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3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Confidence As A Writer

June 15, 2015 in Writing for Life with 13 Comments

Today’s guest post is by author and blogger Jennifer Blanchard:

As a fiction writer, you likely compare yourself to the novelists that you love. People like Stephen King and Jackie Collins and J. K. Rowling are your favorite writers, and they make you feel like you’ll never measure up. And maybe this has kept you from writing (or finishing) your story.

But no more.

Because here’s the thing. Even the pros have bad days. Even the pros have moments where they lose their confidence and feel like they have no clue what they’re doing.

Take for example, my dog, Weiland. He’s a pro at climbing the stairs in our apartment building. He’s been doing it since the day we moved in almost two years ago. But the other night, we were coming in from a car ride and he wouldn’t climb the stairs. He just sat there at the bottom of the steps, wearing his plaid jacket, cowering and making crying noises. At first my husband and I laughed and tried to coax the dog up the stairs. But he wouldn’t budge. My husband ended up going downstairs and carrying him up. But then later that night, I took Weiland out to potty. He went down the stairs and he climbed back up them with no problem.

So what happened? Why did he for one moment freak out and think he couldn’t climb the stairs? Continue Reading…

7 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing about the Military

June 8, 2015 in Writing for Life with 29 Comments

Today’s guest post is by authors J. R. Olson and David Bruns:

As long as there’s been a military, there have been authors writing about the military. It’s a natural fit. The military provides the perfect combination of conflict and character, adversary and attitude. Some novels, like Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, seek to satirize war and the military, while others, such as Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, offer a more serious view of the battlefield. Whether your literary goal is to honor or skewer the armed forces, nothing bothers military veterans more than when well-meaning authors make factual errors about simple military customs.

We’re a pair of US Navy veterans with a combined thirty-five years of service who blog and write under the moniker The Two Navy Guys. We’re here to dish out the truth about 7 common mistakes we see from authors writing about the military: Continue Reading…

You’re Not Alone: 10 Perfectly Normal Struggles Writers Face

May 18, 2015 in Writing for Life with 25 Comments

Today’s guest post is a fun and helpful infographic by best-selling author Warren Adler.

I have been lucky as hell making writing a career. But then, one must consider that I did suffer through endless rejections of my work until I was forty-five years old, when I was finally able to interest publishers.

Real writers write because of their artistic need, above all. It is a great and miraculous calling, and its pursuit deserves all of one’s energy and imagination. Without a doubt, there are always struggles along the way, so I thought I’d share a few of my own, which I think are universal.

So here are 10 struggles you might face as a writer, but take courage—you’re not alone.