Robynn Tolbert
Editorial Preferences and Feet
Artwork rotates at our office. We’re a state agency, so we showcase local artwork on our walls. I don’t normally mind this, until The Dirty Feet. That wasn’t the actual name but I don’t remember the actual name. This was a 2 x 3 foot canvas oil painting of the artist’s feet in mud. The […]
Where to Start?
The longer you’re in the writing world, the more advice you will receive about the writing craft and the more arguments you will hear disputing the advice given about the writing craft. One of those areas of dispute is where to start your story. Some say begin in the action to hook the reader, and […]
The Perfect 10…K (vs the 150K)
The discussion of the perfect manuscript comes up again and again in writers’ circles. I’ve eavesdropped on at least one a year since I resumed my writing journey. I suspect it’s one of the perils of being artists in the business world. Do we make art or do we make money? Why can’t we make […]
Why Writers Are to Writers as Florists Are to Florists
Years ago, I answered an ad at a florist magazine because I rationalized, “I garden. That’s like being a florist.” I quickly learned I couldn’t be more wrong. What took a few more years to learn was even among florists, you had “business” florists and “designer” florists. All florists probably consider themselves designers in some […]
Your Story, Your Integrity
You want to be a writer. If you’ve written (and finished) anything, you are a writer. Here’s the hard part. What do you do with what you’ve written? If you’re like most writers, you try to get people to read it. You hand it to your friends, your relatives and your postman looking for something […]
The Jobby of Writing
Writers (I assume like any artists) get pressured. As if creating something out of nothing isn’t hard enough, we get to take crap for not producing fast enough not selling what we do produce not being interesting wasting our time instead of doing something productive It’s all basically the same thing with variations on emphasis. […]
A Change of Place
I started a new job in September. While the official title is beyond boring (audit administrator – yawn), the actual work is…well, I don’t really know. It’s all so new I don’t have enough data to formulate an opinion. My boss and several co-workers assure me I’ll do fine, but they may just want me […]
The Lure of Laziness
Take two. I started this post Monday morning, only to have it sabotaged/erased by the smallest member of my clowder. This time I’m saving regularly. I have no idea if the post will be better or worse than I would have written earlier. Let’s hope better, although it’s feeling worse. Attempting to distract myself from […]
The New Authors Fellowship 