Port of Call

The Daily Port of Call: February 19, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll discover how to deal with negative reviews of your work, how to stay motivated, and 40 weird word origins.

“Truthfully, however, if we’re writing for human consumption, we need to accept that some won’t like our writing, our style, our topic, our work. It’s a momentary sting to the soul for sure, but don’t let it de-rail you from your passion and prose.”  Here’s how to deal with negative reviews of your work.

Read this interview with Elisabeth Schmitz, the editor who bought Cold Mountain.

If you want to stay motivated, you must understand this: “[N]one of what you’re thinking matters until about 10 minutes into an actual writing session. Until then, your feelings will mostly be telling you that you still need to clean the house and call your mother and check Facebook.”

Become a successful writer despite what friends and family say.

From John Green, here are 40 weird word origins.

Here is a list of fiction writers who were also great teachers.

The Daily Port of Call: February 18, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find ways to make your writing stronger, how to write a humor piece, and three words to jumpstart your life story writing project.

Are you missing opportunities to make your writing stronger? Here are some suggestions for growing and stretching.

You can explore legendary lands in Umberto Eco’s new book.

Writing humor is a highly logical process. Here’s how to do it.

The Silk Worm, a follow up to J. K. Rowling’s pseudonymous novel The Cuckoo’s Calling is coming in June.

Here are three words to jumpstart your life story writing project and your memory: images, artifacts, lists.

Your book is taking a long time to write. You are feeling the pressure. Here are some supportive words.