tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44918483739640799802024-03-13T16:06:14.517-05:00Mental Health for WritersStaying sane in an artificially difficult profession.Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.comBlogger383125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-11120446107078938422013-11-10T10:14:00.000-06:002020-02-22T23:35:32.546-06:00More Recent Posts on the BlogPosts on the BookEval.com Blog
How to Get Paid for Writing
Words I Mispronounced
Tips for Writing Dialogue
I've Had Enough of "You" (Second Personal Singular) in Poetry
Find Your Publisher in Less Than One Day
Earning an Online MFA: How it works, by an online professor
Why Fiction and Nonfiction Both Need Subplots
I Can Never Remember What "Exposition" Is
From "Complaining Is Like BadCatherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-53399700363499978512013-01-22T22:54:00.001-06:002014-11-18T00:02:50.885-06:00Recent Posts For Creative Writers: Your Sanity and MinePosts at the Sanity Blog, located at Catherine's home, BookEval.com
Workshop Advice That Will Ruin Personal Essays
Bored with Death
Don't write about your uncle's cancer and death. Write about his life.
Pumping Up Prose Style
Competence is not enough anymore.
And I hope you read:
Coffee Makes You FaT
A Writer with $10
11 Lessons from National Novel Writing Month
("the fourth dimension ofCatherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-76156051883447170082012-07-15T19:07:00.001-05:002014-11-18T00:07:17.797-06:00Latest Posts in the Sanity BubbleMental Health for Writers has moved here to the Sanity Blog. New posts worth your while include:
On Giving Up My Land Line (July 15)
I've Had Enough of "You" (Second Person Plural) in Poetry (June 16) (gosh; this one's really popular!)
Two "Things" That Will Improve Your Poems (June 9)
What's "A Rhetorical Poem"? and Why Nobody Tells You About Them (June 7)
A Rare Look Inside the Writer's Cabin Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-72756869118947631302012-05-21T10:38:00.000-05:002013-01-22T22:57:15.793-06:00The Questions are Big, the Answers SmallThe questions of art are big, but the answers are small:
For years I didn't want to write. I wasn't blocked; I just somehow wasn't up to it. Realized that I needed but did not have a comfortable chair to sit in, and that the writing table at home was too high off the floor and uncomfortable to work at. Got some used office furniture that is just right. The chair that fits me best is a Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-73097323995655652972012-05-14T09:57:00.003-05:002014-11-18T00:08:50.699-06:00Latest Entries for Writers' Mental HealthClick here for a writerly therapy session or two:
"I'd Rather Be Rejected," May 14, 2012
Link to "Why Afghan Women Risk Death to Write Poetry," NYT, April 29, 2012
"The 13 Most Common Errors on a Novel's First Page," April 26, 2012
"Silence as a Tool in Poetry," April 26, 2012
"The Idea Box," April 17, 2012
"If You Don't Come to My Reading, I Won't Come to Yours, etc." April 14, 2012
"Deleting Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-64748318135381830392012-04-03T12:52:00.008-05:002012-07-15T19:24:35.250-05:00Catching Up with the Sanity BubbleI apologize for having been inactive. Some relatively recent entries worth reading are:
Applying Online for an Official U.S. Copyright (Oct. 16)
Hating the Teacher (Dec. 13)
Not Compromising on Candor (January 1)
Best Yahoo Group for Writers: CRWROPPS-B (January 4)
I Have a Dream for Writers (Feb. 18; scroll down on this page)
The Surprise Package of Life ( March 5)
Ten Reasons to Sleep with a Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-35241766885467582022012-02-18T18:28:00.010-06:002012-02-20T13:09:55.979-06:00I Have a Dream For WritersFeb. 18, 2012I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the lowest point in the history of American writers.Two score and nine years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, gave a speech known as “I Have a Dream.” A great statesman and great writer, he spoke of another American who had lived a hundred years before, also a great statesman and Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-71757627176473148052011-10-11T11:56:00.003-05:002011-10-11T12:07:53.950-05:00Latest Posts in the Sanity BubbleThe dog days are over and the blog is back:Sic Transit Gloria (11 October)The Oddity of One's Own New Book (9 October)'Tis the Season to Rip Off New Authors (8 October)The Joy of Printing (4 October)The