We like things to be clear. Unfortunately, they seldom are. In writing and in life, there are always gray areas. How should you market your book? It depends on the type of book, your audience, and the marketing tasks you enjoy. How should you structure your writing day? It dependsContinue Reading
My biggest emotional challenge as a writer has undoubtedly been fear of judgement. In so many ways, I insulate myself from the scrutiny of others. I put up personal walls on which graffiti might read—I don’t care what other people think. But, that’s not always true. While I do myContinue Reading
Rejection is a soul-killer that naturally leads to depression, anxiety, self-doubt, isolation, and just plain wanting to give up and crawl in a hole. You’ve heard the term, “Your own worst critic?” That’s me. I brood and simmer and stew for a couple of days, but eventually I pick myselfContinue Reading
Completing my first crime fiction trilogy, the Tom Stone Detective Stories, has been a challenge and reward that follows decades of writing in different forms and working despite years of chaos based on the family that my wife and I chose to raise. We became foster parents to our fourContinue Reading
Are you feeling lately like your writing sucks? As writers, we often come up against the same weaknesses in our storytelling again and again. With each book completed, we improve on some things, but others continue to hover around the mediocre level, which can be frustrating. The danger is thatContinue Reading
I am about to release my fifth picture book (100 Things) as an author and illustrator and I can honestly say that with each book I have had a different set of personal, professional and emotional challenges to tackle. But the very first book, Outside, Inside (2015), set the baselineContinue Reading
What does it take to be a successful writer? Ask around and you’ll get a lot of answers. A writer needs a desire to write, a regular writing practice, and an ability to accept feedback and grow. She needs persistence, courage, grit, and ambition. He needs to be open toContinue Reading
By Elizabeth Antonucci In October 2007, I was in a fatal car accident that took a friend’s life and almost took my own. It was a one-car accident. The driver of our car fell asleep at the wheel and when he realized what happen, he overcorrected, the car flipped, rolledContinue Reading
by Patty Somlo I discovered that writing could be healing decades before starting this book. At the beginning, though, that knowledge was unconscious. I first started writing as a freelance—and later staff—journalist. While my initial attraction to journalism was that I wanted to write, I soon discovered that I enjoyedContinue Reading
With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I thought it would be fun to gather some of the wisdom writers have shared here on Writing and Wellness. All of the writers below are moms, and they have a lot to say about writing/life balance, finding time to write, and inContinue Reading
by Lauri Ellis The dream of many is to be a published author. Those same ones do not realize they may be “published” already, depending on the definition envisioned. The phrase “published author” may make you think of money as a reward for the endless hours of writing and re-writing.Continue Reading
~Writing Well Wednesday Tip~ Most writers love the freedom of the blank page. It means we can create whatever we want, however we want. Any type of story, any type of characters. Freedom makes writing fun! But freedom can sometimes get us in trouble. Writing Restrictions Can be Liberating TooContinue Reading