• Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Topic of the Night,  Writing in Public

    The Dream is Not Going to Just Come to Me

    “The Dream is Not Going to Just Come to Me” Maybe one of the smartest things ever said by any artist on The Voice. And yet I run into writers all the time who think if they just do some writing for a few years, if they put up a few books, the dream of being a professional writer will just magically come to them. And those people quickly get discouraged and vanish into What-Ever-Happened-To? land. I admire the writers who just keep going, just keep learning, just keep doing their best to get better and find out how to chase the dream, especially in this new world where the…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Topic of the Night,  Writing in Public

    Sales Numbers: Part Three

    Sales Numbers: Part Three That’s the topic of the night below. —— November Workshops Now Listed Spent some time today working on getting the November workshops all set on the different sites. I think the November list is the best list of workshops we have ever offered. Each regular workshop is six weeks long and takes about 3-4 hours per week to do at your own pace and your own time. The new workshop starting in November is titled:  ADVANCED DIALOG. All workshops have openings. Class #41… Nov 2nd … Pitches and Blurbs Class #42… Nov 2nd … How to Write Thrillers Class #43… Nov 2nd … Adding Suspense to Your Writing Class #44… Nov 2nd … Advanced…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Topic of the Night,  Writing in Public

    Sales Numbers: Part Two

    Sales Numbers: Part Two More on sales numbers below in the topic section. — It is now last call for October Online Workshops. Still room and time to sign up. Remember, the workshop only take about 3-4 hours of your time each week at your own pace. And even if the workshop started on Monday, you can still sign up. Not behind at all. Class #31… Oct 5th … Advanced Depth Class #32… Oct 5th … Character Voice/Setting Class #33… Oct 5th … Pacing Your Novel Class #34… Oct 5th … Ideas into Stories Class #35… Oct 6th … Character Development Class #36… Oct 6th … Depth in Writing Class #37… Oct 6th … Making a Career…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Topic of the Night,  Writing in Public

    Sales Numbers

    Sales Numbers Kris is doing much better. Learning how to get around the house in her knee brace and crutches. So great there. She thanks everyone for the well-wishes. And her attitude about this is great. — It is now last call for October Online Workshops. Still room and time to sign up. Remember, the workshop only take about 3-4 hours of your time each week at your own pace. And even if the workshop started on Monday, you can still sign up. Not behind at all. Class #31… Oct 5th … Advanced Depth Class #32… Oct 5th … Character Voice/Setting Class #33… Oct 5th … Pacing Your Novel Class #34… Oct 5th ……

  • On Writing,  publishing

    Pulp Speed Post Brought Back

    Pulp Speed (I wrote this post about a year ago but wanted to bring it forward because people ask me about it. Here it is again) I’ve mentioned this concept a number of times on my nightly blog and in the Topic of the Night little sections. But since Pulp Speed was almost impossible in the new traditional world, it belongs as a post in this series. Not at all sure why this idea sort of hits me right. I think because it flies in the face of all the myths. A writer has to have all myths under control to even attempt this. So this post might just make you…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    How to Write Fiction Sales Copy: Chapter Nine (Last)

    HOW TO WRITE FICTION SALES COPY CHAPTER NINE (Summary. This book is coming about because I need to write 32 story blurbs for the 32 short stories I wrote in July for a book titled Stories from July.) In the first chapter of this book, I touched on what I call “The Author Problem” and gave a basic formula that I sometimes use to give blurbs a structure. And in chapter two I laid out another formula for writing blurbs. In the third chapter I talked about a method Lee Allred uses. In the fourth chapter I talked about the idea that sometimes using first lines can help. In the fifth chapter, I…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Topic of the Night,  Writing in Public

    It’s Saturday

    It’s Saturday! THE DAY IN GENERAL As I said above. It’s Saturday. So not much to put here. I did a lot today. I’ll explain in a couple of days why. I finished the 1,700 last chapter of the Writing Sales Copy book. And got it turned in. I did a bunch of other stuff. But that’s good enough for now. 1,700 words of nonfiction. No fiction. – TOPIC OF THE NIGHT: The Nine Chapters The nine chapters of How to Write Fiction Sales Copy will remain here for free on the blog until the book comes out. Then I will take them down. Not at all sure when the book will…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    How to Write Fiction Sales Copy: Chapter Eight

    HOW TO WRITE FICTION SALES COPY CHAPTER EIGHT (Summary. This book is coming about because I need to write 32 story blurbs for the 32 short stories I wrote in July for a book titled Stories from July.) In the first chapter of this book, I touched on what I call “The Author Problem” and gave a basic formula that I sometimes use to give blurbs a structure. And in chapter two I laid out another formula for writing blurbs. In the third chapter I talked about a method Lee Allred uses. In the fourth chapter I talked about the idea that sometimes using first lines can help. In the fifth chapter, I…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Topic of the Night,  Writing in Public

    Some Great Posts

    Some Great Posts On the site Women in Science Fiction, Kris is hosting and doing some great stuff, as well as having guest blogs there. Vonda N. McIntyre has the most recent guest blog there. The one before that was Judith Tarr. Worth reading and following that site, folks. And, of course, before it is gone, get the story bundle pictured above. Stunning amount of great reading for $15.00. http://storybundle.com/scifi The web site with the blogs and Kris’s writing on the topic is at: http://www.womeninsciencefiction.com/ THE DAY IN GENERAL Mostly all day I worked on workshop stuff. Then home for a short nap, dinner and news. I got in here…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    How To Write Fiction Sales Copy: Chapter Seven

    HOW TO WRITE FICTION SALES COPY CHAPTER SEVEN (Summary. This book is coming about because I need to write 32 story blurbs for the 32 short stories I wrote in July for a book titled Stories from July.) In the first chapter of this book, I touched on what I call “The Author Problem” and gave a basic formula that I sometimes use to give blurbs a structure. And in chapter two I laid out another formula for writing blurbs. In the third chapter I talked about a method Lee Allred uses. In the fourth chapter I talked about the idea that sometimes using first lines can help. In the fifth chapter, I…