Someone recently asked what I thought about Bob Dylan winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. Opinions among writers on the internet is certainly divided. Some feel there are plenty of accolades and awards for songwriters, and that Dylan has achieved more than his fair share of fame and fortune from the music industry, and that...
Tag: authors
Are You Living Your Art?
In late September, my cousin Geoffrey Beard passed away at the age of 54. He’d been battling a disease his whole life and fought it right up to the end. This was a man who passionately wanted to live and to live his art. And he did just that. Geoff was five years older than...
On Reaching Milestones
Monday I was speaking to a combined fifth-grade class about my author journey. I mentioned how I’d been identified as a good writer in fifth grade and how my teachers, family, and friends told me throughout my school years I should be a writer when I grew up. Then in my senior year, that all...
Should Artists Ever Get Political?
You know how sometimes a Hollywood actor speaks out about a cause, and the critics shout him down? “She gets paid to act,” people say, “not spout off about her opinions.” There’s a double standard when it comes to artists and politics. The message we receive is that we are “lucky” the public allows us...
A Truly Profound Statement
I’m in the mood to say something profound. Something you will quote for the rest of your lives. Something you will turn into Facebook posts and share with your friends. Something that will so inspire you, you will print off this blog post and put it on your refrigerator. You ready? Okay, here goes ....
In the Company of Artists – The Benefits of a Retreat
I’m up in the mountains this week on a writing retreat with a couple of friends. We hunker down and work during the day (emerging now and then for snacks or lunch) and stop in time for dinner. As writers, we are usually holed up in our home offices writing, researching, promoting, etc. But there’s...
The Age of the Artist/Entrepreneur
I read a very interesting article recently on theatlantic.com about the evolution of the “artist.” We started out as craftsmen or artisans, back in the times of Shakespeare and Bach. We were apprenticed to master artists, we were middle to lower class, we were selling our wares. We then moved into the period of artist...
You Know What’s Really Good for You?
We are bombarded daily with tips for how to live longer, healthier lives. How to treat our bodies better, bolster our minds, and nourish our souls. We’re supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day, get eight hours of sleep per night, eat our greens, meditate, take time for ourselves. Blah, blah, blah. I’ll...
40 Decisions a Day
A recent study found that mothers make 40 decisions a day! That’s 280 per week. Well heck, I could have told you that. But it got me thinking about artists and entrepreneurs. We easily make a like number of decisions in a single day. Some are big and some are small, but all seem so...
You Make It Look Easy
Beginner’s luck is defined as “unexpected success for someone who has taken up a new pursuit,” and we have all experienced it. For example, the first article I wrote after quitting my job to become a freelance writer was picked up immediately. The second article landed on the front page, and was quickly acquired for...