Writer's Hangover (29 September)Making $ on the HubPages "Content Farm" (29 September)The Bar-Code Scandal (10 September)Walrus Publishing Interviews Me (2 September)Veblen's Vacation Home (24 Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-16027760191680118002011-07-24T11:28:00.000-05:002011-07-24T11:28:01.065-05:00New Posts in the Sanity BubbleClick here to visit and read the current month of Sanity Bubble (formerly Mental Health for Writers) blog entries:More About the Experiment with Voices and Chance (July 24)Talking With: Dwight Bitikofer (July 18)An Experiment with Voices and Chance (July 18)Why Housepets Are Not a Good Subject for a Book (July 13)Never Do Anything Out of Desperation (July 7)The 32 Drawings (July 3)How Not to Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-9458390227788800752011-06-27T22:46:00.005-05:002011-06-27T22:53:42.919-05:00New Posts in the Sanity BubbleCheck the Sanity Bubble for these:Not Everything is a Joke (June 27)I Could Vacation on This Money, or I Could Print a Book (June 21)When Is It Right to Give Someone Your Book? (June 18)Outsource THIS (June 13)When Writers are Describing YOU (June 13)Discovering the Power of the Written Word (June 13)The Death of Capacity: Having No Time to Write (June 7)Sleeping Next to God (June 4)Compromise Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-75068050639614050762011-05-20T23:35:00.007-05:002011-05-21T00:37:28.578-05:00Recent Blog Posts in the Sanity BubbleHow to Destroy a Writer's Conference (May 20)E-Books Outsell Paperbacks for the First Time (May 13)How Do I Get My Book Reviewed? (May 12)My Mom For President (May 8)Good Books with Not-So-Good Covers (May 8)Choosing a Book Cover: A Matter of Self-Respect (May 8)Anxious Authors (May 5)Deconstructing Online Dating Profiles (May 3)Meet Us May 7 at Left Bank Books (April 30)A Battle in the Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-14455129564046216942011-04-19T17:21:00.006-05:002011-04-19T17:31:11.546-05:00New Blog PostsRecent posts in the Sanity Bubble; comments welcome:Literary Lies (April 19)Why the Agent Stops Reading at Page 2 (April 15)Talking With: Alice Azure, Native American Author (April 14)Here's a Rejection I Like (April 12)The Myth of the Lone Writer (April 11)Time Trick That Works (April 8)Turning Away from Toxic Friends (April 5)Why Katie Couric Didn't Wash (April 3)Writing an Author a Fan Letter Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-30660697720156196462011-03-24T21:23:00.004-05:002011-03-24T21:30:19.682-05:00Catch Up on the BlogGo to the Sanity Bubble for new posts:The King and I (24 March)Coming: Professional-Writer Certification (22 March)The Fake Job Interview (21 March)St. Louis Indie Bookstore Alliance Goes Wild (13 March)Using "Dialect" in Poetry and Prose (5 March)What's Wrong with Flashbacks (3 March)Don't Let Your Prologue Give Your Novel Away (3 March)Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-79121917147285568442011-02-24T12:45:00.010-06:002011-02-24T13:31:20.073-06:00New Mental Health EntriesClick here for these new entries:Creative Nonfiction Has Begun to Suck (24 February)How Embarrassed I Am, Part One (21 February)Did You Accidentally Hire a Poet? A Checklist (15 February)Recap of UMSL Small-Publishers Panel (12 February)The First Writer I Ever Saw (10 February)When Three People Show Up (10 February)The Mental Health for Writers blog has moved to www.bookeval.com/sanity-bubble. Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-56783259857899792142011-02-24T12:44:00.001-06:002011-02-24T12:45:45.483-06:00Worry: The Most Creative of the ArtsPlease click here to see the above entry at my new site.Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-19292801973694651272011-01-24T21:26:00.002-06:002011-01-24T21:28:52.722-06:00If I'd Known I Was Going to Live This Long... (1/23/2011)Doc looking at MRIs of my spine said, Do you over-sit?I once had the Romantic notion that I wouldn't live beyond my thirties, but I did, go figure, and accumulating hours upon hours, year after year in a chair, as writers do, ultimately wrecks your spine. Doesn't matter if you sit straight or on an expensive task chair or a medicine ball; bodies weren't made to sit for hours. Ergonomic gear Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-48007611263881779042011-01-24T21:18:00.003-06:002011-01-24T21:25:53.668-06:00Sneaky Self-Promotion for Idiot Authors (1/13/2011)Dying to get their books into bookstores, or sell bookstore stock, authors actually do these