Categories
Storyworld

Fantasy Military Technology

Fantasy MilTech
Fantasy Military Technology

Military technology is an important consideration when writing speculative fiction, but sci-fi authors aren’t the only ones who need to think about it. In order to discuss military technology, we should start with a working definition. In this article, military tech is any equipment or magic that assists a people in exerting or resisting influence. This includes defensive armaments from a buckler to the Enterprise’s shields, as well as offensive weapons like lightning spells or bio-engineered mind-altering spores.

Low-fantasy Military Tech

armorIf you’re writing a novel in a low-fantasy setting (that is, a quasi-medieval setting which closely parallels earth’s own history) you must be aware of the significant military advances through the years. Here are some timeline links: (wikipedia, britannica). Historically, significant pieces of military technology have altered the landscape of warfare, and failing to account for these inventions can make your novel seem anachronistic. For example, if you want to write about knights and such, you have to figure out when your novel takes place relative to the invention of the English longbow. Such a weapon allowed a commoner to easily kill a noble knight from hundreds of yards away. That doesn’t mean that knights and longbows didn’t exist simultaneously, but the usefulness of expensive noble warriors dwindled as ranged weapons proved more effective.

I just finished reading R.A. Salvatore’s The Highwayman, and was intrigued by the fact that one culture lived in a bronze age of sorts while another had rolled steel technology akin to Japanese sword-makers. Calling attention to little details like this can differentiate the relative degree of advancement between cultures, and can really help that world persist in your reader’s memory.

High-fantasy Military Tech

Ancestral magic swords, frost arrows, and fireball spells all fit into the realm of high-fantasy. The military technology in this kind of realm is largely defined by magic, whether directly through wizardly incantations or indirectly through some enchanted artifact. You have a lot more freedom in this kind of fantasy setting, but to make the world believable, you’ll need to consider unintended consequences and alternative purposes.

As a general rule, any new bit of domestic technology, no matter how benign, will eventually be repurposed to for military uses. Maybe in your world, benevolent clerics are able to create water at will. If that’s true, undoubtedly some ruler has considered getting a bunch of these holy men together to flood out his rival’s castle. If magicians can easily enchant things with levitation, then a high fantasy B-52 bomber is probably a pipe-dream of the local wizard enclave. If your hero has a helmet that allows underwater breathing, certainly some sorcerer has considered making a fantastic submarine with the same imbuement. These are just some examples. When dealing with something new and fantastic, it might be a good idea to run it by that creepy friend of yours and see if he can find some nefarious military purpose for it. If you lack creepy friends, leave a comment below and I’ll see what I can do.

Sci-Fantasy Military Tech

darth-vader-880128_640 (1)A subset of science fiction is Science-Fantasy, a blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. You might wonder what kind of works fall into this category, but you’re probably more familiar with one than you realize. Star Wars includes futuristic military weapons, but also futuristic military sorcerers. Don’t believe me? One of Vader’s advisors even called him a sorcerer. Sure, he got force-choked for the remark, but still.
More commonly, you see wizardry in sci-fi called “psionics” or some similar term (e.g. Mass Effect’s “biotics”). And just like in standard fantasy novels, anyone with a bit of magic (or psionics) becomes very valuable to the military. As a writer, you’ll have to determine how these magic-users fit into your world’s sci-fi military. Are they integrated into combat units? Put into separate special forces groups? Regardless, you must consider a combat application, because in a world with enough conflict, eventually someone will.

That’s all for now. Next month we’ll look at sci-fi military tech!

Categories
A Pinch of Poetry

Alliteration: The Sound of Poetry I

One unique attribute of poetry is the way it sounds. Using special techniques, such as alliteration, can bring your poems to life and add musical beauty.

In this series I’m going to explain the different ways you can create sound effects in your poems and why you might want to do that. I’ll be using Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem “The Raven” as an example. This piece contains multiple sound devices that work harmoniously together to create a musical masterpiece.

Sweet Sounds of Similarity

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds.  In other words, the beginning sounds of certain words close together are the same. Note that the sound of the word’s first letter is important, not the letter itself. For instance, salad and celery are examples of this sound device even though they don’t start with the same letter.

Note: Typically this device is recognized as the repetition of consonant sounds only. Yet some sources may disagree as to whether alliteration also includes words that begin with the same vowel sound.

Regardless, Alliteration is important because it creates rhythm and is pleasing to the ear. In other words, it adds a musical element to poetry and even helps with memorization.

Consider your favorite song on the radio. I’ll bet you will find alliteration all over the lyrics if you listen closely next time.

The Difference One Device Can Make

Paying attention to the sounds you use in your poetry is essential.  You should always select every word with a purpose in mind.

Read the following line from “The Raven” and my revised version. Listen to the difference in each:

“While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping” (original)

Or

“While I rested, almost asleep, suddenly there came a tapping” (revised)

The first sentence is the way Poe originally wrote the line. Notice how the repeated “n” sounds add a pleasant sound as they roll out of your mouth. It’s actually more difficult on your tongue to read the second sentence. And it doesn’t sound nearly as nice as the original.

Here’s another example:

“Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken” (original)

Or

“Upset at the quiet broken by reply so aptly expressed” (revised)

In both of these examples, the meaning is approximately the same, but the effect is dramatically different. Again, the alliterated words in the original line create a beautiful, memorable sound by adding a smooth rhythm to the poem.

And did you notice that alliteration is not used in isolation?

Generally sound devices enhance each other to create the ultimate effect on the reader. Throughout his poem, Poe uses alliteration along with multiple other techniques and devices, which we will explore in future posts.

[bctt tweet=”Paying attention to the sounds you use in your poetry is essential. #poets #poetry”]

Can You Use It?

Now, find a poem you’ve already written, or challenge yourself to write a new one. Examine each line carefully and try to see where you could use alliteration. A thesaurus is very helpful for finding synonyms. Just be sure to only use words that you know well and fit the context of your poem.

Do you have any questions or suggestions for using this sound device? Share them below.

Categories
Truth Be Told

Timely

My husband knows when to walk in the door with an apple fritter.  Not that there is ever a bad time, but over the course of our nearly forty years of marriage he has acquired the ability to know when I need one the most.  I thank God for giving him that gift.

I’m also thankful God is “on time” with his gifts.  Reading in Hebrews this morning, I came upon this verse: “So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ISV) I noticed few things I hadn’t seen before.

First, we are invited to come boldly.  Family is bold, guests are not.  Have you ever noticed that difference?  Guests still ask to use something in your home.  Family walks up to the refrigerator and drinks right out of the milk jug.  Okay, maybe not at your house, but they do at mine.  The point is: there is a certain timidity with being a guest.  You stay on your best behavior for fear of being ousted.

Family, on the other hand, has a “comfortability” that by-passes conventionality and operates with a freer boldness.  God has invited us into his family and wants us to move with greater confidence when it comes to bringing our needs before him.

Truth be told: he already knows what they are.

You try to anticipate your guests’ needs and provide accordingly, but you don’t know for sure what they need until they ask. And often, they won’t ask.

God knows all of our needs and he’s waiting for us to ask.

In this verse, it seems he’s telling us to stop acting like guests and ask for what we need with the confidence. The confidence that comes from knowing the One being asked.

And then there is the little phrase: “in our time of need.”

Some translations use an image of seasonable help.  While God has the ability to supply all your needs (Phil. 4:19), he doesn’t just dump on you.  It’s a bit like the manna God provided to the wanderers in the wilderness.  It came fresh every morning and they were to take enough for that day, otherwise it would spoil (and it was a rotten spoilage).

Jesus, when he was teaching his disciples to pray, picked up on this when he taught them to ask for their daily provision, their daily bread.

We’re a funny people.  Let the weather gurus forecast a big storm and the food flies off the grocery shelves like there’s not going to be a tomorrow.  It becomes a first come, first hoard nightmare.

God doesn’t work that way.  He will give grace and mercy when you need it—never too early, never too late.

