Categories
Writer Encouragement

The Kindness of Billy Graham by Elaine Cooper

With the passing of evangelist Billy Graham this week, the man’s legacy has been much on my mind. Billy Graham has been the conduit of the Holy Spirit’s work in drawing untold numbers of believers to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. His message was powerful and clear: You must be born again.

Yet within that mighty message was the demeanor of a man filled with humility and kindness. Mr. Graham was not naïve. He wisely prevented any hint of scandals in his traveling ministry, ensuring that he was never alone with any woman other than his wife. While men in this day and age seem to be mocked for such a conservative choice, Mr. Graham held fast to that rule until the day he died. I’m sure he was met in heaven with the voice that said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

It was his attitude of servant-hood that truly stands out. This week, watching video after video of him through the years, I was struck by the man’s kindness towards all, even politicians and others who could cause my own neck hairs to bristle. His gentle spirit makes me somewhat ashamed of what my own reaction might be if I were in his shoes, greeting people with whom I strongly disagree. I suppose that’s why Billy Graham was offered these opportunities to share the Lord’s love and I was not!

While we each of us have our own platform to share the love of Jesus, I am deeply moved to try to be more like Billy Graham. I will likely never reach the numbers of readers that Mr. Graham reached in his ministry. But even in my small sphere of influence, I pray that God will instill in me a gentle and kind spirit. Not with a weak message about salvation but with a strong message of Christ’s love written with humility. A kindness that will allow others to see Jesus through my writing.

Well done, Mr. Graham.

Elaine Marie Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her latest release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She penned the three-book Deer Run Saga and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. She freely admits to being a history geek. She has recently signed a four-book contract with Burnett Young Books. The series is set in Connecticut during the American Revolution. You can visit her site at www.elainemariecooper.com

 

Categories
Dear Young Scribes

How to Create a Marketing Plan for your Book—Before it’s Contracted

Marketing isn’t exactly an author’s favorite job. After all, aren’t writers supposed to keep producing books and rely on their publishers to sell their books for them?

That used to be the case. But now, agents and publishers search to sign with authors who understand how to market a book. They want to trust that the writer will be committed and work hard toward placing their book in front of its target audience.

This is why it’s vital that aspiring authors don’t just learn how to write a book; they must also learn how to create a marketing plan. And yes, it’s smart to do this even before your book is contracted.

For my clients at Hartline Literary Agency, I like to walk them through the process of creating a marketing plan in their proposal. A plan they can put into action when the book releases.

Most writers, I’ve noticed, only include brief promotional ideas under the “Marketing” section of their book proposal. But rather than writing a brief paragraph about a few of your marketing ideas, why not create an action plan—just like you’d do if the book were preparing to release?

Doing this will do 3 things:

  1.  Prove to the editor that you know what it takes to market a book.
  2. Increase your chances of selling the book to a publisher.
  3. Make marketing easier for you once the book is released. How? Because you’ll already have your plan in place.

Even if you haven’t reached the book proposal creation stage, I highly recommend that you go ahead and begin crafting the first draft of your marketing plan.

That way, once it’s time to put your marketing section together for your proposal, you won’t be tempted to write the following paragraph:

“To market this book, I’ll hold book signings at bookstores and sell the book at writing conferences. Some other ideas include: hold giveaways and contests on my social media accounts, do a blog tour, and speak at schools and libraries.”      

Please do not write that into your book proposal. If you really want to stand out and impress the editor, then you’ll want to create an actual marketing plan.

Here’s how:

  1. Categorize your plan into the type of marketing.

For example…

ONLINE MARKETING

PRINT MARKETING

TV/RADIO MARKETING

CREATIVE MARKETING

SPEAKING

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

  1. Beneath each category, list about 3 – 7 steps you’ll take once the book is published. Be specific by listing the newspapers, magazines, radio stations, etc. that you’d like to reach out to once the book is published.

For example:

ONLINE MARKETING:

  • Arrange a 10 – 30-stop blog tour surrounding the release of the book
  • Submit articles to teen websites, such as [list here]
  • Hold a 15-day Instagram challenge using the hashtag #PursueYourDreams
  • Invite my street team to read an early copy of my book in exchange for an honest review
  • Plan a book cover reveal with my street team members

As you create your marketing plan, keep in mind that you are not expected to do it all. If your marketing plan is too extensive, then the editor probably won’t take it too seriously. Be sure to write a plan that you will put into action. Make it realistic and reasonable by giving ideas that you know you can follow through with.

Only choose marketing efforts that 1) you’re passionate about, 2) you can logistically put into action, and 2) that will reach your target audience. Even better if your marketing strategies can intersect the three!

My advice? Familiarize yourself with how to market a book. Don’t wait until you have a contract. Not only will this impress an agent/publisher, but it’ll also take pressure off of yourself once you do sign a contract and begin navigating the intimidating waters of marketing.

Who knows? You might even discover that you enjoy the idea of marketing more than you thought you would!

What are your favorite marketing strategies? Do you enjoy the process of marketing, or would you prefer to spend the time writing instead? Let me know in the comments!

[bctt tweet=”How to Create a Marketing Plan for your Book—Before it’s Contracted #writerslife #amwriting @TessaEmilyHall ” username=””]

Categories
Guest Posts

Using Ancestors’ Stories in Fiction By Ora Smith

Just how far back into your past can you reach to find new ideas for writing? Family history (genealogy) is the second most popular hobby in America, making it easy to find information online. Have you ever considered using stories or unusual events that happened in your ancestors’ lives in your novel? As writers, we must always be willing to look for new and creative concepts. When writing fiction about ancestors, you can balance facts with imagination.

Learning about your ancestors can be a treasure trove for character building, plotting, settings, and so much more. One of the most famous examples of an author using his progenitors in a novel would be Alex Haley when he wrote Roots. But did you know Nathaniel Hawthorne loosely based The Scarlet Letter on his strict Puritan ancestors? Or that Emily Bronte in the gothic novel, Wuthering Heights, based the unusual and imbalanced character of Heathcliff from an ancestor?

Our ancestors’ stories often hold potential for great plot lines. You can write their stories as historical fiction, or bring their experiences forward into contemporary times or even the future. It’s possible the struggles your progenitors experienced on the Oregon Trail or settling a new land may be the very same experiences a colony in space may come up against. If you’re an American, then its more than likely you have immigrant ancestors. Often their stories are full of learning, strife, hate, fear, and misunderstandings from both the country they left and the one they settled. Assimilation is usually not easy. Finding the motivation behind these issues might be where a story lies.

You can find ideas on how to create well-rounded and interesting characters from people in your family tree. Experiences, hardships, and relationships make us different from one another. Rarely are people all-good or all-evil. Create fully dimensional villains by thinking of the worst person in your family then round them out with at least one redeeming quality. People are always more complex than they seem, as your characters should be. From one of my ancestors I formed a character who steals from his mother, lies without hesitation, has alcohol and drug abuse issues, and has spent time in prison for crimes you shouldn’t speak of in polite society. Yet, he’s partially redeemed by his sensitivity and the memories of his family he holds close to his heart.

People’s life experiences shape them. Find out social, economic, religious, and political backgrounds. Did they grow up in a big family, or were they an only child? How much education did they receive and was it traditional? Were they illiterate? Did they love the earth and farm the land? Did the family carry traits from their homeland brought to the country of immigration? Did their name spelling change? Did they have to learn a new language?

