Recently, I watched all six Rocky movies back to back (yes, even Rocky V). I somehow managed to skirt around those movies throughout my child- and young adulthood. Boxing movie? Something about some steps in Philly? Eh.
Note: This is a guest post by Claire De Boer, she is a certified Journal Instructor and teaches online workshops at www.thegiftofwriting.com. Download her free eBook, “Soul Writing,” and follow her on Twitter @ClaireJDeBoer. Claire’s passion is to help writers come to a new place of awareness and personal growth through writing their own stories.
These days everyone’s talking about writing your story. Not just any old story, but the story of your life, the road map that got you to where you are today. For most of us that’s a pretty daunting thought. I mean, why would anyone be interested in hearing our story anyway?
Can you remember the last time you were in the presence of a true storyteller? When we run into those people, at parties or as neighbors or in the next aisle over in the grocery store, we feel it. There’s a kind of magic in the way they set the stage for their yarn, color their characters, feed us details.
This is a post by Shanan Haislip. Shanan is a full-time business writer, an essayist, and webmaster at The Procrastiwriter, a blog about ways to fit writing in around a full-time life (without going insane). Follow her on Twitter at @Write_Tomorrow.
Are you the kind of writer who’s brimming with ideas, but can’t seem to finish a single one of them?
That was me. I had a ton of ideas, and they sounded great for a paragraph, maybe a page, but then they’d just… fade. My work-in-progress would inevitably be consigned to a bottom drawer, never to be finished.
All of my ideas seemed doomed to fail. In fact, my inability to finish work was making me doubt myself as a writer. Until one day, I pitched an idea to a magazine, and it was accepted. Cue panic. Now what?
From Bryan: This is a guest post by Ali Luke. Ali blogs about writing at Aliventures, and runs Writers’ Huddle, a teaching / community site for writers at all levels. She lives in the UK with her husband and baby daughter. You can find her on Twitter at @aliventures. Ali is the author of Publishing E-Books For Dummies in Wiley’s “For Dummies” series.
You’ve got a great idea for a novel, and you can hardly stop yourself telling your friends about it. The only problem is, the more you talk about your idea, the harder it seems to be to get started.
Or … you’re planning to start a blog, and you’ve been chatting to your partner about it for weeks. Whenever you sit down to draft a post, though, you find yourself staring at a blank screen. What’s going on?
Photo Cred: Creative commons by Lev
From Bryan: This is a guest post by Josh Irby. Josh is a writer who lives in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina with his wife and four children. For more than a decade he has worked with university students, helping them tell better stories with their lives. If you come to Sarajevo, you will likely find him in the corner of a local café sipping a macchiato and talking with friends. Visit Josh’s blog www.joshirby.com
My children are inquisitive. When I am driving they ask at least one question per minute. Sometimes, their questions come so quickly and loudly I cannot hear my own thoughts.
I feel like my brain is being hijacked.
Often, when I sit down to write, I feel the same way. I try to engage my mind with the world of words but my mind is under new management. I am no longer in control.
Photo Cred: Dreamstime
From Bryan: Crowdfunding has become a hot topic of discussion for self-published authors and since I’ve received quite a few questions about crowdfunding, I asked Justine Schofield, the communications coordinator of Pubslush (a global crowdfunding platform only for books, where authors can raise funds and gauge initial market viability for their book projects), to guest post and tell us a little about it. Justine has agreed to also answer any questions you may have in the comments. Thank you, Justine! – This is the first in a series of posts on crowdfunding I will host.
You may be wondering: What is crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding has become a new go-to resource for artists, entrepreneurs and businesses that are seeking funding. It is a means to raise funds and mitigate the financial risk of their creative projects or business ventures.
Despite the numerous benefits social media affords writers, you’ve probably thrown up your hands a time or two, vowing to close your accounts and hibernate.
After all, it’s impossible to keep up with the ever-evolving stream of articles, photos, and conversations that exist on Twitter every day. And that’s just one social media account! Add Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, or other tools to the fold, and our time and attention are easily strained. Don’t give up…
From Bryan: This is a guest post by James Prescott, he is a writer and author from Sutton, near London, in the UK and blogs regularly at JamesPrescott. He recently released his first e-book, ‘5 Steps to Encouragement: A Manifesto for Changing the World’ which can be obtained free here.
Most of us have heard the term ‘comfort eating’. I know the phrase all too well. A bad day can still occasionally lead to me devouring a couple bars of chocolate or a few donuts.
Comfort eating makes me feel better about myself for a short period of time. It’s taking the easy route. But it’s not healthy, and it’s not valuing myself or my body.
And strangely enough, it’s the same with writing.
Creative Commons by Amy LYah
This is a guest post by my wife, Joan Faith. She is an award winning poet. I feel very fortunate that the contest Joan and I came up with for Positive Writer – You Are A Writer – When did you know? – inspired her to write this guest post. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to let her know in the comments. This is not an entry. Joan will be helping me choose the winners.
Am I a writer?
Yes, although incidentally in my view…
Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Johannes Vermeer – Wikimedia Commons