Archive | April, 2010

Oh Joy, Another Rejection!


Last week, I prepared a cover letter to accompany my novella to another magazine. The magazine’s guidelines said they rarely accept fiction over 9,000 words, but I’d met someone who had worked with the publication as a part-time copy editor and who said they do occasionally publish novellas, so I thought I’d give it a shot. […]

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Don’t Know Your Own Strength?


Remember when Bullwinkle would say, “Hey, Rock, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat…”? And then when he pulled a roaring lion out, he’d say, “Don’t know my own strength.” Do You Know Your Own Strength? List three things you can’t do as a writer. For example, some of my “can’ts” are: I can’t […]

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Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something!


Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing… Sometimes the best thing to do is something… Sometimes the best thing to do is anything. How do you tell what time it is for you? It depends on what you’ve been doing lately. If you’ve been working on “something” – a particular piece of writing for […]

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Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!


Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing… An article in the Wall Street Journal discusses several research studies that strongly suggest that professionals work better when we work less. I believe this is especially true of creative professionals. I have to say I’m not surprised. Creative people must honor the cycles of work AND rest. Go, […]

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10 Reasons Every Writer Should Have a Dog


 That’s our new puppy Kelda with Blue, my agility star.  A dog is not something you acquire lightly. I know it’s probably not practical for EVERY writer to have a dog; maybe you could get these benefits from a kitten or a child or a child-like adult. Or you could borrow a friend’s dog every once […]

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