by AnnSheybani | Apr 17, 2017 | Life, Writing
I was browsing LinkedIn this morning when I came across a Steve Chandler quote. (If you don’t know Steve, you really should.) It went something like this: Discipline has nothing to do with personality, it has to do with practice. In other words self-discipline... by AnnSheybani | Apr 9, 2017 | Writing
Lately, I’ve had my head in manuscripts just rife with purple prose. Purple prose, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is writing that’s so extravagant, ornate, or flowery, it breaks the flow and draws excessive attention to itself. Purple prose is... by AnnSheybani | Apr 3, 2017 | Writing
ADVICE TO WRITERS by Billy Collins from Sailing Alone Around the Room (Random House) Even if it keeps you up all night, wash down the walls and scrub the floor of your study before composing a syllable. Clean the place as if the Pope were on his way. Spotlessness is... by AnnSheybani | Feb 26, 2017 | Reading, Uncategorized, Writing, writing lessons
I’m a huge fan of re-purposing. The question I always ask, lazy git that I am? How can I turn something I’ve spent eons creating into ten other things with next to no additional work? If you’re a podcaster or someone who otherwise interviews folks on a regular basis,... by AnnSheybani | Feb 22, 2017 | Writing, writing lessons
It was Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River who admonished us fledgling writers to knock off all the research when working on our books. He’d just gotten a huge movie deal, Clint Eastwood was directing, so there he was at Harvard telling us all how he got to... by AnnSheybani | Feb 17, 2017 | guest post, Writing
As part of a series of posts showcasing the different subjects, styles, and voices of my clients, I’d like to introduce you to Janice Dean, who teaches folks how to bypass fear and create a powerful speaking presence in six seconds. (Seriously, I would have...
