Quotes

Force yourself . . . and don’t stop . . .

“Force yourself to begin putting words on the page immediately, and don’t stop until the timer goes off, even if you have to write about the weather.” — Jan Ellison, inspired by Ellen Sussman I read this quote in the 12/4/15 Writer’s Digest guest blog post, “9 Practical Tricks for Writing Your First Novel,”  written by Jan Ellison. Since Ellen Sussman was scheduled to be a Writers Forum presenter and since I also believe this philosophy . . . my ears perked up. . . .  Daydreaming about how “ears perked up” would look and could it really happen? I think so, in a Fred Flintstone kind of way, when he’s . . . Oops, I’m taking the writing advice to put words on the page too literally. And the timer is ticking. Brian Klems, host of The Writer’s Dig Blog where this post appears, gives this introduction to the…

Guest Bloggers

Ellen Sussman likes her world shaken.

Guest Blogger Ellen Sussman writes about the novelty of new places and how this opens interesting problems and possibilities for fictional characters. When I travel abroad I expect to be surprised. Life shouldn’t be the same in a foreign country. I want to shake up my world, to expose myself to new tastes and sounds and smells and voices. I want to see things that are so novel, so startling, that my eyes open wider. That experience – of expanding my horizons while traipsing across a new horizon – should not only transform me while I’m gone, but it should deliver me home again in some new, improved way. High demands for a little vacation. My sister travels to the same resort in Florida every year. She doesn’t want what I’m looking for. She wants food she’s familiar with, experiences that don’t challenge her, sheets with the same thread count…

Guest Bloggers

An Argument for Daily Writing by Ellen Sussman

Guest Blogger Ellen Sussman writes about “An Argument for Daily Writing.” You want to be a writer. But… You’ve got a demanding job. A demanding spouse. Demanding kids. You wrote a novel that didn’t sell. You wrote two novels that didn’t sell. Three? Four? You don’t have a snazzy office. You don’t have the latest computer. You write at a café and the moms bring all their screaming babies to that café. You don’t think you’re good enough. Your high school English teacher told you you’re a lousy writer. Your mother told you that your brother was smarter than you are. You have a hangover. You have carpal tunnel. You’re hungry and there’s no food in the house. Excuses are easy. Writing is hard. I’ve got one way of silencing all those voices. I go to work every day. Writing is my job. So I show up. Screw the hangover….