“Ye shall not surely die.” Ever since the snake whispered in Eve’s ear in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been susceptible to lies. Our volatile emotions open up vulnerabilities for falsehood to sink its teeth into. As writers, a distorted mindset can hinder our growth, damage our creative potential, separate us from reality, prevent us from accomplishing goals, and trap us in despair.
How is fiction useful? Is devoting our lives and careers to it appropriate? Most of us have wrestled with these questions. For some, concern has been posed by parents, who want to ensure that their children spend their time constructively and seeking truth. Others have sensed unspoken skepticism from the culture around them, as if writing couldn’t possibly be a meaningful pursuit on its own.
Red ink everywhere. If you’ve ever had your writing edited professionally, you’ve experienced the dread of opening the revised document for the first time. All the markup can be discouraging and overwhelming.
If you’ve pursued publication for any length of time, perhaps you’re already aware of tips and tricks on how to grab an agent’s attention. Maybe you understand the importance of building a presence on social media and learning how to market a book. Maybe you’re even continuing to enter contests and submit to publications in hopes of expanding your credentials. These efforts show your dedication to becoming a well-rounded author, which will help you appear professional to an agent.
Have you ever wished you could skip to publication? Waiting can be discouraging, especially when a dream is involved. Writers at all stages have felt that their stories would never appear in a bookstore.
At intervals throughout your journey, you’ve probably wondered whether you’re a good writer. Unfortunately, I can’t sympathize because that thought hasn’t occasionally crossed my mind.
Hooray! You dashed off at least 50,000 words in one month. Maybe you even finished a full novel. But once the mad rush is over, how can you salvage the mess you created?
During my first few months as an author, I despaired over the book I was writing. How will I reach people and convince them to read this? Could I pay a publisher to print my book and market it?
An aspiring author’s greatest fear is that she’ll spend years slaving over a novel only to release it to the world and nobody buys it. When a book flops after an author has invested countless hours trying to make it a success, that’s a tragedy.
I was walking to the lake near my house, praying, when I looked up and saw the giant standing in my way.
