The Place of Persistence
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On†has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.â€
Calvin Coolidge
Quoted in The Australian 29th July 2006.
Shooting yourself in the foot: writers and agents
Ever shoot yourself in the foot?
Painful, I’d say.
Trouble is, many emerging or want to be writers do exactly that – shoot themselves in the foot. Not literally, mind you. Inexperienced writers spend months – perhaps years – writing their “literary masterpiece”, the novel to top all other novels, the book that will bring them fame and untold fortune. Then they fail to do basic research on how to submit a manuscript to a publisher or literary agent.
Kirsty Brooks, Adelaide author of crime and romance fiction, has published a very useful article on this very subject on her blog. She writes about some of the pitfalls, some of the problems and how to overcome them. Click on the link below to read the article.
Link:
- Submitting your writing to literary agents and editors – the distant sound of gunfire.
Idiom #10: As dead as a dodo
This week’s idiom:
“As dead as a dodo.”
Meaning:
If something is “as dead as a dodo” it is dead, extinct, no longer working, obsolete or out of date.
Origins:
The dodo was a large, rather strange looking bird. It lived on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Its name is Portuguese and means “silly” or “stupid.” European explorers and traders in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries found the flightless bird to be both easily caught and delicious to eat. This eventually brought about its extinction.
Example:
- “It is no use trying to use that old car,’ said James. “Its motor is as dead as a dodo.”
My writing goals for 2007
2 Comments »1st January, 2007; Category: The Writer's Life
Happy New Year to all my readers.
I hope that 2007 brings much satisfaction and success in your writing life.
I have never really been a person who makes New Year’s resolutions. I prefer to set some goals for my life, things that can be easily measured and where progress can be clearly demonstrated.
So here are a few of my writing goals for 2007:
My Writing Goals for 2007:
- To maintain regular posts on my three blogs.
- To write a total of 1000 posts on my blogs (up from 800 in 2006)
- To write for a total of 1500 hours during the year (up from 1400 hours in 2006).
- To average at least 1000 words per day for the whole year (up from 750 words per day in 2006).
- To submit to publishers the three novels for children I have already written.
- To submit to publishers the five picture book texts for children I have already written.
- To submit 10 poems to publishers.
- To submit 10 short stories to publishers.
What are your writing goals for this year?
Let me know in the comments section below.