things:Artificial Insemination: After printing colorful card-stock promotional bookmarks featuring the title and purchase information for one’s own book, an author sticks these bookmarks into store copies of bestsellers. Disturbing the Universe: A writer in a bookstore Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-50070708793307638982011-01-24T21:16:00.003-06:002011-01-24T21:24:13.465-06:00Honesty is Such a Jobless Word (1/8/2011)Job interview #1: I meet the exhausted bottle-blond interviewer in late afternoon. Staff had all fled their cubicles at 4:00 p.m. thanks to flextime; the place was tomb-like. "Nice office," I lied, starting an exchange of lies that lasted an hour: she pretended to interview me and I pretended to want the job.Job interview #2: The hiring committee had a projector so candidates could present Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-7929065196039924172011-01-08T20:44:00.005-06:002011-01-08T20:49:32.866-06:00Blog Has Moved - and Been Renamed - Go There!Hello. My new online home including the blog (now renamed "Sanity Bubble") is BookEval.com. You can leave comments on the entries as usual. I will eventually move all 300 blog entries onto that site. Come see my amazing new space! Thank you so much.Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-60041652373154494032010-12-02T16:29:00.002-06:002010-12-02T16:31:11.343-06:00Blog Will Resume Around January 1Dear Readers: A new catherinerankovic.com website is being built and, good news for anyone who missed it, this blog will be restarted around January 1. I am having it designed by a team in Santa Monica which intends to surprise me. See you soon,CatherineCatherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-32071449285132988952010-09-30T23:40:00.009-05:002011-01-13T23:42:03.077-06:00The BeginningThe story of this picture: These are the Guilty Pleasures authors, the Doves, my writing group from 2000 to 2007. We got a book accepted in 2002 and published in spring 2003. In August of 2002 we had a group author photo taken. We fooled around with all sorts of different "guilty pleasures" props (tiaras, etc.) and were inexperienced enough to choose as our jacket photo a more serious one than Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-38899955514500266982010-09-26T11:20:00.005-05:002010-09-26T12:02:04.608-05:00Pseudonym! Gesundheit!One Halloween when I was in grad school, I borrowed a suit and tie, glued on a mustache and went about disguised as a man. What fun that evening was! What power I felt! What confidence! So different to feel sure that the whole street was mine, instead of feeling that muggers and harassers owned it. The whole world was mine! (Because of the double takes I got, I know I looked at least somewhat Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-45835017656290321012010-09-24T20:20:00.007-05:002010-09-24T21:19:11.899-05:00Invisible WritersFor the past seven weeks I've been reviewing online horoscopes twice a week and posting reviews -- 20 of them now -- that have been read over 2,000 times. I'm an astrology student from way back, and one day started doing this both to write and to perform a public service. I exposed two fake astrologers and dug up the truth for two others, honest and sincere people who had no idea how their work Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-30991437455810365252010-09-22T08:39:00.006-05:002010-09-22T09:06:59.284-05:00Touring a BookstoreEvery writer should tour a bookstore in the company of a manager. Did this yesterday for a class. The manager had 24 years' experience in the business. Bookstore facts:A new book's lifespan on the displays "up front" is seven to 21 days. The book then moves to "the stacks" or regular shelving.A new book's lifespan in the stacks is 90 days.After 90 days the bookstore and publisher begin the Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491848373964079980.post-19068990280578750862010-09-17T01:40:00.003-05:002010-09-17T01:40:00.056-05:00Girls and GoalsI asked a classroom of adult women writers what their writing goals were. They all said, more or less, "I'd like to publish a book one day.""Great," I said. "Why do you want to publish? To make money? For fame? To leave a mark on the world?""Just for my own personal satisfaction," was the response, and everyone nodded. "Just to know that someone else, one publisher, thought my writing was good.""Catherine Rankovichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245226041172987336noreply@blogger.com3