Kim Smith stops by... (& a Giveaway)

Readers, please join me in welcoming Kim Smith, author of the cozy mystery, Buried Angel (Red Rose Publishing), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in January 2010, with this blog being her very first stop!

About Buried Angel -Shannon Wallace is finding trouble in the most bizarre places these days, but not as bizarre as the ones her sidekick Dwayne Brown is finding. When his friend. Bubba, is found stuffed in a cooler in his flower shop, the hunt is on to find his killer. Could it be Bubba’s sister who is now his heir, or maybe one of the flower shop guys who works with Bubba? You can be sure the dreadful duo of Shannon and Dwayne won’t rest until they have helped South Lake’s police department, and the Hispanic hottie investigator, Sal Ramirez, find his man. Or was that woman?

Eight Steps to the Writing Life

Fifteen years of writing and listening to people say they want to be a writer has brought me to develop a list of guidelines to help them bring their desire to fruition. There are eight points of consideration and if one were to administer them to their writing life, they may see publication come their way.

1. Pick your primary goal for your writing.

It’s not enough to say, “I want to be a writer” or “I want to be published”. You must decide exactly what you want to write and when you want to do it. Write down a list of goals and when you hope to achieve them. Keep it posted by your computer and refer to it every day.

2. Use your imagination to dream big.

Wishful thinking will get you nowhere if you do not believe you can achieve it, you must be consumed by the flames of desire to accomplish your goals. Be a go-getter not a no-hitter.

3. Expect to suffer from your choices.

We all have a price to pay for success. If you intend to be a writer, you will sacrifice some of your time for writing. If you intend to be a published writer, you will sacrifice the luxury of laziness for deadlines.

4. Focus on the prize.

Keep your mind free of the clutter of negative thinking. If fear, worry, or other blocking thoughts creep in and muddy the waters of your writing goals, develop a plan of action. Fight against mental blocking and negative thoughts by meditating on your potential and how much you want this for your life.

5. Be willing to fail—in order to win.

Just about every person alive who has been published has failed initially. That didn’t deter them however and it shouldn’t you. Rejection is a facet of the trade that we all have to endure. Consider it the fire that will meld you into fine gold. Persistence and perseverance will pay off in the end.

6. Believe in the power of positives.

My mother always told me that the most powerful force on earth was the power of suggestion. I believe she had that right. If we are constantly bombarded with suggestions from well-meaning friends who write or want to write, we may end writing before it has really lived. You have to believe in your own voice, in your particular story, and keep a positive outlook.

7. Don’t tear yourself down.

If you don’t believe in yourself, you will never succeed. Success is measured sometimes by how strongly we believe in our power. Don’t think of yourself as a bad writer, a doomed writer, or even a weak writer. Labels like that destroy our confidence and send us limping to the notebook instead of running and winning the race.

8. Quit making excuses.

Writing is hard work, and it is oftentimes very lonely. No one can do this for us. Have you ever said, “If only I had more time…” or “If only I had more education…”. These sorts of stalling tactics will only keep you out of your writing chair. Examine the reasons for such negativisms and overcome them. If you let excuses rule your writing, your writing will be excused.

A wonderful illustration of writing and working toward writing goals would be:

George Moore, the novelist, was asked by a young man if he recommended that the young man become a novelist. Moore said no. The young man asked why, since Moore had become one himself. Moore said, “Because I didn’t have to ask.”

Kim Smith is the hostess for the popular radio show, Introducing WRITERS! Radio show on Blog Talk Radio. She is also the author of the zany, Shannon Wallace mystery series available now from Red Rose Publishing. You can visit Kim’s website at www.mkimsmith.com.

Thank you for that insightful post, Kim! Everyone can benefit from those steps, including myself 🙂

GIVEAWAY

To win an ecopy of this book, just tell me one of your New Year’s resolutions. That’s it!

Deadline to enter – Midnight CST of February 5, 2010. Open worldwide!

Note – This book was received for review/feature consideration.
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