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Artistic Community
I recently came to the stunning realization that not all of us have the same level of social needs (okay, I learned this a long time ago, but the lesson always comes home anew). When I moved from my...
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Sage Cohen Uses Both Sides of Her Brain: So Can You
Sage Cohen first slipped quietly onto my radar via Christina Katz, (whom many of you know as Writer Mama). I quickly friended Sage on Facebook and watched in awe at her productivity and grace, all the...
View ArticleThe New Gatekeeper is You
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged and at first I thought it was just overwhelm, but then I realized, I can’t talk about writing in the same way I once did. There are two reasons: the first is...
View ArticleBaby Steps of Success: Writers, Claim Everything
In the life of a writer I’ve learned that you must count all successes, no matter how small. There was a time I saved those “personalized” rejection letters because it meant an editor had taken the...
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10 Reasons Why…to form a writer’s collective
I gave a talk at the Redwood Writer’s Club Sunday 4/13 on why one might want to form a writer’s collective, such as I have co-created at Indie-Visible.com with a team of talented writers. Writer’s...
View ArticleWrite Better: Plant a garden
I squat beside my garden bed, a satisfying ache in my legs, and look for new shoots asserting themselves in the soil. Every day the veggies in my garden are taller by miniscule amounts. The beans have...
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Writers: Regain Lost Confidence
Since the age of 8 when I began writing in earnest (I took my early young stories very seriously) I’ve lost confidence more times than I can count. Negativity—especially doubt, fear, self-loathing and...
View Article80s Flashback: Mining the Past for Writers
To my surprise, the most commented on thread on my Facebook page this week was on what boys wore in the 80s. Specifically wealthy Caucasian boys, which I needed for my WIP, though asking the question...
View ArticleThe Myth of Overnight Success (and why it’s bad for writers)
by Jordan E. Rosenfeld You know it when you see it: that author everyone is talking about all of a sudden. One day, you’ve never heard of him or her, the next minute, J.K. Rowling or Jonathan Franzen...
View ArticleA Writer’s Guide to Surrender
I’ve shown up to the page almost every day for about six weeks, working straight through on this novel with fierce determination to finish a draft rather than my usual habit of getting 2/3 done before...
View ArticleThe Synchronicity of Your Story
“Take a small step in the direction of a dream and watch the synchronous doors flying open.”—Julia Cameron This post is about writing. It’s about dreams. It’s about shaping your reality. It’s about...
View ArticlePersistence is Resilience
I’ve been thinking a lot about persistence lately, especially in relation to experiencing success as a writer. I’ve always thought of it as a rather dogged approach of the most ambitious; that while...
View ArticleWhy Attend a Writer’s Retreat vs. Conference?
Artists of all stripes, but writers especially, need scads of time to enter the silence where art is created. It’s hard to do in the bustle of family life, at work, and surrounded by friends. Visual...
View ArticleThe Ecstasy of Waiting
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there...
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Panic at the Artist’s Colony. Guest post by Ramona DeFelice Long
There’s a tradition at many artist colonies: When a residency ends, the artist leaves his/her signature behind in their studio. In February of 2012, on my first day of my first residency at the...
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Don’t Start Something New in 2014 (Finish Something Old)
Indigo Images. Photo by Jennifer Barney. I know the temptation of the New Year to clear the slate, push all those half-finished projects and goals of last year to the side and start fresh. The...
View ArticleDeep Quiet
A recent Sunday morning found me on the couch, my child on the big chair watching Minecraft videos, and my husband playing his guitar. Should be no different from the chatter of a café or a public...
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Fend off Writer’s Fatigue
Last week I wrote to the writers who need the reminder to sit butt in chair. This week I speak to those of you who probably need to get your butt off the chair. For the writer who lives to write, it...
View ArticleAll Writers Are Brave | Guest-Blog by Jen Violi
All of the writers are brave. Like red wine down the front of a white dress, this sentence spilled into my head last week, as I strolled, seaside. On Wednesday afternoon, I wandered in the sunshine and...
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Friday Round-Up
It’s Friday, yay! Throw your hands in the air–well, not if you’re at work. Here’s what you missed this week chez moi: Not a Night Mother | Role/Reboot I feel like I am confessing a great sin when I...
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