So whether it’s a timely delivered apple fritter, a call from a friend, a job prospect, or an unexpected windfall, we can know that God will be right on time for our every need.

A3 timely.God's time

 

Categories
Book Reviews Writer Encouragement

Getting Reviews Part 2

Elaine Marie Cooper

If you have not read Part 1 of this two-part series on getting reviews, click here to read it.

Assuming you have been hard at work gathering potential reviewers, you should have sent out dozens of requests by now. Be prepared that you may not receive a reply from some. Others may reply but say they cannot commit to this project at this time. Always send a gracious response in return. Perhaps in the future they may accept another request.

Hopefully you will have an enthusiastic group who are excited to help you launch your book baby.

Here is the next VERY important step: The letter that accompanies your PDF.

Open your letter with an expression of thanks. They are taking out many hours of their time to help you. Be grateful.

Your next paragraph should include something like this:

After reading (Name of your book) please write the review as soon as possible while it is still fresh in your mind. Please send me the text of your review so I can keep a file and use the quotes. Also, please SAVE the review in your files somewhere so you can post it on Amazon and Goodreads when the book releases on (date of release). I will send a jpg of the book cover before it releases.

Road to Deer Run - Cover

Many of your readers may never have written a review before. Here are helpful tips that I include in this letter:

 

  • Include the title of the book in the review
  • If you have any kind of relationship with me (friend, relative, etc.) please do NOT include that in the review.
  • Short reviews are fine—sometimes preferable.
  • Please do not include any spoilers, i.e. giveaways to the plot.

 

You would be amazed at some of the well-meaning reviews that say something like “This author is my best friend!” or worse, give a complete synopsis of the book from start to finish.

Help them out. You will both appreciate the final result.

Hopefully, by the time your literary baby is birthed, it will be wrapped in a snug bundle of positive reviews that will help catch the eye of future readers. Best wishes!

 

Green typewriter image courtesy of Just2Shutter via freedigitalphotos.net

Categories
Have Words, Will Travel....Travel Writing 101 Uncategorized

5 Sites with 24 of the BEST Travel Blogs, Websites, and Apps

Have Words Will Travel
Upon returning from a writer's conference earlier this year, Cathy found a 1963 Shasta Airflyte Camper sitting in her driveway. Since then, she has taken quite the fancy to travel writing. She hopes you'll join her on this adventurous journey!

A324As much as I’d like to say that the following travel sites are in celebration of the renewal of the popular “24” TV series, it’s not. While I’ve never been an uber fan of Counterterrorism Agent Jack Bauer, I do admire the way he tackles life with a fearless spirit and full-throttle adventure.

I had a similar takeaway when reading Fathom’s 24 Best posts. Adventure journals, stunning photography, and awe-inspiring stories of travel are all here. Fathom more than fulfills their three-fold mission through these “24” links: To help us indulge our love of travel, whether we’re on the road or at home. To narrow down endless options (hotels, sites, destinations) to those that are special, and to share the best travel stories.

Warning: You’ll want to set aside plenty of time when perusing Fathom’s site. It’s addictive for travel lovers and the like.

24 Best Blogs and Websites 2016

24 Best Travel Blogs and Websites 2014

24 Best Travel Photography

24 Best Travelers on Steller, the Storytelling App That Everyone Should Know About

24 Best Travel Apps 2015

Bravo, Fathom!

Do you have a favorite travel blog, Website, or app? We’d love to hear about it. Please share in the comment section.

Categories
Bestsellers

Bestselling Author Interview – Kathy

[author title=”Kathy Tyers” image=”http://www.almostanauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/K1.jpeg”]New York Times bestselling science fiction author Kathy Tyers has spent thirty-plus years writing and publishing fiction and nonfiction. As a freelance editor, she has seen her clients publish their books with major and smaller publishing houses, and independently, in both Christian and secular markets. Kathy strives to maintain each editing client’s individual voice while enhancing every book’s quality and readability. [/author]

Can you share a little about your recent book?

Kathy: My most recently published novel, Daystar, is the fifth and final book in the series that begins with Firebird. It’s a messiah-in-space novel, in which a long-awaited Savior looks nothing like the chosen people expect. I tried to portray the incarnation of the same God in a very different time and place, among a very different people—and to answer science fictional questions such as, “If there were instantaneous communication among all humans in all places, would there need to be a First Coming and a Second Coming?”

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

Kathy: I have written because it brings me joy. It seems to be part of what God created me to do. When there isn’t a story on my heart that I strongly want to write, I work as a freelance mentor/editor, because it also gives me joy to teach others what I’ve learned down the years.

How long have you been writing? And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract?

Kathy: I’ve been writing for 32 years, since 1983. My first book contract came in 1986, and my first novel was published by Bantam Books in 1987.

How long does it take you to write a book?

Kathy: It usually takes me at least 4 months to write a rough draft and 8 months to self-edit it.

What’s your writing work schedule like?

Kathy: That depends whether I’m writing rough draft or self-editing. Each phase has its own schedule. I find rough-drafting emotionally exhausting, and I can rarely do that more than 2 hours per day. If I’m self-editing, I need to remind myself to get up and move, stretch, eat, sleep, etc. That can consume me, because it’s amazing to watch that wretched rough draft—which is really just “outline plus dialogue”—start to stand up and sing.

Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?

Kathy: Maybe it’s the fact that I can hear my characters speaking before I can see them. Perhaps that’s due to my background in classical music (I play and teach flute).

What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?

Kathy: A young woman attending my church invited me to her baptism, saying she had decided to become a Christian after reading Firebird.

What has been your darkest moment(s)?

Kathy: There was a time when it was necessary, for the sake of my late first husband’s sobriety, to lay my writing career at the foot of the cross . I told the Lord that if he ever wanted me to write science fiction again, he was going to have to make it abundantly clear. He did that just a few months later—via Steve Laube!

Which of your books is your favorite?

Kathy: Either Wind and Shadow (#4 in the Firebird series) or Daystar, which I described above. I wrote Wind and Shadow as my arts thesis for a Masters degree in Christianity and the Arts, at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. Daystar finishes the series and won the ACFW’s Carol Award for Speculative Fiction in 2013.

Who is your favorite author to read?

Kathy: I have so many! Tolkien, Dorothy L. Sayers, James K.A. Smith, Iain Provan, Lois McMaster Bujold, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and did I mention Tolkien? The books are much better than the movies.

What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have listened to?

Kathy: You’ll reach a point in your writing career when it becomes difficult to read for fun. You will have polished your self-editing skills so well that you’re distracted by details that other readers just won’t notice—but it’s all right. You still will be able to read for the joy of the well-told tale.

What is the single greatest tool you believe a writer should have in his or her toolbox?

Kathy: The ability to select the right viewpoint for telling your story—omniscient or limited, first or third person, deep or shallow, past tense or present tense—and then to write the viewpoint well. That’s something I stress when I teach at writers conferences.

How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?

Kathy: My first novel, Firebird, was rejected just twice and then published by Bantam Books. After that, there were quite a few years during which I was able to sell everything I had written. Now, with the publishing industry in flux—and a new desire to write in a different genre—it sometimes feels like I’m back to square one. Either that, or I’m being nudged in a new direction. I’ve been the “Mommy” of so many books that I’m finding a new kind of joy in being a “midwife” for my editing clients’ books.

 

 

Kathy’s Books:

Enclave Publishing: Firebird, Fusion Fire, Crown of Fire, Wind and Shadow, Daystar

Star Wars novels: Truce at Bakura, New Jedi Order: Balance Point

eBooks, Greenbrier Books: Shivering World, One Mind’s Eye, Crystal Witness

 

Categories
Child's Craft Uncategorized

Questions Childen’s Writers Should be Asking

When I was in India recently, our team leader told of an Indian child who asked her if the streets in India were anything like the streets in America. Umm. No. Not one street in India resembled any form of a street in America. She explained that we don’t generally have men walking their oxen, camels or goats down the streets in America. At which point the child quickly asked, “Then where do you walk your goats?”

