9 ways to beat impostor syndrome

Maybe you’ve felt it before? The sinking sensation that you’re a big fat fake, and that very soon, the whole world will find you out? Relax, you’re not alone. Impostor syndrome, a term coined in 1978 by American psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, runs rampant among high achievers and creative people. This nagging sense that …
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Where do I get my next story idea?

In the last newsletter, I shared what was going on with me as I finished a project and began to psych myself up for writing the next book. For me, it’s a sometimes-awkward process, filled with stops and starts. I wondered how it was for other writers, and my musing must have struck a nerve. …
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3 ways to handle rejection

Rejection sucks. No bones about it. And it sucks for every writer, whether you’re pre-published or world-famous. The prolific Isaac Asimov once said, “Rejection slips, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil — but there is no way around them.” It’s easy to lose heart in the face …
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How to boost your storytelling with cinematic techniques

BEGINNINGS: Kicking It Off—That Super-Critical Opening Moment Where and how to start one’s yarn, including choosing the just right opening words for a novel, play or short story, selecting that optimum moment for the beginning of a screenplay or teleplay, and the crucially important first meeting between your fictional creation and your audience is — once …
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4 ways humor can help a serious story

It’s no secret that kids love to laugh.  (Adults, too.)  And as a consequence, funny stories always rank high on editors’ “must have” lists. If you possess a knack for writing humor, you’re well on your way to winning editors’ (and readers’) hearts.

But say you’re not the world’s greatest joke writer — in fact, you think …
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