I’m alone—in a quiet house—today, so I ate leftover chow mein for breakfast. That’s the sort of wild and crazy thing I do when left to my own devices. My youngest son, Daniel, is visiting from Nebraska and took some of the family to the Cincinnati Reds game in Oakland today. I stayed home to care… Continue reading Chow Mein for Breakfast
Tag: perfectionism
The #1 Killer of Creativity
For me, perfectionism is the #1 killer of creativity. Nothing I do ever meets my standards. Sometimes I lie and pretend I’m satisfied with the results. Sometimes I remember not to point out every fault and just smile and say thank you when I receive praise, but even when I do, I’m thinking of those… Continue reading The #1 Killer of Creativity
Ooo … ooo … I know this one!
Let’s play a little game, shall we? Linda: I’ll take felicitous discoveries for a thousand. Alex: I do have writing talent. Linda? Linda: What is … What did I discover while editing? Alex: Correct! If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you know I suffer from a lack of confidence in my writing… Continue reading Ooo … ooo … I know this one!
Writing mistakes?
I read an informative article yesterday by Pat Holt, an editorial consultant and former editor, describing 10 common writing problems and how to fix them. Now, my Ms. Perfect insists that I go back through my current work to check for these problems. But what of the fact that most of the mistake examples Mr.… Continue reading Writing mistakes?
Writing garbage, redux
It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly. - C. J. Cherryh At least once a week, I come to the conclusion that everything I write is garbage. Usually this realization is preceded by reading some brilliant piece of published fiction, at which point my inner critic Ms. Perfect, declares, "See?… Continue reading Writing garbage, redux