Where do we walk our goats, indeed! That is a question a children’s writer needs to ask.

What would happen if a shepherd walked his goats through the streets of San Francisco? What might Los Angeles look like if a woman rode her camel down the boulevard? What if a farmer’s pigs got loose and wandered through Macy’s in New York? Would they try on the dresses, shoes, jewelry? Ride the escalators up and down?

Why might a shepherd even end up on a street of San Francisco? Well, his goat was sick of course and he’d heard that an ingredient in sour dough bread could cure his sick little goat. Or maybe he was chasing his dream of becoming a chef and making the best clam chowder. He was done being a shepherd. Play around with your idea until you find the story, the goal, the lesson, the mystery. Was the shepherd following a suspect whom he thought had been poisoning his goats? What brings him to San Francisco? How can he get there? Then what happens? Do others help him achieve his goal? Is he ridiculed? Is he forbidden from bringing his goats, then how will he ever find the cure? His goat is dying! Each minute counts!

Children’s writers seem to ask the question, “What if?” And a story is born. What if a man placed gold tickets in candy bar wrappers as tickets to visit his chocolate factory? What if a boy was actually a wizard and attended a wizard school? What if a man was bitten by a spider and took on spider qualities and could sling himself across buildings with his silk webbing?

Thinking differently is what creates amazing stories. What was a little lamb thinking when he saw Jesus born? What other animal could have been present? How could they make a difference? What would it have been like being in the garden when Jesus arose from the dead? What did the giraffes see from their point of view on the Ark? Or a slug’s point of view? Was he being trampled? Ridiculed for being invited on the cruise? Did he feel stomped on? Did this little slug matter in the scheme of things?

We don’t always need to know where a story is going from the onset. Ask the questions and pursue it. See if an interesting, amusing, or sweet story emerges. Other stories may blossom far different from your original story, but ones that may not have even budded had you not started with the first idea.

Be observant in your world. Listen for interesting comments. Watch for strange ideas, or new slants to established concepts. Twist it around. Ask the ‘what if’ questions and run with it. Have fun on the journey! Create a new world for children. Take them to new places. Help them view normal things in a fresh way. Open up their world of dreams, stretch their imaginations. Take them deeper, higher, swifter, slower. Show them a new side of Jesus, an amazing side of God. A new truth in a fashionable way.

There is nothing new under the sun. But as writers of children’s stories, it is our goal, our adventure, our desire to create new twists and slants to common entities. So roll up your sleeves, put on your specs, and jump in with both feet. But watch where you step, there may be goats out there.

Categories
Specs: Speculative Fiction

3 Ways to Keep Writing

      3 Ways To Keep Writing

WARNING: This post is not meant to stress you, and if all goes according to plan it ought to help you. Please don’t be mad.

Hey guys! Life is one of the busiest things in existence. In fact I’d wager that most of you are experiencing the negative affects of it right now. Yes even now as you read this, the back of your mind is racing, organizing, and planning your busy busy day. With days like this, and many more on the horizon, who on God’s green earth has time to write! I submit to you that time can be found if you look in the write places. (See what I did there.) So I have 3 tips that can help anyone find time.

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Looking in the Write Places. So many times we find ourselves on our phones in moments of peace and calm. Your phone is amazing! It comes with email, iMessage (or some form of text thing,) not to mention notes. If you find you have a minute, and you’re writing is clear in your mind, type out the next paragraph. If you just write it out, then you can later cut and paste it into your document. It’s as simple as that. If you’re super cool and carry around a journal with you, then write it by hand. If your pen’s out of ink, use your nail polish…or blood…You can clean it up if it’s needed and then you’re that much further along in your story.

I know you’re thinking this is chaotic, messy, and stupid, but it really works. If you keep chipping away at it in small bursts you’ll be done with your book before you even know it. I speak from experience. I’ve written an entire book over email. Crazy? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

I'm not %22different%22 like you

After advice like that I’ll bet you’re making a face like this. You may even be thinking:

“I’m Not ‘Different/Strange’ Like You.” Well, that’s fair. My methods are…out of the box. If your opposed to the suggestion above then here are more conventional ways of getting things done.

[bctt tweet=”Develop the write habits. 3 Ways to keep writing.”]

Develop the Write Habits. Much like your terrible unhealthy habits, writing can become a routine, or tradition. I know with school, work, life skills, and the mad world that’s out to bring you down, finding time seems impossible. However this is where the old schedule comes to your aid. You see, there are so many different holes in your life that can be claimed. If you’re an early bird, try getting up thirty minutes to an hour earlier than usual. Night Owl? Instead of watching Walking Dead tonight, put down that zombie scene you’ve been wanting your unicorn protagonist to fight her way through…(That’s just a suggestion…but you know you want to.)

8502477432_11c430f471_o

Plan the Write Vacation. Sometimes opportunities present themselves. A day without obligations is a day with writing. (or…obligations if you promise your brother you’ll play video games with him, and help him beat a level that neither of you can beat, and so you spend all day playing the same stupid part of the game over, and over, and over, and over! but I digress.) I often try to keep a day once every blue moon free for writing. A retreat into your own little world, if you will.

But then again that’s just how this teen writer sees things through his spectacles. Comment below and tell me how you see things through yours?

Special thanks to: koka_sexton, jason rogers, Hey Paul Studios for the edited and normal images. 😀

Categories
Uncategorized Write Justified

How’s Your Posture?

listening1One of the occupational hazards of the writing-editing life is back and/or neck pain as a result of poor posture. We’re often sitting, hunched over a computer for long periods of time. Without our chair, desk, and computer properly aligned we’re prone to periodic discomfort or chronic pain. Not to mention eye strain if we forget to follow the 20-20-20- practice: [bctt tweet=”every 20 minutes take 20 seconds to look at something at least 20 feet away.”]

Impaired mental posture also takes its toll. Writer’s block, fear, and procrastination all conspire to keep us from proper mental alignment and inhibit our productivity. Some of these misalignments can be corrected by developing our technical skills–brushing up on grammar, sentence structure, etc., But even successful writers battle mental misalignment from time to time.

And then there’s our spiritual posture. What’s our stance before our heavenly Father, the source of our creative desires and energy? I confess that mine ranges from a careless slouch—casually acknowledging God from afar as a friendly grandfather who will show up when I signal him, to a self-righteous erectness attempting to balance all the demands of life atop my own head and shoulders and expecting a “well done” for my independence and self-sufficiency.

[bctt tweet=”God desires an intimate relationship with us and that requires a certain posture”]. He may get my attention in dramatic fashion, but he’s just as likely to speak to me in a still small voice. The ability to hear that voice requires a certain posture. It’s a wise teacher who lowers her voice get the classes’ attention. It’s a far more effective way to get students to listen than trying to speak above their noise. Students may even need to lean in and turn an ear in the direction of the teacher’s voice to be sure they hear. They need to set aside distractions and focus on the teacher.

As I open God’s Word and quiet myself in my prayer room, I need to lean in in anticipation and expectation. I need to keep my eyes wide open to the ways he is already at work in the world and in my life. And I need to adopt a heart posture of humble submission, leaning in expectantly to hear from the Teacher. It’s a divine posture adjustment and it’s essential to a well aligned life.  How’s your posture?

Categories
Truth Be Told

Unplugged

Have you ever considered how spoiled we are by electricity.

Instant light.  Ready power.

I remember when my husband and I looked at potential houses to buy. One of the things I checked for was the outlets: how many and where they were in all the rooms.  Over the years my opinion has become: there are never enough.

Recently I read several articles emphasizing our need to “go green”, including unplugging items not in use.  Chargers, radios, lamps, even computer printers that wait for our instant use were described by one author as “electrical vampires.”  The amounts of drainage were not high on their own, but when put together in households, neighborhoods, and communities become staggering.

I went through my home unplugging the unnecessary, and  began to wonder what was sapping my spirit?  I thought of the warning in Hebrews: “It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.” (Hebrews 12:1, The Message)

Truth be told: I’m not getting any younger—physically or spiritually.

