| Don't let the fear that somone will steal your idea stop you from submitting/posting your story. You can't "own" or protect an idea, only the expression of it. | "What is written with out effort is read without pleasure." ~ Samuel Johns |
| Don't apologize! Don't lie about the fact that you have never been published, but don't make a big deal out of it either! | "Writing is storytelling. No matter how you slice, your're saying "Once upon a time.' ~Mary Higgens Clark |
| Discouraged? It took Ray Bradbury two years of writing before he sold his first story. He did not sit back and wait for the story to sell before writing the next one. He continued to work untilhis efforts paid off. | "Books fall open, you fall in." ~Mary Engelbreit |
| Strengthen your story by revealing what's on your character's mind but don't give out too much. Err on the side of understatement. | "If no tears are shed by the writer, there will be no tears in the reader." ~Anon |
| Hit the ground running. Keep the reader turning pages by always adding a new struggle before you resove an exisitng one. | "All my writing tools boil down to that Nike ad, 'Just Do It!'" ~ Julia Cameron |