Clay Stafford’s
SUCCESS POINTS

The words “perfection,” “perfectionism,” and “perfectionist” sound like stellar attributes. They suggest discipline, responsibility, reliability, and professionalism. They may be, but sometimes what looks like perfectionism is really our attempt to protect ourselves...

Walk into the mountains of an Appalachian forest, explore the rustic sections of the Emerald Coast in Florida, or climb the hilly woodlands of North Georgia, and one of the first things you notice is how quickly the outside world disappears. Roads slip away, along...

Before you create or build your perfect life, you have to honestly answer a surprisingly personal and difficult question: what does “perfect” actually and intrinsically mean to you? Too often, we inherit our idea of “perfect” from our parents, community, peers,...

One of the biggest mistakes an adult can make when writing a chapter book for kids is to assume that children care about lesser things than adults do. They don’t. Kids simply care about different things. To a child, losing a best friend can feel as devastating as a...

We never learn everything. One of the most dangerous moments I’ve seen in writers’ careers is when I sense they have come to view themselves as “experts.” In any profession, that is a death sentence for a career. For a writer, it means they have reached a peak they...

At various points in their lives, writers must give a speech. One of the biggest mistakes writers make is preparing a speech before clearly defining its purpose. They build slides, collect stories, write introductions, and practice delivery, but they never answer the...

From my many decades of working with writers at all levels of success, I’ve observed that writers in general do not lack ambition, but they do lack measurable direction. Sincere writers work extremely hard on the task at hand, but they fail to look ahead. Even when...

One of the fastest ways I’ve seen writers experience burnout is by expecting first drafts to be finished and ready for submission. It’s surprising how often I hear this perspective, especially among newer writers. Burnout comes when expectations are not met....

When you think about publishing a book, you’ll soon hear the phrase “The Big Five.” The term comes up often in discussions with agents about book deals, advances, marketing, and career growth. Most writers, especially early in their careers, do not fully understand...

One of the most reliable ways to capture a reader’s attention from the very first line of your manuscript is to show a character doing something unusual. Not necessarily dangerous or dramatic, but unusual enough to make the reader pause and ask a simple question: Why...

Many writers I consult with believe that their greatest struggle, their most common problem, is time. They worry about deadlines, how long research will take, unfinished manuscripts they wish they had already completed, future success, and past mistakes that haunt...

For the Grits 4 cups chicken stock 1 cup whole milk 1 cup stone-ground grits (quick grits work if needed) 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons salted butter .5 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt For the Shrimp 2.5-pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and detailed...