My birthday is just around the corner.  Getting older has not been easy: my body doesn’t respond like it used to.  I haven’t done a good job of listening to it either.  I’ve let far too many pounds creep on, somehow justified each and every one of them.  There are tests that my doctor wants me to have because of my age I have been putting off.  I need to update my glasses and get my teeth cleaned.  I put them off by claiming financial prudence, when in fact it is foolishness and poor stewardship to not take care of this amazing physical machine—we truly are fearfully and wonderfully made.

This awareness has me drinking Danactive and taking Omega3 in addition to my other vitamins and minerals.  So I’m trying to get better at taking care physically.  How do I go green spiritually?  I keep coming back to this “unplugging” idea.  I’m wondering about what “parasitic sins” are attacking me and sucking out my spirit.

A3 unplugged.heart

So, maybe I’ll search the rooms of my spirit like I searched and counted outlets. I’m going to ask God to open the eyes of my heart (Ephesians 1:18). It’s time to kick the Spirit suckers to the curb, no room in my life for spiritual fat or parasitic sins.

How about you?

 

Categories
The Writer's PenCase

Don’t Break Promises to Readers

The Writer's PenCase

Nearly two years ago, when I finished my Craftsman class with DiAnn Mills, she recommended I get a book entitled Story Trumps Structure, by Steven James.Its tagline is How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules. I haven’t read it all yet, but I’ve been skimming. This is a book for “pantsers,” those writers who hate the idea of plotting out every little scene and detail of their story. Because most of us “organic” writers know that [bctt tweet=”Even the best-laid plots of mice and men are sometimes changed while they’re being written.”] #amwriting #dontbreakpromises

This book is entirely different than any other book on writing I’ve ever seen. One chapter focuses on “Promises: The Keys to Building Suspense and Satisfying Your Readers.”

This is not something I’ve thought about when writing my novel. That my story is made up of a set of promises that I have to deliver on in order to keep my reader, by first making those promises, then keeping them. James says there are three scenarios at the beginning of any story: 1) will the protagonist have what they desire at the start, lose it and try to find it again? 2) Will the protagonist see what they desire from a distance, and pursue it? 3) Is the protagonist forced to escape what they dread most? The author says any of these three scenarios will launch the story and initiate the promises that will guide it.

Breaking Promises

Here are some of the ways you can break promises to readers:

  1. Indicate (by the context, description, or number of words) that something will be important, and then fail to make it significant
  2. Develop conflict, then don’t resolve it in a satisfactory way
  3. Have your characters act in unbelievable ways
  4. Build up a character toward an internal transformation, but end without letting him have one
  5. Resolve too much tension too early
  6. Introduce a character, make readers care, then drop them from the story

[bctt tweet=”Don’t break promises to your readers.”]. By avoiding these promise-breakers, we’ll have a better chance of keeping our readers. #amwriting #dontbreakpromises

What about you? Are you a plotter or a pantser? Leave a comment and let me know.

Categories
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life Uncategorized

All Choked Up

Have you ever tried to impress people? Given that extra effort to stand out in the crowd, to get the attention of the “important” people?

Speaking from experience: it hardly ever works.

A few years ago I was at a “Meet and Greet” at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. There were many friends in attendance, as well as guest speakers, editors, and faculty members. Definitely a place to put your best foot forward, and definitely not a place to embarrass yourself.

You know where this is heading.

The event was held in a huge meeting room. One side featured tables and couches for “fellowship,” with the bookstore on the other side. A snack table full of finger foods and other goodies was located in the middle.

I first looked for bargains at the book tables, as my “mad book money” was extremely limited. One book that looked interesting was only $3—practically the only thing in my price range. The author had a box on his table for a giveaway of the book, so I entered my name—although I never win anything.

I made my way to the “fellowship” area, doing my best “schmoozing.” I floated between different groups of friends and made sure to introduce myself to the editors and the published faculty members. I was having a good time while trying to impress as many as possible.

I looked over to the bookstore area and noticed people at the table with the book I wanted, so I figured I had better get my bargain before they were sold out. I passed the snack table, and, of course, I had to get something.

I’ve never met a snack table I didn’t like. I scooped some peanuts onto one of the tiny plates and started munching just as someone got on the P.A. system to announce the winner of the book giveaway. As a name was drawn, I started choking on a peanut.

I was hacking and coughing so hard that a fellow nearby asked if I needed the Heimlich. I waved him off, right at the moment the winner was announced.

“Carlton Hughes!” I had finally won something—while I was coughing up a lung.

I walked (and hacked) to the makeshift stage to get my book and returned to the garbage can near the snack table, thinking that lung might come up any time.

One of my friends told the book’s author that I worked as a college professor, which was also his profession, so he came over to ask numerous questions about my work. The conversation went something like this:

Him: “What courses do you teach?”

Me: “(Cough) Communications (Hack) and journalism.”

Him: “How long have you been teaching?”

Me: “(Hack) Over (Cough) 20 (Hack) years.”

Not exactly a pleasant conversation, and I don’t think I impressed him.

Some wise advice I learned the hard way: in writing or at writers conferences, don’t work so hard to impress others. Be yourself, have fun, and avoid the peanuts.

Categories
5 For Writing

Location, Location, Location: Doing Novel Research On-Site

 

Doug Peterson (right) with Jurgen Litfin, brother of the first person shot trying to escape into West Berlin.
Doug Peterson (right) with Jurgen Litfin, brother of the first person shot trying to escape into West Berlin.

NOTE—Doug Peterson’s previous blog, Do Your Research Right When You’re Writing Historical Fiction, discussed his research habits. This is a follow-up to that blog.

I guess I should have known what day it was when I showed up at the old watchtower in Berlin in 2011. I didn’t realize that I was arriving there on the 50th anniversary of the death of Gunter Litfin, whose memory was being honored by this very watchtower—a tower that had once been used by East Berlin guards with shoot-to-kill orders.

Back in 1961, Gunter Litfin became the first person to be shot by guards while trying to escape from Communist East Berlin into free West Berlin. Gunter was killed while trying to swim across a canal, which was located not far from this very watchtower.

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and Germany reunified, Jurgen Litfin, the brother of Gunter, had the watchtower preserved as a museum in his brother’s honor. But because I showed up on the 50th anniversary of Gunter’s death—to the day—I found that the watchtower was closed in his memory.

But I didn’t give up. I was in Germany for a week doing research for my Berlin Wall novel, The Puzzle People, so I came back to the watchtower the next day. This time, I found a decent-sized crowd milling around, but no one was being allowed inside the watchtower. Standing in front of the tower was a stern-looking, elderly German man, whom I learned was Jurgen Litfin.

“Why isn’t he letting anyone inside?” I asked a woman.

“I don’t know,” she said, “but he kind of scares me.”

When I approached Litfin, I found that he didn’t speak a word of English. So, with a German man translating for me, I explained that I was writing a historical novel based on the Berlin Wall, and one of my key scenes takes place in a watchtower just like this one.

To my amazement, he allowed my wife and I—and no one else—into the watchtower. So we climbed up all three levels, and I took photographs and videos like mad.

The reason I bring up this story is that my visit inside the watchtower led me to completely revise the climactic scenes of my novel, The Puzzle People. This experience also taught me about the importance of visiting the location of your novel when doing research. Of course, some budgets will not allow visits to exotic locations, but all of my other historical novels have been located in the United States, where on-site visits are much more economical. So if your budget allows it, by all means visit the location of your story.

But when should you visit? Before you begin writing, during the writing process, or after the novel is completed?

My choice is to go after I have completed a rough draft. That way, I know what locations I need to see. Then I can make revisions based on what I saw on location, as I did with The Puzzle People. Although my watchtower scene needed some heavy reworking, in most cases a visit to the location does not require me to make drastic changes.

