You’re tapping that keyboard late into the night and tell yourself, “Man, I’ve got to get this writing out.” But your Wise shoulder angel slugs your Writing shoulder angel and says, “You’ve gotta sleep! There’s an early morning ahead of you.” What do you do? If you stop writing now, you can get some sleep…
Tag: writing
The Hybrid Author
By Bokerah I recently attended an online workshop by Jeff Goins. He offered two free workshops related to Art of Work. One was a general workshop, the other – the one I attended – was for want-to-be-so-bad-it-hurts writers. During the session, he received lots of great questions. Many of them were related to the query “Which path is…
De-cliché-ify A Phrase Like "Everything Went Black"
What is that phrase you read that bugs you? It’s not cliché (like all that and a bag of chips), but yet, because it appears in almost every single book you read, it is cliché. My phrase: Everything went black. (Here’s a little something fun–the origin of the phrase “everything went black” and other clichés…)…
The Contemporary Haiku
By Eliot Gilbert I’ve had a fling with haiku lately. Sometimes I pick out a collection of poems and take it out of the university library to read between the spastic wave crests of work. I like poetry collections and short story anthologies because I can get a small hit of literature to enjoy and…
How to Manage an Unruly Manuscript
The Timeline: Early readers of Stella Rose have asked me how I managed to keep it all straight. Granted, Stella Rose is no Game of Thrones in complexity, but it does reflect contemporary lifestyles which are complicated and tangled. So how does a novelist keep it all straight? Tools. NOTE: I hate tools. Most folks love…
Billie Holiday: Master Storyteller
As we approached Billie Holiday’s 100th birthday earlier this month (April 7, 1915 in Baltimore, MD), numerous musicians, performers, and jazz experts offered opinions about what makes Lady Day so indelible. Some mentioned her unique voice. Many focused on the emotional weight of her songs, remarking how well she translated her own misery and hardship into bluesy jazz. Others shorthanded it, saying…
Six Tips For Writing That First Novel
Writing novels when you have experience is daunting. Writing a first novel, then, can seem like an impossible task, especially when you have nothing going for you except desire and a head full of ideas. I recently commented on a book by someone who asked for a review through my Review Exchange offer. I could tell…
Why I'll Likely Self-Publish My Novel
I’ve been struggling to find a literary agent for one of my two fiction novels for more than a year now. I’ve pitched the story at conferences and via email, and received a steady trickle of rejections. Mostly formulaic responses, some nicer than others, one or two with encouraging words, but all the same rejection…
Meet The CitiZens ~ Adventure In Zenalnd
Read —> Through The Looking Glass – Adventure In Zenland ‘So What’s Next?’ I thought as I saw the caterpillar on the tree vanished into the smoke he puffed. ‘Does this mean I have more surprises today?’ Even before I concluded my thoughts, I heard an uncanny voice near the tree. ‘Oh my furry whiskers I’m…
Adventure In Zenland
I can barely move my feet. It’s been such a long day that I can’t wait to get back home and hop onto the bed. All I wish is to have a holiday and some adventure to rejuvenate myself. After the busy traffic hours, I reached home only to see there was no power and…