Monday, February 26, 2007

keep the faith...

last night at the Oscars a number of winners thanked people "who believed in them" even when they didn't believe in themselves.

talent is a good thing. motivation, determination, and plain old stubbornness will propel you towards your dreams.

but to succeed you have to surround yourself with people who care. because there's always going to be critics to tear you down, make your dreams seem silly or superficial. ever hear: "been there done that" ? or even: "forget it, it'll never happen" ?
you need the reasoned and seasoned advice of supportive friends.

who are you surrounded by? friends or enablers?

Friday, February 23, 2007

a challenging press release...

Writers Work Together to Challenge One Another
Professional and Beginning Writers Face Off to Market their Businesses and Help Each Other Succeed

The Working Writer’s Coach is at it again. After issuing and facilitating a 40-article challenge to several freelance writers in the last quarter of 2006, Suzanne Lieurance has partnered in a strategic alliance with freelancer writer-editor Kristen King for a New Year’s Article Challenge.

Twenty-five writers have accepted the challenge and are competing for the finish line to reach the goal of writing 30 articles between February 1 and March 31, 2007.

Participants come from all over the world. So far, writers from across the USA, Canada, and even Australia have become part of those to accept the challenge. Some are professional freelance writers who have taken the challenge in spite of their schedules being filled with paying clients. Others are newbies who are writing for article directories for the first time.To spark the competitive spirit of these writers, a progress report is given in weekly updates to everyone in the challenge as well as to those on King and Lieurance’s subscriber lists.

In order to boost the number of views the articles receive, the writers participating in the challenge “rank” and comment on one another’s articles at ezinearticles.com. Lieurance and King also offer a free 21-day mini-course called Tips for Effective Article Marketing to help writers complete the challenge. Anyone can subscribe to the mini-course at http://www.the-working-writers-coach.blogspot.com/ or http://www.inkthinker.blogspot.com/.

After the 2006 challenge, the writers who participated compiled an eBook of articles they wrote during the contest. Each writer is using that ebook as a marketing tool and as a gift to subscribers of his/her newsletter.

You have to wonder if this challenge is really a competition or collaboration. It’s intended to be both. For more information or to be notified of the next challenge date, please contact Suzanne Lieurance at suzanne@workingwriterscoach.com.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

hungry for books?

if you're hungry for the offbeat book or you're ready to try something new, let's do a FREE* book exchange.
sadly, the average book sells only 500 copies--seems unfair. blockbuster bestsellers don't always belong on the New York Times' list. so let's make sure our favorite works of literature get circulated--even better if it's your own work.

if there's enough of us, it could turn into a cyber book club. the possibilities are endless.

write a quick e-mail saying what you want to read or if you want to be surprised, and we'll work out the details. there's a good book in your future!

the address: novelist2be@excite.com (all correspondences will be kept private)
*postage is your only expense, unless you're mailing war & peace.

Friday, February 16, 2007

actions speak louder...

in the recent snow storms that have hit a major portion of the country, there have been countless acts of kindness. a free tow, a bottle of water, a ride to the nearest gas station, a push, a jump to get an old car started. but the only thing that makes headline news--the only thing aired again and again are the crashes, the horrible traffic, the unhappy burden of digging out and chipping away the ice. the downside of snow.
why?
because we are not as captivated by good as we are by horror.
still, kindness will be remembered by those who received it long after the newsreels are archived.

Friday, February 9, 2007

fat, happy and pretty...

Anna Nicole Smith died yesterday, Feb 8. And the word being used to describe her end is "tragic."
so many used her as the proverbial "whipping boy." mocking her, barely concealing their jealousy. who doesn't want to live like a movie star? don't we all dream of doing whatever we want? no matter how outrageous, crude or otherwise tasteless we want that "freedom." Smith lived out a lot of our fantasies.
a friend joked that everyone we knew was on a diet and/or desparately trying not to grow old. "oh yes," she said, "we all want to die fat, happy and pretty."
Smith was surrounded by enablers, struggled with weight problems, addictions and unhappy relationships but she still smiled and joked and shocked her way into media front page. maybe she was just being herself.
are we sorry she's gone?
do we want to be fat, happy, and pretty (or handsome) at the end?

Thursday, February 1, 2007

gotta love quirky science...

science is truly a paradox. one year eggs are bad. the next, they're okay. one year Pluto is a planet. The next, it is not.
Some great quirky science stories:
--runners who wear high heels for several minutes a day may strengthen their lower leg muscles.
--going to the doctor can make you sick. the nasty secret: not all docs wash their hands in between patients.
--so-called enviro-friendly bug repellants are toxic to children.
--there are more carcinogens in dryclean clothing than lawn chemicals (and we dont wear our lawns)