Artists are Weird, but Writers are Crazy: Tortoise versus Hare
Please note that this series is written in fun. If you don’t like hints of sarcasm and hyperbole don’t read this series. If you find the title offensive, don’t read this series. However, if you understand that this is a great time to be a writer of fiction and feel like a lone happy person in a tsunami of fear, read on. In a previous post I described how many writers have been brainwashed into thinking that the pace in which they produce their work matters. Today I’ll talk about a different type of pace: Sales! Many writers have been brainwashed into thinking that fast sales mean a book is…
Worry Revisited
In celebration of Shel Silverstein’s newest release Every Thing On It I thought I’d take out and dust off this poem I wrote back in 2006. It was inspired by Silverstein’s Whatif poem. I wrote it early in my career and made some tweaks to update it a bit, but overall not much has changed. I called it Worry because that’s something that writers do well. Worry: A Writer’s Whatif Before I sit down at my desk My heart starts racing in my chest Some whatifs begin to dance in my ears And their questions reveal all my fears: Whatif I can’t finish my next book? Whatif no…
Artists are Weird, but Writers are Crazy: Ready–Fire–Aim!
Please note that this series is written in fun. If you don’t like hints of sarcasm and hyperbole don’t read this. If you find the title offensive, don’t read this. However, if you understand that this is a great time to be a writer of fiction and feel like a lone happy person in a tsunami of fear, read on. Are you sitting on the fence about an idea you want to pursue? Then this post is for you. I recently had a conversation with a fellow writer that went something like this: “Hey Dara, I’ve got a great idea for a new book.” (Precedes to tell me the idea)…
Artists are Weird, but Writers are Crazy: A Mistaken Mystique
Please note that this series is written in fun. If you don’t like hints of sarcasm and hyperbole don’t read this series. If you find the title offensive, don’t read this series. However, if you understand that this is a great time to be a writer of fiction and feel like a lone happy person in a tsunami of fear, read on. I recently spoke to an agent interested in a general fiction book I’d written who wanted me to spend five years revising it. Not five weeks or five months, but five YEARS. I thought she was insane. She thought I wasn’t committed to excellence and told me of…