I've been a writer myself for many years, probably since I was born. I do think that most authors have a compunction that they are born with that compels them to write, the same as painters paint and composers make music. That said, being born with the compunction to write does not provide enough knowledge for a writer to be successful. Through my own experiences with writing and my experiences with other writers, I've seen gained some important knowledge that any writer could benefit from.
1) Writing is a business. I cannot emphasize this one enough. Writers will prattle on about the craft and their higher purpose and where writing takes them. That's all well and good. Writing is an art and those kinds of things are what make it attractive, but unless you are content writing for yourself and sharing for free with friends, family and potential fans online, writing is a commercial endeavor. Rare is the writer who truly gets into writing solely because they are compelled to write, want to share their gift with the world, want to make a difference or whatever lofty goal might make a good soundbite. If you are not one of those rare individuals, and you would actually like to profit from your work, don't shirk from your duties to understanding the business side and working on those important aspects. That starts with writing (and revising) the most marketable work you can and trails right through to marketing and promoting not only the work, but also yourself, so you can develop an audience and build readership. 2) Writer's groups are largely worthless. I can hear some gasping that it can't be so, but it really is true. Go back to the first point. What do writer's groups do to help you develop audience and build readership? Nothing. These are other writers you are interacting with. At best, they might really not care at all about your success, at worst they might delight in taking your confidence down a notch in hopes of elevating their own star. What about learning your craft from other writers? I see a couple of problems there. Is Stephen King, JK Rowling or John Grisham attending your writer's group? No? Of course not, so the very successful people who might have some guidance that could help you, are not going to be there. Largely, writer's groups are composed of newbies who know little to nothing about successful commercial writing, the classic blind leading the blind scenario. How is that going to help your career? Last, you want to write for readers, not other writers. While writers might be well read readers, they are rarely the kind of readers you'd like to receive feedback from. You want to capture the average reader who goes to the store and buys one of those big name writers that is in your genre over and over again. If you can connect with those kind of people in your social circle, have them read your work and offer helpful hints to get you going on the right track. 3) You have to write. Well that seems obvious, but I don't know how many writers I meet who don't put in the hours it takes to either finish a piece or to do the revision work needed to make their piece the best. Writing for me starts in my head, but if I leave it there and don't do the "unpleasant" work of pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, then the idea is only in my head. While there it might provide a pleasant diversion for me, that is all it can provide. If you don't want to put in that hard work, writing is not for you. 4) Complete the poem/story/novel/article. I read an article recently that said if you were stuck while working on a piece to simply skip to a new work for that period and come back to your abandoned piece. I think that's probably one of the worst pieces of writer's block advice I've ever heard. I understand it might be possible for some to find help that way, but my own experience and the stories I've heard from other writers is the exact opposite. I find that a good number of writers I meet are like me - attracted to the new. My mind never really shuts off, so I am constantly getting new ideas, lines, sketches that I can use for a piece. In the past, I've followed the advice, thinking well I am writing, so it has to be good. What did I end up with? A whole bunch of unfinished pieces. I'd leave the piece I was working on for the "momentary" diversion. As time went on, the "new" piece felt old and I abandoned it for a new idea, never circling back to the original or indeed, so often any of them. Nowadays, I might take a break and work on one of those more enticing ideas, but every day, I work on the original project that has my attention at the moment. What I write during that "block" period might be garbage, but I am going to revise later anyway. The progress I make will ultimately be better than anything I have to cut. Besides, I find that once I start writing, I eventually forget I was blocked. 5) Don't be afraid of criticism. You really need to grow a special skin to be a writer. Thick enough to continue to put yourself out to others, but permeable enough that criticism can get through. If you really want to grow and become better as a writer, you have to be able to evaluate the criticism you receive and learn from it what you can, even if it's only that the person was an idiot or jealous and had no point, but that you can live to write another day.
