You cannot let the need to be good stop you from trying. A lot of my content is garbage when it first comes out, but I am willing to stare the garbage in the face and make it better.
Viewing entries tagged
Literary Fiction
What you publish has got to be more compelling to readers than a TV show, a night out with friends, or a nap. Why should someone choose your writing over everything else in their lives?
I’m a horrible procrastinator. I have the worst time starting new chapters or scenes, and I just force myself to sit in front of my blank screen and just type whatever I need to in order to get started.
Learning to tell a story deeply and develop characters takes years of practice, so if you want to be a serious writer then give yourself the gift of that learning curve.
When Soniah Kamal, an award-winning essayist and fiction author, was asked to speak at TEDx she talked about regrets and second chances. She explained how being denied her first dream of becoming an actress lead to the flourishing of her second – becoming an author. We chat to Soniah about waiting for inspiration, being a good literary citizen and the ever-changing nature of leading a literary life.
My first book took me three years to complete and was out on submission for a year and never sold. It was devastating and demoralizing and caused me to listen to a lot of Norah Jones on repeat, while drinking tequila, but looking back I realize it was just part of the process.
Colleen Oakley doesn’t avoid heavy topics. Her books cover the spectrum of the human experience from life to death with all the highs and lows in between. A former magazine editor, about to publish her third book, we caught up with Colleen to talk about perseverance, the importance of speaking up and her number one trick for staying motivated to write every day.
If you have a story that intrigues you and the desire to tell it – take the leap. This has honestly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Despite having a successful media career at a young age, for Mel Greenberg writing a book involved facing her biggest fear. Now having confronted and triumphed over self-doubt with the release of her debut novel, we catch up with Mel to talk about her grass-roots approach to book marketing and unexpected reader responses.
Whatever our experience level, we have to surrender to writing what’s hard to write. Writing what keeps us up at night...A piece of writing should challenge something in its author. That’s where the juiciness comes in, the fire and the depth, where we can gain access to something universal.
Writer, actor, filmmaker, vocalist, Chris White is a woman of many talents. Born to a military family, with roots in rural Kentucky, she spent her childhood moving around the U.S. Now focusing on her second novel we caught up with her to talk about avoiding writing, standing out in the marketplace and the crash course of a debut novel release.
Embrace the fact that you are your biggest advocate. Don’t be afraid of it. While you will come across wonderful supporters along the way, it will always come down to you to advocate for your work.
Rae del Bianco is a former teenage cattle rancher, Duke University Robertson Scholar, and alumna of literary magazine Tin House’s summer workshop. With her debut novel releasing this year, she talks about building a strong social media following and being fearless above all else.
The writer’s life is one of constant adventure. There will always be a need for great stories, so finish writing yours!
‘After the publication of my debut novel, The Truth About Awiti, I had nightmares that the wrong file was uploaded. I also had nightmares that readers would receive books with blank pages. I can laugh about it now but it was terrifying at the time.’ - Author CP Patrick on nailing your elevator pitch, nightmares post-publication and the difficulty of finding your audience.