Jordan Rosenfeld is the author of the new book A Writer’s Guide to Persistence: How to a Create a Lasting and Productive Writing Practice, and I was excited to be able to spend 30 minutes with her discussing:
- How editors and agents want to be seduced — they WANT to say yes! — and how many writers muff it up by talking down about themselves.
- How to banish distraction — both the home kind and the Internet kind.
- Why you need a Writer’s Code, and how to create one.
- What it means to “go where you’re welcome” in your writing, and how it can help you get more freelance writing jobs.
- The biggest problem that keeps writers from succeeding.
- How to handle critiques without wanting to curl up into a fetal ball and cry.
- And much more!
You can download the PDF transcript here and download the podcast sound file here. Feel free to share these with your writer friends, and please do share on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!
Enjoy!
Still in the revision cave. The middle is a rough place to be but there is light at the end of the tunnel of this current novel project. Still on track to be finished with this particular novel this summer.
Currently I’m reading The Writer’s Guide to Persistence by Jordan Rosenfeld. She’s also the author of one of my favorite craft books Make A Scene , which I also highly recommend.
This book is for writers who want to start and preserve a writing practice. Persistence is the key along with finding ways to balance writing with the rest of your life.
I’m really loving the book so far. When I’m finished, I’ll be sure to share any gems that may also be helpful to you in your writing practice in another post.
For those of you on Twitter, you can follow the author @Jordanrosenfeld. She has a great hashtag #WritersGuide2Persistence where she gives great motivation and advice for keeping your writer’s practice on track.
Hope everyone is writing and that life is treating you well.
I'm jumping for joy! Rather than the usual struggle defining the Crisis of their stories, most of the writers today in our 16-week A PATH to PUBLISHING Plot Whisperer Workbook Series, not only nailed the crisis, they are also writing, facing fears, standing up for themselves, and one writer today even announced she felt not only is her writing improving, her entire life is, too. Oh, I am over-the-moon. I know, cliche. I'm giddy. I'm just so darn happy for the writers not only having survived this week -- defining and writing the crisis often sets off a personal crisis as well -- actually flourishing and transforming, too.
This workshop series is the first time I've had the pleasure of taking a group of writers page-by-page through Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories identifying, planning, plotting, doing the exercises, considering all the various plot elements, filling in Plot Planners and Scene Trackers for their own individual stories (along with Literary Agent Jill Corcoran with her amazing insight). Incredible experience for me. I'm so happy and fulfilled to believe the experience is proving helpful to the writers, too. I wish all writers using the workbook had such support. The urge to go back rather than forge ahead into the hell of the crisis is tough to overcome. Yet all the writers today proved that it's not only possible, the effort brings forth unexpected gifts.
Oh, and also today! My other inspired/inspiring cohort Jordan Rosenfeld and I are giving away Amazon gift cards as thanks for your patience while the WRITER PATH PLOT and SCENE RETREATS website was down. We're up and running again! Really looking forward to a blissful weekend at the end of May in the Redwood forest of the Santa Cruz mountains.
Today I write.
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PLOT WORKSHOPS and RETREATS
A PATH to PUBLISHING using the Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
Choose the NOVEL TRACK or the PICTURE BOOK TRACK for 4, 10 and 16-week workshops to ensure you understand concept, plotting, character development, scene development, action and emotional arc development, as well has how to pitch your work to agents, editors, and readers. Live online video chat technology. I recommend writers of all genres and all ages take at least one picture book plot workshop. Narrows all plot concepts down to 28 pages and 500 words for clarity.
WRITER PATH PLOT and SCENE RETREATS in the heart of the Santa Cruz MountainsYour story deserves to be told. Your writer’s soul needs to be nourished. Over a weekend you’ll learn how to identify and write the key lynch-pin scenes that build a page-turning story, master crucial scene types and go deeper into your plot by applying the three key layers that run through all great fiction: action, emotion and theme. Reserve your spot now for the 1st Annual Writer Path Retreat.
For more: Read my Plot Whisperer and Blockbuster Plots books for writers.
Jordan Rosenfeld is the author of the new book A Writer’s Guide to Persistence: How to a Create a Lasting and Productive Writing Practice, and I was excited to be able to spend 30 minutes with her discussing:
