write – Success Strategies

Writing Retreat. Alone Or With A Group?

As a writer you have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done.
Nora Roberts

An author at a Writers forum asked the question whether to attend a writing retreat alone or with a group. Intrigued I dived in. Here are top responses as authors chimed in with their preferences.

A combination. Alone at first to get some writing done, then others can join after to chill
Always with at least one person, Would never travel anywhere alone
Either. Done it
Alone
I like both. But prefer to have a couple of other writers. That way there is someone to talk over plot points and such with.
Would probably accomplish more alone, but a group is nice too
I have done both. You can also go to the location (Tennessee Williams Writers Festival in New Orleans) with non writer friends who will go off sightseeing and leave you blissfully on your own to attend master classes, panel discussions and book signings. But bring your new writer friends with you to dinner so you have something satisfying and intelligent to talk about.
Both could be fun
Alone but towards the end I want to meet up with a friend for dinner
Writing retreats are so fun with a friend, but the point as in writing is not to have fun, but to be productive. Learn, write, make a few new friends after hours but you are there to write.

I think point 10 sums it all up. Writing is indeed fun but the point of writing is to be productive. Personally, I believe writers write alone but after compile the pieces and celebrate together.

As a writer, what’s your preference? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

Writers Writing Place. Indoors Or Out? 17 Confess…

Write. Just Write.

“Are you most comfortable when you write at home in private or out at a local coffee shop?“ That was the question asked in a public writers’ forum. Curious, I dived in to hear what other writers had to say. Here I share response from writers who feverishly chimed in.

I write anywhere as long as the place is quiet and/or nature is all around
At home, but if the inspiration comes anywhere else I will scratch down the basic idea and pursue it later
Home
I write only at home but read everywhere
I used to think I needed to be some place else in order to truly write but during quarantine, I have learned that I can write at home and be extremely productive
Anywhere so long as I get the inspiration to write
If I am alone then at home. But I’ve also found being out at the bookstore made it almost easier to write and finish a scene
Usually at a coffee shop. I can focus
Both. I write differently given the location
Driving at night when I am alone, I tend to talk to myself and come up with some good details. I record them with an audio file on my phone and plan on some day to get them all typed up so I can put them together
I write in the privacy of a spare room
Either, as long as its not too noisy
Home, unless I am at the library
In Public
A mix. I do miss the neighborhood coffee shops during this quarantine
I like to write at home. I sit at my computer with some thunderstorms on YouTube in my headphone and type away
Anywhere

What’s your preference? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

Writer To Entrepreneur: Top 11 Steps To Success…

You can make anything by writing.”
–C.S. Lewis

Developing your writing craft is not easy. As authors we stick to it because it’s our passion. The zeal with which we are connected is likened to a web but one in which we wish not to escape.

Many are the traditional thinking that authors hardly make money, let alone survive while working on their craft. But what do you say to the likes of Stephen King, Poet Maya Angelou, Harry Potter’s J.K. Rowling and countless others. You may say that they are successful because they are well known. Banish that thought and delve into the story of Stephen King who was rejected so many times that he actually threw in the trash his best selling novel. Were it not for his wife, the world would not have enjoyed this story’s amazing work.

So here I share excerpts of my presentation on the topic of “From Books to Bucks”, held at the South Florida’s Writers Book Festival.

Books 2 Bucks

Write Quality Work
Books can have babies. Think of workbooks, series, and so much more
Convert your book to Audio
Create an audience through tapping into Podcast listener-ship
Translate your Book into a different language. Oh the new audience it brings
Convert your book to film, movie, documentary
Written non-fiction? Immense business opportunities exists. Think of workshops, Spoken-Word, how-to events and more
In the arts? Use your book as the stepping stone to fashion and design
Want to develop and grow your passion? Stick with the right people
Become a Conference Speaker. Share your expertise
Don’t sit on it, enter your book for an Award

Want to go from Books to Bucks, Select from the list, focus your craft on the point(s) you believe you will get best win, then promote, promote, promote. Marketing your work is the key to success and it does not have to cost you a ton. Use social media wisely. It can help you grow into something you never thought you could be.