Interviewing the oldest living relatives in your family is a good place to start. Ask what they remember about their parents and grandparents. Writing about family members means researching clues to figure out what kind of life they led, who they loved, how they loved, and what they did with their lives.

To find your ancestors, you could use family history websites such as ancestry.com, chroniclingamerica.com, cyndislist.com, and archives.com. Some of these websites can help you track down living descendants of your ancestor’s siblings. It’s a great way to find photos because people usually didn’t keep their own portraits, but gave them away to family members. A face is worth a thousand words—let your imagination go wild and write those thousand words from your ancestor’s likeness.

Old census records can be valuable information for how many were in a family and what their occupations were. And it’s amazing what can be found in a courthouse. They hold records of births, marriages, deaths, and so much more. Court records can help you find drama about relatives who were criminals, but also those who were victims. Land records could demonstrate an ancestor’s lifestyle and wealth. Perhaps they didn’t own land, but instead followed the migration to uncharted territories of the Wild West.

Researching and writing about your ancestors can help you come to respect them for who they were and the paths they chose. In knowing who your ancestors were and writing about them, you can shed light on their adversities giving their experiences significance and perhaps new insight. Transform them into characters that suit the needs of your story. You could even write yourself as a fictional character searching for his or her past and unlocking family secrets. Don’t forget to leave room for your imagination to take your readers to new and interesting places.

Bio

For more than twenty years Ora Smith has taught family history classes at conferences and given individual instruction. She received her Master of Arts in Nonfiction Creative Writing at Wilkes University. She also writes fiction and recently won the 2017 Phoenix Rattlers contest for historical fiction. You can connect with her through her blog Writing About Ancestors, Facebook, Twitter

 

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Secret of Your Success by Laura L. Zimmerman

Success.

For writers this word can mean different things. One author may feel success has been achieved once their first book is in print. Another may decide it is only once a certain award has been attained.

Because success is subjective, it can reflect different values within each of us. However, the pitfalls of these ideals are that our perceptions of success can change over time to the point that we are never satisfied with our achievements. This can be particularly difficult for fantasy and sci-fi writers because it is becoming more difficult to sell these genres within the Christian market. If we continue to put our value on our work being published or the accolades it receives, we may never feel we’ve reached true success.

As Christian writers, we have the ability to use a different measuring stick. Instead of applying external measures to guide our definition of success, we can focus on how God measures it. Many authors of faith would say they write because they feel that God has given them the words to write. If you choose to change your idea of what success is, then you may be able to avoid those times of frustration.

Celebrate success each time you complete a short story or a magazine article. Reward yourself for every story you complete—whether it’s for a contest or when you finish that full-length novel. Instead of celebrating years down the road when your work is published, choose to celebrate accomplishment in the moment. This gives you the chance to see success every single day or several times per week! God wants to see his children celebrating the words He has given us to write.

There is no need for external measures of success when you write with God.

The book industry can sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride, and it’s changing every year. The idea that it is harder for fantasy and sci-fi authors to get their work published can be a daunting task. But changing your perspective on how you write just might be the answer to the success of your writing, and the encouragement needed to continue to write with God.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mama to three daughters and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter @lauralzimm and at her website Caffeinated Fiction at www.lauralzimmerman.com

Categories
Writers Chat

When Writing and Fiction Collide with Jolina Petersheim

Jolina Petersheim attracts stories like mint draws butterflies. Enjoy this episode of Writers Chat when she shares how each of her novels have been drawn from a personal, painful yet poignant thread of real life. You won’t want to miss it!

Jolina Petersheim is the critically-acclaimed author of The Alliance, The Midwife, and The Outcast, which Library Journal called “outstanding . . . fresh and inspirational” in a starred review and named one of the best books of 2013. That book also became an ECPA, CBA, and Amazon bestseller and was featured in Huffington Post’s Fall Picks, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and the Tennessean. CBA Retailers + Resources called her second book, The Midwife, “an excellent read [that] will be hard to put down.” Booklist selected The Alliance as one of their Top 10 Inspirational Fiction Titles for 2016, and it was selected as a Christy Award finalist. Jolina’s nonfiction writing has been featured in Reader’s Digest, Writer’s Digest, and Today’s Christian Woman.

She and her husband share the same unique Amish and Mennonite heritage that originated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but they now live in the mountains of Tennessee with their two young daughters.

Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our
Facebook Group.

Categories
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

I’m A-Grinnin’ by Carlton Hughes

lighter look at a writer's life

I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and I have always had a theory about families and entertainment from that era. It is a theory worthy of educational research, intellectual pontification, and possibly a special segment on the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda.

Here’s my theory: you can divide families from that era into two camps—you were either a Hee Haw family or a Lawrence Welk Show family.

There, I said it, on the record, if you will. For you young whipper-snappers out there (who probably don’t even know what a whipper-snapper is and who need to GET OFF MY LAWN right now), back in the dark ages we had no cell phones, no Netflix, no YouTube. We had to watch programs as THEY AIRED on television. In my house, we even had to get up and MANUALLY CHANGE THE CHANNEL, right after we trudged across the prairie to Olsen’s Mercantile for sundries.

On Saturday nights from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM in most markets, there were two main choices, as different as night and day: Hee Haw or Lawrence Welk.

The Lawrence Welk Show was helmed by a famous bandleader, who, in his lilting accent, introduced classic songs and showtunes, performed by sharply-dressed (we’re talking ball gowns and tuxedoes) beautiful people while bubbles wafted around them. I am not kidding—look it up. It was perceived as culturally-enriching, sophisticated entertainment.

With Hee Haw, you got men in overalls and flannel and ladies in gingham and pig tails telling the corniest of jokes, often in the middle of a cornfield. Music was provided by popular country singers of the day. One of my favorite segments was the used car commercial parodies featuring Junior Samples, a portly man who, in his thick Southern accent, encouraged us to call “BR-549” for the latest deal. There were no showtunes, bubbles, evening gowns, nor tuxedoes in sight.

Our Saturday choice was always Hee Haw. We were a blue-collar family in a rural Southern town, so it made sense (although I did have friends from Lawrence Welk families, but they were in the minority). As I theorize, I realize those Saturday night broadcasts influenced my writing.

I love to write humor—shocking, I know—and will never miss a chance to include a corny joke. Even in my day job as a teacher, I always go for cheap humor. The other day my students were introducing themselves, and one boy said he was from Indiana (I still live in the South, in Kentucky). My response: “Boy, that has to be the longest bus ride every day!” It was like I was standing in the cornfield with Archie Campbell (another Hee Haw regular).

I prefer a simpler, folksy approach to writing, much like my Hee Haw brethren. I am not knocking those who watched Lawrence Welk and even have actual friends in that camp who are fine writers. I guess I feel more comfortable on the “lowbrow” side of things, but there’s room for both of us.

That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it. I can’t pick, but I am a-grinnin’.

Carlton Hughes grew up watching classic television and riding his bicycle without a helmet (don’t try that at home). He is a communications professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, children’s pastor at Lynch Church of God, and a freelance writer. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Simple Little Words, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing: Let the Earth Rejoice, So God Made a Dog, Just Breathe, and the forthcoming Everyday Grace for Men. He loves good chocolate, University of Kentucky Basketball, and I Love Lucy reruns.

Categories
Literary Women in Histor

Keen Eyes, Core Values, and Jane Austen’s Pen by Kathryn Ross

It is only a novel . . . or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humor are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.

Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen, not yet twenty years of age in the late 18th century, penned the novel, Northanger Abbey. The story explored how easily a young mind can be filled with nonsense and ignoble values through the reading of sensationalistic novels. Void of true substance and moral life values, books and stories like this have always been with us. Jane read them—pop literature—and learned early the emptiness of such works. Northanger Abbey’s heroine, Catherine Moreland, walks out in fiction the non-fiction life lessons Jane discovered in her youth regarding the power and value of literature in forming the mind and character.

Jane’s keen eye to identify the noble and ridiculous in her sphere of society and the culture of her day was a foundational asset to her writing life, and the ultimate contribution she made to classic literature. How was she groomed to hold this esteemed place among women writers in the world of Western prose?

Born in 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire in the English countryside, her lively Christian home of six brothers and one older sister filled her youth with creative stimulation and activity. Informed by academic and biblical faith habits, honed under the tutelage of her father, the parish rector of Steventon and headmaster of a boys school, her gifts for clever insight, wit, and writing were enjoyed and encouraged by her family. Many a night found them gathered to hear her read from one of her essays or short stories, sparking approving laughter and engaging conversation.

Eventually, with the aid of her older brother Henry, her novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published under an anonymous byline to national acclaim. Pride and Prejudice followed, surpassing S&S as her most famous work.

In her short life, Jane left six complete novels and was eleven chapters into her final work at the time of her death at age 42 in 1817. Modern doctors, reviewing the scant clues in her letters and journals detailing the symptoms of her debilitating illness have pointed to Addison’s disease as the culprit. Even so, the legacy of her small body of work to contemporary women writers is easy to distill into a handful of tips. The above quote from Northanger Abbey lays the foundation of her work and best practices for writers today:

  • Greatest Powers of the Mind Displayed: Write intelligent, truthful words, telling stories well layered in depth and substance.
  • Thorough Knowledge of Human Nature: Study the underlying truth in people, the inward workings of the human heart, and the effects and consequences of choices in life.
  • Happiest Delineation of Its [human nature] Varieties: Celebrate the most noble core values in humanity that are good, true, and worthy to be praised and imitated.
  • Liveliest Effusions of Wit and Humor: Use winsome words to craft entertaining scenes and engaging characters that compellingly illustrate truth.
  • Best-Chosen Language: Employ proper technical language skills with a rich vocabulary and word usage.

This tip list was employed in every one of Jane’s classic novels, which also included Emma, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion. Each one gave us a host of memorable, complex characters, timeless storylines involving family relationships and the quest for true love, and idyllic country settings providing an escape and refreshment to mind and heart.

But the most captivating aspect of Jane’s writing for me as a reader and writer, is her ability to present the working out of biblical truth and principles within real life scenes, characters, and plot elements. Without the need to preach, Jane’s works teach God’s Word in her illustrations of life and living within the constraints of her era and society. When I read an Austen novel, I easily recognize Scriptures coming to life through the life of the story. Sticky stories—that entertain and educate me in the way of truth.

 It is one of life’s great pleasures to finish a book and feel the satisfaction of not only having read a well-crafted story, but of learning a valuable life lesson about God and human nature.

Steffany Woolsey
A Jane Austen Devotional

 Imagine my delight when I came into possession of A Jane Austen Devotional, by Steffany Woolsey. Ms. Woolsey saw in Jane’s work what had always inspired me, both as a Christian and a writer: Jane Austen’s Christian faith core values were the compass steering her stories and character development.

To that end, there are a host of examples to be gleaned from Jane’s novels that, when pondered, clearly illustrate biblical truth. Woolsey discusses this in the Introduction to her devotional:

Austen’s writing is newly illuminated when held up to Scripture. In probing her novels for biblical insights on living and loving, we are reminded of humanity’s innate desire for relationship with the Creator. Through Austen’s varied and colorful characters, we learn not only about true love but meaningful character. We strive for the humility, wisdom, wit, and grace of a Jane Austen protagonist while learning to recognize the superficial vanity and worldliness of so many other characters who concern themselves only with their own gain.

 Illustrations of the biblical principles of generosity, unconditional love, vanity, faithfulness appearing religious, kindness, contentment, endurance, self-control, setting emotional boundaries, disciplining children, hope in God, servanthood, wise counsel, jealousy, pure motives, tongue taming, noble actions, gossip, forgiveness, poor judgement, teachable spirit, repentance, and more—over a hundred in total—take the reader of this devotional to deeper places within familiar novels. Each devotional includes a theme title, Scripture, excerpt from one of the novels, and a short essay relating them.

Currently, reading comprehension levels in America are at an all-time low because the threshold for reading and literature is, I believe, set low. Literacy is more than just reading words and sentences. Literacy is being able to think critically about what has been read and relate it to the world around you. Reading deep requires approaching each book like a detective seeking clues to discover the hidden substance tucked between the lines, scenes, characters, and plot layers. As I set out upon the journey with the protagonist of a story, I want to grow with them. I want the time I invest in a story to move me closer to truth. God’s truth comprehended.

Jane Austen intuitively wrote her stories layered with eternal truths regarding the human heart. Her books aren’t listed in bookstores on the Christian fiction shelves. She didn’t write Christian fiction, manipulating a storyline to teach some sort of Bible lesson. She just wrote true to the biblical worldview within which she was raised, within the historical time, society, and culture she lived.

When we write what’s true to our core values, employing the highest levels of literary skill and storytelling prowess, like Jane Austen, our tales become pregnant with the potential of a timeless classic.

Explore the following journal prompts to discern the compass settings of your core values to better inform your writing:

Journal Prompt: What is the most important underlying principle that informs your thinking and writing—your worldview? List some of the core values in life that are most important to you. What kind of themes do these core values suggest for possible storytelling? How does keenly observing the inner and outer workings of the human heart affect your ability to create believable characters? If something is true—does that mean it is good? Why or why not? How does writing truth, be it good or evil, persuade the mind of others? What is the measure of truth, and judge of good and evil? Why is it necessary to have both represented in a story? How can you layer core value truths within a story using the tools of plot, setting, and characters?

TWEET: [bctt tweet=”#JaneAusten had a secret to writing timeless tales! How core values separate the chaff from the wheat in crafting stories that stick. ” username=”@A3Authors @misskathypwp”]

TWEET:[bctt tweet=”#Women Writers in Life and Letters—Keen Eyes, Core Values, and Jane Austen’s Pen ” username=”@A3Authors @misskathypwp”]

Reference: A Jane Austen Devotional, by Steffany Woolsey, © 2012 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, Tennessee, ARR

 

Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Productions and Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. Her passion is to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, producing readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Bestsellers

Best Selling Author-Lauren K. Denton

 

Interview Southern Fiction Writer

Welcome Lauren, can you share a little about your recent book –

The Hideaway is the story of a young woman who, while restoring her grandmother’s bed & breakfast, learns much more about her grandmother’s early years than she ever imagined. My next book, Hurricane Season, comes out in April 2018. It is the story of Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, their unconventional search for a full life, and relationships that must be mended along the way.

Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?

I don’t set out with a particular theme or message that I want to get across to readers. I usually start with either a setting or a character

and add layers as the story comes to me. One of my favorite things about reading is when an author (or a character) says something that makes me think, “Oh, me too! I feel that too!” I always hope to give that same experience of connection and affirmation to my readers. I hope they leave both entertained and encouraged.

How long have you been writing? And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract? I’ve been writing in various ways since I was old enough to spell (diaries, journals, essays, etc.) I started writing fiction with the hope of publication in 2011. I queried The Hideaway to agents for about nine months before my publisher expressed interest. (In an unexpected turn of events, my publisher was interested in the book before I had an agent.)

How long does it take you to write a book? Various amounts of time. I wrote the first draft of The Hideaway in 10 months. Hurricane Season roughly a little over a year.

What’s your writing work schedule like? It varies depending on my kids’ schedules. When they’re in school and I’m in the middle of a book, I try to get in at least 2-3 hours of writing every day. Sometimes things get crazy and the writing doesn’t happen, and other days, I write most of the day while the kids are at school. My brain works best in the morning, and I never write at night!

Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it? Not sure how interesting it is, but I write best if I have coffee and total quiet (or the white noise app on my phone if I’m somewhere other than home.)

What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career? The crazy few months between first hearing that Thomas Nelson was interested in The Hideaway and learning that they’d offered me a contract. It was total shock and glee. Another great joy was the launch party for The Hideaway. It was so special to have so many friends and family members come to celebrate with me. They knew how long I’d been working toward this goal and they were so happy for me.

 Which of your books is your favorite? Oh too hard to choose! Right now, I’ll say The Hideaway because it’s the only published one, but Hurricane Season is pretty special.

Who is your favorite author to read? I have so many. Sue Monk Kidd, Sarah Addison Allen, Nanci Kincaid, Pat Conroy, Anthony Doerr, Tom Franklin, Ariel Lawhon…

What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have listened too? I’d say if you want to write—if you have ideas bouncing around in your head–try to find pockets of time to sit down and get your story down. You’ll feel better once it’s out. And no one finds extra bits of time during the day—you often have to carve it out. Get up a little bit earlier, write in the carpool line, etc.

How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you? Forty-one times, to be specific! That’s how many rejection letters I received from agents as I queried The Hideaway, not to mention the query letters that went unanswered. Some of them hurt more than others, but overall, each one made me even more determined to find the agent or editor who believed in the story as much as I did.

Do you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books? In The Hideaway, I love Sarah’s opening scene where she talks about the sights, sounds, and scents of New Orleans. Similarly, I love the scene where she sits in the courtyard behind her house. It takes me directly to the French Quarter in my mind. I love the chapter where Mags and her crew go to the beach for the weekend and she writes the letter to Jenny.

Where do you get your ideas? They come from everywhere—bits of conversation I overhear, things I read, personality quirks of someone I come in contact with. Sometimes it’s a setting I love and I build a story around that place.

What are common mistakes you see aspiring writer’s make? Thinking that as soon as they finish their story, it’s ready to query to agents. Sometimes they don’t realize how much editing and revision is necessary to get a story into shape. And it’s crucial that someone else read the story too—someone with fresh eyes. Preferably by someone not related to you!

Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market? I don’t know if there’s a way to truly break into it other than just writing the best story you possibly can. You can’t control how agents and editors will respond to it, but often persistence helps. Write your story, and if that one doesn’t get attention, write another one. Rinse, repeat.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HAK33TC/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren K. Denton now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. The Hideaway is her debut novel. Her second novel, Hurricane Season, releases April 3, 2018.

Categories
Writers Chat

Serious Writer Book Club Review Time!

Join Johnnie Alexander, Melissa Stroh and the Writers Chat gang as we share favorite books that have inspired and informed our writing! Bonus points to Marlene for bringing the Book of all Books, God’s word!



Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our
Facebook Group.

Categories
Copywrite/Advertising

Sweet Talking Goliath – How to Write for Google, Facebook, and Amazon by Holland Webb

Global digital marketing is a $209-billion-dollar-a-year industry ruled by five titans – Google, Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba, and Baidu. Any business that markets products online needs to understand and work with one or more of these companies in order to win customers.

As a copywriter, your job is to write for your clients in ways that help them slip through the portals these five agencies have created.

How will you do that?

Let’s start with a quick look at each of these digital players:

  • Google is the world’s largest search engine by revenue. It processes 40,000 searches every second, and it owns YouTube – the world’s second largest search engine. Google knows what we want to know.
  • Facebook is the behemoth of social media. It has 2 billion active users and earns $27.6 billion in gross revenue per year. Facebook knows who we know and what we like.
  • Amazon controls the ecommerce market. About 55% of online shopping trips begin at Amazon (people skip Google altogether) and 45% of them end there. Amazon knows what we buy, what we wish we could buy, and what we buy for our friends.
  • Alibaba and Baidu are Chinese companies. If you do not write in Mandarin Chinese, they may not (yet) be relevant to you.

Companies need (and pay) writers who can craft reader-centered copy for each of these platforms.

Small business owners may feel like a rag tag band of soldiers facing five digital Goliaths. They don’t need to worry. You’re there to slay these giants not with smooth stones from a sling but with sweet words from your pen.

Any kind of writing for the internet means crafting a killer headline, using bolded subheadings, putting information into bullet points, providing helpful solutions to readers’ problems, verifying your research, and loving white space. Still, each company needs something slightly different.

How to write for Google. Start with specific, long-tailed keywords. Type your topic into an SEO helper like Moz. It will pull up popular articles and top-ranked keywords. Use these to start defining your article. Next, figure out the questions you want to answer. Some of that is common sense, which is not something you can find on the web. You can, however, use answerthepublic to enhance your ideas for questions. As more and more people use voice search on Google, including key questions in your text will bump you up the results pages.

Finally, write as geo-specific as possible. I just finished a series of articles for a marketing agency on Vancouver Island. They wanted each of the three closest towns mentioned in the article. Sophisticated companies can actually track readers on mobile, determine if they are near their store or a competitor’s location, and send the information or coupons based on their location in real time.

How to write for Facebook. Start with a simple question. Don’t be too esoteric. Facebook isn’t the place to dive deep into the netherworld of the reader’s psyche. Something catchy but short. Answer or expound on that question in a few well-chosen words. You can always offer a link to a longer article. Make sure whatever you say is credible and valuable to your reader. End with a clear, defined call to action. As with all copywriting, strive to be positive and upbeat.

How to write for Amazon. The most personal of the big agencies, Amazon anticipates customer needs and makes offers early. In Amazon’s case, personal means specific. Your titles need long tails showcasing the most relevant keywords first. Remember that Amazon’s buyers are purchase-ready, so they need to know that what your client offers is exactly what they want to buy.

After building your title, describe the product’s features and tell how it solves the customer’s problem. You don’t need to stuff your descriptions with keywords, but you do need to include specific, solution-focused search strings in your text.

Most of writing for Google, Facebook, and Amazon is about putting yourself in the reader’s place. What does your reader want to know? What problem are they trying to solve? Who are they trying to connect with? What do they want to buy?

Help them, and they’ll love your client for it.

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance copywriter and digital marketing strategist living near Greenville, SC. His clients are leaders in the online retail, higher education, and faith-based sectors. Holland has written for brands such as U.S. News & World Report, iLendX, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, MediaFusion, Modkat, Great Bay Home, IMPACT Water, and BioNetwork. He is a featured writer on Compose.ly, and his monthly copywriting column appears on Almost An Author. You can reach him at www.hollandwebb.com or at hollandlylewebb@gmail.com.

Categories
Songwriting

Songwriting 101 by Matthew Hawk Eldridge

If you read my previous article, I hopefully convinced you to try songwriting. There are a few basics to help get you started, if you’ve never written a song before. I’ve met a few people who tell me, “I want to write a song, but I can’t carry a tune or play a musical instrument.” That’s okay. Your job isn’t to sing or create the melody. Leave that to the musicians. But you do need to understand timing and rhythmic patterns. If you are working with a musician, they can help you with this. Your job is to create powerful, unforgettable, believable, inspiring lyrics. Your instrument is the pen. The instrumentalists will put the paint on the musical canvas. Your words will make the musical painting come to life.

