This article “The Rules of Writing are Nothing like the Rules of Real Life” that I wrote for Medium has gotten a lot of attention recently, and I was honored when a reader highlighted this section as meaningful. Click the photo below to read the article, and please feel free to overshare. Got something to … [Read more…]
I’ve just gotten the news that my book review of Skip Press’ How to Write What You Want and Sell What You Write has been published by the Australian Writers’ Magazine Writer’s Edit. I am so pleased and honored, and hope to do more writing for them in the future. I was especially honored by this … [Read more…]
I am so delighted to have fantasy writer Barbara Alsop writing for the Medium Channel I edit. Please check out her article Are Writers’ Workshops Really Helpful? I am currently seeking guest bloggers to write about the writing process and the writing life. If you are interested in submitting, please send your pitch and writer’s … [Read more…]
Odd things happen when you google yourself. Like something on this list just doesn’t fit: Can you find it? Well, either it doesn’t belong or I’ve secretly been transformed into a hippo. You decide. If you missed the video clip from my television writing and producing days, click the link above, and sit back … [Read more…]
Never leave “this” standing alone. This is why. This could lead to confusion. This is really common. What the hell is “this?” Use “this” as an adjective. It should modify something. This method is a much clearer way of writing. This type of communication expresses its ideas more effectively. This idea should now be evident … [Read more…]
In a recent post I mused on why writers are never alone. It’s important to get out and talk to other writers, and the Burlington Writers’ Workshop gathering at Bluebird Barbecue this week did exactly that. It was so great to sit across the table from writers working on exciting projects, and talk to them … [Read more…]
This is a great article on writing by fellow writer Diane MacKinnon. It’s well worth the read and has certainly inspired me today. Are You Taking Massive Action or Passive Action? My friend and mentor, Brooke Castillo, has often spoken about taking “massive action.” Her definition of massive action is taking action until you get the results you … [Read more…]
By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com Every summer I have the honor and pleasure of teaching a six-session English writing intensive workshop at one of the local universities. This year I focused all of the activities around Dickens’ little-known short story “The Signal Man.” If you’ve not yet read it, it’s worth checking out, and best of all, … [Read more…]
What To Do When the Power Goes Out OR How I organized my writing life By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com I was in the middle of revising the first three chapters of my first novel for the agent pitch session this weekend –scratch that: tomorrow!– when my computer died. Just shut off! Mid-sentence. Panic! Fortunately I am … [Read more…]
By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com “On writing” books are a dime a dozen, but the good ones are far and few between. To continue my use of worn-out phrases, Skip Press‘ How to Write What You Want and Sell What You Write is the exception to the rule and anything but cliche. Originally published in 1995 and … [Read more…]
By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com Writers’ conferences are wonderful opportunities to remember that, as writers, though we write alone, we are not alone. Last evening I was treated, without hyperbole, to the most beautiful author talk I have ever had the honor to experience. Terry Tempest Williams is one of the most genuine and present people I … [Read more…]
By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com The rules of writing are nothing like the rules of real life. In real life we censor ourselves, leave out the gory or embarrassing or overly personal details of the stories we tell about our daily lives. In writing, we have to be so brutally honest about the human emotional reality … [Read more…]
See my thoughts on organic hits on facebook pages from a recent interview with lonelybrand.com. (Read the full article here.) What tips do you have for promoting your work?
By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com In one of my writing lives, I write sassy columns about dating life. Today I’m here to sass about grammar. Every writer has her pet projects, her grammar or syntax particularities, and her pet peeves. For example, one of mine is agreement. How many of you would have written “Every writer has … [Read more…]
By Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com In one of the chapters of my life, I lived in Paris. My French boyfriend, like most twenty-year-old men, was an aspiring rock musician. I recall one day working with him on song writing; I was encouraging him to write the music to sound like the feeling of the lyrics he’d written. … [Read more…]
by Annalisa Parent www.annalisaparent.com I haven’t been in the writing business long—and what I mean is the actual business. Sure, I’ve been writing for a long time, but my marketing platform is a fledgling one-month-old. A month has been just adequate time to discover how much many writers detest creating their marketing platforms. I will concede … [Read more…]
I teach a memoir class once a week in a continuing education program. Each week I give the participants a prompt. Oftentimes they will bring back what they’ve written over the week in response to the prompt. Some are better than others; here is one that yielded a lot of good writing and discussion. Where … [Read more…]
Unslumping yourself by just daring to write something Some days I feel inspirationless—or worse, I feel discouraged—that my writing isn’t good enough, or I haven’t got anything to say, or that no one wants to read what I write. And, well, that feels awful. But I’ve found that the way through it is writing. It’s … [Read more…]
Ok, full confession time. There’s only so long I can sit with my butt attached to that chair writing. So every 15 minutes or so, I give myself a dance break. I put on one song, loud!, and dance like a fool around my office. Wow, that’s embarrassing! Umm, yeah, that is me in the photo! … [Read more…]
One of the great things about living in a digital world is the ability to communicate with a wide variety of people. I had the great honor of a recent online conversation with Alexander McCall Smith author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, The Sunday Philosophy Club, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is … [Read more…]