Writing

Rather than a Writer’s Roundup, YOUR links

September 23, 2011

The Writer’s Roundup is out this week, since I’ve only returned from my much-needed Internet hiatus yesterday. Instead, I’d love to use this as an opportunity for us to get to know each other and our blogs. So I hope you’ll give us the link to the best post you published on your own blog […]

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How Long Does it Take to Create Your Art?

September 22, 2011

Here’s what always strikes me at artist’s colonies: You can get to know a person over a period of weeks, eating meals together and becoming friends, and still not know the whole story behind their work. You can grow close to a novelist without realizing he’s published 20 books and enjoy a painter’s company without […]

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A Look Inside Artist’s Residency VCCA

September 21, 2011

One of the tips I often give to clients as a blog coach is to make your blog about more than you. Your posts should be infused with your personality, but on the whole they should be about relatable topics your readers are interested in, not just you. So as I sit here in my […]

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Update from Artist’s Residency VCCA

September 16, 2011

The Writer’s Roundup is on vacation until I’m back from my writer’s residency. Every writer’s colony is its own little world. Here at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Little World includes about 20 artists (mostly fiction writers), a few horses, three meals a day in the dining room and studios in a […]

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Where Informational EBooks Fit Into Self-Publishing

September 15, 2011

I have a confession to make. After my recent post about how I’m considering releasing my next project — a how-to- guide on taking a career break to travel — on my own rather than aiming for traditional publishing, a few of you wrote me notes about bookstores where the book might fit, how I’ll […]

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Writer’s Roundup: September 9

September 9, 2011

Hello from VCCA! I’ll tell you soon what this colony is like, but for now, links from this week: Great question posed by Gigaom: Do we need defined hours of work anymore? Should your literary agent edit your manuscript? Helpful post from Rachelle Gardner. BootsnAll writes about how a travel break can be the best […]

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Reporting from the Trenches: Writer’s Colony No. 3

September 8, 2011

Every September I go to a writer’s colony. Not because I planned it that way. I just realized this while preparing for my first residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, known among artists as VCCA. My two weeks there start today. Yup, today. In September 2009, I spent five weeks at The […]

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Writers’ Roundup: September 2

September 2, 2011

At this time next week, I’ll be working on Book 2 at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (known among artists as VCCA) during my third writer’s residency. Check here for word about how this fellowship compares to the others. Links from the Interwebs this week: Thursday Bram is launching a new membership site […]

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Editor’s Pet Peeve: Affect vs. Impact

August 30, 2011

When I was a newbie reporter at the Houston Chronicle, I once made the mistake of writing about how some city legislation would impact residents. “Impact means collision,” my editor said as he changed the word in my copy. “Like in a car crash. Laws don’t impact people. Laws affect people.” That day, his pet […]

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Writers’ Roundup: August 26

August 26, 2011

Thank you all for your support as I transition to self-employment! I honestly don’t think I could’ve done it without you cheering me on. My first full week as a journalist/blog & social media strategist/budding entrepreneur was AWESOME. You’d think I would’ve slept in to celebrate my new flexible workday, but on Monday morning I […]

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