Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

How to Cope with Writer’s Self Doubt

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I would start writing, and then say, "This is no good. No good at all." Does that sound familiar? In an interview in April's The Writer, playwright Christopher Durang explains how he coped with those nagging feelings that all writers get: After my mother passed way, I got a commission from the Phoenix Theatre... At the time, I said I was going to write a play in which everyone in the world was … [Read more...]

Get a corgi, never shower alone

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I love my Welsh Pembroke Corgi, Clementine, but lately, she's been a little clingy. Maybe she has cabin fever. Our walks have been a bit short this winter. As long as it's over 18º F and there's no wind, I've been bundling up and taking her for a walk through the cemetery, which is a block away, where it's dry and ice free, unlike all the sidewalks in my neighborhood. Just the same, we are both … [Read more...]

Get Close to your Readers through Point of View

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In any story, there’s a narrator that is separate from the writer. Point of view concerns how the narrator tells the story, and this will determine how close the relationship between the narrator and reader will be. Each point of view, from first person to third to second works differently to move the reader, and through the manipulation of point of view (POV), a writer can create intimacy or add … [Read more...]

Let your children be who they are

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Support comes in different forms I was sharing some fabulous photos of my mother, who passed away in 2013, when a childhood friend asked me if she was supportive of my writing. My first impulse was yes. Then I had to rethink the question. Was she really? It didn't always seem so. It's true my mother more than tolerated my creative pursuits. She supplied me with pencils, paints, scissors, glue, and … [Read more...]

Small vs. Indie Presses in Publishing

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Is there a difference between a small press and an indie publisher? Or are they the same thing? Independently owned At one time, small press and independent (indie) press meant the same thing: a publisher that is independently owned, and operates independent of large publishing corporations. More and more, though, writers say their books are indie-published instead of using the term … [Read more...]