Last year, when I finished the rough draft of a novel based in New Orleans during the second year of the Civil War, I went to the Big Easy with a list of locations that I wanted to see and photograph. If you give talks about your novels or historical subjects covered in your stories, the photographs you take have the added benefit of providing you with plenty of visuals to use in these presentations.

But before you visit the location in person, I suggest you make some “virtual visits.” The Internet today makes it possible to get a lot of the on-site research done from the comfort of your own office. Google Earth now makes it possible to walk the streets of European cities, without having to buy an airplane ticket and take one nibble of airplane food. So if your budget doesn’t allow a trip to a foreign country, take a trip with Google Earth.

Studying the location of your story is like buying a house. It’s a good idea to explore houses online before going out and seeing them in person. But you wouldn’t buy a house without ultimately going to the home and walking through it and hiring an inspector.

It’s the same with a novel. Check out the setting online, and then visit in person—if you can. At the very least, you’ll get a nice vacation out of it.

* * *

5 for Writing

  1. Get writing. Find the time to write. Then do it.
  2. Learn by listening—and doing. Solicit feedback, discern what helps you.
  3. Finish your story. Edit and rewrite, but don’t tinker forever. Reach the finish line.
  4. Thrive on rejection. Get your story out there. Be fearless. Accept rejection.
  5. Become a juggler. After one story is finished, be ready to start another. Consider writing two at once.

 

 

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Five More Confusing Word Pairs

For the past couple of posts, we’ve been focusing on confusing word pairs. Today will continue with a few more. The following words may not be spelled similarly or sound alike, but they are sometimes used incorrectly.

  1. Accept and Except

Accept—is a verb that means “to receive.”

Please accept this million dollars for your excellent manuscript.

 

Except—is a preposition that means “but.”

The toddler ate everything except his kale.

 

  1. Advice and Advise

Advice—is a noun and rhymes with “rice.”

Take my advice. You need to proofread your paper.

 

Advise—is a verb and rhymes with “prize.”

The teacher will advise you on which class to take.

 

  1. Allusion and Illusion

Allusion—is a reference to something else.

Please find five allusions in Poe’s, “The Raven.”

 

Illusion—is a dream, a fantasy.

He believed the illusion that he could lose weight without changing his eating habits.

 

  1. Among and Between

Between—is usually used to show a relationship with two nouns.

Between you and me, I’m pulling for the Panthers to win.

 

Among—is usually used to show a relationship with more than two nouns.

Sadness was common among Pittsburghers when the Steelers lost the last game.

 

  1. Anxious and Eager

Anxious—can show fear.

I’m anxious about the skin test results.

 

Eager—shows strong interest.

I’m eager to be finished with doctors’ appointments.

 

These words are distinct and are easy to use properly if you remember the definitions. Good luck with your writing!

Categories
Talking Character

The Power of a Single Detail

In her book The Resolution for Women, Priscilla Shirer tells a story about a tassel. She was in the process of remodeling her writing office, and had not yet made basic decisions on color palette. Then a friend gave her a beautiful tassel. It was a gorgeous, multi-colored piece that came at a bargain price. Priscilla was tempted to keep it, until she realized the tassel would end up dictating all the décor decisions in her new office.

So, despite how much she loved that little tassel, she took it back.

Her point was that sometimes we allow a single detail—like a comment about our talents or character—to become a focal point in our lives, and then find ourselves changing our outlook or behaviors to match it.

Don’t let the wrong details define you. Or your characters.

What struck me as I read her warning was how often I fall into that trap when I am writing. It goes like this…

I am in the middle of a scene and the words are flowing. I run across the need for a bit of description. I grab the first idea that pops into my head and keep writing, trying to keep up with the muse before she gallops completely out of reach. Then, a scene or two later, I bump into that insignificant little detail, which now conflicts with some other detail, requires explanation, or forces the plot to go in a direction I hadn’t planned on.

Instead of thinking, huh, making him nearsighted adds complications I’d rather not deal with. What other unusual feature could I give him instead? I find myself going through all sorts of contortions to make his nearsightedness work.

Not exactly the most intentional of writing methods.

In fact, at my next critique session someone challenges a decision that I realize links back to that little detail, and I find myself forced to either defend a series of decisions that appear to lead the story astray or go back and fix the real problem—the random detail that created the mess.

It’s all about the [appropriate] details

When decorating a room, you sometimes select a single unique piece to become the focal point, but you want that focal point to be a lovely painting not the ugly chair you inherited from Great-aunt Bertha. Likewise, selecting just the right detail can set a character apart in a memorable way. For example, hobbits live in houses with round doors. Triangular doors or trapdoors would not be nearly as appropriate.

So remember to consider your details carefully. Ask why that detail is fitting, and if you’re not sure, take a moment to consider whether there might be a more apt choice.

The trick here is not to stifle your creativity, but to stop and analyze your thinking afterwards, to ensure all those pesky details are taking the story where you want it to go.

[bctt tweet=”Choose your tassels wisely. Details matter. #writetip”]

tassels

For more on the balance of rational and creative thoughts, check out this post from Kristen Lamb.

Categories
Pleasant Rosebud - Romantic Suspense

HIKER IN THE HOOD (Thomas Garet series)

Thomas Garet sat on the plain grass under a pine tree by the road and untied his shoe laces. Time to reconsider his move, and make a plan.

The May sun burned his forehead, but he’d been used to these harsh twists in the weather closer to summer. Earlier it had been so cold, he’d donned his hoodie when he walked out of Mrs. Covender’s basement accommodation to see to his daily chores.

“I won’t be back,” he’d told the septuagenarian when he handed over the keys to the small studio room he rented from her later on.

The old woman’s niece walked in as he headed out, and his head spun. Who? He lingered at the entrance.

“Lacy baby,” Mrs. Covender cooed. “You never say when you’re stopping by.”

“Aunt Ann, I called. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten,” the young woman said.

“You did? Oh, is today the 15th?”

“Yes, it is. And I’m not staying longer than two cups of coffee.” Lacy’s noisy kisses on her aunt’s cheeks sent a strange sensation down Thomas’s loins.

“Dear Thomas, do throw the trash before you leave, dear.” The landlady raised her best voice.

“Who is he?” Thomas heard Lacy say before he closed the door. And then, “Aunt Ann! You can’t take in strangers all the time! What if he’s a psycho or something?”

Who cared? He did look psychotic. He’d not shaved in four days, and his anger burned hot through his cold blue eyes.

About half an hour later, a white sedan drove past and stopped just a few meters ahead. Thomas looked at it and shook his head subconsciously. He wasn’t leaving yet. Lacy was right. Mrs. Covender shouldn’t take in strangers anyhow, and he hoped when he got his act together and his heart rate normal, he would go back and take her basement again.

In the three months of his stay, he’d paid part of his rent with manual labor. He cut her lawn, did her laundry, threw her trash, and sometimes, much to his amusement, did her nails.

The driver of the car pressed the horn tentatively. Thomas waved. When the horn went off a little longer, he paid attention.

A head full of brown curly hair sprung into his view, and his stomach tightened.

Lacy?

He got to his feet and walked over to her. “Ma’am?”

She cleared her throat. She had the most remarkable grey eyes. “Are you going my way?”

If she warned her aunt not to house strangers, she shouldn’t pick hikers either.

“Depends,” he mumbled. He knew only one other woman who had those same grey eyes, and that woman wasn’t mixed.

“I’m heading toward Baltimore.”

City girl. He hated all of them. “I’ll stop—” He had no clue where he’d stop. “Before you enter the city.”

“I live in Elicott City. So I won’t get to Baltimore, actually.”

“Oh.”

“So? Where are you headed at?”

He got into the car. “Nowhere actually. I’ll find a job, stay a bit and then move on.” He was talking too much. “What did your aunt say about me?”

She pulled back on to the road. “That you do more than your due around the house.” She shrugged. “She hated to see you go.”

“If you lived in Union Bridge with her, I might stay.”