So how do you start? If you don’t have any musical background, this can often be the hardest part. Do you start with the words or the music? It’s the chicken and the egg syndrome. Sometimes I write the music first. Sometimes I have words I want to put to music. I have been in a number of bands where I brought in a raw poem and someone already had an idea for a melody. In a simple hour or two we stripped and shaped that poem into an inspiring song. Other times, I brought in music I had with no lyrics, and someone added lyrics to what I wrote musically. I remember one specific night writing a poem called No Identity. Our keyboard player grabbed it out of my hands and right away started playing chords on the keyboard to match it, followed by developing a sweet lyrical melody. Although he and I both sang in the band, his musical version of my poem became his baby to sing. A few months later we were singing that song for thousands of people on a huge stage at a Christian music festival. Hands were raised all around the stadium as he belted out the chorus. “And I—I don’t know who I am, I have no identity in me. I’m laid bare with no more cares, I only know the face of the one who embraces me—in my mind…” This is the breakdown of No Identity that started from a simple poem.

Verse 1

I’m standing small / I start to fall down on my knees /

Begging please break me

I cry, I crawl / Beneath your grace in weakness I stumble /

My heart it crumbles

Chorus

And I don’t know who I am / I have no identity in me /

I’m laid bare with no more cares / I only know the face of the one who embraces me /

in my mind

Verse 2

So take the weight off my chest / the heavy burdens that steal my rest /

I’m trying desperately to see / Who are you to me /

And who I am to you / and Lord, what can I do to / For you bore my sin /

And gave me life within so I could win / you wipe the tears away / and all my pain…

Sing chorus again

Bridge

Never let me fall again / Never let my life be sin / Come and take this life away /

And give me a new name / Paint it in the stain / of the innocent blood you shed /

for I am dead, but alive in you—

repeat final chorus

The first step in songwriting is to understand the importance of the chorus. The chorus in songwriting is the plot to storytelling. It’s what the song is about. The chorus is often a theme or a point that you are trying to make. If you were to make a logline for your song, it would be obvious by your chorus.  So let’s come up with a logline for No Identity: The song (No Identity) is about a humble, broken man who has lost his identity and only wants to find it in God. Choruses are usually the only part of a song that is repeated to make that point.

While there is definitely not a “one-size-fits-all” way of songwriting, there are some simple guidelines that can help. There are definitely no “you can’t do that in songwriting” rules, although some people may try to tell you differently. When our band attended GMA’s (the Gospel Music Association) conference week, one of the top producers (Reed) in Nashville at the time said, “You can’t do that in your bridge… you can’t put a calypso rhythm in the middle of your song there. Take the bridge out, it doesn’t fit for radio.” Reed was polished, experienced, and older/old school. But we felt strongly about the bridge, so we ignored his advice. As we started playing that song out in public, show after show after show, we received letters from fans that told us how No identity really spoke to them. And several said the funky bridge lifted them up. In fact, we had more fan mail over No Identity than any other song.

My suggestion? Start writing. Don’t worry about rules. Be poetic. Be powerful. Listen to a lot of acoustic-based storytelling songs on Youtube for growth. Yes, there are a few guidelines—I will share some of those next month! In the mean time, think about your chorus—what is it you want to say? Build your song around that!

Matthew Hawk Eldridge is a singer, songwriter, musician, film actor, and author, sleeplessly living in Atlanta, GA. His most recent works include playing guitar in Pitch Perfect 3, his novel, The Pan: Experiencing Neverland, and his album Overcome releasing March of 2018.

Categories
Book Proposals

Knock Four Times

A good cover letter is like an intriguing door, it invites the agent or publisher into your proposal.  The publisher or agent will open wide the door with four loud and clear knocks (paragraphs)

Knock One- Hook and Outline

 The hook– One sentence that grabs the readers attention. Use antidotes, humor, facts, or a question.

The Outline- Summerize book in two to three sentences.

Knock Two-Book Facts/Marketing

Facts should include one sentence with gene and word count.

Status of completion includes one sentence with a completion date for nonfiction books. Most publishers and agents want a fiction book completed before submitting a proposal.

Marketing should include two to three sentences that include the target audience and one or two comparative titles.

Knock Three-Outline/Plot of Book

Fiction Outline should be 2-3 sentences and include

The central theme of the story

The protagonist and his goal

The antagonist and his issue

Plot twist

Ending

Non-Fiction should be 2-3 sentences and include

Focus of Book

Problem

How book solves the problem

Knock Four-Biography

This portion should be three to four sentences and include

Major achievements-book, articles, blogs and other published work

Education and Work

Social Media presence

An overview of what makes you the person to write this book.

Before you Knock

Check for grammatical errors

Take time to run your document through Grammarly or another grammar program. Have someone else read your cover letter for errors.

Double check agent or publisher website for submission guidelines

Did you spell the name correctly?

Does that agent or publisher represent the genre of your book?

The entire letter must be one page

Thousands of cover letters beckon the publishers and agents,  these four loud knocks will get you one step closer to an open door.

 

 

Cherrilynn Bisbano  is the Managing Editor at Serious Writer & Almost an Author -Top 100 writing websites

Host of Genre Chat & Fulfilled Prophecy Friday

Speaker with Women Speakers & By Design ministries.  20 years military service. Resides in Rhode Island with her Husband and son.

 

 

Categories
Guest Posts

Sometimes the right road isn’t even on the map by David Rawlings

All roads to the finding an agent and the dream of publishing led through the Conference.

I’d planned, scraped together the money to fly to Nashville (which was significant from Australia, and required some divine help to pull together!) and cleared the calendar.  I had to recover from a 12-hour jet lag in a day-and-a-half, but I was going to make it work.

I had no publisher, no agent and no profile. I was going along as a Genesis finalist – which helped with visibility – but I needed to work hard to make sure I made the most of it. At the Conference I took every opportunity to grab every conversation and lead I could.  I speed-dated a handful of agents and publishers, grabbed snatched pitches while waiting for sessions, and trotted out my elevator pitch that I’d practiced for 13 hours in the air, in between turbulence and in-flight catering.

As I sat in Nashville International Airport on my way home, I was buoyed that there were requests for my manuscript.  I was on the right road to being published. I now had a map to follow with the roads clearly marked – four agents were interested, as well as a publisher.  One of those roads would lead me to the Holy Grail of seeing my book on the shelf. Surely.

When I got back home, I emailed one agent, who politely turned down my manuscript while suggesting I write another. So I embarked on manuscript number two.

Two more agents said no. The other agent just didn’t get back to me.

Then a thought loomed large: how was I going to get published if all the roads to get there were slowly blocked off?

The initial agent – who thought I could write but thought a different story would suit – then turned that story down. Another road closed.

Then the publisher, my final avenue, got back to me. They liked the story and were ready to make a decision on it, when other business conditions shut the whole conversation down.  They declined.

So how do you get to a destination without a road to get there?  I felt like I’d already been on a massive journey (which technically I had), but hadn’t left the driveway.

Sometimes the best road isn’t on the map (and I’m not just talking about Apple Maps). You see, I’d worked hard in Nashville to map out my journey to my destination, but I also did something else. Something that I thought was just something small that wouldn’t lead anywhere particularly. Something almost insignificant.

