by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Jul 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
Maybe you already knew that. I didn’t. Or perhaps I should say I never really thought about it until my good friend Annie L. Cechini sat at my plastic folding table in my makeshift office and said those words as we chatted life and writing.Hope and...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | May 17, 2011 | Beautiful Things, When Life Hurts
I’m going “off” posting schedule, but I needed this today. A long time ago I received the following link from a friend of mine and immediately fell in the love with the song (Freckles – Natasha Bedingfield). I hope you’ll take a moment to...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Apr 28, 2011 | The Writing Life
Drawing by Annie L Cechini, used with permission 1. Don’t write down the awesomesauce idea when it hits you. Instead, wait a week. Let it sit, simmering—you tell yourself—when in reality you’ve only succeeded in boiling the water into nothingness and scorching the...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Apr 21, 2011 | On Craft, The Writing Life
I’ve been helping a friend with revisions recently and found myself getting bogged down in the little stuff—punctuation, word placement, em dashes (crazy pet peeve of mine)! This is fine when it comes time for line edits, but when you’re looking at the grand scheme of...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Apr 14, 2011 | The Writing Life
In a recent conference, I listened to a speaker discuss the idea that through small efforts great things can happen. He shared a story I’d like to repeat here: Oftentimes we are like the young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Mar 31, 2011 | Beautiful Things, The Writing Life
Janice Hardy asked an interesting question on her blog the other day: “What have authors done that made you want to learn more about their book?” It’s had me thinking a LOT about who I am and who I want to be when it comes to my writing. It’s...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Feb 15, 2011 | The Writing Life
“For aspiring writers who have been looked upon with pitying condescension by their friends and relatives [writing courses and seminars are] a wonderful thing. In writing classes, if nowhere else, it is entirely permissible to spend large chunks of your time off...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Jan 31, 2011 | On Craft, The Writing Life
Donatello: The perimeter’s quiet. Leonardo: Yeah, a little too quiet. [Donatello knocks out two Foot soldiers] Donatello: Well, that was easy! Leonardo: Yeah, a little too easy. Donatello: Look! It’s Raph! Michelangelo: Yeah, a little too Raph. If you...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Jan 28, 2011 | The Writing Life
You’ve heard it. I know you have. Several sources shouting the importance of social networking. Various agents, publishers and writers discussing the need for an online, active presence in the writer world. It’s how we get to know industry, craft and...
by D.B. Smyth | @DB_Smyth | Jan 24, 2011 | Beautiful Things, The Writing Life
Just a little note today. I can’t seem to get my mind off a little tidbit of treasure I received from an 18-year-old girl. In a letter to me she said this, “If we succeed, great! If not, we can redefine the word ‘success’ until it matches...
