I had an excellent English teacher in ninth grade, Mr. Lynch. Actually, I was lucky enough to have many excellent teachers but there are a few whose voices still ring in my head. Mr. Lynch is one of those voices. He would assign a paper and invariably, someone would ask, “How long should it be?”…
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Writing a high quality book takes time. But unless you’re writing the Great American Novel or the Unabridged History of Everything, you don’t want it to take too long. I shoot for 90 days for my coaching clients for a reason and not just because it sounds snappy. When you’re writing something as large…
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“Every writer or wanna-be writer has ideas for books. The problem isn’t finding an idea, it’s choosing one” ― Jo Linsdell I was approached last week by an acquaintance who was looking for writers to write books that he had ideas for. The deal was that he would supply the idea and 30-40 pages…
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I talk to a lot of people who want to write a book and one of the frequently asked questions I hear is “How do I start my book?” I specialize in non-fiction books, manuals mostly so if you are looking to write a novel, this is probably not the post for you. However, if…
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I live in a very quiet place. I’m not an early riser, but on the occasions I am up early (and even when I sleep in) I go out onto my lanai that overlooks a canal and sits at palm tree top height. (The palm trees aren’t very old, so I can enjoy this view…
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Sub titled: How I Churn Out So Much Crap When you write for a living, you don’t really have the option of waiting for your muse to visit. In fact, I’m not sure the muse has ever visited my place. Perhaps she did, but the place was so messy I didn’t notice her. In…
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“The things that you do should be things that you love. And things that you love should be things that you do.” – Ray Bradbury A friend posted a link to this conversation with Ray Bradbury on the day Ray’s body passed away. It is stunning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLuDOEuwwso&feature=youtu.be Aldous Huxley told Ray that…
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A friend recently posted a link to Robert Service’s poem, The Men that Don’t Fit In. It’s a poem about never quite finding your spot in life, never belonging and never reaching your potential, perhaps because you are always looking towards the next thing. Today we would say they have “Bright, Shiny Object Syndrome.” They…
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Several of my girlfriends and I get together once a month or so just to have a talk-fest and keep our friendships vibrant and on-track. It usually starts with a phone call from one of us (there are usually five of us who get together) saying we need a “girls’ night”. Now we are all…
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“I just can’t seem to get any traction.” I have heard this said in some form or other from the women who come to me for coaching. They feel like their businesses and lives just aren’t going anywhere, no matter what they do. Sometimes it is a matter of not knowing where to start. Sometimes…
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