Sometimes when we are on the road to excellence, we get a little tired. We wish we were already there. We wish the road had a literal signpost saying “You have made it, and you can officially stop worrying and consider yourself to be awesome.” We wonder if we should have chosen something easier to [...]
Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
There Is No Magic Bullet
Posted in Arts, Personal Development, Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, art, determination, excellence, practice, writing on February 7, 2012 | 2 Comments »
The Pursuit of Excellence, or How Becoming Awesome Takes More Than 30 Days
Posted in Arts, Life, Personal Development, Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, arete, commitment, excellence, focus, mastery, practice, priorities on February 2, 2012 | 13 Comments »
I have devoted my life to the pursuit of excellence. The Greeks called this areté, striving for excellence, living up to the best of one’s potential, and facing challenges with courage and persistence. I wanted to be the best student. I wanted to become a skilled singer. I wanted to travel around the world. I [...]
YA or Adult? How to Tell Them Apart
Posted in Science fiction and fantasy, Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, boy book, dystopia, girl book, narrative voice, POV, writing, YA on January 26, 2012 | 8 Comments »
I was talking to a new friend at Epic ConFusion about YA and the difficulties that many newcomers to the genre (especially those writers who started in adult markets) have in identifying it. This may be the reason why we keep getting these awful panels at sf/f cons that devolve into an hour-long discussion trying [...]
Enough with the Dead Dogs!
Posted in Science fiction and fantasy, Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, dead dogs, emotional manipulation, I love dogs, Nala, tropes, writers, writing on January 19, 2012 | 21 Comments »
My husband often reads out loud to me before we go to sleep. We most often read children’s classics and more recent middle grade novels because I want something interesting but not so exciting that I can’t go to sleep. We’d just finished a few books by Bruce Coville (if you’re interested in MG fiction [...]
So You Have a Writer Friend…Don’t Panic
Posted in Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, etiquette, writer myths, writers, writing on January 17, 2012 | 12 Comments »
I was having dinner with a friend the other day, and he mentioned that he hadn’t gotten around to reading any of my stories yet. He followed that up by saying that he was a little nervous to do so because they might reveal that disturbing things go on in my mind. (Newsflash: I’m a [...]
New Year Wishes
Posted in Life, Personal Development, Writing, tagged Backbone Project, health, people pleaser, perfectionism, priorities, travel, writing on December 27, 2011 | 2 Comments »
At this time of year, I always feel like I’m straddling the flow of time. Half of myself is looking backwards and evaluating what has gone on before, while the other half is looking forward to what the next year may hold for me. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions per say because I prefer [...]
2011 Life Lesson: Trust Yourself
Posted in Life, Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, creativity, don't think, Ray Bradbury, relax, taking risks, trust, writing on December 20, 2011 | 12 Comments »
I love the end of the year. Not only do I adore Christmas (it is my favorite holiday), but I like that it’s cold and it gets dark early, both of which encourage me to snuggle up indoors and reflect upon the year that is coming to a close. I plan to spend a lot [...]
If you want to write YA, please read it too.
Posted in Writing, tagged Amy Sundberg, Buffy, empathy, MG, Middle grade, reading, teens, writing, YA, Young Adult on December 1, 2011 | 11 Comments »
A friend of mine wrote me awhile back and asked me if I could write a post about resources for the YA writer. I’ll admit, I was stymied. In spite of the fact that I began writing in the YA genre, and as such it is my first true literary love, I realized I didn’t [...]
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