Welcome back my friends and Happy Monday! I know, Mondays are not our favorite days but hey, it beats pushing up daisies, so Happy Monday!
Today we talk about the growth of you as a writer. Check out the quote and then we’ll chat a bit.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The joy of life consists in the exercise of one’s energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal.”
Aleister Crowley
“To stop means simply to die.” Heavy words for sure, but how do they apply to your writing career?
I have harped and I have harped on expanding your writing abilities and continually building your writer’s platform. I am about to harp some more.
We will begin with the assumption that you all have some game with regards to writing. You all can write an intelligent sentence and you all have the ability to use grammar and construct a paragraph that would make Sister Mary Yardstick proud….but what’s next? What is the next step you need to take?
This is a competitive business my friends, and if you ain’t growing you ain’t going anywhere. Everyone wants instant success but few are willing to put in the time and effort to attain success. Writers sign up for HubPages and then wonder why they aren’t earning passive income after three months. Writers submit articles that they wrote ten years ago and wonder why magazine editors don’t get back to them singing their praises. Writers churn out recipes or how-to articles in a matter of a couple hours and wonder why nobody is reading them.
There are no short cuts in the writing game. You either improve and grow or you stagnate and slip into obscurity. How’s that for blunt?
TIP OF THE DAY
Constantly look for ways to become a better writer. Take a sentence at random and ask yourselves how you can re-write that sentence so it is better. Go back and look at one of your old articles and ask yourselves how you can improve it. Step out of your comfort zone and attempt a new genre of writing. Do something each and every day to expand your abilities and give yourselves a better chance at success.
SITE OF THE DAY
I gave you this on Friday and I’m giving it to you again. This is a great monthly competition that is free to enter, and if you win it will look great on your resume/platform. Freestyle Writers.com is the site and you can find it here. Do yourselves a favor and check it out.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
What would make you a better writer? Serious question and one each of you should be asking yourselves.
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Let your imagination roam free…..what do you think of when you see this picture?
OFFER OF THE DAY
I keep making this offer and so far only one person has expressed an interest in it. I am inviting you to guest blog for the day here or on my other blog, A Moment With Bill. Just send me an email with your blog to holland1145@yahoo.com and I’ll give you a byline and a moment of cheap fame. J The more you expand your audience the more your platform grows.
HAVE A GREAT DAY
You know me by now, so you know I’m serious when I say I want you all to succeed, but success comes with a price. Pay the price of just be a diary writer the rest of your life. I respect diary writers for they are writing for the pure joy of writing….but….if you actually want to find financial success in writing, then you have to step up to the plate and take your practice swings.
I’ll see you all tomorrow. Thanks, as always, for stopping by.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
You are so right about constantly growing and evolving as a writer and just as a person in general. Couldn’t agree with you more and strive daily to push myself to new limits as I can. Thanks for these motivational words and seriously hope you are having a great Monday now!! 🙂
Exactly, Janine….growing as a person by definition means we want to grow as a writer as well…..stagnation kills. 🙂 Thank you and enjoy your Monday…it’s the only one you get this week.
Happy Monday Bill. I every once in a while find myself itching for something new–and am there right now, I am thinking about working with a new group of poets–I am feeling like a need to do something a bit different to make the next leap in my writing–we’ll see what shakes out–
Audrey, good morning, and I’m applauding your words right now. Good for you! Growth will come from your decision no matter what happens. 🙂
Well said as usual, Bill.
I too gotta march in different directions and explore all genres of writing. Sometimes, I find my blog very boring so can understand my readers…lol
Happy Monday!
Ruchira, I don’t find your blog boring, but I understand what you are saying. Good luck finding new directions and thank you for stopping by. Happy Monday to you my friend.
Hi Bill!
Just wondering about the monthly contest mentioned above. I did check out the link but am a bit confused. Is there a topic we are supposed to write about? Or do we just choose our own? Can it be something already published on Hubpages? There aren’t any guidelines.
Hey Karen,
There are no guidelines for that contest and yes, you can use a hub that you have written. It is a free for all so choose your best work and go for it….and thanks for stopping by.
Hi, Bill. sorry i haven’t been by lately, but, been doing my best to put out fires. I do believe they’re out and almost all the adrenaline is out of my body. lol.
i do believe you want everyone to succeed, and i find it hard to believe that people actually resort to such ridiculous measures. Do they really think they have hope?
well. i spent 8 hours writing my book today, and got all the way thru the toughest scene yet!
i feel liberated!
Great post as usual
Leslie, eight hours writing your book? Talk about a marathon woman. 🙂 Well done my friend. I”m glad all the fires have been put out; nobody needs that type of nonsense in their lives.
Thanks for stopping by my busy friend.
One benefit of being in a writers’ group is the opportunities on offer to try something new. We’ve recently had a guest speaker in who challenged us to write a poem before she left. It proved what I had always known: I totally suck at poetry. Then there’s the ‘on the spot’ writing. It’s similar to your ‘Prompt of the Day’ in that we are presented with random objects and then given 20 minutes to come up with a story. It was my first attempt at sci-fi and because of the short time, it ended up as a bit of a cliff hanger. I have been asked by the other members of the group to please finish it as they have to know what happened next. I’ve been trying to do just that but I’m damned if I know where to go with it.
It’s important to keep exploring other venues and genres. You never know where you’re next story is going to come from so keep moving.
Zulma, good for you for being in that writer’s group…poetry my friend? You can’t possibly suck as badly as I do at it. LOL
Thanks Bill. The hard blunt truth is what I need to hear it today and you are the second person I’ve heard it from today. Off to check out your other blog. Have a super day!
Mel, you work so hard and you want it so badly….I am rooting for you daily from 6000 miles away. Thank you my friend.