THE RYW Blog
WRITING, SELLING, AND BALANCING YOUR LIFE
Mindset
MINDSET. The fuel in the engine. If you've been struggling with staying focused, losing heart, getting blocked or stuck, mindset is the stuff that will power you through it. One of my favorite books on this, although it's targeted at sports, is On Top of Your...
Change the Outcome
You're building your support network. Now what? You've started to reach out for a support network (if not, re-read last week's newsletter.) You're presumably writing. But you've done that before, and it didn't turn out the way you wanted, or you wouldn't be...
Support Network
It turns out there were a lot of questions, based on last week's newsletter! (Also, I am so sorry about the typos in there! And me a writer. D'oh! To make it worse, I probably have a few in here. Please be patient, as I am the world's worst proofer despite good...
Playing to Win
What does "playing to win" mean? This one's gonna be a rough one, gang. But it's important. I love the movie The Replacements. (Largely due to Keanu Reaves, not gonna lie.) But there is a great line in it, where the coach played by Gene Hackman asks: "Do you...
Torture for Fun and Profit
As part of both my coaching service and my critique service, I get to see the framework of a lot of stories in progress. When it comes to conflict in general, and Hopeless Moments in the third act in particular, there's one thing I notice, over and over and...
Show, don’t tell… but how?
When asking for topics, this came up, and it's one of my favorite things. If you've been studying writing for any period of time, you've probably gotten this little chestnut of wisdom: show, don't tell. As it happens, I've already blogged about this, but it was a...
Time management: plotting vs. pantsing.
This blog is for those writers who are having a tough time staying on track when it comes to scheduling their deadlines, marketing, etc. Strangely enough, despite being a die-hard plotter, I am much closer to a "pantser" when it comes to my time management....
Loose and unscientific case study: ROLE PLAYING
Previously, I mentioned the success of my latest release, and how I may have recognized some factors that moved the needle, as it were. The success is noticeable -- markedly so. While I already mentioned I can't say exact numbers due to contract obligations,...
From a certain point of view…
First, a basic overview, just in case people are unfamiliar: POV stands for Point of View. This is the perspective from which the story/scene is told. Omniscient POV is told from the perspective of an all-seeing, all-knowing narrator. As a result, a lot of...