Thomas Edison’s genius was partially his ability to rewrite the story. When everyone else said he’d failed 700 times, he had the audacity to claim he hadn’t failed 700 times, he hadn’t even failed once; he had, in fact, successfully found 700 ways that wouldn’t work on his way to ultimate success. Writers need this … More Writing Failure Lesson #3: Rewrite the Story
My last post claimed that failure is the only option for writers. If I’m correct that writers are destined to fail and the best we can hope for is the perseverance to fail and fail again until we transform a series of failures into something we are satisfied with, why on earth do we write? … More Why Write At All?
Writing is hard. You’re going to fail. At first. With luck, you’ll fail again. With a little luck, persistence and a whole lot of hard work, you’ll fail again and again until you transform a series of failures into something that satisfies you. Failure is the only option for writers. The only alternative to a … More For Writers, Failure Is the Only Option
Are you ready to fail as a writer? I’m getting there. Earlier this week, I posted this on Facebook: “Wish me luck! I just send the first 100 pages of my novel, Essential Path, to Laura Zats at Red Sofa Literary (as she requested). I’m a little surprised at how vulnerable I feel right now. … More Get Ready to Fail!
In “Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully – in Ten Minutes” Steven King wrote: “Show your piece to a number of people – ten, let us say.” Fourteen people volunteered to beta read the first 100 pages of my novel. (I asked for feedback on 100 pages, not the entire manuscript, because an … More New Book Update: May the Muses Bless You with Worthy Beta Readers
Kerri Miller, MPR host, encouraged Americans to put away coloring books and pick up real books instead in a post on The Thread. If coloring books were the cause of Americans reading only 4 books a year on average, I’d agree. But I highly doubt the trade-off is between real books and coloring books. I … More Does Coloring Help or Hinder Your Writing and Reading?
I love it when brain science vindicates my intuition and gives me the “why” something has always seemed true. I’ve long known at a gut level that focusing on small, regular commitments (15 Magic Minutes) works better than setting grand goals. Now I know why: it’s all about the habenula. In “The Power of Process” … More How to Keep Your Habenula from Blocking Your Writing
“Shoot for the stars. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Right? Wrong. Dangerously wrong. Overly ambitious writing goals often backfire. “Give it a try, what do you have to lose?” is not always your best strategy. What you have to lose is your motivation. If you failed before or anticipate the possibility … More Are Your Writing Goals Too Ambitious?
How much attention your readers can bring to reading depends on whether they’re reading your work onscreen or from a traditional paper book or magazine. I’m about to encourage you to link to an essay about this, but before you go, I ask you to notice, if you can, how the ability to link to … More Which Brain Do You Want Your Readers to Use?
How’s that New Year’s Resolution working for you? Or did you, like me, resolve to not make resolutions? Either way, you can increase your chances of writing success by examining why resolutions often fail. Failure: Fuzzy Resolutions Most New Year’s Resolutions are vague. “I’ll write more.” “I’ll eat better and get fit.” “I’ll travel to … More What Writers Can Learn from Failed New Year’s Resolutions
Bane of Your Resistance 