When I first moved to Los Angeles I watched a close friend, an actor, go out on audition after audition, only to be told, over and over, that was great but we’re going in a different direction. He had a fair amount of success—but I was fascinated by the regularity of failure that was part… Read more »
A lot of people like the structure of a traditional MFA program because it gives students rigid deadlines that they must meet; their grades depend on it. There are also writing challenges (such as NaNoWriMo) that give a similar motivation to get your butt in the chair and write. But what if we don’t have… Read more »
This past week, I set myself two writing goals to accomplish every day. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I achieved my goals with no problem. But Thursday was a different story. I finished my morning writing, but when it was time to work on my afternoon project, I found myself staring down the dark tunnel… Read more »
Productivity has been on my mind a lot these past weeks. The new year always makes me want to reevaluate my creative process and push myself to become a more productive writer. This year in particular this topic has felt very relevant to me. Between launching DIY MFA 101 and getting ready for a new baby,… Read more »
You didn’t hear back from the agent. Perhaps the editor rejected you. You may be asking, “What the heck?” Firstly, congratulations on putting yourself out there. Now, here’s something to take on: Look beyond the anger, the embarrassment or the frustration. What is there for you? Consider that a rejection or a lack of response is a… Read more »
Everyone’s experienced it. You have that novel bouncing around in your head, but you’re scared to start writing it. Thoughts pop up about not being good enough, about agents and editors laughing at your crazy idea, about all the time and energy spent on something that may get rejected. Your chest collapses. Your face cringes. Here’s the deal:… Read more »
These past few posts, we’ve been talking about making writing resolutions and putting them into action. As we start the new year, I thought I’d add one last post on this topic, only this time with words of wisdom I’ve collected over the years from various creative people. We can make big plans and dream… Read more »
