Write What Your Heart Desires

I have the pleasure of welcoming Author Robert McFarland and illustrator Rama Dixit to my blog today. This is truly a global affair today, we are getting together from three countries India, Canada and the UK on 3 continents. Don’t you just love technology?

I look forward to learning a little about you both and also about Snugg and his friends. Robert, I hope you don’t mind if I interview Rama first, but...

Today I am posting a post from Dan James. I often find food for thought in his posts. Please read this one and let me know your thoughts at the end.

Two Lessons From The Sea

Written by Dan James

My post today will be short and sweet. This week we had a workshop on the Writers Retreat message boards. It was all about writing beginning reader and chapter book manuscripts.

There were also a number of exercises to try. It was surprising how much fun it was to do these exercises. They really got your mind working and it was interesting to see what people came up with.

I have decided that this is definitely an area to look at very seriously. I don't think I coul...

Have you looked at your blog and wondered if you are going in the right direction with it? I am always wondering if I'm "doing it right". It's often so difficult to get a good balance.

I often find myself thinking for hours of what to write about. And, once it written there is that little voice in my head telling me it's not good enough. I always feel as if it my posts are not appealing to my readers. I could do better.

I know its already February, and everyone, or most of us, has set their goals for the year. But there are bound to be some who are still thinking about it. So I thought this would help anyone who is still pondering the goal problem.

Are you amongst the lucky ones that have done their goals? Please leave a comment below. You don't know who you might help.

Overcoming The Fear Of Setting (And Not Reaching) Goals...

I am trying my best to get some writing done every day. Well, that's easy, you say.

Well, yes it is. But in order to write you need something to write, right? Right. So, I went to my box of stories and played the eenie meenie minie mo game. Well sort of. It's almost a case of throwing the dice to pick the story.

The thing is. Do I really want to work on the stories I've picked? Well, I need to work on them sometime. I need to send one out at the end ...

As we approach the end of 2012, we also approach the beginning of 2013.

I think back through this year, and wonder, not only where it went, but also what have I done? If I think back to my writing, I've actually done very little. I've revised and submitted one story. Doesn't seem like much

But, I've also started and completed a course, in three months. I've done some proofreading jobs. And best of all, I saw a story of mine in a book.

S...

Writing is paper geared. Really? Well, yes. Although, these days we can add computer geared to this.

I have been frustrated over the last few months at the small amount of writing time I seem to have. So, with New Year just around the corner I decided that I will spend December getting everything writing sorted. Then come January 1st or 2nd, I can hit the keyboard running, refreshed and ready.

I am taking charge of my writing and my time, and i...

The subject of "Writer's Block" seems to come up pretty regularly. While reading through a newsletter the other day, I came across the following article.  Do let me know your thoughts on this subject. The article starts in the next paragraph.

One of the most common questions I get is, "What do you do about writer's block?" It's hard to answer. Not because I don't know, but because I don't really believe in writer's block.

I mean, think about it. We'r...

One day late, but as they say, better late than never.

For the last few months I've been studying proofreading and copy editing. Okay, they are very much the same, but they are also different in some things. I'm really enjoying the course, and hope to add this to my job description when I'm done.

Now, as I read through part of the copy editing module, there was a comment about how to query something that you feel is wrong. The example used was making the ...