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My 2022 Challenge
Finally… Took a While… Going to take a little time to go through the process of how I came to do this challenge and what I considered. So you all can set your challenges and goals for the coming year as well. Remember, I have been at this for a very long time and I wanted to do something with writing I had never done before, to really be challenged. Things I Considered (that you also might want to think about). — What kind of time do I have to write? That is with all the other stuff I am doing that is important to me, such as exercise, doing…
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Status of Classes On Hold
Still Cleaning Up Some from the Pandemic… So thought I would give everyone here a status report on the classes that we pushed back during the pandemic and what we are doing with them in the coming year. Thanks for being understanding, folks. — Decade Ahead bundle starting over completely. Everything has changed so much, we are just starting fresh in January. (Old videos will still be there, just pulled off to one side if they are not important.) But completely starting over and it is open for new sign-ups at this point. We feel the world is solid enough, at least in publishing, to give the decade ahead a…
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Short Post Because I Was Reading…
Kris’s New Diving Novel… Yes, as with any of Kris’s books, once I got into it, there was no stopping, so it is late, I finished the book (of course) and it was impossible to put down (as normal). So nothing I have the energy or will to write here to keep my streak alive at this point other than to remind you of the fantastic Holiday Collections Bundle from Storybundle. 11 fantastic collections with some of the best holiday reading you can get. Don’t miss this one. A ton of short holiday stories of all types.
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MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY
We Finally Pulled the Trigger… Motivational Mondays have been launched on Teachable and our now live. Kris and I have been talking and planning this for some time and we think it’s going to be great fun and very valuable for those getting it. Here is how it works: Every Monday on Teachable (actually Sunday night late so you can view them on Monday morning), Kris and I will put up at least three videos on some motivational topic or another concerning writing, publishing, and all the stuff around writing and publishing. See the partial list below of topics. The idea is to help writers stay on track, get unstuck,…
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December Workshops Started
All December Workshops Have Started… As of today! Still time to jump into any of them. We have two indie publishing classes, COVERS 101 and PUBLISHING 101. There is the critical workshop to start on all craft classes called WRITING WITH DEPTH. This workshop helps you start stories and pull readers into your work. And if you are having trouble writing, finishing what you write, or getting what you write out to the world, you need the KILLING THE CRITICAL VOICE workshop. TEAMS workshop will make writing novels a ton easier, and the SPEED workshop can help you to write faster. The two newest workshops we have offered are tough.…
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Getting Ready for a New Year Or Challenge
Tracking Time… That is exactly what I have been doing the last three or four days. I have been keeping track of time in basically 15 minute segments. What I have been trying to work out for my own challenge is “Do I have the time it will take?” Time is like water. It just fills whatever space available. But seemingly never quite enough of it. So I have been looking at how I actually spend my days and where I could get more time and not really miss anything I am doing now. I am on an exercise and losing weight streak. Doing 10,000 steps minimum per day (5…
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More On Challenges For 2022
A Goal vs A Challenge… Right about now, here on the 6th of December, it is a great time to start looking at the year ahead. For many writers, setting a challenge is not a good idea. But in any business or art, setting a goal can really help. So tonight I thought I would talk about the difference between a goal and a challenge. I believe both are good. And by setting a challenge, you are also setting a goal. But often goals are not challenges. Last night I listed four things that I thought were important when deciding on a challenge. They are: 1… It actually has to…
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Figuring Out a Challenge
I Realized A Few Important Things About a Challenge… You have to have the following… 1… It actually has to be a challenge. Something you haven’t done before. 2… You have to remember what the challenge is on bad days six months after you start and why you are doing it. 3… The results of the challenge need to be something that can be used and advance some part of your writing or publishing world. 4… If a Writing Challenge, it has to follow Heinlein’s Rules. Okay, those all seem simple, right? And for most writers and most levels of challenges, they are simple. Until you get to a level…
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Night Off
Santa Tomorrow… Me and Kris and Lisa and a number of other writers around town, plus 25,000 to 30,000 or more other humans are all going to dress up in our matching Santa outfits, hats and all, and do 5K around the streets of downtown Vegas. Oh, my, god, is that fun and just head-shaking stupid. So I will be announcing my 2022 challenge in the next few days and doing more posts on the Wet Blanket book, plus announcing some fun new workshops and classes and the start of Motivational Monday for writing and publishing. But tonight, since I have to get up slightly early, I am taking a…
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Holiday Collections Storybundle
Now Live For A Short Time! Here is the blog I wrote for this Collections Holiday Storybundle… The Holiday Collections Bundle – Curated by Dean Wesley Smith A Lot More Stories Wow, is this bundle going to be fun. Fantastic writers and 72 different holiday short stories. That’s right. 72. And you can get all of them for one low price that works out to about 20 cents per story. Wow! And all are holiday stories. What a great way to help enjoy this wonderful season. Every book in this bundle is a collection of holiday stories of different types and focus, as would be expected from such different and…