Monday Jump Start: Abigail Pogrebin's "Showstopper"

Start your writing week with a delicious little Kindle Single: In Showstopper, Abigail Pogrebin chronicles her experience as a 16 year old cast member (along with then 21-year old Jason Alexander) in Merrily We Roll Along, the show famous for being the only flop in the legendary repertoire of Steven Sondheim. In the first 400 words, we see the production falling apart around the company who's struggling to give it heart and soul. Pogrebin quotes from her journal: "Two weeks before opening we have a new lead..." A week later: "Tonight was the biggest walk out we've had yet..." The next day: "The choreographer was fired..."

Anyone who's done theatre will get the biggest laughs, but the tragicomic tale of this epic Broadway turkey goes to the heart of the creative struggle...

"The experience taught me that creativity takes audacity, that Utopia materializes, that failure can be survived. It was formative to see that songs - which underwhelmed some critics in 1981 - could become classics ten or twenty years later; that a bedeviled flop could become folklore, that art can keep breathing after it's declared dead, and even come to life again many times over."

Totally applicable to the writing life and well worth the tiny price of a Kindle Single, my new 99 cent addiction.

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Dr. Janece O. Hudson Gets Into Your Dreams

Boxing the Octopus Contest/Dream Advice Exclusive: Ask Dr. Hudson a question about your dreams in the comments below or simply post a comment to be entered in a drawing to take place on Friday, August 5th at noon CDT to win a copy of Into Your Dreams! Beginning this afternoon (Monday, 8/1) Dr. Hudson will answer your dream questions on a first-come, first-served basis in the comments section. Please include an e-mail address with your comment or check back at the blog on Friday afternoon so we can reach you if your name is drawn. -------------------- Right around the time I sold my first book, I was fortunate enough to meet Jan Hudson, the author of more than thirty romances and romantic comedies. During a shared meal at a writer's conference, I casually mentioned a vivid, terrifying dream that had repeatedly troubled me for months, something about continually being cut off on my commute to work by tornadoes dropping from the sky. That's when I learned of Jan's ...

Quick Tips from a Tightrope

The other day, I posted this sobering message on my Facebook and Twitter feeds: New writers don't want to hear it, but staying published is the hard part. Like trying to walk a tightrope in lard-slathered socks. The publishing biz had just given me another such reminder, with my former publisher (and holder of my entire in-print backlist) deciding to go all digital, at least in the near future and whittling down its editorial staff to nearly nil in response to dwindling sales. But even in the best of economic times, it's a huge challenge to keep one's career alive long enough to build an audience and prosper, especially for the grand majority of authors, who survive on the mid-list. (Big-time bestsellerdom has its own perils, but that's another post.) Yet somehow, I remain if not wildly optimistic, perpetually hopeful. Over the years, I've seen some very talented authors crash and burn with the fortunes of lousy covers, a line's or publisher's demise, or an ...

#TheStruggleIsReal Why I’m Not Mad That You Didn’t Hire Me (Freelance editor Jerusha Rodgers on a millennial dilemma)

Today we hear from Jerusha Rodgers (aka "The Plot Whisperer") of Rabid Badger Editing in a post prompted by a conversation about agism in publishing, which I see from the perspective of a, um...let's say "experienced" author/book doctor in my 50s and she sees from the perspective of a fresh new face in her mid-20s. Ironically, yes, she had to explain to me about "the struggle is real." Shortly after graduating, a friend of mine posted the greatest Facebook status ever: “I would love to reenact some the of the fantasies in Fifty Shades of Grey, specifically the one where she gets a full-time job straight out of college.” With an economy that clings to safety (read: tradition and money) and a workforce and community that strives for advancement (read: cooler, more accessible stuff), applicants whose limited practical experience is backed up by open minds and inherent expertise in the use of technology often get left out of the running. It’s the st...

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