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What the Heck?…
Beta reading is a tough but necessary process on any publication journey. While staying true to your original intent, protecting your writer’s voice, and reminding your fragile writer’s ego that your work has a purpose and place, you must assess the value of every comment shared. Case in point; I have read through novel number…
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Watch Your Language…
This is one of my favorite ELAN Principles because the words we choose directly affect our perception and thoughts. We may have no power over the actions of others, but we have control over our words. We choose our internal language. It takes practice, but we can adopt a more positive dialect. In the tiny,…
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Inspiration Strikes…
I recently traveled to an area where wifi was not as ubiquitous as we’ve become accustomed to. Even though I’d downloaded some content to watch when “powering down,” as is my nighttime habit, I chose to hang with family instead. That media deprivation, combined with no computer or writing time led to a spark of…
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Media Deprivation…
I recently recommended THE ARTIST’S WAY, by Julia Cameron, to an aspiring writer. It is a twelve-week “spiritual path to higher creativity,” in which Cameron encourages her followers to write three longhand pages, first thing in the morning. The purpose of these Morning Pages is to dump stuff on the page more than to create…
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More to the Story…
Reading is a great joy. Give me a stack of books, a comfy chair, and hot coffee and I’m happy. It’s a bonus activity that I schedule time for unless extenuating circumstances overtake my week. I appreciate the expertise shared by authors of non-fiction books and I wonder at the imagination of fiction writers. Lately,…
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Adopt a Policy…
Maybe there is a catchier way to say it, but adopt a policy means to make a decision once about an issue that comes up repeatedly. Then stick to it. When we had a landline, I decided to always respond to the urgings of telemarketers with “I have a policy to never participate in phone…
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Quote of the Week…
“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
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Seventeen Minutes…
What brings you joy? What would you choose to do if you were magically given two extra hours one week? For me it would be active music (passive music is always in the background). Perhaps you know the moment you put an instrument aside, promising to return because the learning curve got a little slippery.…