An honest evaluation by Guest Blogger Nina Amir: I had to get really honest with myself. And then I had to get honest with others . . . I have been unhappy. I have not been successful. I have given away my power. I have not followed my own path. I have lived up to other people’s expectations. I have not lived the life I wanted to live or done the work that is my purpose in this lifetime—my life’s work. And something had to change. I had to change. My life had to change. I’d been starving my soul. Now, I am feeding it. I am creating, day by day, a life that feeds my soul. And every day I’m a bit happier and fulfilled. I’m starting to recognize myself again. I’m making little changes that put me back on the path I want to walk. People have asked…
Tag: Nina Amir
Guest Blogger Jared Gulian never gave up.
Guest blogger Jared Gulian wrote a fun story about his dream of being published. I love publishing stories that are inspiring and enjoy stories that take place in San Francisco, my home town. “I’m giving up,” I said. “‘Moon over Martinborough’ is never going to be a book.” Ever since I’d started this blog I’d wanted to turn it into a book, but I was losing hope. “Maybe you shouldn’t give up just yet,” Uncle Oscar replied. Uncle Oscar was here on his annual visit from New York, and we were sitting at the Gamekeeper, the restaurant at Alana Estate vineyard just down the road. CJ and I were having lunch with Uncle Oscar and our friends Leelee and the Wolf. “Uncle Oscar’s right,” Leelee said. “Don’t give up. Although the blog had gained some recognition, after 3 years of hard slog I still felt no closer to my book…
Guest blogger Nina Amir brainstorms how to go from idea to book.
The following is from Nina Amir’s Blog, Write Nonfiction Now. Nina posts writing prompts on Fridays. I really enjoyed Nina’s Prompt #10 and thought you might like it, too. These ideas can also work for fiction writing. Create Book Ideas to Support Your Goals: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #10 by Nina Amir. Nina writes: If you want to write and publish books, the first step involves developing ideas. You may be a nonfiction writer with just one book idea or with many. However, if you have nonfiction writing goals, your book ideas should support your goals. I have many book ideas. Despite the fact that some of them really excite me, I have put quite a few on hold. I have them queued up in a logical order, one following the other so they help move me toward my goals. Sometimes those goals could be simple, such as get a traditional…
Guest Blogger Nina Amir and writing goals
The following is from Nina Amir’s Blog, Write Nonfiction Now. Nina posts writing prompts on Fridays. I really enjoyed Prompt #10 and thought you might like it, too. Create Book Ideas to Support Your Goals: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #10 by Nina Amir. If you want to write and publish books, the first step involves developing ideas. You may be a nonfiction writer with just one book idea or with many. However, if you have nonfiction writing goals, your book ideas should support your goals. I have many book ideas. Despite the fact that some of them really excite me, I have put quite a few on hold. I have them queued up in a logical order, one following the other so they help move me toward my goals. Sometimes those goals could be simple, such as get a traditional publishing deal. That may not sound “simple,” but, for example, I…
Are there rules for essay writing?
Pat Olsen has written an excellent article about writing personal essay in the December 2013 issue of The Writer magazine. Highlights: “. . . when I am so obsessed about an idea that I can’t wait to put pen to paper, the essay almost writes itself. That’s not so say I don’t struggle over every word, or that I’m done after the first draft . . . Some of the best advice I’ve received is that it’s not only what you choose to include in an essay that’s important, but it’s also what you choose to omit.” She gives an example and then goes on to ask: “Are there actual rules for essay writing? If so, not all writers agree on them.” After consulting essayists, here’s what she discovered: Kate Walter: “‘An essay should have a universal theme . . . No matter how unusual a story may seem,’ she…
Guest Blogger B. Lynn Goodwin asks: What Would You Do With a Goal and a Deadline?
NaNoWriMo, www.nanowrimo.org, invites you to draft a 50,000 word novel in one month. I’m doing it for the second time, and I’m going for higher word totals than the 1667 suggested daily allotment. I just want this first draft out of my head. I want material to work with. Not a fiction writer? You can still achieve a 30-day goal with memoir, biography, or any other form of non-fiction thanks to author and writing coach Nina Amir’s WINFIN, http://writenonfictioninnovember.com/about-2/. WINFIN (Write Nonfiction in November) is “an annual challenge to create a work of nonfiction in 30 days.” The rules are simple: Decide what you’re going to complete and go for it. You can create “an article, an essay, a book, a book proposal, a white paper, or a manifesto” The program “operates on an honor system…no word counts logged in here. It’s a personal challenge, not a contest.” Simply describe…
Twelve Steps to Successful Writing
Are you the type of person who needs to clear your desk before getting down to the business of writing? Me, too. I have to pay the bills, sort, organize, stack things on my desk. Satisfied, but not ready to get to writing, I look around. Oh, I really need to do the laundry, clean the bathroom, clean the floor, check the refrigerator, look outside, get a drink of water. Sometimes it seems I’ll do everything except write. One year I participated in NaNoWriMo for the month of November. I loved it. This year I’m going to participate in Write Nonfiction in November (WNFIN), founded by Nina Amir. But I know I’ll only be successful if I plan ahead. Here are Twelve Steps to get to that writing we so want to do. 1. For the next two weeks, get caught up. Get organized, file those pieces of paper that…