C Hope Clark C Hope Clark

In this day of social media, writers and readers stay in touch. But is social media all it takes to develop a platform? It's a tool, but is it how to gain those readers you need to be your passionate ambassadors?

We all have bad days, but sometimes all we can see is the wrong. Breaking that spiral isn't so easy or so obvious to do, but writers, readers and people in general can choose to do so, with a few tools they already have.

It's important to paint a culture accurately, and in the South that includes drawl, food, phrasing, mannerisms and more. But the concept applies to all cultures. Noting the details and minutiae of culture takes intense observation and interpretation. Using my dear friend, I give you a dose of what caught my eye, and will soon become part of a key character in one of my novels.

The Internet screams with options, and all too often we freeze with indecision because of too many choices. We have to learn focus, to tune out the noise of this best practice, or that best practice, and find our direction. Authorpreneurship involves focus, dedication and simplification to take writing to a professional level. But if you take it seriously, you can have a ball doing it as the effort taps your true potential.

Using the word TRY is like adding a disclaimer to yourself. You are giving yourself an out. Own what you're doing and the odds will increase that you'll succeed.

Recently I was faced with a decision of attending a fabulous writing event, or staying home and finding another way to do my research. It's hard to be introverted and not feel badly about such dilemmas. But there's nothing wrong with being introverted. You can thrive making alternative decisions . . . and feel fine about not going with the flow.