I once heard a dynamic speaker teach on making significant decisions.
He told us all to remember the word “halt”.
Halt is an acronym for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. This leader said if you’re feeling any of those emotions strongly, then put off (halt) the decision. One or more of those strong emotions can skew your judgment and you’re likely to make an unwise decision.
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According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, a rejection slip is: a printed slip enclosed with a rejected manuscript returned by an editor to an author. Most 
times I agree with Merriam-Webster. It’s my preferred dictionary; but in this case, they are not up to date. They obviously don’t know that rejections are done ten times more efficiently today by email.
Since rejection is something we all deal with at times, I enlisted four writers and asked them each to write a little about how to handle rejection and keep writing.
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Have you ever wished you had an idea stash?
A stash is something stored away, usually in a secret place, for future use. Imagine you have to write a story, so you dip into your magical stash and grab a few ideas. You need to write an article or query for a magazine with a fresh angle, so you sneak into your idea reserve and develop an outline from one of your many choices.
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Is organization the enemy of creativity? Is it true that analytical people excel at order and creative people don’t? Maybe; but there are several important reasons why you might need to learn some techniques for “getting it together” and even remembering where you put “it” afterwards.
1. Keep more of your money
Now that I have your attention, let me ask a few questions. Have you ever repurchased something you lost,
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Considering my last post about eradicating cliché’s, I’ll try to refrain from saying, “all’s well that ends well,” but like most clichéd sayings there’s some truth in it. A pleasing article ending is like a pleasant dessert. It’s the cup of coffee or the satisfying tiramisu that completes the meal. It doesn’t trail off, or leave you dangling on the edge of understanding.
I will admit closing strong is one thing that is not easy for me,
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In my last post, I described trying to write when it just wasn’t happening as “swimming in spaghetti”. A couple of people commented on that being an apt and original way of 
describing the experience. It also fit me because I’m Italian and could picture just how difficult it could be tangling with spaghetti.
However in my original draft I simply had “sinking in quicksand”.
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You know that feeling.
You’ve been writing for an hour and you’re not sure if any of it is usable. Each word you write feels like you’re swimming in spaghetti. Every time you pound the keys, the grip around your gut gets tighter. How do you know when to highlight the text, hover over the delete key and punch it?
If any of the following scenarios apply it might be time.
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It’s true, I’ve written about how to write more using slow-cooker creativity and how to spark writing ideas while watching television. I’ve talked about finding great writing ideas before trashing your newspapers, and about writing great openings phrases. I also referred to a post I wrote awhile back, 2 keys to unlimited ideas.
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One of my stated purposes of this blog is to share the ups and down of writing. So go ahead and peek over my shoulder as I write a journal entry…
Recently I’ve had some victories. I believe, in the coming weeks, I’ll have more. In what form did they come? A few weeks back, I sold an article on reducing stress. I sold an article online this week.
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You have heard the phrase, “pay attention.” You may have even joked, “I can’t afford to pay attention.” I heard these words this week in a different context and it made me stop and think. This is the way it read:
“You can pay for attention, or you can earn it.”
Whoa. Let that sink in.
You can hire the big guns and the fancy pants to put your name up in lights,
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