The 99/1 Rule, WOM, and Your Best Effort

One of my Facebook groups is discussing The Red Pen of Doom’s article “The Twitter, it is NOT for selling books.” The author, @speechwriterguy, posits an important point: “Twitter isn’t built to sell books. Or anything else.” I agree. His post, which is long, analyzes a range of variables in terms of mass media, name recognition, numbers of followers, etc., and arrives at a very challenging conclusion: “The new...

Literary – February 4

“Human love has little regard for the truth.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born this date in 1906. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s love makes him/her blind to a truth everyone else clearly sees.

Journaling + Fiction – February 4

“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.”Edith Södergran Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a subject that kindles your inner fire but that you haven’t done enough to sustain. Fiction writing prompt: Write the scene in which your protagonist first encountered that which ignited his/her inner fire.

Big Questions – February 4

When you think about the number of sexual partners you’ve had in your life, do you consider the number too high, too low, or just right? Journaling prompt: Spend 15-20 minutes writing your answer in the spirit of exploring yourself and the world around you. If you can answer with a simple “yes” or “no,” explain the sources or implications of your response. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene that forces a...

Romance – February 4

“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” -Betty Friedan, born this date in 1921. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which circumstances force your protagonist to question Betty’s wisdom.

Mystery – February 4

“Be someone you don’t love so much, for once.”- Stewart O’Nan, born this date in 1961. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which circumstances force your protagonist to be someone s/he doesn’t much love.

SciFi/Fantasy – February 4

Writing prompt: Finish this scene, started by Robert Coover (born this date in 1932) in his 2010 book Noir: “You are at the morgue. Where the light is weird. Shadowless, but like a negative, as though the light itself were shadow turned inside out.”

Secondary – February 4

If given the opportunity to receive a single lesson from the leading expert in any field, living or dead, what would you choose to learn from whom?