No matter how long you’ve written and polished your writing, you’ll eventually need to show it off to other people. Professional publishers and agents reject hundreds more manuscripts than they accept. The sting of this failure can be hard to cope with. The best solution is to handle it the same way trees do: Broken branches are transformed into knots, which make the tree stronger. Writer rejection can seem like a death knell, but treated properly, it can allow us to thrive.
Month: June 2023
Niksen: Unleash the Power of Doing Nothing
In this hyperconnected, hyperproductive world, we often find ourselves caught in the clutches of endless to-do lists. But fear not, dear creatives, for Niksen offers a momentary escape. Niksen is a Dutch concept translating to “doing nothing”. We need to embrace the art of idleness! Take a break from the warp-speed of life and allow your mind to wander freely. Sit back, relax, and let the celestial winds of inspiration gently caress your weary soul.
Should You Keep Writing or Abandon Your Work?
In Aswan Egypt sits the world’s tallest stone obelisk, at a massive 137 feet in length. Pity that it’s laying down. After years or even decades of carving the monument from stone, the Egyptians abandoned the project. Why? Because a massive crack developed along the center. As writers, crafting a novel can feel like chiseling words out of stone. But if a fundamental flaw develops in your work, should you keep writing or should you abandon it all together? Here are three things to consider.
Writing is Emotion: Jerk Your Readers Around
Right now, ChatGPT is upending all kinds of art and writing. Yet the core of good fiction is the emotion the writer brings to the table. Let’s wait till AI goes through some trauma and then it might be able to write well. Everyone, AI included, can write decent fiction. But to make the story sing, you need to jerk your readers around because writing is emotion.
