Having Talent Is Like Having Tickets to Red Rocks But No Sitter And No Transportation

By John Garvey

I love my work as a writer, but I’ve come to some painful realizations about both the craft of writing and the value of talent. Grab a stiff drink or, depending on the hour, a double espresso and hop on my carousel of disillusionment! It’ll do ya good.

Wish I Didn't Know Now What I Didn't Know Then.

                                         --Bob Seger

Free Writing Apps You've Got To Try

By Ronda Simmons

Like many writers, technology is not always my friend. After wasting hours on Facebook getting up to speed with what my second cousins are thinking about having for lunch, I tried to go web-free. Big mistake. There are scads of apps available FOR FREE worth the time to look at as writers. Here are my latest favs.

Hemingway Wasn't Known for His Tact.

Work, Work, Work, I Keep Telling Myself

By JC Lynne

David Sharp offered us some great advice last month. It does us good to hear it repeated. Effective frequency or some such thing. It's advice we've heard from Stephen King, Annie Dillard, Phillip Pullman, and Erasmus to name a few. Writers must be readers.

I Culled Mine Down to Essentials.

Yes, I'm sure your shelves hold some of the same writing books found on mine. As writers, we never stop working to improve our craft. Just the other day, Kristin Owens dropped the title of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. 

Endgame

By David E. Sharp

Are you a happy-ending writer, or a tragic-ending writer?

And you don't get to say, "I'm not a writer at all. I'm a girl from Kansas." Especially if you are a girl from Kansas. As writers, and by extension readers, we've seen endings of all kinds. Sometimes, everybody gets married. Sometimes, everybody dies. But what kind of endings are you about?

Me, I'm a sap for happy endings. Whether I'm reading for escape or to wrestle with heavy literary topics, I like to see that hope has not been misplaced, that the characters I care for are rewarded for their virtues and overcome their flaws. I like to see people who are victorious in the face of unimaginable odds.

Cue the standing ovation, please.

Buuuuut, if all endings were happy, they'd be predictable. That surge of joy only seems to come when I didn't know whether the characters were going to make it or not.

Just Friends.

By Kristin Owens

Although Facebook was founded in February 2004, I requested my account less than a year ago. Apparently, Hell froze and pigs took to the sky, since I publicly exclaimed on more than one occasion this would never occur as long as I drew unassisted breath. 

So, why did I wait twelve years? I thought I had enough friends. I was wrong.

Please Don't. Really. I Don't Want to See Photos of Your Dog.

Waiting for a Train that Won't Come

By J.C. Lynne

Maybe it's because it's summer. Maybe it's the unseasonal heat. It could be the general state of the world. The clear trend in recent posts has been finding the inspiration and motivation to write. And, ho hum, I'm no different. 

Even My Little Creek Can't Entice Me.

Double Vision

by Laura Mahal

I'll admit the writing has been difficult these days. It's summer. Hot one, isn't it? Hard to find the time. Why isn't year round school an option for those of us with children? Why?

And there are days that the research really brings me down. People, and by people, I mean kids, die every day for having what my main character has: heart, soul, and confusion as to their gender identity. 

Teen suicide is tragic, and I absolutely must take a stand.