Now, that was more than necessary. Her silence proved it too. He was drawn to her. He knew why but couldn’t bring himself to admit it. She was Mrs. Covender’s niece, the one the old lady spoke about often. He never imagined what she looked like, never cared.

The rest of the drive was in strained quiet. This was one of the reasons he moved around a lot. He couldn’t develop or maintain relationships.

His heart pounded. You have to know about this girl, the sane voice in his head admonished. She was beautiful, and young, and wore no ring.

Those were not the reasons for his conflict. If he wanted any girl, he could have gotten. He didn’t want any girl anymore.

“I’ll stop here,” he said before the thought formed in his heart. He combed through his dark blonde shoulder-length shaggy hair.

“Why?”

She slowed down though. They were in a beautiful semi-rural community called West Friendship. The houses looked huge and far between but it was the sign post of the Elementary school that drew Thomas.

He frowned. “Why? Because I’m stopping here.”

She pulled the car over to the shoulder. “You didn’t want to stop here.”

“I do now. Thanks for the ride.” He opened the car and rushed out of it. He slammed the door after him.

His shoe laces dangled and he remembered what he’d been about before Lacy stopped for him. He’d walked away from the house. Never hoping to see her again.

She drove off without a word.

Thomas watched her go. For eight years he’d roamed the states and counties around his former home in New York. Slowly, he’d drifted farther off, and been in the State of Maryland for almost three years. The longest he had stayed in any state since Molly was brutally killed in a senseless drunk-driving accident, taking their unborn daughter with her.

Not once had he second-guessed his decision to sell everything he’d built with Molly and become destitute. Till now.

Why did Lacy look so much like Molly? Everything was the same, except Molly was full Caucasian and Lacy was mixed.

Thomas Garet dropped on his butt and wept for the first time in eight years.

 

Image: https://pixabay.com/en/shoe-laces-leather-hiking-974564/

 

Author bio:

Sinmisola Ogúnyinka is a pastor’s wife, mother, writer and movie producer. She has a university degree in Economics, and is a Craftsman of Christian Writers’ Guild. She lives with her family in Pretoria, South Africa.

Blog: www.sinmisolao.wordpress.com

Twitter: @sinmisolaog

 

Categories
Dear Young Scribes

Build a Platform & Increase Chances of Publication

“Does building a platform really increase chances of publication?”

This is a question many beginning authors ask when they are told to focus on building a platform—even before they receive a book contract.

“What’s the big deal?” they ask. “Shouldn’t I spend time working on my book instead of blogging? Won’t I gain a readership when my book is published?”

In the past, aspiring authors did not have to worry about building a brand, blog, or platform. They simply wrote a book, landed an agent, and received a publishing contract.

This is not the case with today’s writing industry.

If an aspiring author wants to gain interest from an agent/publisher, they must try to build a platform. When a publisher receives a proposal from an author, they often do an online search of the author. They want to see how many books the writer will be able to sell based on the number of potential readers they can reach through their blog and social media.

So, how can you, an aspiring author, build a platform—even as a teen?

Here’s how:

It’s pretty tough for an aspiring author to build a platform without writing a blog. Is it possible? Maybe.

But if you really want to impress an agent or publisher, don’t skip this. Blogging is a great tool to brand yourself as an author, build a readership, and build your platform—even before your book is published.

As a teen, you especially have the advantage of beginning to grow a platform early. Since it usually takes a long time to build one, you can try to begin growing it now before you completely dive completely into the writing industry.

But remember: A platform isn’t built overnight. It takes time, effort, and consistency.

However, I still advise that aspiring authors spend the majority of their time writing. Because if you don’t have anything to pitch to an agent/publisher—then, well, the time you devote into establishing a readership will be fruitless.

How has building a platform paid off in your writing career? Do you enjoy blogging, or do you consider it to be a waste of time? I’d love to hear what you think!

[bctt tweet=”Should aspiring authors build a platform? via @tessaemilyhall”]

[bctt tweet=”Build a Platform & Increase Chances of Publication via @tessaemilyhall “]

Categories
Polishing Your Message Uncategorized

A Shell of a Draft . . .

Shell of a Draft

Shortly after moving to the Islands, a new habit easily became walking early on the beach. On one particular morning, something unlikely happened. (Unlikely from my beach experiences . . . ) I found a big beautiful shell— a whole shell. Do you understand?  I found a large complete shell five inches tall and four inches wide.  Feeling stunned, amazed, and thrilled, I instantly knew I was meant to find this particular shell, on this particular day, in this particular way.

How do I know that? Because it was God showing off again in my world. See, before my walk I had just read how God uses our SHAPE for his purpose. SHAPE being an acronym from Rick Warren’s book A Purpose Driven Life (236).  His SHAPE acronym represents the following words and how God uses them in our life:

S – Spiritual Gifts

H – Heart

A – Abilities

P – Personality

E – Experiences

The SHELL I found is a symbol for the devotion I had read and a gift to remember the lesson. Believe me, I have walked beaches many times, and I have never found such a big unbroken SHELL. On this particular day, He reminded me he has made us all for a special purpose and wants us to use all the above traits for his purpose.

A couple months pass and again I’m walking the beach contemplating inspirations for a new blog, and again I am still thinking about that SHELL. (Now anytime I see a shell, I think of that shell.)

As I continue walking the pastel carpet of broken shell pieces listening to the crunch of each step, I ponder Warren’s acronym and think about how our first drafts for short blogs, essays, and articles form a shell for our final written work. Getting that first Shell of a Draft is sometimes the hardest part of writing. Coming up with ideas is not difficult for writers– it is giving the idea shape. Ask around and discover, most writers keep stashes of ideas tucked in shoe boxes, notebooks, electronic files, and the sandy corners of their minds to develop one day. Discerning what direction, what purpose, and for what audience an idea best agrees often forms its shape when we write that First Shell of a Draft.

[bctt tweet=”Getting that first Shell of a Draft is sometimes the hardest part of writing.”]

While walking and enjoying the formation of birds standing at attention, a new ACRONYM for the word SHAPE came to mind. An acronym to help writers create a first SHELL OF A DRAFT.

How to SHAPE a Shell of a Draft:

birds8

S – See it

H – Hear it

A – Ask it

P – Perceive it

E – End it, Edit it, Edit it, Edit it,  .  .  .  and END IT.

[bctt tweet=”Write to see what’s on your mind. “]

See it:

One of my favorite quotes to share is by E.M Forster, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” The heart of our drafts often originates when we free write those first initial thoughts and ideas. Sometimes we are surprised by what appears on the blank screen or notebook and we discover, learn, and grow when what is deep within our heart is revealed.  So for step one, when you have a topic or idea,  just write. Write to see what’s on your mind. Write to see what’s on your heart, and write to see what’s in your Spirit. Just get it down on paper.

Hear it:

Do my thoughts flow smoothly for the reader? Reread the draft repeatedly listening for areas where words may be missing or thoughts are not connecting smoothly. (Perhaps some transitions will help.) Listen for opportunities of adding parallelism with list or alliteration to catch a reader’s attention. These are all writing elements, tools, or techniques a wordsmith enjoys adding to his or her work. Pay attention to word choice when rereading aloud. Look up words if needed and use a thesaurus to reduce redundancy. Finally, say a little prayer and trust your ear; trust it as an assistant to your writing.

Ask it:

Are there any areas of confusion? Are the examples and support all supporting the main idea of the message? If not, some may need to be omitted. Writers often have lots of ideas on how to reveal a message, but determine which details and examples best reveal your purpose and audience and omit the rest. This question is a key factor in helping writers decide what to leave in and what to take out. If it does not support the purpose, consider leaving it out.

Perceive it:

This is the time for peer review or reader feedback. Can the text be misunderstood, unclear, or offensive to readers? How might others interpret the prose? When asking someone’s perspective, you may want to share a past blog on how a friend can offer confident feedback.

End it: 

This may be the hardest decision, but deadlines and goals help encourage the process. End it, then edit it, end it again, let it rest, and edit it again. Embrace the process and accept revision, revision, revision is required to get that draft into shape. Continue the process until you feel peace or your time has expired. Say a little prayer and let your message go.

