D.T. Krippene

~ Searching for Light in the Darkness

D.T. Krippene

Tag Archives: Bob Mayer

If It Were Easy, We’d All Be Best Sellers

30 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by dtkrippene in Inspiration, On Writing

≈ Comments Off on If It Were Easy, We’d All Be Best Sellers

Tags

Bob Mayer, Passion for the Craft, Writing, Writing Goals

Unsplash sam-bloom-342809

Sam Bloom via Unsplash.com

Writers have an abnormal predilection for planting themselves in a chair – alone – surrounded by nothing – and wait for the words to rain. It just ain’t natural.

The 24th GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ come and gone, this is the time I take a few days to reflect on what I’ve learned, what I’ve heard before, and why the hell I’m still writing.  

Our keynote speaker and headliner this year was NYT Bestseller, Bob Mayer, a former Green Beret who wrote the Area 51 series, as well as 70 other titles in fiction and non-fiction. That’s me on the right (as if you couldn’t tell).

Dan with Bob Mayer 2

We spent a full day with Bob, listening to his advice on the standard elements of plot, story structure, character, the importance of tight narrative, and dangers of going off on tangents that don’t move the story. Anyone who has read my article from last year, ‘The Perils of Captain Tangent – a Pantser’s Writing Journey’, knows I have an issue with side stories that end nowhere.

It was the Day 2 of the conference that struck a chord with me. Bob Mayer spoke about ‘Write it Forward’, with lessons he learned in the military.  He gave the classic pitch, “everyone stand up, look at the person on the right, then look at the one on the left. Only one of you is going to make it.” He reminded us that only five-percent of all writers ever finish a book, that five-percent get to the point of publishing the book, and five percent of those people ever get anywhere with it. In simpler terms, earning enough to buy a case of Yuengling beer is like winning the lottery.

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • StumbleUpon

Like this:

Like Loading...

About DT

dtkrippene

dtkrippene

A native of Wisconsin and Connecticut, DT deserted aspirations of being a biologist to live the corporate dream and raise a family. After seven homes, a ten-year stint working in Asia, and an imagination that never slept, his muse refused to be hobbled as a mere dream. A member of the Bethlehem Writers Group and Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, DT writes apocalyptic science fiction, paranormal, and parallel universe science fantasy. DT has published several short stories. “Hell of a Deal”, in the paranormal collection, Untethered, and most recently, “Man’s Best Friend”, in the 2021 Best Indie Book for Fiction, Fur, Feathers, and Scales. He also appeared in the Write Here – Write Now short story collection with his middle-grade paranormal, “Locker 33C”. An active member of the Bethlehem Writers Group, he’s been a featured author in the BWG Writers Roundtable Magazine, and will appear in the July 2021 Summer Issue with “Hot as Sin”. His latest project is an apocalyptic tale of humans on the edge extinction, and a young man born years after surviving humans had been rendered sterile. You can find D.T. on his website, Searching for Light in the Darkness, and his social media links on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

View Full Profile →

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Recent Tweets

  • This thread can be read here: dtkrippene.com/2023/01/30/sho… 6 days ago
  • Contest winners will be announced on the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable website and on the Bethlehem Writers Group we… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 6 days ago
  • Initial blind judging will be done by members of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC. Finalists will be notified by Ju… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 6 days ago
  • Second Place: $100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Third Place: $50 and publication in Bethlehem W… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 6 days ago
  • …those holidays. There are many such holidays, so let your imagination fly for a chance to win: Winners will rec… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 6 days ago
Follow @dtkrippene

Lastest Posts

  • Short Story Contest for 2024 – Seasons Readings January 30, 2023
  • The Legend of Four Winds Butte – Part 2 October 31, 2022
  • The Legend of Four Winds Butte October 19, 2022
  • Spring Issue of Roundtable Magazine April 2, 2022
  • Revised Deadline for “Element of Mystery” Short Story Contest – April 30, 2022 March 26, 2022

dtkrippene

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blogs I Follow

  • Fairy Tale of the Month
  • charles french words reading and writing
  • D.T. Krippene
  • Jerome W. McFadden's Blog
  • Dread Poets Sobriety
  • jenacidebybibliophile
  • Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance
  • daily vibes
  • Book Admirer
  • Michael A. Ventrella
  • Christopher D. Ochs
  • A Slice of Orange
  • unbolt me
  • Thoughts Stained With Ink
  • Suzanne Grieco Mattaboni
  • Garden Mindfully
  • Here to Make Friends
  • Wanderlust Twins
  • Firefly's Journal
  • Welcome

Log-In

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

DTKrippene

Copywrite 2011 - 2015
All Rights Reserved

Blog at WordPress.com.

Fairy Tale of the Month

Reflections and Delusions

charles french words reading and writing

An exploration of writing and reading

D.T. Krippene

Searching for Light in the Darkness

Jerome W. McFadden's Blog

Tales From an Untethered Mind

Dread Poets Sobriety

Irreverence's Glittering New Low!

jenacidebybibliophile

Book Reviewer and Blogger

Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance

One writer's experiences, and battles with words

daily vibes

Book Admirer

Michael A. Ventrella

Aspiring Writers Unite! Learn from my mistakes (and advice from the experts)

Christopher D. Ochs

Dare to Defy the Unknown

A Slice of Orange

unbolt me

the literary asylum

Thoughts Stained With Ink

Suzanne Grieco Mattaboni

Garden Mindfully

Seeds planted by Sienna Mae Heath

Here to Make Friends

I didn't travel 10,000 miles across the globe to not make any friends

Wanderlust Twins

Firefly's Journal

Smile! You’re at the best WordPress.com site ever

Welcome

  • Follow Following
    • D.T. Krippene
    • Join 158 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • D.T. Krippene
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: