Hoover Article and Tips

I ran across this article (see HERE) about Colleen Hoover and her "CoHort." I really enjoyed reading it and got a lot out of it. It could be that have just gone a long time without reading or writing with the aim toward novel writing or publishing (we can blame this PhD on that), but it was refreshing to read this and dream about writing more creatively again. 

There is nothing too revolutionary in this article or in what the author outlines about Colleen Hoover's methods and techniques, but what is there is worthwhile to remember for any writer. 

More On Priorities

A while back, I wrote about priorities… And I think I want to expand on that just a bit more.

Terms of self-authorship one of the more important things I've learned is about ill-structured problems. The world is filled with ill-structured problems. And earlier I also wrote about ill-structured people. Basically what I meant by that was there are people out there who create  . . . by their very nature . . . ill-structured problems. I coined the term ill-structured people and I hope I can trade the market and make some money off of it very soon.

I've also authored the terms . . . "complifiers" and "complify." A play on the word simplify that I'm still stunned hasn't gone viral yet. 

Leave No Man Behind . . . (But leave 8 if you have to)

Last month I wrote about the somewhat abbreviated ending of the first book in the WEB Griffin’s The Corps series of books. Well I just finished Call to Arms, the second in the series, and the ending was vastly different. 

First, the end is not abbreviated. In fact the entire book leads up to the climactic ending quite well. So from a story and book point of view, this second was far better paced and set up than the first. 

Down Time

So I have a bit of down time. Not a ton, but just a bit. What do I mean by that? I mean my classes are over and I have about a month before my next two or three classes begin. So, what am I doing with this little bit of extra time?

I’m reading.

Another First Line and Series

I won’t go through it again, except to say I like the first lines series (see HERE). It’s one of my favorite to keep in these posts, but they’re also, at the moment 

I like to read these books to allow my mind to rest and to enjoy reading again. They're fun and they're easy and quick. They're also a bit of a formula. 

She's Not Saying Anything (at all)

I heard an instrumental the other day. It was an acoustical and instrumental version of A Great Big World's Say Something. The songwriters, Mike Campbell, Ian Axel, and Chad Vaccarino are obviously soulmates with me. They have had the same experience in life that I have, obviously. 

The lyrics aren't necessarily complex, but they are deep. They resonate with me. 

Lonesome Dove First Line

 The other day I wrote that Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books (see HERE). Has to be. I even checked the tickmarks in the book . . . it says it was only 3 times. But I know it's more than that. I'm going with 5. 

WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake—not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling around looking for shade when it ran into the pigs. They were having a fine tug-of-war with it, and its rattling days were over. The sow had it by the neck, and the shoat had the tail. 

First Line at the Mo

First line right now? It’s from a little novel I’m reading just for fun. Is it perfect? No. Is it okay? Sure. Does it make me want to read more. Sure. 

 I’ll read the rest, but it might not be for sake of the first line. It’s a good-ish one, but not the best ever. 

First Lines Second Time

 This will be my second time to start a first lines post. The first time was for the other blog (see HERE) and it was one of my favorite series. 

I read a blog post by Jay Nordlinger and all he did was talk about the importance of great first lines. I ho-hummed it. I think the totality of the work matters so much more than that first line. I've changed my mind. The first line, the first passage, the first paragraph, the first chapter, they're all critical. 

Priorities

I was thinking about priorities. There was a podcast wherein they discussed how much work there is out there to be done. Basically if you have a worker, we have the work for em. I think about my folks at work. They are overwhelmed with work. They have to prioritize. 

Then I also think about that gal who came to work a few weeks back, new on the job. By the middle of the morning she had her head down on the desk bored and exhausted. She looked up and said, “is there any room for advancement at this job?” All of my advancement, and the advancement I promote comes by way of more work. Her words should have been, “anything I can help with?” Overload yourself with work, and the advancement will come.