Here’s an internet article that should illustrate the power of never giving up. These famous people were initially rejected at first, but they believed in themselves … and the rest is history.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/55416/10-rejection-letters-sent-famous-people

Also, I came across this article a while back and found it again. It’s a list of famous authors and bestselling books that were initially rejected by publishers, sometimes many times. Some of the number of rejections are amazing.

Check it out here:

http://www.literaryrejections.com/best-sellers-initially-rejected/

Just wanted to share those with you. And I hope it inspires someone out there.

Back to work now, and I’ll post another blog soon. Until then …

I know I just shared an article about Kurt Vonnegut’s tips on writing, and if you click on the links in that article you can find tips from other great writers (like H.P. Lovecraft, Steinbeck, Henry Miller, Stephen King, and more), but I came across this article that lists 21 tips from Stephen King. These are from his book “On Writing.” Even though these tips are great, I still recommend reading “On Writing.” I’ve read it at least three times, and I find myself going back over it again and again. If you haven’t read it yet, then these tips might be a great place for you to start if you’re an aspiring author.

Here’s the link:

http://time.com/4031323/stephen-king-writing-advice/?xid=tcoshare

Enjoy, and if you have any comments please share.

Hope this helps someone … and until next time …

Someone shared this article with me, so I thought I would pass it along. These are eight tips on writing by the late Kurt Vonnegut. Here is the link:

http://ow.ly/SqhEU

I have read these eight tips before, but it never hurts to refresh.

Also in this article, there are links to other writers giving advice, including Stephen King from his book “On Writing,” which I still think is one of the best books about the craft of writing that I’ve ever read.

And “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White is also mentioned in this article. I feel that this very slim volume about the craft and grammar of writing is indispensable for a writer. If you could only have two books about the craft and grammar of writing (even though there are so many other great ones), you couldn’t go wrong with those two I just mentioned.

Enjoy the article, and please feel free to comment if you want to.

P.S. You can always join my e-mail list by clicking on the “e-mail sign up” words by scrolling down in the blog. I am going to be starting a newsletter very soon with more tips, articles, updates, and … well, I’m up for suggestions on other content.

Hope this helps … and until next time …

I wanted to give some writing tips over the next few months, some things that have helped me along the way, things I would like to share. So here’s the first one.

FORCING YOURSELF TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE THAT FIRST DRAFT

I’m not usually a big procrastinator – I like to get things done. I’m pretty organized, and I’m a list-maker. I love the satisfaction of checking things off of my weekly, monthly, and yearly list of things I want to get done (mostly having to do with writing).

But I will admit that there are times when I procrastinate about writing. I know I should just sit down and push through a tough spot in a novel I’m working on (Devil’s Island comes to mind as I mentioned in my previous post), but sometimes I’ll put the writing off and find something else to do.

Like anything else to do. I’ll clean the house. Go to the store. Check e-mail. Do some “research.” Reorganize the drawers of my desk.

One trick I’ve learned is to force myself to just start writing anything. And sometimes the computer is a little too daunting for this so I’ll get some notebook paper and a pen and just start jotting some things down, even writing down exactly what I’m stuck on in the story or novel. And sometimes, through the magic of just writing stuff down, the juices start flowing or floodgates open or the theatrical curtain in front of the mind’s eye opens (insert your own here), and soon I’ve written five or six pages and I can’t wait to open up the Word Doc and begin typing.

So, the next time you’re putting writing off, just sit down with some paper and a pen and just start writing. Write anything. Jot down some notes, outline a little – making it more and more detailed until you’re actually writing, do some character bios, write down exactly what you’re stuck on, or write a quick scene between two of the characters in your story – it doesn’t have to have anything to do with your story or novel, and it may never make it in there, but just through the act of writing, inspiration may come to you.

It’s worth a try the next time you’re stuck.

Hope this helps someone – and if you have any comments or suggestions for future posts, please feel free to share them.

Thanks … until next time …

I just wanted to let everyone know that my book THE SUMMONING is on sale for a short time for .99 cents on the Kindle.