It’s My Party…

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Ann Roth

If you constantly compare yourself to others, you’re at the wrong party.

Truth: Your party is strictly about you, and begins and ends with you. I know this, and yet time and again, I catch myself chasing after someone else’s success and happiness, and wishing it was mine.

Yes, I’m multi-published author. I worked hard to attain this dream and I love sharing my stories with others. Readers often email to let me know how much they enjoy my books. As wonderful as I feel when I hear from fans, I still catch myself in the ugly trap of comparing myself to others. I’m not as good as this writer, or as successful as that one.

This is not good for my self-confidence or my happiness, and certainly does nothing to improve my writing.

Which is why I like this sage advice:

This makes perfect sense. Because, let’s face it, the only writing skills and output that I can control is my own, and the only person I can control is myself. The same goes for you.

Of course, I can learn a great deal by reading a particular author and noting how s/he crafted their masterpiece. I can learn new ways of promoting myself from others’ successes. I’d be crazy not to do these things.

But ultimately, my party is inside of me. Just as yours is inside you.

Food for thought…

Until next time,

Ann
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Finishing Up

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ann Roth

I am hard at work, finishing edits on a recently completed novel. Wahoo!!!!

Until next time,

Ann

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Graffiti I Actually Like

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Ann Roth

Much of the time, graffiti turns me off. Not these amazing creations:

Turning otherwise drab or ordinary surroundings into something wonderful-now that’s exciting! Writers do the same thing with words. Turning ordinary words into a captivating story that entertains, enlightens, enriches–that’s what I find most rewarding about my work.

Until next time,

Ann

Pumpkins, unite!

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Ann Roth

Yesterday, my family and I headed to a pumpkin farm to get our Halloween pumpkins. I love the excitement and fun of culling through the different shapes, sizes and textures of pumpkins still in the field, choosing just the right ones and bringing them home. Then the hard work begins: cutting off the top and scooping out the guts (messy, but part of the process), sketching a face or design on the skin, and finally, turning that sketch into reality. The results are rarely exactly what we imagined, but wonderful all the same.

Sort of like writing a novel. Searching for the right story, imagining what it will look like. Slowly and patiently and often messily breathing life into it, only to find that the story I have created isn’t quite like the one I first envisioned. I’m always surprised, but rarely disappointed.

Until Wednesday, and wishing you pumpkin-friendly day,

Ann

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