“Pay yourself first.” That was the financial planner’s advice. My husband and I were tuning in to a virtual conference about vision and how to create our dream life. We had sat down, me with a notebook and colored pens in hand, my husband with his laptop propped open. We listened to speakers teach us…
I’ve always wanted to be a self-disciplined writer. You know – one of those people who get up every morning at 5:00 a.m. so they can write for an hour before the rest of the household stirs. Or one of those people who firmly says “no thank you” to the spontaneous pizza invite received while…
I asked my daughter Ali how she saw self-discipline operating in my writing life since she was along for the ride, and here’s what she said: “Even if it was close to the deadline, you just did it. Your main method was—no matter what, you worked and worked and finished the manuscript by the deadline….
I still remember the spring day years ago when I pulled up to the equestrian center where we boarded our flashy Belgian Draft horse. My two daughters scrambled out of the car and rushed to their riding lesson. The girls rode Hunter Jumper, complete with an English saddle, tight breeches and tall black boots. I…
You’ll hear a lot of good advice at writer’s conferences. One of those pieces of advice is that to be a professional writer, you need to be sure to write what is marketable. Write what publishing houses are looking for. Write what agents want to represent. Write what readers crave. If you heed this advice,…
Above is a concept that Stephen King discussed in his excellent book On Writing, and it’s true as true can be. So in this blog, we’re going to look at the importance of writers reading. Reading novels is often a more effective method of learning to write than any college course you might take. Of…
