You know, kids need to feel like they're not being drowned out by superior competitors and they'll make that connection that, with a little more effort, I can compete. I can be competitive. I can be successful here with a little more effort and application and they learn that themselves. It's not just us telling them how hard you work matters. They need to feel it on their own.
Po BronsonThere was a culture that came out of the self-esteem movement which was don't anybody keep track of the goals. The kids keep track, but nobody keep track of the goals because we don't want the kids to have the experience of losing. And in depriving them losing, thinking it scarred them to lose, we made losing so taboo, so unspeakable, that we instead made losing more scary to kids, not less scary.
Po BronsonMake sure your characters are worth spending ten hours with. Thatโs how long it takes to read a book. Reading a book is like being trapped in a room for ten hours with those characters. Think of your main characters as dinner guests. Would your friends want to spend ten hours with the characters youโve created? Your characters can be loveable, or they can be evil, but theyโd better be compelling. If not, your reader will be bored and leave.
Po BronsonA piece of writing has to seduce the reader; it has to suspend disbelief and earn the reader's trust.
Po Bronson