I’d sent a Facebook message after the Conference. My manuscript didn’t win a Genesis Award, and as I was sitting there at the Gala, shrugging off the uncomfortable heavy cloak of the loser, James L Rubart made a speech that I really needed to hear at the time. He talked about not being validated through our writing or by winning awards, but that we were validated anyway.

So after the Conference, I shot off a message to Jim, thanking him for his words and not really expecting an answer.  After all, I’m an unknown Aussie flying back across the globe crammed into cattle class and he’s an award-winning, best-selling author.

But Jim did respond, and he asked me a question for which I’ll be forever grateful. He asked “How are things now?”  That question lead to a conversation, which opened a discussion about mentoring and I’ve been working with him since.

We’ve talked about platform and publishing, and he provided invaluable knowledge – and contacts. Another road opened up. One that wasn’t on my map.

I approached another batch of agents with Jim’s belief and backing with now not one, but two manuscripts.  Several months later, one of those agents—Steve Laube—asked to represent me and now I have the privilege of working with him. He’s now on the road with me.

This road didn’t appear on my map and the journey didn’t go as I planned, that’s for sure. But instead of sitting back and saying “oh well, it was meant to be,” what’s the lesson here?

I think of it this way: every little thing counts. I wouldn’t have worked with Jim had I not sent him that message, and Jim’s endorsement of me to agents wouldn’t have happened either.

And sometimes the road to get you somewhere doesn’t appear on your map, instead opening up in ways you could never imagine.

Bio

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, David Rawlings is a sports-mad father-of-three with his own copywriting business who reads everything within an arm’s reach.  A qualified journalist and corporate copywriter, he can spot a typo from across a crowded room and always makes sure his text messages are grammatically correct.

Over 25+ years, he has made writing his career and paid the bills with words, developing from sports journalism to corporate communication.  Now he has shifted to fiction, finaled in the ACFW’s Genesis competitions and the OCW’s Cascade Awards, as is working with the Steve Laube Agency to find that elusive publisher.

Categories
Romancing Your Story

Crafting the Hero––Part I

Our romantic heroine, Tovah, is about to meet her match. She’s a Jewish rabbi who fears rejection because of being dumped by a boy while she was in high school. What kind of man should she end up with? [bctt tweet=”First, and foremost, a romantic hero is created to love and be loved by the heroine. She is the prize for him. He is the treasure for her.” username=”@A3Authors @donnalhsmith”]  #amwriting #RomancingYourStory #AlmostAnAuthor #CraftingTheHeroine

Continue reading “Crafting the Hero––Part I”
Categories
The Picky Pen

Editing the Beginning By Tisha Martin

With my cursor at Chapter 1 in my WWII historical fiction novel, I hit Ctrl+Enter and sighed. Beginning a book all over again wasn’t what I had in mind. I liked this chapter. I mean, really liked it, even though everyone else said it wasn’t quite right. Forever, why? Why must I abandon these pages and start fresh, like erasing a favorite drawing of a flower but one petal was lopsided.

Two contests, a writing conference, and two agents later, my intuition solidified into a clear direction of where this chapter needed to begin. None of the critics’ comments were overly negative, and most of them enjoyed the few chapters I had submitted. But my first chapter lacked … heart, GPC (goal, problem, care), and solid reasons why things were happening the very moment the story began.

Beginnings

How many of you have revisited this elusive beginning, struggling to create a first chapter that pops! off the page?

I’ve always struggled to write beginnings. I’m sure I’m not the only one—and there are writers who dislike middles and endings, too.

Who are these characters, what is their goal and problem, and why do you want readers to care?

In addition to Goal, Problem, and Care, here are three things I learned about editing the first chapter that helped me introduce the GPC:

  1. Introduce main characters and continuing action early in the first page.Your readers must have a reason to continue to the second and third page and eventually the last page in as few sittings as possible. Maybe your character is afraid to drive over a bridge but must because her boyfriend sent her on a scavenger hunt, or perhaps your character must capture a rattlesnake because his friend dared him. Your first page should pop! with action that includes a huge goal with a problem your main characters must overcome by the book’s end.
  2. Give your characters lively dialogue.You want your readers to laugh and relate with your characters. The old “How are you?” “I’m fine, how are you?” type of dialogue doesn’t work anymore.
  3. Don’t overwrite.Simple is always best. Make Strunk and White proud of you!

Simple writing is sometimes hard for me because I love to describe things; however, too much is not good and hurts your writing and may frustrate your readers. I love reading Anne of Green Gables, but I have a hard time staying engaged with the verbose descriptions; in Ms. Montgomery’s defense, her readers enjoyed lengthy descriptions. Today’s readers want a quick read they can enjoy.

After taking an honest and humble look at my first chapter based on the judges’ and agents’ comments, I’m glad I started over. I spent a few days pounding out a new first chapter, and it’s stronger because I’ve given my characters a goal to look forward to, a problem that stands in their way, and my readers something to care about.

Now, excuse me while I edit this post to ensure I’ve engaged you, helped you relate, and caused you to want to continue reading it.

Discussion: What is your WIP’s first chapter about? Can you describe it in Goal, Problem, and Care?

Bio:

Owner of TM Editorial, Tisha Martin specializes in historical fiction, academic editing, and creative nonfiction. An active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN, she appreciates the writing and editing communities. Tisha is editor and proofreader for beginning and best-selling writers, professional editing agencies, and publishing houses. As Assistant Director of PENCON, a conference for editors, she enjoys organizing the conference, networking, and sharing news on PENCON’s Facebook Page. Connect with Tisha on Facebook, Instagram, or follow her Pinterest board for writers and editors.

Categories
Child's Craft

Some DOs and DON’Ts of Writing for Children By Jean Matthew Hall

 

Great writing is great writing! Right? Yes, but writing for children does have challenges that are different from the challenges faced by other writers.

Here’s a quick list to help you as you shape your stories to appeal to children:

Continue reading “Some DOs and DON’Ts of Writing for Children By Jean Matthew Hall”
Categories
Writers Chat

Marketing Your Personal Brand with Bethany Jett

Bethany Jett on Branding almostanauthor.com

It’s hard getting traction as a writer without an audience. If you’re new to this noisy world of publishing, you’ll want to watch this jam-packed episode of Writers Chat with Bethany Jett to see how you can market your personal brand so your message doesn’t get buried. You won’t want to miss it!


Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our
Facebook Group.

Categories
Talking Character

Writing Historical Characters

Sometimes fiction authors write about real people. Especially those who write historical fiction.

Real historical characters can add a sense of credibility or realism to a story. But they must be handled carefully, because your readers will know when you stray from the truth.

Well-known figures

If you are writing about a well-known figure, such as George Washington or Thomas Edison, you will need to do extensive research to ensure you have your facts straight. The good news is that someone so well known already has a lot written about them, so the facts are readily available. The bad news is that someone so well known already has a lot written about them, so your readers already know the facts and will notice your mistakes.

On the positive side, you already know their family history, their physical description, how they talked, what their voice sounded like, the name of their favorite pet, and a myriad of other details. Your job is to choose the details that are important for your story, without ignoring or twisting the facts you don’t mention.

On the negative side, you are stuck with whatever details are known about a person, even if those facts are inconvenient. Also, you must take care, because without doing sufficient research you can easily misrepresent the truth by making false assumptions, adding details carelessly, or promulgating the commonly-held-but-incorrect legends of the person’s history (such as George Washington and the cherry tree). Also, you risk annoying readers if you choose to invoke artistic license for the sake of your plot.

