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Leanne
So you want to be a writer?
Leanne is a popular workshop speaker on many subjects such as the use of affirmations, brainstorming, emotion and sexual tension. Leanne shares some of her tips below in the hopes they will be useful to you in your pursuit of your goal, becoming published.

If your organization would like Leanne to speak, please send her an email.

Recommended
 
Recommended Books

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain -- This book rocks!
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field. Why read screenplay when you're writing a novel? It's great for structure and pacing.
What To Say When You Talk To Yourself by Shad Helmstetter. Rejection can be tough. Self-talk and affirmation really can help.

Best Writing Advice

Read and study what you want to write!
Join Romance Writers of America
Never settle. Good enough isn't good enough.

Websites

www.rwanational.org
www.writerspace.com
www.ninc.com

 
Affirmations
 
A Personal note from Leanne

I had to re-type these affirmations because I couldn’t find the file on my new computer. It was a wonderful exercise. I felt as if I was visiting a long-time friend who always wants the best for me. I attended a workshop given by Rita Rainville many years ago, and that’s where I was first introduced to self-affirmations. When I first decided to write, I set a goal of writing and selling a series romance within two years. I asked for help from the most experienced critiquers in my RWA chapter and I entered contests. I don’t think I ever placed in one single contest before I was published. Some of the comments I got back from judges felt like bullets. That was when I started using self-affirmations daily to beat the discouragement. I chose five affirmations, wrote them on 3x5 cards and read them aloud 3x a day. I viewed it as taking vitamins. :o) I confess I often laughed as I read the affirmations aloud. Me organized? BTW, there’s a little trick if you can’t bear to say "I am ..." then you can say "I am becoming ..." The objective is to condition your brain to move you in the direction you want to go.

Amazingly enough, I beat my goal of writing and selling a book within two years, but not without being rejected three times first. My second book was rejected twice, my third book was rejected three times. My first choice publisher did not buy me until I had sold EIGHT books to other publishers! Even as a published author, the potential for discouragement and rejection abounds. What if the book doesn’t sell well? What if the reviewer doesn’t "get" it? So, as you can see, these affirmations are powerful tools at just about any time during a writer’s career. I hope they will be as helpful to you as they have been to me. Meet my longtime friend and coach - Self-Affirmations.

Self-Affirmations:

  • Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.
  • I like and respect myself. I know I am a worthy, capable and valuable person.
  • I guide my own destiny, and I’m accountable for the results of my decisions and actions. I reinforce my successes and correct for errors.
  • I easily anticipate and experience events in my imagination before they actually happen.
  • I am my own expert, and I am not affected by the negative attitudes and opinions of others.
  • I easily balance the needs of my family with my own need to write.
  • Creativity flows through me easily and effortlessly.
  • I am a talented writer.
  • I have a positive expectancy of big success, and I take temporary setbacks easily.
  • I am a creative person and develop my plots with confidence and imagination.
  • Images and words come easily when I sit down to write.
  • I have unlimited potential; I have unlimited creativity.
  • I happily accept the joys and responsibilities of being published and welcome success.
  • I write daily with excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence.
  • I am well-organized and have a vivid picture of my goals.
  • I don’t wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration. If I succeed, I keep working. If I fail, I keep working. Whether I feel interested or bored, energized or tired, encouraged or discouraged, I keep working.
  • I have the craftsmanship and creativity to successfully finish this book.

More self-affirmations from Shad Helmstetter:

(THE SELF-TALK SOLUTION)

  • I have talents and skills and abilities. I even have talents and skills that I don’t know about yet. And I am discovering new talents inside myself all the time.
  • I invest my time and energies where I choose. My time and energy are gifts which I guard and give by my choice - - but never by the demands, dictates, or the expectations of others.
  • I am a winner. I am absolutely determined to achieve my aims. I am steadfast and persistent in the pursuit of my goals, and I will not give up.
  • Each day my confidence in my self-expression grows stronger and even more positive. I express myself easily, without fear or uncertainty.
  • Each day I consciously remove from my mind the imaginary bindings of self-doubt and the unnecessary limitations of uncertainty and fear.
  • I am never afraid to try.
  • I was not created to fail; I was created to succeed. Success is a part of who I am and a part of everything about me.

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