Challenges

Writing Goals for the 2023 Summer Season

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Because I’m a teacher, summer has always been my chance to get some solid writing done. Every year, I set myself a bunch of writing goals. Last year was a wash, sadly, because I spent the summer recovering from a somewhat substantial surgery and lacked the energy to do much of anything. This summer, though. …

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On Finishing What I Start

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I’ve always struggled with finishing what I start. It’s probably a foundation stone in my personality. Great at starting things. Trash at finishing them. Except books, for some reason. Reading them, I mean. Writing them? Well… let’s talk about that. And some other stuff.

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Surviving the Creative Wilderness—Attitude is Everything

Forest Night Sky
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Countless talented artists wander into the creative forest with good intentions and never make it out again.  They get lost, hit that moment of doubt and despair, give up, and die.  The thing is, getting lost is a hazard of living a creative life.  In some ways, getting lost really is inevitable, because the creative path is not well-travelled.  I’d argue that if you’re doing things right as an artist, you’re blazing a new trail through the deepest, darkest woods of your own psyche.

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Celebrate Your Writing Achievements: An #IWSG Post

Mount Everst
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Another month has come and gone, and it’s time for the March IWSG post. Today, I’ll try to answer the question: How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal/finish a story? I supposed the answer depends in part on how you define writing achievements, or goals for that matter. Before we get rolling on that, …

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Writing is like Baseball: You Gotta Swing for the Fences!

Babe Ruth
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Writing is like baseball.  Most of the time, you recognize the pitch coming in and you manage a solid single when you swing at it. Occasionally, you strike out.  Every once in a great while, though, you hit a grand slam.  Or, if you’re new at it, like me, you dream about hitting a grand …

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From the Heart of the Bombogenesis

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Before I dive into what “living through a Bombogenic event” felt like, allow me to begin by saying that as of this morning I failed at one of my three New Year Resolutions.  If you’re curious about which one that might be, keep reading and see if you can figure it out, or click the …

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IWSG January Post – Making the Writing Happen

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This month’s IWSG post asks the question: What steps have you taken to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing? After all, if we don’t make time for the things we love, we will never do them. Writing is no exception.

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The Plot Bunnies Are Winning!

Attack of the Plot Bunnies
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I’m usually pretty good at handling the plot bunnies when they take up arms and attack. At least, that’s what I’ve always told myself. Upon reflection, however, I’ve reason to question that. Trish Marie Dawson wrote a funny little blog post on this topic (I grabbed the drawing from her article). Check her out, folks. …

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Good News, Bad News, and Trouble in Writing Town

Fourth Semester
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I’ve got a thirty-minute break before my next parent-teacher conference, so I thought I’d use this time to do some writing. I know I won’t be able to get any meaningful creative writing done, sandwiched as this moment is between long and stressful blocks of trying to calm down nervous parents and stressed-out students. My …

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IWSG – On Finish NaNoWriMo Projects

Sticker Decorated Laptop
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It’s IWSG Day again! The question this month is… Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published? This is a doozy of a question, but allow me to drop a plug for IWSG before I dive in. The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by …

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