Author MJ Pullen, the Distracted Writer

Posts Categorized: The Distracted Writer

Follow M.J. Pullen’s blog posts about writing and publishing. Geared toward beginning writers, pre-published authors. seasoned veterans, and authors attempting to navigate platform development on social media.

Relevant to self-publishing, traditional publishing, indie authors and hybrid authors.

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Featured image for Distracted Writer: “Write Every Day or Quit” Controversy - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WritingTruth-1-300x300.jpg
About a week ago, some dude named Stephen Hunter (okay, he’s actually a Pulitzer-prize winning critic and multi-published thriller author) started an Internet kerfuffle among writers by publishing an article in The Daily Beast called, “If You Want to Write a Book, Write Every Day or Quit Now.” I’ve written on my mixed feelings about  […]
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Featured image for Daring or Delusion - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/RWE-Waterfall-300x300.jpg
Well, I did it. Two weeks ago I took myself out of the running for an amazing training and development job, before the third round of interviews. The job was everything my Day Job Self was looking for: exciting, challenging, learning-focused. I’d have been working in a company known for its amazing corporate culture on  […]
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Featured image for Distracted Writer: Saying Goodbye to the Bear - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/bear-878151_640-300x200.jpg
“In writing, you must kill your darlings.” ~ William Faulkner. Every writer has heard this is advice. Most, at one time or another, have secretly hoped it didn’t apply to them. Some have agonized over it. And the best writers have learned to apply it: painfully, judiciously. It’s more than a platitude, more than a  […]
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Over on The Draft House page today, I wrote about the struggle to write my first novel, the amazing support I got from my family, and how my biggest obstacle to success turned out to be… me. When I started my first novel, THE MARRIAGE PACT, in 2010 (or, I should say, when I started the  […]
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Featured image for Distracted Writer: Don’t Quit Your Day Job - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Syliva-Plath-Quote-300x300.jpg
In my last Distracted Writer post, I talked about the challenges of having a day job and writing at the same time. Let’s be honest, if you’re a writer with a day job, you probably didn’t need me to tell you how hard it is. Duh. So today I thought I’d try the less-explored angle  […]
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Featured image for Distracted Writer: Turns Out, the Day Job is… Work - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/OprahQuoteEveryDay-300x300.jpg
I talked for a long time last night with a fellow author in another state, one of those great conversations that left me feeling energized and inspired and thinking about my writing career with renewed vigor. There’s not much I love more than a candid, frenzied conversation with another writer. Writers get my special brand  […]
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Featured image for The Distracted Writer: New Year’s Resolutions - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/WritingClock-300x300.jpg
Welcome to The Distracted Writer, your resource for… Ooh! Shiny objects! You can see all M.J.’s distracted (and distracting) writing posts here. 2016 is well underway, and while I don’t know yet if it will be as eventful as 2015, I am super excited about making this a year to find balance as a working  […]
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Featured image for A Writer’s Apology - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ImSorry.jpg
Sundown tonight begins Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, and the time during which we fast in order to “afflict our souls” and try very hard to focus on atoning for our wrongs (rather than counting the minutes until sundown tomorrow when we can eat and drink again). In between Rosh Hashanah  […]
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Featured image for Atlanta Writers: Self-Publishing + Author Platform – Get Tickets Here - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/WorkshopTestimonial-300x300.jpg
There are still tickets left for my Self-Publishing and Author Platform Workshops next weekend. This will probably be the last Atlanta-area workshop for several months, so come on down! Date: Saturday, January 24, 2015 Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Self-Publishing) and 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Author Platform) Place: Meeting Room #5, Smyrna Community  […]
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Featured image for Self-Publishing and Author Platform Workshops – January 24, 2015 - Image Source at http://mjpullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/WorkshopTestimonial-300x300.jpg
Two workshops. One day. One happy author. January 24, 2015 Smyrna Community Center, Room #5 Smyrna, Georgia Part 1: Self-Publishing: Perks, Pitfalls and Process (see description below) Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For: Writers of all levels and genres (fiction and non-fiction) who are considering self-publishing or weighing their publishing options Cost: $80 Part  […]
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