You must read Seth Godin's The Dip

No cute intros. No set-up. Stop reading this blog right now and go read Seth Godin's new book The Dip.

Why? While this book isn't aimed at writers in particular, it is aimed at anyone who is stuck with something (a novel or screenplay or a career) and unable to move forward.

It's extremely short (I read it on my lunch hour). Then, I found Seth Godin's related blog, The Dip Blog. Go read it.

Think what you will of Michael Jackson*, it's hard to deny that his death was shocking. As I was watching one of a dozen retrospectives on his life on TV, I was a little surprised to learn that his father, Joseph started out as a crane operator.

That's stayed with me in the past couple of days. The man didn't have a degree in entertainment management, little business skills, and some musical ability (he started his own band). He probably had little connections and not a lot of money. He was probably flying by the seat of his pants and made mistakes in representing his sons. Nonetheless, he preservered and was able to elevate his sons into the hottest bands in America.

I was speaking to a friend and we started listing other people like this. Maybe they weren't the nicest people (Joseph Jackson admitted to physically punishing his sons if they didn't perform). They were just people who didn't have the expertise, but succeeded on luck and preserverance. That could be me. Lack of experience or knowledge is not an excuse. If I want it, I have to go out there and do it - promote my writing, promote myself. Because otherwise, no one else will.

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

Another writer's site tweeted this last night... The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest2009 Results have been posted. Bulwer-Lytton coined the, "It was a dark and stormy night."If you aren't familiar with the contest, it's a challenge to write the best worst opening line of a novel.

Check out this year's winning entries here and previous winners here.

Get Back in the Swing of Things.

My usually writing time is end of the day, right before bed, but lately that hasn't been working. So in May, I switched around my schedule and went to bed early to wake up and write. My plan was to keep adjusting the time so that I would have a full two hours before I went to work. I was pretty sucessful until some things happened last week that upset my schedule.

Now, I'm trying to get back on that write in the morning and I was looking for a good article to get me going. I found this from Quips and Tips for Successful Writers. Enjoy!

How long does it take to write a story?

It all depends, but after reading Inky Girl's posting about how long it took Michael Crichton to write Jurassic Park, I feel better about that screenplay I started in 2001. :)

Should You Talk About Your Article or Book Ideas?

I stumble upon Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen's blog Quips and Tips for Successful Writers this morning and liked what little I've seen. The article I discovered, Should You Talk About Your Article or Book Ideas? was interesting.

As a rule, I have one person I speak with about my stories. It is a fellow writer, but I trust this person to show drafts, kick around ideas, etc. Otherwise, I don't like to show until I have a completed first draft.

No matter how you write, Laurie's point is the follow through - keep writing until you're done.

Some Words on Writing Programs

Pax Americana has an interesting argument for writing programs.

While I enjoyed the creative writing program I attended in college, I am a bit skeptical of writing seminars/classes/conference. I sort of view them the same way as I view TV commericals for Bow-Flex or any of the other exercise machinery around December-January. People buy in with good intentions and dreams of achieving something, but ultimately, are no different than before.

Before you sign up for classes or seminars on writing, I just want to say, you can't buy your way into being a writer; a writing program can motivate you, inspire you, make you feel confident... but the only way to become a writer is through regular, consistent writing.