Writer's Remorse

When I was in high school, pondering future career choices, I didn't consider becoming a writer.  To me, a writer was someone who wrote fiction books or worked at a newspaper.  It was only years later, when I started exploring the possibility of supplementing my income with writing work that I discovered the full scope of opportunities open to someone who can craft a good sentence.  Although I dream of winning a Pulitzer, or breaking a story as a hard nosed investigative journalist, these goals are unlikely to ever bear fruit because it's not where my talents lie.

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Is your blog unloved?"Dead" blogs are one of my pet peeves.  Especially when the now unloved blog had enough good content to still pop into the search results for niche keywords.  I click on a promising link, only to find the post is from 2004... and is one of the most recent entries!  Broken links, dusty designs and out of date contact details just add to frustration when I am researching a particular topic.  I often wish there was a rule that any blog that didn't post at least once a month would be labelled as "out of date" within Google.

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Seth Godin has been prodding my work ethic with his blog posts recently.  He has a knack for putting into black and white blog form what my own little Jimminy Cricket has been chirping about for ages.  The thing is that I find it a lot harder to ignore a successful entrepreneur and writer like Seth than I do my own tiresome and repetitive conscience.  Two things really came to the forefront of my writing troubles this week and both were based on a lack of proper motivation.  I wonder how many other writers out there empathize with these issues?

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A short interview with one of my favorite authors, Margaret Atwood.

'Tis the season for writing competitions it seems!  Following hot on the heels of the Bridport Prize and the Trazzler travel writing contest, Writer magazine have announced their new short story contest.  Being run in conjunction with the Gotham Writer's Workshop the contest offers some great prizes, including cash up to $1000, free writing workshops and seminars, and subscription to The Writer. Read more

Last week we mentioned the Bridport prize for 2010 - a great chance to earn some serious money and acclaim.  However, if fiction or poetry aren't quite in your niche, then the perhaps you can turn your hand to some travel writing for the Trazzler Writing Contest.  Trazzler is a top destination website for travellers looking for great reviews, insider knowledge and travel tips.  There are five categories: Foodie Temples, Read more

If, like me, you found that life got in the way of your writing career in 2009, and are trying to get your plans back on track, then here are some words of wisdom from some great sources of writing advice.

Andy Hayes lists the top ways to improve your writing in this guest post on Get Paid to Write, including Get Feedback, Read a Book and Get Organized.  Hm, well the last item is certainly one that I need to work on as my schedule ramps up. Read more

bridport prizeIf you have a competitive streak, enjoy a challenge or just relish the idea of pocketing roughly $8,000, you will be happy to know that The Bridport Prize 2010 website is now open for entries!  Now in it's 36th year, this writing contest offers real financial and career help to new and aspiring writers.
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One of the world¡s greatest storytellers and best selling authors of all time, Stephen King, shares his writing advice with students at Yale University.  A few years old now, King's simple, straightforward advice is still worth a listen for any creative writer.

There is a whole host of great writing related videos to be found online, from interviews with authors, to podcast classes, to how-tos from published authors and editors.  Here,  Joyce Carol Oates shares some information about how to create realistic characters.