Other things to consider

The larger the role a well-known figure has in a story, the more research and care the writer must take in presenting them. Bringing George Washington into a scene or two is much easier to pull off than making him one of the main characters.

However you use well-known figures, don’t cheat your readers by making historical characters two-dimensional. Don’t be tempted to fall into lazy writing, assuming the reader already knows about the character so you don’t have to bother describing them. Historical characters deserve as much attention to description and characterization as fictional characters. Use the known details to your advantage. Which details would your POV character notice, and how would she feel about them?

Little-known historical people

Lesser-known historical figures can add the same note of credibility to your writing without the problems that come with using more well-known persons. There are plenty of real historical people who lived interesting lives, but for whom we now have only a handful of facts. That lack of information might frustrate a biographer, but it creates a prime opportunity for a fiction writer. The door is wide open to fill in all those blanks in whatever way suits your story.

Just take care that you stay within the boundaries of the facts that are known. You must honor the few details that are all that is left of the person’s legacy. When there are only a handful of details to keep track of, you have no excuse for getting them wrong.

Fictional characters based on real people

Sometimes a writer uncovers a fascinating historical person that would make a great story—except for a few bothersome details. If you cannot reconcile the facts with the story you want to write, or if the person’s story includes aspects you don’t want to face for one reason or another, there is another option: Create a completely fictional character based on the real one.

This technique allows you to start with the inspiration that a real person gives but then to develop a character that has the flaws, goals, attitudes and beliefs that suits your story, your themes, and your worldview.

Just be sure to play fair. If your fictional character bears more than a passing resemblance to a real person, don’t skew the character so far from the true story that it feels slanderous. Also, if a character is based significantly on a real person, give that person credit in an author’s note.

Bottom line: Don’t be afraid of including real historical characters in your story, but do your homework and don’t forget that real people need to be developed as much as fictional ones.

[bctt tweet=”Can a real historical character add punch to your story? #writing #writetips” username=””]

Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a story to tell the world. She loves to encourage fellow writers to be intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words with others. Lisa shares her words through dramas, Bible studies, historical fiction and her blog about intentional living.

Connect with her:

Website: www.lisaebetz.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LisaEBetzWriter/
Twitter: @LisaEBetz

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Choose the Correct Pronoun by Hope Toler Dougherty

Please stop using pronouns wrong!

Between you and I, I’m sick of people using the wrong pronoun. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!

Don’t invite Kevin and I to a Super Bowl party this year.  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!

Are you guilty of saying or writing sentences like the previous ones? You are not alone. I hear TV news anchors torture the language with the wrong pronoun. No, you’re not alone, but you are wrong.  You can, however, learn to use pronouns properly.

Here’s a post that explains correct usage:

http://www.almostanauthor.com/choose-correct-pronoun/.

And here’s one more post just in case you need more explanation about pronouns:

What are Pronouns?

You can learn the correct form. I’m sure of it.

Good luck and happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com
Categories
Write for His Glory

The Journey From “I Can’t” to “I Will”

The journey from “I can’t” to “I will” starts with brutal honesty.

“I can’t give up my coffee.”

“I can’t give up my bedtime snack.”

“I can’t ______________.”

These responses are often heard when someone is instructed to give up certain things so they can become more healthy. Sometimes it’s a doctor, sometimes a friend who has achieved success. Either way, the person starts out defeated by a belief that they are a victim to some unseen force that is stopping them from making the right choices.

I’ve often been like that toward God with my writing.

“I can’t write every day, I don’t have time.”

“I can’t follow a schedule, I’m too unstructured.”

“I can’t do this, I don’t know how and it’s too hard.”

It’s easy to say “I can’t” and take on that victim mindset. But what I’ve really said is…

“I won’t take something else out of my day to make time to write.”

“I won’t discipline myself.”

“I won’t pray, trust God, and step out in faith.”

Saying “I won’t” is rebellion, pure and simple. I am not a victim, I have the power to choose. Unless I see that, take ownership of my choices, and repent, I will remain a helpless victim and see little or no change in my writing life. God wants to give me His best, and by digging my heels in and refusing to obey I’m saying, “Not interested, don’t trust you, I want my way.”

Hmmmm, isn’t that where everything started back in the garden?

To move forward, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves and admit that whether we say “I won’t” or “I can’t”, the result – and the rebellion – is the same. [bctt tweet=”When we say “I can” and “I will”, we demonstrate our faith and trust in God. The doors He can then open for us are truly amazing!” username=”@marygscro”]

Is anything we can do on our own worth the cost of missing His will for our writing?

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has granted me [the needed] strength and made me able for this, because He considered me faithful and trustworthy, putting me into service [for this ministry],    (1 Timothy 1:12, AMP)

Can we all make the journey from “I can’t” to “I will”?

Yes we can…if only we WILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Graziano Scro, a graduate of Christian Communicators Conference, is an inspirational author, speaker, and blogger who intuitively weaves analogies and personal testimony with practical biblical teaching. Whether “live” or at the keyboard, Mary loves sharing what God has done in her life to encourage others about the awesome life God has planned for us, IF we are willing to choose wisely in our everyday lives (John 8:31-32). And it’s not only about us – the more we invest in our own unique relationship with Jesus, the more visible He is to a world that desperately needs Him. You can reach Mary on:

Facebook: Mary Graziano Scro https://www.facebook.com/don.mary.scro

Twitter: @marygscro

LinkedIn: Mary Graziano Scro  https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mary-scro/11/600/a4b

Blogs: Life Is Not A Formula at www.marygscro.com

 

Categories
Guest Posts

Finish the Work! By Carol Sparks

You never would have thought of such a thing on your own. It had to be God. He gave you an idea for a novel, short story, poem, or non-fiction book. You looked around, but you were the only one with that stunned look on your face and that peculiar-to-writers gleam in your eye.

Maybe you jumped right in with both feet, excited for a new project. Maybe you dipped the tip of your big toe into the idea of writing this particular thing and drew back as the deluge of information began roaring toward you. I agree; it’s overwhelming at first.

You worked on this new project for a while…until the luster wore off, until your life got busier for some reason, or until you began to question the initial impetus. Oh, it had seemed like such a good idea, but then the doubts and distractions arose.

  • Do you have adequate experience or education to write this sort of thing?
  • Don’t you have other responsibilities that are more important?
  • When are you supposed to find time to write something this challenging?
  • Since you can’t make it perfect, why even bother to write it at all?
  • Where will you find the resources to do the necessary research?
  • Isn’t someone else better qualified to write it?
  • Aren’t you too old/young/fat/skinny/rich/poor to write something like this?
  • Haven’t you been rejected by all those agents and publishers already?
  • How would you possibly get it published in today’s climate?
  • Who’s going to read it anyway?

I’ve said all these to myself. Your particular doubt may sound a little different, but it’s no less effective.

About twenty-five years after Jesus’ ascension, the small band of believers in Jerusalem faced big trouble. They were persecuted and oppressed in every way, and they were completely out of money. Things were desperate.

The apostle Paul responded out of the depth of his relationships. He called upon fledgling churches throughout the region to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. The Corinthian church was among the first to raise their hands. They were generous and sincerely desired to help. But even into the next year, they hadn’t finished taking up their collection (2 Corinthians 8:10). I wonder why.

