No matter the format or the genre, rejection is almost always due to one of a few common missteps. I want to share them so that we can all put our best writerly feet forward—because I, too, am a writer who submits my work to the mysterious realm of Readers who I hope will take my work seriously and consider it for a next step. First, some good news: readers are hoping to be enthusiastic about your work.
Read More“Writing is rewriting” gives off a lot of that “practice makes perfect” energy, doesn’t it? It implies that you have to actually, you know, work and struggle. I like writing because in writing I don’t “have to rebuild all the time” in the way I have to do as a musician. But most expert writers seem to agree this is the real work of it all.
Read MoreI really think that finding this balance between wildness and discipline is key in creativity, which is not only about thinking of ideas and expressing them, but also about developing them into some form of finished project. I don’t know how wild my mind is, but, having grown up a classical pianist, discipline is kind of my jam.
Read More“Think before you play” is a sentence I find myself repeating daily as a piano teacher. It seems simple enough, but it’s amazing how often students play notes without first figuring out what those notes are supposed to be. In writing, too, the creative process can’t be rushed, and sometimes it’s difficult to feel comfortable with the daily state of unfinishedness.
Read More
