Motivation From Actor Sam Shephard

I heard the sad news this morning that actor Sam Shepard had died at the age of 73.

He was born in 1943 and not only was he an actor but also a playwright and writer.

I was reading about him online before I began writing today and I found his story to be remarkably motivating.

It seems that during his life he starred in over 50 movies. That is a lot of movies.

Not only that but he also wrote 14 plays AND wrote over 20 novels.

I sat there in amazement at how much this man has achieved.

It takes months to make a movie, not to mention all the travelling and promoting that the stars do for marketing.

And Sam Shepard was in 50 movies!

That is a lot of acting and promoting.

Not only that but he also found time to write over 20 novels.

AND he also wrote 14 plays.

This man was a working and writing mash-eeeen.


I sat in awe at how much he had achieved in his life and thought about what had motivated him to work so hard.

And I figured that maybe he just enjoyed what he did so much that he just couldn't stop doing it. No one could work that hard at something if they weren't fully motivated and inspired to do so.

In a way, it's the same for all successful writers. They work so hard at what they do because they love what they do.

Just like in the book I read recently, Careergasm, you need to find what you REALLY love to do and that will give you all the motivation you need to be a writing mash-eeeen.

And now...it's time for me to write my own 20 books, 14 plays and audition for 50 movies.

Wish me luck.

Penny Pinching Failures

We all like to save money. I do too.

I’m always careful about what I buy and before I make a purchase I always think about what I’m going to use the item for (or how often will I wear it?), where I’m going to keep it, and how often it will come in handy.

Usually after much careful consideration I put things back on the shelf and leave the store.

And even if I’m grocery shopping I think of what I’m going to make with whatever ingredients I’m buying (I don’t buy much processed, ready-made-food) and how soon I’m going to do it.

And take away meals and eating out don’t happen too often for me. I much prefer my own food at home and even if I go for a day out, I’ll usually take my own drinks,  pack sandwiches and buy hot chips to go with them.

I’m pretty frugal in a lot of ways. I even have a notebook where I tally up everything I’ve bought in a month to see where I’m overspending (if at all) and where I can cut back.

Yep, I don’t like wasting money on things I don’t need or that I’m tricked into buying just because of clever marketing.

And I see others doing the same.

Except they’re doing it all wrong.

They’ll penny pinch at the supermarket yet buy takeaway food on the way home.

They’ll complain about the price of fuel and even drive around looking for the cheapest price, yet they’ll take short trips in their car every day instead of walking.

And how many people do you know who say that they have no money yet their kids have all the latest gadgets and toys?

I once saw a news item on TV on A Current Affair where they were talking to a couple who were being forced to move from their home because they said their mortgage was too high because of interest rate rises.

Yet I couldn’t get over the fact that they were packing up dozens of outdoor toys - swing sets, slippery dips, cubby house, sand pit, and multiple ride-on toys, and the mother of the two young children had a really fancy hair cut, manicured false finger nails and so much bling it much have weighed a ton.

And I see the same things happen when it comes to business.

People say they want to be successful, but when it comes to investing in themselves they don’t want to spend money on an ebook or an online course.
And I don’t know about you, but I much prefer to spend my money on things that are an investment in my writing.

Over the years I must have spent thousands of dollars on e-books, courses and other things that have helped me with my writing and marketing. I’ve even done a course in copywriting that cost several hundred dollars. I thought it was expensive but I knew that what I could learn would enable me to earn much more money than the cost of the course. And I was right.

I could have spent a few hundred dollars on a fancy computer or a bigger TV or ordered more takeaways so that I don’t have to cook.

But I’d rather spend my money on things that I need to help me write more, write better, market my work, make money blogging and writing, and sell more books.

How about you?

What are the important things you’re investing in?

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Get Your Novel Written

Is there a novel you’ve been meaning to write but just haven’t gotten around to it?

Or have you started writing a novel a really long time ago but just haven’t finished?

Well here is an easy way to get that novel written.

The first thing you need to do is plan what you’re going to write. I find that writing is much more fun when I have a plan to work from. That way all the hard thinking work is done so all I need to do is write.

The first part of your plan needs to be an outline which includes the main plot, two to three subplots, main characters and supporting characters. And also a few hooks to keep your readers reading. Hooks are things that are hinted at but won’t be revealed until later in the story.

You also need to decide how many chapters you’re going to write and how long each one will be. It’s important to know these things so that you can stick to your word count.

Next, you need to decide how much you can realistically expect to write every day. Don’t over estimate this otherwise you’ll feel disappointed every time you don’t reach your daily word count. On the other hand, if you set your expectations low, every time you achieve it or do much more, it will make you feel motivated to keep going.

Then you need to do the writing. Just make sure you meet your word count every day. Tell yourself you can’t go to bed until your word count is met.

And then do just do it. Show up every day and get your novel written.

But don’t do it instead of the other writing you should be doing.

You can still earn income from your other freelance writing and affiliate marketing while writing your books at the same time.

And every day you’ll feel like a winner AND you’ll be earning money from your writing.

It’s a win-win.

Free Grammar Checker Browser Extension

No doubt you've heard of the free grammar checker called Grammarly.

But do you know it's free to use

And...

It comes with a free browser extension for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox?

Grammarly is now being used by Millions of writers worldwide and it's also licensed by more than 600 leading universities and corporations.

And professionals use Grammarly to provide  help and instant feedback on the accuracy, impact, and credibility of their English writing in a variety of fields, such as law, healthcare, marketing, engineering, and journalism.

Not to mention writers like you and me who benefit through Grammarly's ability to instantly fix over 400 types of errors, most of which Microsoft Word can't find.

Grammarly makes sure everything you type is easy to read, effective, and mistake-free.

The software can correct over 400 types of grammatical mistakes while also catching contextual spelling errors and poor vocabulary usage.

And you can use it to find the perfect word every time with context-optimised synonym suggestions, unlike cheap article "spinners" that have no idea of the context in which you're trying to use your words. See my bad experience of this when someone "spun" my articles at The Malicious Reaction of a Resentful Copyright Infringer.

Grammarly’s algorithms flag potential issues in your text and suggest context-specific corrections for grammar, spelling, and vocabulary.

And it even explains the reasoning behind each correction, so you can make an informed decision about how and whether to correct an issue.

You can download the free browser app by going to the Grammarly website and clicking the link.

Or scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll see the link for "native apps" which will take you to the download page for the free Grammarly text editor that you can use for every document you write.

You can drag and drop a document into the Grammarly text window or copy and paste it there. Or alternately, you can type straight into the text window and let Grammarly find problems as you type. When you've finished you can export your finished document to anywhere on your computer.

It really is that simple to use.

And did I tell you it's free?

And the browser app works with almost anything you're writing whether you’re using Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and almost everywhere else you write on the web.

It's spotted so many errors in my writing already that I daren't NOT use it any more (how grammatically incorrect was that sentence?).

I definitely don't want to use it in public either because everyone will see how many errors I make in my writing.

And I'm supposed to be a professional.   :(