I end with encouraging you to Be Serious about your craft. SHOW UP and promote, promote, promote.

Cheers!

Why Writers Write…10 Reasons

img_5189-1

I write because there’s something in me that needs to come out. I am at peace when I write. Writers write for many different reasons. Some personal, experiential, or environmental. Christine Caldalzo created a pictogram of 10 reasons writers write. Here I share 10:

10 Reasons Writers Write

They love to write
To express their thoughts
To communicate
To share experiences
To tell about events
To share their feelings
To persuade
To teach
To Ask Questions
They want something

Does any of the above resonate with your reason(s) to write? Any missing that you would like to add? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

Finding Purpose On The Hill…

Reflections On the Hill. Years ago I did my research and published Book On Success Strategies of Leaders to help those rising stars find their way. Since then I became involved in the Institute of Caribbean Studies work in Washington DC. I have been on Capitol Hill, the White House, Senate and serve as Judge for the Ignite Caribbean 30 Under 30 Award. All this because I believed in a cause.

Today, I implore you to go after your goals, dreams and aspirations. Do whatever you want. With hard work and dedication it will come through.

Cheers!

The Biggest Challenge Writers Face….

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

― Maya Angelou

A public writers forum asked the question “what is the single biggest challenge you as a writer face?” Here I share responses as writers chimed in:

Writing everyday
Marketing
Not enough erasers
Find an agent
A full-time job that isn’t
Learning all the required skills – writing, editing, cover art, publishing, marketing, salesmanship, accounting …
Identifying my audience
Details
Time
Reviews
Getting books sold
Selling myself
Lethargy
Butt in chair
Discipline
Marketing costs. Dispite what some may say, it is expensive to self-publish. Editor, copy editor, cover design, copyright, ISBN numbers, authors copies, advertising, website, domain name, contests, give-aways, and on and on it goes
Self-Doubt
Stay Motivated
Writers block

The list goes on. Are you a new or published author? Is anything missing? Do share. We would love to hear.

Need help? Let’s connect.

Cheers!

Write…

Write without pay until somebody offers to pay. ~Mark Twain

Keep writing

The ‘Very’Alternative For Those Who Write …

Style means the right word. The rest matters little.”
—Jules Renard

Remarkable resource shared in an Authors’ forum. Great ‘very‘ alternative for those who write.

A Writer’s Heart Desire…

Write. Read. Sleep. Wake. Write. Read. Sleep. Wake. The desires of a writer.

Books: Readers Share Their Top Getaway Reads…

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~Ursula K. Le Guin

We have all had our favorite books that we have read from a young age. Some have left an impact on our lives. On a B&N public forum, a reader asked “What Book has stayed with you long after you’ve read it?” Fellow readers poured in with responses. Here I share a few that may prove worthwhile for your vacation, getaway, or a mid-summer night’s read.

Man’s Search for Meaning
Pecan Man
The Power
We Were the Lucky Ones
The Book Thief
Before I Fall
The Lovely Bones
It Ends with Us
The Sparrow
The Lovely Bones
One Hundred Years f solitude
The Alchemist
Harry Potter
We Were Yours
East of Eden
The Chrysalids
The Bible
The Savage Song
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Notebook
The Outsiders
A History of Loneliness
Tell Me Your Dreams
The Art of War
The Graveyard Book
The Water Stone
The Secret
Gone Girl
Her
The Night Circus
Gone With the Wind
Fallen Angels
Unbroken
Beautiful Creatures
Crime and Punishment
The Power of Now
Beautiful Chaos
A Little Life
The Leisure Seeker
GreenLight
Jane Eyre
Tuesdays with Morrie
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Kite Runner
We Were Liars

Does any resonate? Can you add your favorite or two that may be missing? Do share. We’d love to hear.

Cheers!

Write Away…

I want to write away. Basically get away somewhere by the beach or surrounded by nature, water flowing, birds singing, peace, quiet and natural stones. Without a Cur, I’d just write and write.

Slow pace. No rush. Quiet clear thoughts. Write away to help others. Oh for the time to write…just write.