  • Maybe they felt inadequate, thinking they set their goal too high.
  • Maybe they got distracted by other responsibilities and problems.
  • Maybe, because they hadn’t heard anything recently, they thought the situation in Jerusalem was better now.
  • Maybe they just forgot after Titus left.

Things happen—to New Testament churches and to modern-day writers. And sometimes we need a “swift kick in the rump,” as we say here in East Tennessee. Paul generously provided that figurative kick to the Corinthians, but his words apply just as well to us writers.

Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.  -2 Corinthians 8:11 NIV

 Paul goes on to remind his readers that it’s not about how much you give but your willingness to give (2 Cor 8:12). God will make it sufficient. “Your plenty,” Paul says, “will supply what they need” (2 Cor 8:14).

Do you need a “swift kick” to complete the task God has given you? Now is the time; finish the work! Match your earlier eagerness with a completed composition. God will use it to supply exactly what your future readers need.

What Bible verse or quote helps you stick to your writing goals? Please encourage us all by sharing in the comments below!

Bio.

Author Carole Sparks sometimes does “butt kickers” in her workouts because she needs a swift kick in the backside, and she’d prefer to administer it herself. Afterward, she’ll go finish at least one writing project, hopefully! If she’s not working out, you can probably catch up with her on Twitter or her blog.

Categories
Mastering Middle Grade

Want to Write Middle Grade Fiction? Here’s Three (Content) Issues to Consider By Kell McKinney

One of the first writing rules I learned in journalism school is that you have to know your audience.  This rule applies to writing children’s fiction every bit as much as it does to news, only there’s a catch.

When you’re writing for children, it’s important to remember you’re writing for two audiences: the young reader and the adult gatekeeper. Whether that gatekeeper is a parent, grandparent, teacher or librarian, there’s almost always another set of discerning eyes on work intended for middle grade readers.

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Categories
Writers Chat

Learning to Love the Thing You Hate with Angelene Woodard

Angelene Woodard of www.unqualifiedmom.com shares how her feelings of overwhelm have blossomed into a ministry when she accepted her limitations and moved forward anyway. In this inspiring session of Writers Chat, Angelene encourages women to embrace their weakness and discover the strength God offers through Christ. She explores blogging, platform, marketing, and sleep deprivation, so enjoy!

Angelene Woodard has been a child of God for thirty years, a wife for eighteen years, a
mother for eleven years, and a writer for three years.

She launched the brand new Unqualified Mom blog (www.unqualifiedmom.com) in September 2017. Here she offers
spiritual insight, encouragement, and dose of humor to her fellow struggling mamas.

Angelene is a charter member of Word Weavers International (Nashville TN Chapter)
and serves as their Membership Coordinator and Group Division Manager. Most recently, she
accepted the invitation to become a contributing writer for the Homeschool Super Freak website.

She lives just outside of Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and their three children.

Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our
Facebook Group.

Categories
The Ministry of Writing

Prophecy and End-Times Are Not Dirty Words by Jake McCandless

I’m sane.

I don’t even have a tin-foil hat.

I rarely can even find foil when I need it in the kitchen.

But I did leave the realm of a normal pastorate to write and speak full-time on end-time prophecy, and I find people don’t want to hear what I have to say. Many pastors and church leaders don’t want it shared in their church. I even have friends whispering—Jake’s gone crazy.

I get it. I have been there. As a pastor, I, too, worried about ruffling unnecessary feathers. And prophecy and end-time stuff can seem unnecessary especially when two-thousand years ago Jesus said He would come back soon. Obviously, God’s timing is much slower than ours. But still what the Bible does say has to go down sometime, our people need to know.

I also get that there are so many more immediate needs within our churches and culture, but still prophecy and the end-times are not dirty words. Especially when a quarter to even a third of the Bible includes it.

I also get that there has been some true tin-foil hat-wearers that have abused and are currently abusing the truth of prophecy and the end-times. How many times have we heard the rapture is going to happen on this day? Or so and so must be the Antichrist? But we have all been warned with the cliché, “Don’t let one or a thousand bad apples ruin the whole batch!”

Disaster Nebula Apocalypse Bumm End Time

I also get that there is a lack of consensus (to put it mildly) on the interpretation of Bible prophecy, but that surely doesn’t mean we throw the prophecy out with the bath water. On the contrary, we should be working harder to figure this stuff out.

And one more way that I get it. I get the question, “How do we know this Jake guy is right?” Well, we don’t. I don’t even know. I just know I am going to work just as hard as I do in exegesis of the text like I do in all texts, being careful to follow conservative, trusted methods interpretation.

(Photo credit to: MaxPixel.freegreatpicture.com-Disaster-Nebula-Apocalypse-Bumm-End-Time-22730 69)

The end-times and prophecy are not dirty words, nor are they a subject to avoid. Let me give you three reasons why.

  1. End-time Prophecy Tells Us the Future, and Therefore Our Trajectory Now.

Think how awesome it is that we have an itinerary of the future in our hands. Christians, we are blessed—we can know how this maze of life shakes out. This should cause us to seek to know about the end-times. And regardless of where we are in the prophetic timeline, prophecy reveals the trajectory that we are on. The subject is relevant at any-time.

  1. End-Time Prophecy is How God Proves Himself.

So much Bible prophecy has been fulfilled, and its fulfillment is remarkable. Somehow in God’s infinite wisdom He saw fit to prove Himself by foretelling what would happen, and then fulfilling it precisely. Listen to this passage in Isaiah:

 “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King. “Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable. – Isaiah 41:21–24

  1. End-time Prophecy Shows that We Don’t Fare to Well in the End-Times.

As confusing as it this sounds, this is the reason I am doing what I do. Bible prophecy does not just tell about political, military, or environmental events at the end, but also tells how we will be in terms of our faith and morality. Two warnings motivate me. The first is from Matthew 24:10, where it says many will turn away. This is talking to us. We need to prepare to hold-on. Secondly, I am motivated from a warning in 2 Thessalonians, where we read that there will be a great deception. We have to know the truth about the end-times so we won’t be deceived.

So, what does this have to do with writers because this is a site for writers?  Well, honestly, I was looking for a place to vent and give a shameless plug, but we can always find a moral to a story, so, how about—writers don’t be afraid of the haters keep on doing what God has called you to do. Man, that is good.

And for you who would like to brave and invite this non tin-foil wearing prophecy guy to your church check out my website www.prophecysimplified.com and contact my booking agent Cherrilynn Bisbano at Cherrilynn@seriouswriter.com. And I’d love to come to your church.

And writers, I really do have a point for you. We need to be rightly dividing the Bible even end-time prophecy and including it in our work.

Jake McCandless is the Executive Director and lead speaker for Prophecy Simplified. Jake is an award-winning author and writes for several publications. He has as Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Central Baptist College and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Previously, he spent twelve years at Mount Vernon (AR) Baptist Church as a lead pastor and directed a seminary extension center. Before that, Jake served as a student pastor and youth evangelist. Jake is married to Amanda. She’s an elementary school teacher. They have two daughters, Andrea and Addison. Jake enjoys time with family, ministry, hunting, bass fishing, coffee, and college football.

Categories
Magazine and Freelance

Be The Magazine Writer with Extras – by W. Terry Whalin

Magazine editors are experts in their publication. I know this fact because I’ve been a magazine editor a couple of different times. When I was Associate Editor at Decision magazine, we were publishing 1.8 million copies of each issue. An editorial assistant read through the submissions whether they came electronically or hard copy in the mail. From reading a few paragraphs, she could tell if the writer was familiar with our publication and had sent something to be seriously considered.

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