While we’re in that period between people receiving their scores and critiques from the contest, and preparing for pitch sessions at the conference, this seems like a good time to talk about rejection. If you’re engaged in an artistic endeavor like writing, rejection is almost inevitable. There are a few people who get published right…
Category: General Interest
Husband, Father, Friend, Author & Mentor
As a BYU creative writing teacher, Dave championed many famous authors including:
Genre Hopping
A friend of mine recently told me she has started writing in a whole new genre. It definitely wasn’t a career change I would have expected. Her previous books have been long, complex stories written in an elegant, almost literary style. Now she has decided to write in a genre that is much lighter and…
The Writer As Serial (Book) Monogamist
Very early in my career, when I was visiting there for my class reunion, I held a booksigning at a bookstore in my hometown in Iowa. There were few interested customers. The store manager, obviously thinking to cheer me up, told me a story about how author Robert James Waller had held a booksigning there…
Fear of “Promotional” Rejection
Although the words don’t always come as fast as I like, I seldom experience writer’s block. But I constantly struggle with “promotion block”. I tell myself I need to promote and set things in motion to start but then I never follow through. When my last book came out in the fall, I made some…