RWA National: The Courageous Writer: Power Through the Fear

Considering my last couple of years have been like a tunnel, this workshop really hit the spot. Aspiring author Fae Rowen, debut author Laura Drake, and NYT bestselling historical author Tessa Dare shared a passel of wisdom about the fears that crop up in all stages of the writing career, how to face them, and how to get past them so you can be productive. Here are some highlights: “There...
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Something Wicked This Way Comes

One Sunday morning lo, these many years ago, I went to youth group at the church and met up with my friend Scott. We had horrifying news to discuss. Daddy had gone on a date the night before–with Scott’s MOTHER. After sharing mutual teenage ick over the thought of parents dating, one of us hazarded the unthinkable: “What if they GOT MARRIED?!” Well, they did. I inherited...
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My Labyrinth Moment

One of my many faults is that I’m an out of sight, out of mind kind of girl, which explains why the closet in my teenaged bedroom is still packed full of junk. This hasn’t been an issue until lately. Miss Carolyn, however, has decided to downsize, trading the 4/2-and-a-half with pool for a neat condo not too far away. The house is now disarrayed–boxes and piles and bags...
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Digging for the Pony

Most of us have heard the story about the man who wanted to teach an optimist a lesson. He’d finally had enough of the optimist’s good nature, sunny outlook, and buoyant spirit. Frankly, the optimist bugged the living daylights out of him. So, he filled the optimist’s room with manure. Instead of freaking out (as most people would), the optimist grabbed a shovel and got to...
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You Ain’t No ‘Lectric Elephant

I grew up in awe of my maternal grandmother. A farmer’s daughter, she rarely had idle time. Nearly every hour of the day, she was busy—cooking, managing the books for the farm, making phone calls, volunteering at the church—and that was when she was retired! This is a woman who woke every morning at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am (so I thought then; I’ve since discovered I share her love of early...
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