Never Quit

Today, I’m just contemplating these wise words:
The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork (including writing) is simply to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that soars. — David Bayles & Ted Orland, Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
Before the gates of excellence, the [...]

Distracted?

Between blogs, email, Facebook, etc. I find myself jumping around too much. I need a way to concentrate on my writing better.
So, this week, I’m trying Q10. It is a text editor that fills the screen with no tool bars, no access to other programs unless you save and exit, and a built-in timer.

Fall 2010 Goals

May, 2010: New grandson.
June, 2010: Other daughter’s beach wedding.
July, 2010: Hectic teaching schedule, including seven teacher professional development sessions and a novel revision retreat near Boston.

Be My Cheerleaders!

August: Writing. I am a writer and writers write.
September: Writing. I am a writer and writers write.
October and November: two novel revision retreats and speaking at two other [...]

Too Much Social Media?

I have no wisdom for you today, just some questions.
I am overwhelmed with social media! EVERY application out there claims to be able to pull your links together into one place, cross-post, etc. So, here are my burning questions. OK, my whining questions.
How do you prioritize your time/effort?
I do my blog and my writing. [...]

3 Ways to Write Through Summer Distractions

Summer time is inevitably full of stops and starts in our writing. There are vacations, the pull of a sunny day, kids’ activities and much more. For me, I’m teaching several professional development classes this summer; local teachers must attend 60 hours of PD/year and often focus on this requirement during the summer. Great work [...]

2010 Arkansas Literary Festival

Festival Celebrates Literacy
The Arkansas Literary Festival will take place next weekend, April 8-11, 2010 in Little Rock, AR. If you’re anywhere close, please come!
Books, theater, music, comics, books, games, chess, puppets, origami, Shakespeare, books, authors in the schools, authors in the library, authors just strolling around, books, authors everywhere, panels and workships, art and illustration [...]

How Grant Applications Make Me a Better Writer

You Must Apply!
I always apply for grants for writers; I’ve never won a grant (though I was given a different type of award), but just going through the process is valuable. Think of it as a work-out for your submission-muscles; where would Arnold be today if he hadn’t worked out?

@FictionNotes

I finally signed up for Twitter. Follow me at @Fiction Notes.
From Archival Medium to Instant Medium: Books to Twitter
Why am I finally getting around to Twitter, when it’s been around since March, 2006? Because this week I read an interesting article about the changes currently happening on the net.
Google and Bing are now implementing

The Writer’s Challenge: Give it All

Relaxed, Happy, Confident Snowboarder
I’ve been caught up in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics this week. Last night, one of the featured stories was Shaun White, the amazing half-pipe snowboarder. What stands out to me is

How to Prioritize Your Writing Tasks

Prioritize Your Writing Time
Does your To-Do List look anything like mine? I constantly have to carve out time to put my writing first. How do you prioritize? By Urgency – the deadline for this one is close? Or by Passion – I’m most interested in this project?
To Do: Writing

Revise my VNovel. I’m putting off reading [...]