Dear Mike: What do you look for in an editor?

Reader Question: What do you look for in an editor?

Mike: I want he or she to be “on my side.” Not working against me. Not pulling a power trip, being condescending. Not rewriting so heavy-handedly where the words read like the editor’s and not mine. Not acting negatively, obnoxiously, haughtily. Writing is indeed a collaborative effort Trust me, you need a good editor. All writers do, even great ones. I’ve been lucky. I’ve had many editors that weren’t merely good, but, in my humble opinion, great. There’s nothing like it. A great editor is such a dream, and they will make YOU great. I love the line that one of my regular editors used to say to me: “Hey, Mike, this story is great….but here’s what I’d like you to do to make it even better.” What an approach! After those words, how could I not be receptive to his suggestions?

Guest Blog: I Work Hard—So Why Ain't I Rich?

I Work Hard—So Why Ain't I Rich?
By Michael Levy

Quite often, disillusioned writers and poets ask me, I work hard—so why ain't I rich?

In the beginning, nature provided humans with the fruits of the forest.
After long arduous tasks, adventurous hunters located delicious delicacies and brought them home for their tribes to enjoy.

In to-days world, we only have to go to the shopping mall or supermarket to find a great array of choices. However, to be able to afford all the goodies, we need a commodity called money.

Therefore, we require access to, the delicious fruits, in the forest of our mind, to be able to afford the luxuries of life. The neuron receptors of our brain are the trees of knowledge that can spark our prosperity, once we understand how to access the wisdom that nourishes them.

If we sit in our hut and find work a hard slog and say, I want the world, given to me on a plate, we will sit there for a long time. Eventually, we will die from malnutrition of authentic wisdom, whilst we moan and groan how unfair the world has treated us ... However, if we pursue our hearts desires with universal wisdom, we will find the fruits of our labor very rewarding.

All truly successful writers understand, creative, original works are fed to them from a universal intelligent energy. To be able to access the fountains of delights the writer’s personality and ego needs to take a back seat and become happy passengers. The brain then becomes a vehicle fueled by Live Alchemy ... The divine transmitted chemistry connecting heaven and earth.


That said, all the treasures of natural beauty, joy and love, is freely available on a daily basis, but it seems to be taken for granted by too many people... Thus, it does not give the awareness of any true, lasting value to them.

So, simply put, to answer the question, "Why can't I become rich?"
The answer is; "You are rich right now, just become aware of who you are."

Michael Levy is the author of seven books. His inspirational poetry and essays appear on many assorted web sites, as well as in journals and magazines throughout the world. He’s an expert columnist for Positive Health magazine, the leading complimentary health publication in the UK, and has been published by The Royal Collage of Psychiatry many times over the past three years.

Dear Mike: Tell Me about The Writing Life

Reader Question: Will you always remember your very first acceptance into publication?

Mike: Not really. In fact, I’m having difficulty remembering it now. I think it was a story about a failed Olympic sprinter named Steve Williams for a small track & field magazine, but I’m not 100 % sure. Strange how I don’t recall, isn’t it? Although, after you’ve published nearly 10,000 stories—a rough estimate of my career output—you definitely blur on a lot of things.

Reader Question: Do you just start writing or outline your idea?

Mike: I think the proper way is to outline, because it clearly tells you where the story is going and prevents egregious ramblings on tangential points. But, please, do as I say, not what I do. I’ve tried hard to outline, many times, and it simply doesn’t work for me. My MO is this: As I’m working on a story, I’m constantly thinking of my opening and ending, and by the time I sit down to write, I usually have one or, hopefully, if I'm especially lucky, both. If I have both beginning and ending, I know I’m “in”; the story will write easily. If I have only the opening, that’s fine too. It jumpstarts me into the piece [BTW—My openings are often anecdotal and very sensual—meaning they include as many of the five senses as possible. I also like movement. The total impact: the reader is pulled right into the story.] If I only have an ending, I’m admittedly concerned, because I know the writing will be a struggle. In the rare case I have neither an opening nor ending, aside from falling into a sweaty panic, I know something’s wrong. I need to go back and research more, or interview more, or observe more.

Reader Question: What is your favorite genre to read?

Mike: That has changed so much over the years. Early on, when I thought I’d be a short story writer or novelist, I read nothing but classic literature. William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck, Albert Camus, Leo Tolstoy, to name only a few. In one year, in fact, right after I left college, I read, believe it or not, over 300 short novels - all by the masters! Albeit reading them only to LEARN, not to ENJOY. I was around 20 then. I’d say in all the years since I haven’t read even 50 novels. I hardly read fiction at all anymore. My reading these days is isolated to a few major magazines (Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Time, The New Yorker, The New York Times Sunday Magazine), one NYC daily newspaper (I switch around from one to the other), and 3-5 nonfiction books (usually a biography or about world history).

Dear Mike: How do you handle rejection?

Mike: I handle it like most, if not all writers: Not very well.

I despair.

I curl up on my couch and wolf down a pint of Häagen-Dazs butter pecan ice cream.

And I endlessly go over and over in my head: What did I do wrong? How could I have done the story better? Do I really suck? Should I try another profession

But you should remember that sometimes the rejection has absolutely nothing to do with you the writer.

It’s merely the individual taste of the editor. And, believe me when I tell you this, some editors have NO TASTE. Or talent. Or writing ability. I can count on one hand the great editors I've had over my career.

So do yourself a big favor and try hard not to take rejection personally. Don’t dwell on it.

No matter how crushing it is, move beyond it. Don’t let it paralyze you. Get right back on that horse and begin riding again, even with the same project but maybe with another publication. Or star anew on another project.

Assume the law-of-averages attitude of sales people: They doesn’t get down after a rejection. They simply know they're that much closer to a sale.

Good luck! And keep the faith!



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http://www.inkygirl.com/
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Dear Mike: How do you deal with writer's block?

Reader Question: Does someone like you ever get “writer's block?” What are some of your tried-and-true ways to get around it? It drives me crazy.

Mike: Listen, every writer has had times where he/she can’t get the words down easily, if at all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stared at a blank computer screen for a half-hour at a time and couldn’t think of a thing. It’s natural. And that’s what you should understand. Unless you’re on deadline and need your story in within minutes, don’t panic. In fact, I never use the phrase “writer’s block.” It’s the equal of an epithet to me. I don’t allow others to use it around me. It’s negative and only heightens your anxiety about not producing words. Simply view slow periods as a natural part of the creative process. Unless you have some sort of psychological problem, you either have nothing to say at the moment. Or you’re trying too hard. Or you’re just too tense, in which case I would recommend drinking your favorite beverage (for me, espresso with milk), or putting on your favorite music (for me, it could be anything; depends on my mood), and think positive, peaceful thoughts (I love imagining soft ocean waves). If all else fails, write about the writer’s block, which, of course, is a built-in contradiction. It also HAS to work, right?

Foamy - Creative Drive

Warning: Adult Language/Mature Viewers Only

I'm sorry, but the Foamy cartoons crack me up.

Stop Being a Starving Artist. Think It Can Happen!

"Starving artist" can be a self-fulfilling prohecy. Think small and you shall get your wish. Maybe it's time to shift the paradigm, stretch the goals, blow the dreams up huge. Time to think positive. Think big. Think it can actually happen.