Growth Mindset Archives - Page 4 of 9

July 25, 2020

Dr. Seuss Changed the World and You Can Too

Your attitude towards established rules says a lot about your inner workings as a creative. After all, rules are meant to be...broken? Enforced? Bent? Do the rules matter a great deal or do they not matter at all? What are the rules anyways when you want to express an idea? What are rules for entertaining? Rules for educating? What are the rules if you want to do something new? Something no one was ever bold enough to do? Living on the edge is different than living in the center. Dr. Seuss changed the world with his ideas and style of writing. But here's the real kicker. You can too.

July 18, 2020

Use Writing Prompts to Get Creative

Have you ever used writing prompts before? Most have. If you haven't, it's likely just a matter of time until you succumb to the cold, boring grasp of writer's block. Even if you are overflowing with ideas to write or blog about, writing prompts are still a powerful tool for writers of all experience levels. Here's how to use writing prompts most effectively.

July 11, 2020

Low Self-Worth is a Writer’s Archenemy

A fine line exists between self-interest and selfish. While the self-interested takes accomplishments, skills, needs, and wants of others into account as fuel for the pursuit of something remarkable, a selfish mindset views everyone and everything as a hindering comparison. Have you ever heard the saying, "If only the best birds sang in the forest, the world would be a quiet place"? This truth applies dramatically to us humans and it all starts at what we believe about ourselves. Is your view of yourself high or low?

July 4, 2020

Discipline Makes You a Great Writer

It's not in the beauty of the day that we writer's toil and strive but in the coolness of night and tiredness of eye. In the struggle of fear and the paralysis of wonder, a yearning writer fights for survival. Exhausted but not spent. Lacking but not empty. Discipline, a writer's best friend, leads us to accomplishment. It takes us by the hand when challenges abound. Do you look around and see not discipline? Is repetition, frequency, and consistency far away? Grab hold of discipline and renew your passion to write. Discipline makes you a great writer.

May 24, 2020

Great Stories Leave Lasting Impressions

There are two primary camps when it comes to story telling - content generation and content consumption. Reader or writer. Baker or eater. Sure, we all do both, but one drives us. One we research. One we have goals and dreams about. The other is simply other. Regardless of the camp, lasting impressions are a game changer in the world of content. Here's why we should care and what we must do if we hope to leave lasting impressions with our readers.

October 14, 2019

Picture Book Critique Fest #PBCritiqueFest 2019

Fall is a fantastic season for writing. Coming off the tails of the KitLit Fall Writing Frenzy and taking us to the tip of NaNoWriMo in November is the Picture Book Critique Fest #PBCritiqueFest. With 37 industry participants (literary agents, authors, and illustrators) and 35 valuable giveaway prizes (manuscript and dummy critiques), this is one writing contest you can't afford to miss. Did I mention it's completely free?!

October 7, 2019

KidLit Fall Writing Frenzy 2019

When was the last time you entered a writing contest? You may think you aren't good enough to win. Many people think that. You may not know where to start. Most people don't. The best thing you can do is be open to opportunity. And guess what? Opportunity is knocking. Today is all about KidLit Fall Writing Frenzy where loads of prizes are up for grabs for whoever is willing to be bold.

October 5, 2019

How Audiobooks Became a Powerful Format to Sell Books

It's hard to imagine a world without audiobooks and only those 89 years old or above (not exactly my target audience) could personally remember such a time. The audiobook revolution was an unexpected, slowly adopted medium for book sellers that is now responsible for more than $1 Billion in U.S. revenue.

September 21, 2019

Holding Back Your Best Work

We hold ourselves back all the time. We bite our tongue in a meeting when we know we should speak up. We keep our writing private instead of letting it help someone else. We pretend our artwork is just doodles to ensure we aren't hurt if no one wants to buy it. Holding back isn't just about fear of rejection. Holding back is an identity crisis.

September 20, 2019

Is it Time to Make a Radical Change?

Change isn't scary. It's terrifying. Radical change even more so. We are hardwired for consistency. We take the same route from home to work and back again, telling ourselves it's because it's the shortest path. Not true. We are not agents of change even if we pretend to be sometimes. We are agents of consistency. Agents of repetition. But should we? What if that which feels most comfortable and natural to us is bad for us? What if the change, a radical change, is the best thing we can do?