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Clear, concise and easy to read. I really appreciated that. Often books in the self-help arena use convoluted sentence construction and haughty language choices that only turn off readers. No matter how educated, a reader looking to make positive changes in the shortest amount of time, don't want to have to re-read every third sentence to gain meaning. Burchard manages to distill his ideas down into easy to digest material that anyone, regardless of their state of mind, heart and soul, at any given moment will be able to access.
Real world examples of the failings we all have and the ways we can do better illustrate the ideas set forth by the author. I did find at times there felt like there were a tad too many examples, the only reason I subtracted a star from the rating. It could be that the author intended these to connect to a variety of different potential readers, but in places it did just fell like filler. Burchard is not content to merely espouse the ideals set forth though, he thankfully provides readers with exercises to expand their thoughts on the subjects proposed and ways to work to being better citizens of the world. The principles seem so simple, and really they are, but this attractive volume provides us with an easy to access and use instruction manual. A cascading waterfall, pure Irish red covering secrets and mysteries I yearned to uncover.
Down the path like a mountain sprite, my heart beat faster, not for the length of the journey, but for the excitement she created. That she had looked at me, smiled at me, let me into her soul, was more than I ever allowed myself to hope for. Still there it was, the look that told me she had an interest in me. I let my imagination run across the wild landscape taking me further and further away from the safety of the shores I knew. I had no regrets handing her half the heart that thumped only for her. Now she flitted away. I've no interest in the half a heart that got away for I know that love is now beyond me in whatever misty vales she has taken her fairylike presence. I am left holding my breath hoping to die. Ah the holiday season is upon us and with it, the array of television commercials for engagement rings. Prior to five years ago, I scoffed at the overly sentimental and sappy nature of these commercials and vowed that I would never be the sucker for marriage. That attitude has left me now, just when I am most in need of it, but that is another story altogether. Have you ever noticed something about these engagement commercials? In every single one, there is a man featured buying his perfect ring for the woman he will get down on one knee and ask to marry him.
Here we are in 2014, enlightened and supposedly over stereotypes, and yet we continue to perpetuate them via the most powerful influencer in our lives (that too is another story). Where are the commercials showing a man buying his perfect ring for his husband to be or the woman buying the right diamond for the woman who has captured her heart and soul? Or how about even a more shocking one - the one of the woman purchasing the ring for the man she's about to get down on one knee for and profess her undying love for? I am not saying that the majority of engagement ring advertisements have to be these "alternative" commercials, but couldn't we have one mixed in there on mainstream television every so often? Have we even thought how these one-sided commercials are damaging the beliefs of the next generation? From the perspective of a gay or lesbian individual, these commercials continue to show a one-sided view on what marriage can be and how love is identified. If you are a young man wanting to ask your boyfriend or a young woman wanting to ask your girlfriend that big question, the only real examples of it you see continue to be the heterosexual dialogue. Think of how limiting that must be. I know not everyone supports the rights of two people of the same sex to marry, but even if you are heterosexual, this continued perpetuation of the one way to love and show love damages both men and women. Straight men are brainwashed into believing that it is their responsibility to ask the woman and to spend ridiculous amounts of money to show their love is worthy enough. Women are shown to be unable to take action on their own and to be at their hearts selfish. How empowering would an add be to young women everywhere to show them asking the man? Of course, commercials and advertisements aren't made to enlighten us, but to sell us something. Perhaps if companies refuse to change the dialogue for enlightenment and wisdom maybe they should think of the money they might be able to make if they produce and regularly show such ads. After all, if more individuals believe they have the power to ask someone else, that's more rings you can sell. I guess it's just a sad commentary all around about how we tend to shape our destinies through mass culture and commercialism. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/your_life/life_news_collection/lifestyle/out-of-africa-healer-has-a-unique-perspective-on-animal/article_d9a33543-c1ff-5dd4-b816-1e88842a0684.html
