with their first novel, but you have to start somewhere. Write. If, when it’s done, it’s no good: lay it aside and write another. Go back to that first one when you’ve gained experience and dissect it; can it be made into something good? If you feel you’re wasting your time, ask yourself, “Can one become an Olympic runner if they demand medals every time they step onto a track?” Training is as important to a writer as it is to an athlete. Those lame stories are not wasted time and effort: they’re training.

So when those voices of dissension whisper their poison in your mind’s ear, if they cannot be ignored, write about them. Use it as a writing exercise by writing your bio: the one that will go on the back of your best-seller, and talk about your humble beginnings and overcoming doubt. Write how you did it, then do it.