It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination

Almost daily I speak to writers who pine for publication. They figure once they get there, they will have arrived. They’ll be where they always wanted to be. Sadly, I also know published authors who look back with an emptiness that haunts them. Why? They were so concerned about the destination of publication, they forgot to enjoy the trip.

It reminds me of a bicycling event in central Florida I rode once. The route took riders right by the space shuttle on launch pad 39-A at Cape Canaveral, as well as the largest known eagle’s nest in the United States. The roadway was cut right through coastal marsh land, providing a natural home for the alligators, snakes and countless water fowl.

At the end of the event, I listened as a group of riders standing close by recounted their trip.

What’s Wrong with my manuscript?

There comes a time in every writer’s life when we face the question: What’s wrong with my manuscript?

“What’s wrong?” is not a bad question. We strive to tell the best story we can. During rewrites, we need to know what’s working – dialogue or Storyworld maybe – but what’s not working can overshadow your moments of brilliance.

Today, MBT Retreats Coordinator Alena Tauriainen and MBT Skills Coach Beth Vogt wrestle with the question What’s wrong with my manuscript?

Social Media Minute—How Much is Too Much When it Comes to Staying Safe Online?

As writers we know the importance of developing an online presence, but is there such a thing as too much information out there?

Absolutely!

The result of too much information online can range from the irritating to the dangerous. But it is possible to be smart and still have an online presence that will garner you the right kind of reader notice.

So how much is too much to stay safe online? Anything that lets your online presence collide with your physical presence without you managing the connections.

Dealing With Disappointment

Many of you recently attended the ACFW annual conference in Indianapolis. Those who did pinned hopes on getting some sort of exciting news or opportunity. MBT Voices overall received overwhelmingly positive news. So why am I writing this? Because with the sweet comes the bitter. They always go hand in hand.

I’ve dealt with and helped people through disappointment for decades. There are some things I’ve seen in the circumstance that contributes to the emotion of disappointment that I want to share.

Having Unrealistic Expectations. Truly there are novice novelists who go to their first conference expecting that the biggest publishers in the industry will stand in line to snatch up their masterpiece…that hasn’t quite been finished. Ok, it really hasn’t been written yet, but with a contract in hand, they could stay up late one night and write it.