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Tag: writing tips

4 Quick Tips to Make Jealousy Work for You

Jealousy: Out of the blue, you suddenly turn green! Like most unpleasantries, jealousy often strikes without warning. There you are, happily scrolling through Facebook when you see a photo of your friend holding a trophy and… *bzzzt* There it is: jealousy’s sting. While I don’t particularly like jealousy, I no longer let it drag me into a vortex of self-loathing and despair. In fact, I now consider jealousy a helpful tool. Here are 4 tips that help me cope when the green-eyed monster comes calling: My experience with jealousy I’ll start with a quick example of how I’ve used jealousy as a tool…

How HARO Helps Writers Out!

What is HARO? For this month’s IWSG post, I wanted to pass along a helpful tip for writers. It’s called HARO, which stands for Help a Reporter Out. I found out about HARO while standing in the lunch buffet line at DFWcon, a wonderful annual writing conference here in Texas. There were two authors standing ahead of me, Nina Amir and Harry Hall, and their conversation was so interesting that I not only joined in, but I wound up taking notes as we shuffled along! Why should writers join HARO? One tip that Nina passed along was that Harry and I…

Water is a Writer’s Best Friend

Even Home is a Travel Destination I have nothing against staycations. I don’t even despise the word, as many others do. As a mindful travel writer whose motto is “Even Home is a Travel Destination,” I am always on the lookout for fun things to see and do nearby. (Heck, I even write best selling books on the topic!) However, if you caught my IWSG check-in for July, you’ll know that due to a health scare with my husband, Larry, “nearby” literally became “our house and backyard.” Couldn’t see past the chores For me, the biggest challenge with being housebound…

IWSG – Mandatory Staycation

The Best Laid Plans for a 6 Week Summer Road Trip If things had gone as planned, I’d be writing this post while sitting in a motel room on the Big Summer Road Trip of 2015 that my hubby, Larry, and I have been looking forward to all year. We intended to leisurely snake our way along back roads from our little burg in Texas all the way up to Washington State in time to attend a big family party. If things had gone as planned, my biggest complaints right now would be feeling bloated from eating road food and…

Have you ever taken bad writing advice?

Writing Advice: Take it or toss it! “Never take advice, including this.” I love that quote from the author Katherine Anne Porter because it is so dang true! We all need advice, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s good from what’s bad. Have you ever taken the wrong advice regarding your writing? I know I have! Most of the bad writing advice I get falls into 1 of 3 categories: 1. “You know what you should write?” I bet I’m not the only one out there who is constantly being told (usually by non-writers) what they “really should be writing.” This…