List Your Way to a Better (Writing) You

My least favorite part of the process is…? Copyediting. Spelling has never been my strongpoint. I particularly have problems with homophones and compound words. Trying to catch all those little flubs is no fun at all. But copyediting is important. It’s what elevates a manuscript from armature to pro. It makes the story clean and

The Quirks of the Slush Pile, P1

Ah, Wednesday. We meet again. As you probably know, I’ve been a first-reader for Waylines Magazine for several months now. Long enough to see some negative patterns in the submissions. Today I’d like to cover one of those negative aspects, and though this might be a discussion that’s a little rough on the ego, I

Being SMART With Your Goals

Ok, I might be a little late here.  A goal-oriented post usually belongs at the beginning of January, not at the end.  But… I want to discuss setting real goals vs. setting non-goals.  You’d be amazed (or, perhaps not) at how many writers I’ve seen this month declare non-goals for 2013.  Non-goals don’t help anyone,

Looking for a Free Webinar?

Best-selling author Tracy Hickman is offering a free online webinar focusing on how to get read (rather than published) on Friday the 13th and Friday the 27th of April.  Each class is open to the fist twenty people who sign up, so if you’re interested, act fast!  Here’s the link: http://www.instantpresenter.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=EA55D7898147 I’m signed up for

Overcoming Writer’s Block

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s Must-Have-Post day! I have a lot going on this week, and will for the next two months, so my blog hasn’t been in the forefront of my thoughts. I was sitting around last night, trying to think of what topic to tackle today, and nothing came to mind. I had