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Book Review: The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story

The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story is one of those non-fiction titles that has me hitting the “purchase” button on my kindle before I even read the first page. For one, I am a great admirer of Douglas Preston’s work—as a creator of both fiction and journalism. But on the other,Continue reading “Book Review: The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story”

A Writer’s Opinion on Audible by Amazon

Audiobooks gave me the courage to read. . . well, books. As many of you know, I was diagnosed with a profound case of Dyslexia at an early age. Also, as many of you know, I’m addicted to stories and storytelling. So you could see the dilemma I had when I was very young. IContinue reading “A Writer’s Opinion on Audible by Amazon”

Dealing with Rejection

Rejection is a part of any successful life. If you want to take your path in a new direction, there will be people that say, “no!” You cannot avoid it. More importantly, you cannot let wanting to prevent it stop you from reaping the benefits of a fuller time on this Earth. Your mind willContinue reading “Dealing with Rejection”

Writing When it’s Difficult

As I write this, the last thing I want to do is create a blog post. It’s late on Monday night, and I don’t feel like writing anything. Why? Because it’s late on a Monday night! As writers, we love creating and sharing those creations with the world. However, we also know all too wellContinue reading “Writing When it’s Difficult”

The Drink that Made Me a Better Writer

Before I say anything else, no, this recipe will not just change you into Ernest Hemingway. But what it will do, is help give you the body and mind needed to write at peak performance. What is this drink? It’s called a green alkaline smoothie. Writing starts in the brain, and if you aren’t giving your bodyContinue reading “The Drink that Made Me a Better Writer”

Beating Writer’s Block

You are staring at a blank Word document until your eyes hurt, trying to figure out what to write. “It has to be great,” you mumble to yourself. But it isn’t great, because it doesn’t exist. Suddenly your deadline looms in the distance, and you panic. You start to type, and you tell yourself thatContinue reading “Beating Writer’s Block”

Book Review: The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth is a book that has been on my “must-read” list for quite some time. But, I must say, I was intimidated to pick it up, not because of its subject matter, but because of its length (more than 1,000 pages). While this historical novel is incredibly long, it does not feelContinue reading “Book Review: The Pillars of the Earth”

Two Applications that will Change a Writer’s Life

I knew I should give it a shot, but I didn’t. I’m a writer, so why would I need help with grammar and story organization? I can do all of that myself for free. Well, it took a long time, but the true answer to that question came to me. The fact of the matterContinue reading “Two Applications that will Change a Writer’s Life”

How to use Excel to get Published

As writers, we tend to ignore that green box icon included in our over-priced Microsoft Office Suite called Excel. It’s for mathematicians, over-worked college students, and engineers—right? Wrong. Excel can and should be a significant asset to you during your quest to get published. When used correctly, it will keep you organized, let you keepContinue reading “How to use Excel to get Published”

My Guide to Using Duotrope

You’re lost. You have a short story that you worked hard on, that your friends say is fantastic—but you don’t know the first thing about getting it published. Where do you go? What do you do? Who do you talk to? Google searches don’t yield much; you find some websites that publish stories—but they seemContinue reading “My Guide to Using Duotrope”