I’ll begin with a John Dryden wrote: “If you be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams – the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.” Brevity includes the marvelous art of saying more with less. Most people appreciate writers and speakers who know how to be brief. That’s why…
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Commitment = Setting Yourself up for Success
Success is dying knowing you did your best every single day. I have these words taped to the front of my planner which means I read them 3 to 5 times every single day. Every time I read it, it resonates deeply with me. Death is so final which is the reason that it is…
National Poetry Month—Not Just for Poets!
April is National Poetry Month. So why should that matter to fiction writers? Because poetry is the marriage of words and ideas, blending the two together to create something greater than the sum of their parts—which is exactly the same thing fiction does. Personally, I believe reading poetry (and, if you choose, writing the occasional…
PICTURING HISTORY: Finding Stories in Photographs
When I wrote my historical novel, My Heart Lies Here, I did as much research as I could about the Ludlow Massacre in Trinidad, Colorado. The Ludlow Massacre took place in 1914 when the United Mine Workers of America organized a strike of the coal miners of John D. Rockefeller’s Colorado Fuel & Iron Company….
A Winning Workshop Proposal
Thank you to all the writers from our community and beyond who submitted proposals for the Colorado Gold Conference. As I finish my third year on the workshop selection committee, I’d like to share some insights on what makes a winning proposal. Best of luck to all this year! It was an honor to review…