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Blog
Blog
“Il faut cultiver notre jardin,” —Voltaire
For those of us who don’t do fancy French, this means:
“We must cultivate our garden,” says Pangloss at the end of Voltaire’s Candide.
No sentiment could be truer for women who write. Stop focusing on the whole wide world. Instead, maintain a space that is your own and encourages the fruits of your labors to blossom.
But the process of growing our garden requires the right tools. Reading this blog and learning how to revise your own stories could help you cultivate your garden, obtain peace of mind, and establish your writing legacy. Happy reading and writing!
Looking for a specific writing topic? Search the entire blog below.
Why I Quit Social Media—It’s All About Knowing Your Audience
I still have social media icons on my website.
And you can look up my social presence. Weeeeelllll, you can find an older version of me on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but I don’t update my social media much these days. Maybe that will change. But my writing pause during COVID caused me to rethink my social media identity. Not only did I have less time to post with a toddler at home 24/7, but I also needed to clarify my audience.
Writers Who Need Readers Who Like Writers
Overwhelmed by the generosity I find in the Writer’s Universe on Twitter, I wanted to promote other writers. But how?
I had to use what I know: Writers need readers.
Not just your ideal readers—those raving fans who will buy everything attached to your brand and follow you off a mountainside. But you’ll also need a slew of readers and editors before you get published.
Why I Quit My Writing Group
I’ve bailed on not one, but several writing groups. (And not over the lack of good snacks, either.)
What was that famous Groucho Marx line? I wouldn’t join any group that would have me as a member.
I left one group because I didn’t want to read my miscarriage story to a room full of men. I’ve left others because the focus was solely on socializing.
“Can encouragement and practical advice exist side-by-side?”
Sesame Street, Nudists, and Your Unintended Audience
Sesame Street may appeal to children and adults alike, but adults were never Sesame Street’s ideal audience. So how has this long-running show not only captured the interest of children since 1968 but their parents’ interest, too?
The answer is: ignoring them.
Sesame Street never needed us, adults. At least not initially.