Blog Posts
Terrible Article in Salon Romanticizes “The Suffering Artist”
By Hillary Rettig |
It actually promotes self-loathing as a productivity strategy! My comment: Sorry, this is the kind of grandiose macho posturing bunk that holds many writers back. Writing, absent perfectionism, is not that hard. And true self-loathing (as opposed to facile expressions of it) is far more likely to lead to a ...
Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler vs. the Authors Guild and Old School Publishing
By Hillary Rettig |
If you want a super introduction to the benefits of indie publishing, especially over traditional publishing, read Joe Konrath's Newbie's Guide to Publishing blog (and the book derived therefrom) and Konrath and Barry Eisler's Be the Monkey (both available via Amazon). They were early visionaries and vocal proponents of indie ...
By Popular Demand: Billy on Parquet
By Hillary Rettig |
He's not so easy to photograph as he's a wiggler. Also, he's not the most facially expressive of dogs--it's all in the eyes and body language. But here's a pic. Oh, and we've had him two months and 0 "accidents" in the house. OLD DOGS RULE.
Wise Words From John Scalzi About Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Your Legacy
By Hillary Rettig |
Related to my prior post on why you should take an expansive view of success, here are some wise words from science fiction author John Scalzi, one of my favorite bloggers. Inspired by the recent death of British SF writer Colin Wilson, he writes on why you should just do ...
How to Measure Your 2013 Successes so as to have a Happier, More Productive 2014 (Part I)
By Hillary Rettig |
As you evaluate your progress over the past year--or as your family attempts to evaluates it for you--one thing to keep in mind is that perfectionism often confuses success with failure. It basically recognizes just one kind of success, where you: (a) finish a monumental project, (b) do a spectacular ...
“Weight Loss for Writers” Class Premiers Online Jan 6
By Hillary Rettig |
I've been waiting to teach this for years, and am so excited! We're going to get healthier and write more. Description follows. Space limited, so register now. Lots of writers struggle with their weight, but has it ever occurred to you that weight gain has a lot in common with ...
Be Sure to Check the “Preapproved Payments” Page on Your PayPal Account Every So Often…
By Hillary Rettig |
...and to cancel those preapprovals no longer needed. I just found that I've been paying $10/month to elance.com. Unlike more honest, forthright companies, they don't send account statements, so it's easy to forget you've subscribed and are paying. I haven't used elance probably in a year, so this was wasted ...
Situational Perfectionism in Sex
By Hillary Rettig |
The Times's Joyce Wadler recounts how the high cost of Viagra and other "performance enhancing" drugs is putting her under pressure to be better at sex. "I’m a sexually confident woman, but the cost of these pills was giving me performance anxiety. I knew it was supposed to be about ...
