Painting With Light

Relax. Write. Enjoy.
Every few years someone becomes a million-seller with a first novel, and many writers and wannabes believe lightning can strike them, too (writers tend to be an optimistic breed … they always expect to win).

My advice?

Drop expectations of mega-success. If everyone who writes a novel expects to be the next [insert your favorite highly successful writer here], then almost everyone who tries will be disappointed.

Only a handful of writers every decade get noticed at that level.

Stop Being Delusional
If you want to know why readers clamor for those best-sellers … study them. I think the best advice I could give you is to read the stories you like over-and-over until you figure out how they entranced you (trust me, it wasn’t luck).

Know where you are in learning the craft, and figure out how to get to your goal. Writing is a business. Study that part of it, too. Then have a plan, and work on it.

Be obsessed about your writing. Practice it.

Figure out your goals. Not just for today or this week. Break it into chunks … weekly, monthly, yearly and beyond. Work on making your own writing as entrancing as the stories you love.

Once you achieve one of your goals, look to the next goal as the measure of your success, and keep moving.

Keep practicing … and keep writing.

Remember, the only way to become proficient in something is to do it over-and-over again, always trying to improve.

Do It for the Right Reason
If you’re going to choose to do something, and obsess about it, then do it for the love of it. Not because you’ll be famous or renowned … but because it’s part of who you are and what you do.

That’s how you learn to be the best storyteller in the business.

Do the work.

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Enjoy the holiday weekend. I’m off to my middle son’s wedding. He’s found a lovely, intelligent young lady who seems to believe he’s every bit as special as he thinks she is.

I think it’s marvelous … and it ain’t just good ol’ Dad talking. It’s the only real reason to do something about it.

Love.

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BTW – I’ll have that podcast I promised, answering your questions, when I get back. Stay tuned.

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The Official Book Trailer for “Street Light”

Reviews are in for my latest novel, “Street Light.” One is from Top Book Reviewers and the other is posted by Readers Favorite. I’ll let them speak for themselves.

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews. You can see the stories I have available by using the Amazon link below.

You’re also invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or like my Book of Face page. You can also follow my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: award-winning writing, self-publishing, storytelling

This entry was posted on September 4, 2015 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Award-Winning Fiction, Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.