Find out about all sorts of complimentary health offerings for Dogs, Horses and others from the talented Sarah Wilson. Prior to the running of the Breeder's Cup Classic, I was asked quite a few times who I thought would win the race. Two horses were always my reply: Shared Belief or Bayern. Once the post positions were drawn, my thoughts did not change, but I was giving a slight edge to Bayern, as he drew to the outside of my other pick, the extremely talented Shared Belief. Why Bayern? Bayern is one of those quirky racehorses that confounds bettors, jockeys and trainers. Make no mistake, this is an extremely talented racehorse who deserved to be in the race. From ten lifetime starts, Bayern has a 6-1-1 record. Other popular runners in the race boast these records: Tonalist: 9 starts 4-2-1, California Chrome: 15 starts 8-1-1, and Shared Belief: 8 starts, 7-0-0. Bayern can be his own worst enemy though, as if he doesn't get the lead, he tends to wilt and finish well off the board. When Bayern has gotten the lead in his races, he is brilliant. He usually will settle down into a nice pace and the race is over from that point unless another horse gets up to challenge that pace. People questioned whether he would carry his speed the distance, but his pedigree doesn't suggest that he wouldn't. The much maligned start is sadly what everyone is talking about with conspiracy theorists finding a troll behind every bush to take down Shared Belief in this race as some earlier races this year saw the same claims with California Chrome. Did Bayern come in at the start of the race? Yes. Did he bump Shared Belief? Yes. Did Moreno then come out and bump Shared Belief? Yes. Did Toast of New York impede Shared Belief by coming over, too? Yes. Did Bayern's move or any of the others cost Shared Belief the race? Maybe, maybe not. We will never know. If you are going to argue that there was some dirty race riding going on, then it wasn't just Martin Garcia on Bayern, but also at least the jockey of Toast of New York and perhaps the jockey of Moreno as well. From what I saw, no one was intentionally trying to impede a particular horse. Keep in mind that Bayern is quirky and this isn't the first time he has had some odd antics in a horse race. In the Derby Trial Stakes, he repeatedly brushed the second place finisher in the stretch and had is number taken down in that race. Immediately after Bayern jumped inward at the break, Garcia can be seen correcting his horse as fast as he could, further proof that he wasn't intentionally trying to impede another horse. The comments in the DRF article (http://www.drf.com/news/shared-belief-finishes-fourth-bc-classic-after-finding-trouble-throughout) clearly show that neither Hollendorfer or Smith feel the actions were intentional. We all need to keep in mind when reviewing a race that jockeys are not driving vehicles out there but piloting 1,200 lbs animals with minds of their own and adrenaline coursing through their veins. If you have ever even ridden a horse on a trail ride, you should have some awareness that at any given moment, the horse may decide to follow his or her own lead. The start, while unfortunate, should not have resulted in a disqualification and no one will ever know if it really cost Shared Belief the race or if he was softened up from his all out win in the Awesome Again Stakes, his last racing effort prior to the Breeder's Cup Classic or was it that another race on dirt rather than synthetics took a toll? Yes, I would have loved a clean race to clearly answer the questions surrounding this year that so many of us have, but that's horse racing, sometimes things don't go according to plan. Take a look at Bayern's terrible trip in the Preakness with no disqualifications or any calls for such. A few words on the other finishers. Shared Belief showed grit and determination again. He's a gutsy gelding that we will get to see go again, and I have no doubt he will return to his winning ways. Tonalist had a disappointing race not so much due to talent, but more rider error. With the early fractions what they were, his rider needed to have him much closer to the action. He was simply left with too much to do at the end. California Chrome certainly doesn't deserve to be retired off his third place finish, but he had a perfect trip in this race, so I was a little disappointed to not see him get by Bayern or Toast of New York for a second or first place finish. It could just be that the fist and second place finishers had the slightest of more heart today, but I would love to see California Chrome back as a four year old and I hope they give him the chance. Have to say a word about the Juvenile, since that's where our early Kentucky Derby favorite comes out of. How about Texas Red in that race? He really took charge and didn't look back. He was my pick for the race. Not sure of his chances next year, always too early for me to pick one at this stage, but I do like what he showed here. |
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