Today, when I hold the shell I found, it symbolizes for me the SHAPE God is molding me into and how my spirit, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences SHAPE my writing. In addition, the shell is a marker of answered prayer (for years I’ve wanted to live back near a beach).  It represents my current life transition from single motherhood to empty-nester and the SHAPE for which my heavenly father sees me and cares about every detail in my life– even a walk on the beach.

I hope these suggestions will help new writers develop their ideas into drafts and then on to a final message.

(I am ending here because it’s now time to go walk on the beach with a friend.)

Below, I invite you to share what gifts God reveals to  you while enjoying nature.

Categories
Things Every Writer Should Know Writer Encouragement

Getting Reviews Part 1

by Elaine Marie Cooper

Many authors, both new and the more experienced, get discouraged when hunting for knowledgeable readers to do advance reviews for new books. It’s all part of the marketing package that authors are expected to develop on their own: Finding folks to read and review their new book “baby.” It’s enough to prod some of us into the fetal position!

I inwardly cringe when I see a fairly new release wallowing on Amazon with a handful of reviews. It makes me want to buy their book and pray I can give it a four or five star review to show the author that I understand all the work that went into birthing their release. There are not enough hours in my day, however, to rescue all the forgotten books destined for an early demise. Readers like to see reviews, and lots of them.

So what’s an author to do? There is really no magic here. It takes planning months ahead—long before your book releases—to gather potential supporters who will help you out. Think of it this way: You would not wait to announce the upcoming birth of your newborn a couple of days before the due date. You would send out notes, allow your friends to give you baby showers, and rev up enthusiasm for the long awaited arrival.

And so it is with a book release. Invite your friends and others to be in on the celebration.

Caution: Do not allow your cat to post reviews on Amazon
Caution: Do not allow your cat to post reviews on Amazon

Start with your social media contacts, who are already excited about your writing. Expand your list to include other authors who write in a similar genre. Gather experts in the field of your topic. Think outside the box.

 

Private message them (or email them if you know their address) to see if they are interested in reading and reviewing, possibly endorsing your upcoming release. Give them a brief synopsis of the book and tell them the genre. If they say “yes,” ask them for their email address so you can send the PDF to them. Never send a PDF to someone who has not agreed to read and review. Unsolicited PDF’s in my inbox = rudeness. Be polite and gracious.

If there are any edit issues because you are sending it early (before final final edits!) be sure to apprise them of that.

Next month I will do Part 2 of gathering reviewers early. Come back in March for a very important letter that you should include with your PDF. In the meantime, start gathering your list of potential reviewers.

 

Green Typewriter courtesy of Just2Shutter via freedigitalphotos.net

 

 

 

Categories
Blogging Basics

Three Problems With Comparison for New Bloggers

Particularly for new writers beginning the blogging journey, comparison can kill confidence and create problems.

New bloggers often struggle with comparison, much like my youngest child who said, “I’m a slow runner. I don’t want to play soccer.” When I asked her why she thought she was a slow runner, she mentioned how much faster her older brother and sister ran. She struggled with confidence, not realizing she was unfairly comparing herself to her older siblings. She couldn’t see this was not a realistic comparison. Bloggers often struggle with comparison creating problems with confidence and negative thinking.

Comparison Creates Competition

Resist the scarcity lie that the success of others crowds out your own opportunity.

Comparison can cause significant set-backs when it comes to writing. All too easily, it can create competition when we allow the success of another to diminish our writing or sabotage our confidence. Choose to celebrate the achievements of others. Learn from their skill and experience.

New bloggers, blogging, writing, comparison, problems of comparison

Comparison Breeds Negative Thinking

Comparison opens the door to the problem of negative thinking. Comparative thinking leads to other forms of negativity—pride, envy, jealousy, resentment, discouragement, and criticism.  What can begin as comparison and negative feelings can quickly ignite destructive thoughts and actions.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. James 3:16

Comparison Demotivates Passion

Comparison can stifle passion to fulfill the writing desires God places in our hearts.

Have you ever compared yourself with a more experienced writer and thought, “Why bother…I’ll never be as good as ________.” The power to demotivate passion is one of the greatest problems of comparison.

Resist the temptation to measure the gap between where you are and where someone else is. We often see this gap as a diminishing, devaluing thing rather than embracing the growth process of our own writing.

Problems of comparison, blogging, writing, new bloggers

I have hung over the edge of motivation, wanting to quit because the journey to “success” is steep and difficult. Maybe you have too. Comparison saps passion and energy when we forget that God is with us in the process.

[bctt tweet=”Distracting us from God’s call and purpose, comparison makes the process about personal success rather than obedience to God’s call to write.”]

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6:4-5 MSG

Choose to celebrate and learn from successful and experience writers, rather than give into comparison. Give yourself permission to grow through the process and develop skill at the pace that is right for you. 

Don’t let comparison rob you of confidence and joy in writing. [bctt tweet=”Comparison is a choice you don’t have to make. “]

At the end of it all, comparison asks the wrong question.

The right question is this: what does God want to do through my writing?

Categories
History in the Making

What Lincoln Teaches Us about Effective Writing in the Gettysburg Address

by Sandra Merville Hart

Gettysburg Address Plaque at Soldiers National Cemetery
Gettysburg Address Plaque at Soldiers National Cemetery

With the celebration of Presidents Day this month, Americans may remember the very famous Gettysburg Address written and delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during our nation’s greatest turmoil.

Lincoln had been invited to give a “few appropriate remarks” at the dedication of a new national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He pondered the short speech he’d written, rewording phrases until the meaning was clear. Every sentence must count on this significant occasion.

Edward Everett, a well-known orator, spoke for two hours on a pleasant November day in 1863.

Lincoln congratulated Everett. Then the tall president, gaunt with the strain of leading a divided country, stepped in front of the crowd. Perhaps he felt inadequate to address the citizens after listening to such a talented speaker.

Then Lincoln delivered what has become one of the most famous speeches in American History for at least three reasons: an emotional hook; an acknowledgment of the obvious; and the clever use of repetition.

Lincoln hooked his audience with an emotional reminder of their noble roots. “Four score and seven years ago” a nation was born, recent enough that a few listeners might have been living at the time. Eighty-seven years ago our country began with the notion that “all men are created equal.” This reminded soldiers and citizens that the cause of slavery was worth the fight.

Lincoln also acknowledged the obvious. No one could ignore the remnants of a battle that so recently claimed a tragic number of lives. Fresh graves, destroyed fields, and bullet-ridden homes surrounded those in attendance. The dedication of the military cemetery united the mourners.

[bctt tweet=”Lincoln’s clever use of repetition drove home a vital message in the Gettysburg Address. #History #Author”]His clever use of repetition drove home a vital message. “But in a larger sense we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow this ground.” He arranged meaningful words for maximum impact.

The repetitive phrase so easily recognized by the changing of one word — a preposition — ends the speech with inspirational impact: “that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

President Lincoln took two days from a busy schedule to deliver words he feared “the world will little note nor long remember.”

History remembers, President Lincoln. Your immortal words spoken on sacred ground remind us of the Battle of Gettysburg — considered by many experts to be the turning point of the Civil War — and the national cemetery where many of our heroes lay.

 

Categories
Create. Motivate. Inspire.

Come Out Swinging: Fighting Fear as a Writer

The writer’s life is not for the faint of heart. There are moments that are downright scary.

That first writer’s conference, critiques, contest entries, appointments with an editor/publisher, the blank page—all potentially terrifying.

If you’re like me, you’ve wasted precious writing time paralyzed by fears and insecurities. But enough is enough. Here are three ways to face our fears head-on:

1—Fight with prayer and the Word of God

Someone once told me: Don’t use the Lord, grow in Him. I took the advice to heart and over the years I realized that my writing flows out of my relationship to God. When my heart is not in tune with His or I’m running from His plans, the words become hollow.

