down the writer's path

Writers, are you reading?

Vikk Simmons — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:42:54 PDT

Do you read? There was a time when I never thought I'd have to ask that question of a writer. Times change and with them writers and their habits evolve. Today you're more likely to hear a group of writers...

Internet Writing Tools: iGoogle

Vikk Simmons — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:44:55 PDT

One of the things I like best about today's tools found on the web is the way they bring everything to me. Instead of having to go out and search, much of the material I like to skim, surf, and...

Writing Tools: Pen vs Keyboard

Vikk Simmons — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:45:54 PDT

In this computer society it's easy to move from the pen to the keyboard and give little thought to the consequence. But what are we sacrificing? Julia Cameron has spent a lifetime extolling the virtues of the direct connection between...

Writers direct a stream of emotions

Vikk Simmons — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:06:14 PDT

The mystery of creative success lies in the writer's ability to capture and preserve the quality of a given moment in time. The success of a novel or story depends on its intensity, on its ability to re-create an ambience...

Name Your Dream Contest - Vote for my dream, please!

Vikk Simmons — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:48:19 PDT

Name Your Dream is an interesting contest. I went ahead and entered my dream. Click through to read about my dream assignment. I hope you like it and will register to vote for me. The contest began a couple of...

I write fiction. I don’t need no stinkin’ social network.

Vikk Simmons — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:28:55 PDT

Most writers are solitary souls: they inhabit their own universe apart from the rest of the world. The clutter of life is a distraction. All this new social media network stuff is nothing but quicksand guaranteed to suck your attention...

What’s up with all this Twit and Luv stuff?

Vikk Simmons — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:49:13 PDT

In the “just so ya know” department, I’ve stumbled across a couple of neat little applications that add some social media flavor to this blog. If you’re a social media maven, you’ll appreciate the addition of TwitThis and I’ll appreciate...

A writer’s tools: Carrots, contests and chocolates

Vikk Simmons — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:42:33 PDT

The ability to self-motivate is a skill most writers need to cultivate. Staring out a window or glaring at a blinking cursor can hypnotize a writer right into a blank page coma. And while sharpening twenty pencils might help some...

For writers: Just Do It (remembered)

Vikk Simmons — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:53:20 PDT

Marketing gurus such as Seth Godin and Bob Poole spend a lot of time reminding us that there is no rule, no trick, no magic bullet more important than Nike’s famous dictum: Just do it. For writers activities like thinking,...

Edgar Allan Poe, a father to many of today's writers

Vikk Simmons — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:55:04 PDT

Edgar Allan Poe would have turned 200 years old in January had he been blessed with exceeding longevity. The event has proved a boon for anything Poe. Publishing houses have lit the candles in hopes of a Poe revival. Well,...