Writer Talk - Truman Capote

"I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil." - Truman Capote

What Inspiration!

According to Robin Sloan, world traveler and creator of cutting edge fiction, he just received a tweet that his new book is done printing and ready for shipping to customers.

Using his online connections as a distribution base, Sloan was able to bypass a more traditional publishing route. Posting his writing project on Kickstarter.com yielded Sloan more than $13,000 in advance sales from committed backers.

Reminds me of the patrons and salons of the literary past.

Personally, I cannot wait to get my copies of this fresh book and see the results of a fascinating, new approach!

I Love www.writers-review.com !

Again - my writing mentor ROCKS, and rocks hard!!!!

No matter what kind of work I throw at Mike, he handles it with grace and aplomb, lasering a crystal-sharp clarity into his insights and suggestions.

The last few weeks have been so busy with vacation, work, meeting up with my oldest friends, Christmas shopping, new pets, and more, I haven't written any new fiction at all.

(So much for my Nanowrimo dreams!)

So I gave poor Mike one of my newest grant proposals to critique as this week's assignment. Of course, he's so skilled that he has a successful background in grant writing as well as fiction, non-fiction, and editing!! The suggestions he sent back were right on, and the validation that the pages make sense and truly represent the non-profit are invaluable.

Truly, if you are ever looking for GREAT writing assistance, I cannot recommend Mike's consistently excellent work highly enough!

Find Mike Foley at www.writers-review.com

Writing Quote - W.H. Auden

"Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at,

with originality, which they should never bother about."

- W. H. Auden

spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it... ALL

I've used this quote as writing advice for years, long after I'd forgotten who said it. Thanks to Red Bird and her blog for reminding me of it in its entirety.

"One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes."

-Annie Dillard, The Writing Life p.78

Nothing To Sneeze At?

This quote came through my inbox today and made me laugh:

"I like to write when I feel spiteful. It is like having a good sneeze. " - D. H. Lawrence