What sort of time commitment have you put into your dream? Master blogger Seth Godin was asked how he got to be so good at blogging. He replied, “I wrote a thousand blogs.” Malcolm Gladwell in “Outliers” states it takes ten years, or 10,000 hours, to truly master a craft or attain expert level. Most writers have worked around ten years to get their first book published. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but what are you doing in your own journey? Are you planning on getting around to that practice or are you down in the trenches? I’ve been spending too much time away from the...
My adventures from the wild, blue yonder (conference)
The classes, the keynotes, the breaks, the meals – everything was filled with an energy and creativity that spread like wildfire. I had a great time attending Susan May Warren’s Coaching Class about the internal journey of a character. More to come in an upcoming blog.
Going paperless, getting organized, starting anew. Sort of.
I’ve made the leap (attemping, more like it) to go as paperless as possible. This is coming from a chronic to-do-listaholic. Really, this is epic. For notes/digital to do lists: Michael Hyatt has posted over and over again about the program Evernote. So I thought I’d give it a shot. Really, Michael Hyatt has never steered me wrong. 🙂 And boy, do I LOVE Evernote already. This syncs notes/articles/photos/everything between your computer, Android, iPhone, iPad and beyond. They have a Mac and a PC version. It is free – you have a data “allowance” for each month but unless you’re doing an outrageous amount of note taking, you should be...
Setting out into the wild blue yonder…of a writer’s conference
My favorite time of the year has arrived. (Not Christmas, which is probably tied for my second favorite along with rodeo season.) It is the Oregon Christian Writer’s Summer Conference! What can be better than hundreds of writers together, encouraging each other and a stellar faculty of editors, agents, professional writers and beyond. Ok, sales pitch over. Writer’s conferences are essential. Why? Networking – I learned this early on in college and cannot emphasize it enough. Networking, networking, networking. Whether it is social media or face to face, success is often about who you know. Now, I don’t mean that you use your connections for your own gain. No –...
Upon finding out my writer idols are, in fact, human!
Do you remember the first book you stumbled upon in the genre you now love and adore? Did you ever write a hand-written note to that author when you were young and dreaming of being a bona-fied, published author? (Back in the day, publishers listed mailing addresses in the back rather than the author’s email, website, Twitter or Facebook…) Well, I did. One of the first authors I ever wrote to, while I never heard back, remained one of my favorite authors to this day. Then, one day, I get an email that the author is following me (little, ol’, unpublished me) on Twitter. I direct message a thank you...