I’m being diplomatic when I write that I don’t like other things. The truth is that I hate other things. They just get in the way! What are other things? That’s easy: they’re all the things you have to do when what you really want to do is something else. They’re things like your job, [...]
Here’s how to become a better writer: 1) write 2) read 3) listen They seem obvious, at least to me. Especially the first one. How does anyone improve a skill except by practice? Whether they’re athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, doctors — whatever — people get good at something by doing it. A lot. It’s the same [...]
Last week was less active here at Writelife because I was busy with, work that pays the bills lovely weather requiring me to do outdoor work Every so often, this happens! I haven’t been inactive, however. I actually got quite a bit of writing done for others and have several posts in the “half-finished” stage. [...]
There are few things as frightening for the creator of something than, “What happens next?” This is because the next thing had better be good – at least as good as what preceded it. That’s what the audience expects. That’s why they ask, “What happens next?” A great recent example of this in action is [...]
I heard a loud voice, it said a few words. It said, “You gotta take a chance and you gotta pay, boy. You cannot win if you do not play.” — Steve Forbert – Just because you get something out there into the world, it doesn’t follow that anyone will want it. That’s the discouraging [...]
Scheherazade told one thousand and one stories over one thousand and one nights for good reason – to stay alive. Her chief lesson is simple: publish or perish. Actually, in her case, it was also publish and perish – maybe. It wasn’t enough for her to simply tell a tale. It had to be good. [...]
A bit late perhaps, I have finally seen the value to me of voice recognition software. It has its obvious value to those with various disabilities but it also has value to those who do not. Basically, until now I had been stuck in the rut of thinking simply in terms of using it to [...]