Takeover Tuesday: Writing from the Trenches

Happy Tuesday, Reader Friends!

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“Skin Care for Writers in 3 Easy Steps”
by Ane Mulligan

In preparation to publish your writing, you need to care for your skin. Why, you ask? What does that have to do with it?

Everything, little scribe.

Layer by layer, a writer must develop a pliable, thick rhino skin that doesn’t bleed when subjected to critique and rejection. It’s a process requiring time and a considerable amount of effort. But it’s paramount to publishing and selling books.

Step One: Deep Cleansing of unrealistic compliments
A common benefit of deep cleansing is the removal of debris, including bad habit bacteria and Pollyanna pollutants and love-it litter (unrealistic compliments). Most of this come from family members, who think you’re brilliant. They’d think that if you wrote “it was a dark and stormy night.”

Deep Cleansing helps manage PH (publishing house) levels of rhino skin; enabling stellar writing and retention. It also helps maintain proper sized egos. An oversized ego is death to a writing career.

Regular cleansing from a critique partner helps maintain purpose in your writing, so you won’t get side-tracked by the latest trend, and is essential to keeping your writing radiant and fresh.

It takes building a relationship with another writer or two, to form a great critique partnership. I’ve been with mine for thirteen years. In that time, we’ve developed thick rhino skin with regular cleansing. We are a formidable group. They push me, prod me and make me kick cabinets. I trust them completely.

Tone that rhino skin
Regular toning and submission of your work shrinks pores of inflated ego and restores your skin’s PH balance. A toned rhino skin adds a layer of protection, so rejection no longer reduces you into a whimpering pile of goo. Look at it philosophically. After all, not all publishers are looking for Amish time slip vampire novels.

Moisturize your rhino skin
To keep your protective rhino skin pliable takes time and work. Without the oil of learning and critiques, it can crack and allow bad habit bacteria to seep in. Apply it every day, and it will soak deep into your writing and adds a healthy glow to both your work and your rhino skin.

Your rhino skin is one of your greatest assets as a writer. Protect it with these habits and it will last for a lifetime.

And for even more sweet author tips, check out this fantastic collaboration, Writing From the Trenches: Tips & Techniques From Ten Award-Winning Authors.

About the Author: Ane Mulligan

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet tea. She’s an award-winning novelist who believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups.

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About the Book

TEN-HUT! Gear up for your writing with tried-and-true tips from the trenches. Ten award-winning authors share invaluable tips and secrets they’ve gleaned the hard way, offering a broad range of insights and opinions on the best way to tackle subjects such as the following:

Plotting Techniques
Research
Characterization
Villains We Love to Hate
Dynamic Dialogue
Sigh-Worthy Heroes
The Right Heroine for the Job
Hooking Your Reader in the First Chapter
Scene Endings to Lead Your Readers On
Creating a Movie Set
Making your Readers Cry
Deep POV
Copyediting your Manuscript
Indie Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
Marketing for Those Who Hate Marketing

At last … a writer’s tool that provides the experience and expertise of ten authors who’ve been on the front lines of publishing and lived to teach about it.

Links: Amazon, Goodreads

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About the Authors

Connie Almony, Lynnette Bonner, Hallee Bridgeman, Louise Gouge, Michelle Griep, Julie Lessman, Elizabeth Ludwig, Ane Mulligan, MaryLu Tyndall, and Erica Vetsch.