When we are in steady communion with the One who created us—seeking His heart and purposes—we are compelled to use our gifts as an offering. And what joy, to feel His pleasure when putting pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard).

2—Fight with hard work

Nike may have trademarked the phrase, Just Do It, but they didn’t corner the market on good ‘ole hard work. We must sit down and apply pressure to the little keys with letters on them. We must string the letters together to form words and sentences. It takes time. It’s rarely comfortable.

But the adrenaline rush after a completed page? Pure joy.

3—Fight with a humble heart

We are not the greatest writers who ever lived. The world doesn’t wait with baited breath to hear from us—Oh, if only she/he would put pen to paper, our lives would be complete…    

But…God is waiting to see if we will use our gifts and abilities for His glory. We are accountable to Him for how we spend our time and resources.

Also, we cannot survive on a writing-island. We need other writers. We learn and grow through how God is working in the lives of others.

A quick way to check our writer’s pulse: Are we excited when others succeed or do we resent their progress?

Being an encouragement to other writers is a great way to feed our own souls.

 

Overcoming fear as we put pen to paper is a daily battle—but with God’s help, the victory is ours!

How do you fight fear in your writing life?

 

[bctt tweet=”Are we excited when others succeed or do we resent their progress?”]

[bctt tweet=”How do you fight fear in your writing life?”]

Categories
Developing Your Writer's Voice Uncategorized

Resources for Finding Your Writer’s Voice

“I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still.” –Sylvia Plath

Are there writers that capture your fierce loyalty? Do you wait with anticipation for their newest book to release?

If you answered yes to the above questions, it is my guess you were first attracted to the author because of their writer’s voice. Author voices that shine through characters and plots keep you searching their author’s pages and websites for notification of their latest offering.

Perhaps you are a novice in the art of writing but dream of someday writing novels, blogs, or short stories that showcase your unique voice? There are numerous blog articles on this illusive matter of voice. books-484766_640

Three excellent examples are:

10 Steps to Finding Your Voice – Jeff Goins. Jeff gives an exercise on his website he developed to help you find your writing voice. I found this exercise to be extremely helpful for myself and I recommend it to students in workshops I teach.

What is Writer’s Voice? – Rachelle Gardner. In literary agent Rachelle Gardner’s post she gives a helpful definition of what voice is and isn’t. I always find helpful information on Rachelle’s site.

Ten Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice- Holly Lisle. Holly says, “Voice is bleeding onto the page and it can be a painful, frightening, naked experience.” Her post offers excellent suggestions and helps.

A book that I would recommend is: Finding Your Writer’s Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction, by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall. The authors state, “Every writer has a natural voice, and every natural voice has its own way of telling a story.” Frank and Wall give exercises to help you on the quest of finding your voice.

Another book on the writer’s voice: Finding Your Voice: How to Put Personality in Your Writing, by Les Edgerton.

The resources mentioned above are a wonderful starting place for your journey in finding your voice. Remember, the more you write, the easier it will be to recognize your voice.

Is there a Web site or book that you’ve found helpful in the area of finding your writer’s voice? If so, please share!

Categories
Have Words, Will Travel....Travel Writing 101

When the Love of Travel Takes On a New Meaning

Have Words Will Travel
Upon returning from a writer's conference earlier this year, Cathy found a 1963 Shasta Airflyte Camper sitting in her driveway. Since then, she has taken quite the fancy to travel writing. She hopes you'll join her on this adventurous journey!

There is no denying that February is the month of L-O-V-E so let’s do something a little different. Okay, a lot different.

“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi

As writers, our senses snap to attention when visiting a new place. We see things with fresh eyes and catch the aroma of foods never explored, but if we’re not careful those same senses can become dulled by the routine of life. We drive home the same way every night, listen to the same genre of music, and munch on Chinese food every Friday night without a second thought. Our senses gradually become accustomed to our day-to-day doings—taking them for granted—and if we’re not careful, the same can hold true for the people in our lives.

If you’re wondering if I mistakenly submitted this post to A3 instead of Psychology Today, rest assured this is no mistake. After all, is there any destination more traveled, more wondrous, awe-inspiring, or rewarding than that of the heart?

It’s for this reason I encourage you to consider traveling to that wondrous place through what you do best, writing. Below you’ll find a few ideas to try this month, but being the creative person that you are, I’m sure you’re already way ahead of me. (I hope to hear from you in the comment section!)

  • Take small slips of paper and on each slip, write one thing you love about that person, a favorite memory that you both share, or a specific way that person has impacted your life. Fill a container (I love Mason jars!) with the slips; tie a tag explaining how the recipient is to remove and read one slip each day for the month of February, or whatever length of time you choose. (For bonus points: Sprinkle a layer of rose petals on the bottom of the jar. As they begin to dry, the slips of paper will become immersed with their scent.) Okay, maybe I should have submitted this to Good Housekeeping, but let’s continue.A3map216
  • You’re a travel writer. Draw a map that includes your relationship milestones. Be as colorful and creative as possible. To top it off, plan a mini-getaway to a restaurant or particular place where one of your milestones took place, if possible.
  • You are a trained observer. Plan to travel to a place you both love, whether it’s just for an afternoon or for an entire weekend. The theme? Love, of course! Go on an expedition to find all the things you love about that place. Engage those five senses. Take pictures, journal about your time together.

If you’ve lived on this planet for any length of time you know that the heart of another is sometimes the most difficult destination of all to reach, making the journey all the more valuable.

This month, and every month, enjoy the greatest adventure of all—love.

How about you? Are you willing to try one of the above ideas, or do you have a love-related writing idea to share? I’d love to hear from you!

 

Photo courtesy of The Knot, one of the best sites around when it comes to love and marriage.

Categories
Write Justified

Are You Editing? or Editorializing?

Every writer needs an editor or at least a proofreader. Even experienced writers benefit from another pair of eyes reviewing what they have written before it goes to press.

According to Beth Hill at The Editor’s Blog, [bctt tweet=”An editor polishes and refines, he directs the focus of the story or article or movie along a particular course. “]He cuts out what doesn’t fit, what is nonessential to the purpose of the story. He enhances the major points, drawing attention to places where the audience should focus.”

In the newsroom, the editor is especially influential in directing what stories take top billing or which ones are below the fold or relegated to page six. The leanings of a newspaper or television station are evident by these decisions. The myth of an unbiased editor is just that—a myth.

On the editorial pages the publisher/editor may legitimately voice his/her opinion on local, national, or world affairs. But editorializing—expressing opinions within a factual news piece is unacceptable journalism.

On a recent get away to western Colorado, we discovered a local paper that engaged in a bit of editorializing in, of all sections, the local crime blotter. The results provided great hilarity over our morning coffee.

Under the heading, Busted in the Butte, (gotta love that!) we chuckled over these entries. (Note editorial comments in italics.)

A report was filed for a stolen license plate. Only one plate was taken, so the thief must have only needed the one.

  • Follow-up was done on a suspect who had pled guilty in in a bad check case and wasn’t paying the money back as agreed. His next stop could quite possibly be in front of a judge.

Even when the writer is not editorializing, he/she has a sense of humor that goes beyond “just the facts, Maam.”

  • A bike versus vehicle accident occurred near the Nordic Center. An investigation is ongoing, but regardless of the outcome, a bicyclist never “wins” in a collision with a vehicle.
  • A Marshal did a welfare check via text with an overdue female whose family was concerned about her whereabouts. She responded to the text and contacted her family.

I’m still wondering if the female in question was just late coming home, or pregnant and past her due date. And don’t you love a diligent marshal who employs the latest technology rather than old-fashioned footwork to solve a crime? (That’s me editorializing.)

And my favorite:

  • It was determined that a 911 hang-up with yelling in the background was not a case of domestic violence, but the case of a doggy that was in deep doo-doo because of his deep doo-doo in the house.

You know it’s a small town when these are the items that populate the crime blotter. And you have to appreciate the editor who permits this kind of editorializing. But don’t you try it.