During my Internet travels over the past week or so, I came across a few things you all might enjoy -
* Two excellent posts on the Writer Unboxed site are excellent reminders that it's all about the craft, all about writing the best book (or story or poem etc.) we can. Check out "A Promotional Strategy for Overwhelmed Introverts" by Robin LaFevers and "The Importance of a WOW Book in an Overcrowded Marketplace" by MJ Rose.
* UMass Lowell kicked off their Chancellor's Speaker Series with a very exciting first speaker - Stephen King. You can read a bit of background about the event and King here. And, you can watch/listen to the whole thing online here! I haven't gone through all of it yet myself - you can click on individual clips, like him reading a brand new short story! - but I've enjoyed it so far. Even if you're not a fan of the horror genre, King always has excellent writing advice.
* Since I celebrated a relatively big birthday in 2012, I found this article/slideshow, "Authors Over 80 Who Shun Retirement," particularly inspiring. You're never too old to be - or stay! - a writer.
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Planning on writing past "retirement age" like those over 80 folks? Excited about the King talk? Do you sometimes feel the craft of writing gets overshadowed by the fast paced pressure to get our work, our words, out there?
i plan on writing as long as my brain works! thanks for your inspiration & the links!
ReplyDeleteTara - ha! Me, too. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for going the extra mile to keep us informed. Have a merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteMichael - you're welcome! I hope you enjoy the links. Merry Christmas to you, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'm going to even write past fifty at this point...
ReplyDeleteAlex - you've got too big a fan base to stop altogether. :)
ReplyDeleteSo much meat in this post, Madeline! Great advice in that article for introverted writers; personally, I hate how much we have to market ourselves, so I'm liking the sound of that cumulative approach. King is the man, mos def; I'm reading 11/22/63 and enjoying it. And I plan to write straight into the grave -- and maybe even beyond!
ReplyDeleteMilo - watch out, you'll create a whole new genre - "Beyond the Grave Fiction." :)
ReplyDeleteI love the over 80 folks! How awesome is that?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the great links, I had no idea about the King talk and I always love his advice.
Julie - I haven't checked out the whole King talk yet but there's one clip where he's showing a drawing someone did that combined a number of his stories! I also can't wait to listen to him read the new story! :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't ever see myself giving up writing. Although I don't ever see myself giving up being a gym instructor, although I might not have much choice in that one :-D
ReplyDeleteAnnalisa - hey, you never know! Maybe one day you'll be in an article about gym instructors over 80. :)
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