by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Sep 30, 2011 | The Writing Life
Dear Friday, I haven’t written one word this week. Not. One. Word. For many reasons, most of which are excuses masking the real problem. Fear. Yes, the good old trap of comparing myself to others and finding myself wanting. Will that ever go away? Maybe with...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Sep 27, 2011 | TED Talks, The Writing Life
And by shake up your story Raghava KK means shake up your perspective! I love being an artist during a time of so much change. The publishing industry seems to be transforming before our eyes, like a butterfly captured by a slow motion camera. It’s captivating...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Sep 20, 2011 | Beautiful Things, TED Talks, The Writing Life
Writing is work. Hard work. Mentally draining, emotionally exhausting, and physically demanding (the last because we often forget to eat, sleep, and exercise as we craft our stories). We give all we have to the creative process as we “breathe air into the lungs...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Jul 25, 2011 | On Craft, The Writing Life
In his book Stein on Writing, Sol Stein points out that “Readers enjoy dialogue in stories and novels. Those same readers would hate reading court transcripts, even of dramatic confrontations. What makes dialogue interesting and so much actual talk...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Jul 14, 2011 | The Writing Life
Why am I a writer? Why did I choose this vocation (because it’s way more than a job)?I’ve thought about this before but Robin Sullivan’s seminar on marketing and Sierra Gardner’s post really had me digging deep for the real answer, not the “right” one.I...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Apr 28, 2011 | The Writing Life
Drawing by Annie L Cechini, used with permission 1. Don’t write down the awesomesauce idea when it hits you. Instead, wait a week. Let it sit, simmering—you tell yourself—when in reality you’ve only succeeded in boiling the water into nothingness and scorching the...
