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Showing posts from 2011

Get your writing on! (even on the cover of a card)

I've been down-for-the-count with a cold I caught from my youngest son. The irony of this all is that I assumed I would get even more writing done now that he's in school, having just begun all day kindergarden. While I do have uninteruppted time, being sick is not condusive to writing, especially when all I want to do is lie down. So, yes, it's an excuse. But hey, it's legitimate. Now, something for you: Have you heard about Hallmark's card contest? They have one or two contests every month devoted to great pictures -- and most importantly, well placed and perfect writing to go with it -- by people like us, and NOT their in-house writers. Here is an example, as I won one of their contests last year. If you're like me, you have a ton of pictures on the computer that are going to waste. And if you're a writer,  then this is the perfect contest for you. Go to Hallmark today and find out the latest contest. Enter it and you never know ... the whole world may s

The Gift of Goals

So, here I am, turning 35 today. Haven't accomplished what I thought I would accomplish, and have already accomplished what I never thought I wanted. Life is sort of like that. Now that the hill approacheth --that yucky-ish one with the big 40 on the top of it-- I've begun thinking about what I want for the next milestone year-- what it is that I want to have done, or helped, or begun. Here's a small list. 1. Trip to Holy Lands : Okay, so I know this is sort of a really vulnerable area right now, but it doesn't change the fact that I want to go. I've wanted to visit for the past five years, and figure I have another five to get there. It is rather difficult trying to scrape the cash to get there with children's private school tuition, a college education savings fund, and pay cuts, but I'm not giving up. Mark Twain wrote fondly of Israel. And if the witty and cyncial author loved it, no doubt I will too. Someday, I will get to Jerusalem. 2. Book: So

New Road for Writers

Authonomy I found this crazy cool website, called Authonomy . It's not a website I've ever seen before. Not only does this site allow you the opportunity to submit your work -- work that other writers, bloggers and professional editors will read and possibly critique -- but you gain feedback from all of these groups, thereby increasing your chances of being published. Oh, and did I mention that this site is a part of the HarperCollins company? Wow! This site reminds me of Amazon's Breakout Novel Award competition, only much more hands-on and ... friendly. It reminds me of submitting manuscripts to an agent, (which it is!) only this site is much more hands-on and ... friendly. You see where I'm going with this? And who can't use this? Though I haven't actually created an account or submitted a chapter or two, it might be just want we need to get that book published. Check it out! http://www.authonomy.com/

Boundaries

So, I was talking to a writer friend of mine this week, and she mentioned that she was having a problem getting everything done that she needed to do. This included work, home, marriage and kids; everything she wanted to do, and everything everyone else wanted her to do. I sympathized with her because I, like most people, find myself in this situation frequently. But for once, I felt like I could actually give her some sound advice. Just that week, I had turned down two rather important offers-- one dealing with my kids' school, and another with more editing-- and I actually felt fine about it. There are times to say yes, and moments when we have to do more in 24 hours than should be legally allowed. But because writing is important to me, I've learned to say no in order to focus on just that. I understand we are here to love, give and serve. I get that. But, we’re also to do what’s in front of us to the best of our abilities. If we’re overburdened, how then does this rea

What would Jessica Fletcher Do?

Sometimes, just saying this question outloud -- "What would Jessica Fletcher do?" --can be the absolute best way to work through a scene, or maybe in the extreme case, your entire novel. I know, it totally sounds hokey ... at best. But, it's true! If you've never watched an episode of Murder She Wrote, or really an episode of almost any crime/drama, then you need to. It can help to focus in on what it is you're trying to explain, reveal, hide or introduce in your story. In reality, detectives -- or in her case, unofficial detectives -- rarely solve a murder case within the time frame that these shows take place in. However, that's because the show is limited to an hour or two. If it isn't short and quick, our attention wanes, we get up for a snack, or we will change the channel. In our writings, even if things don't move quite this quickly, we too need to move the plot along. Otherwise, no one will want to read our words either! Watching J. B.

The Awesomeness of AgentQuery

I don't know if any of you are looking to be published, or need a great agent, but if you've tried to find the right agent, it can be grueling. All those requirements, or quirky specifics, and every agent is different. Some are big-timers, and some are small-town folks. And if you're like me, and you don't feel like shelling out 30 bucks for an agent book -- the kind that list all the agents all of America, along with their info, in really small print -- then you have to check out AgentQuery . They are a database of agents, and yes, I'm warning you, it's overwhelming!  But, really,  AgentQuery is like finding a gold mine. Oh, and did I mention that most of it's free? Jackpot! I've been casually going to their website for a couple of years now. The agents' info --all thousands and thousands of them --stay relatively current, you can specify to the city what you are looking for in an agent, or an find agent by genre or category; those who special

Grand Grammar

ra I'm always forgetting correct grammar rules. I mean, always. And did I mention my punctuation is pathetic? Well, it is. There's a really cool website that I just found, and it's called "Grammar Girl." Well, actually it's really called "Quick and Dirty Tips," and I'm certain I am not italicizing and parathentizing correctly here. But, if I really want to know the right way to write, this lady has the answers. There are a bazillion tips for careers, work, lifetstyle, pets, etc. Hence the name "Quick and Dirty Tips." But, it's the grammar section that really spoke to me. This section is filled with quick tips, written in a way that will make me always remember a particular rule the next time I need to use it. Like, How to Speak English like the Irish , or How to Write Grammatically Correct Photo Captions, or Commas with Adjectives . Useful, funny and insightful ... all at the same time. Way cool! There's always a quick ti

New Life in Non-fiction

Whenever the writing bug isn't as pesky as it should be -- bugging me until I write something long --sometimes I go for little bits - like short story little bits. Chicken Soup for the Soul If writing novels or long stories is your thing, then writing a short story is going to be difficult. Having to think about dialogue, background, imagery and plot in 1500 words or less, is a challenge that many people have a hard time with -- me included. However, this is where you have a chance to work at your skills. By writing in a few words, what would normally take a paragraph or two, we learn to activate our passive writing, condense our wordiness, and perfect our action scenes to precision. Of course, what I'm talking about mainly has to do with fiction. And going from long fiction to short fiction is tough; it's almost like using a completely different side of our brain. But, let me throw a wrench into this mix: what if you wrote a short piece of non-fiction? If the

Editing and Your Teeth

That title seems horribly incongruous. Yet, I mean every word of it. Let me start this post by asking you a question: Can editing really be your friend? Let me ask a second question: Is editing really necessary? Well, here's another question to think about while you ponder the veracity of the first two: Does the sun rise every morning? The answer to the third question is the answer to the other two as well. Yes. You must edit. You must go back and get rid of the excess. You must face the daunting task of wiping away scores of words from your computer -- the very words that fill your heart with joy. You MUST do this because those superfluous words do nothing for the story. As in, they are only there because it sounds good. Sounding good is really not good, in the literary world. Because most of the time when you think you sound good, you sound like a prolific seal, barking up a storm over nothing. And that, my friends, is no good. Good writing comes from knowing how to ed

My Cup Runneth Over

Somehow, in one way or another, I end up writing (even if in brief) about coffee in my blogs. This is a habit (not just the writing, but drinking) for a lot of writers, because it really may be the only thing keeping us in our chair -- trying to do what we were called to do -- but suffering horribly at times because of that enormous wall called “writer’s block.” But this post isn’t about walls, and blocks and such. It’s again, about the coffee. Did you know that Swedes (as in the folks of Sweden) are the highest coffee drinkers per capita in the world? My maiden name is Swedish, even though I’m a mix of all things European. And a whopping ¼ of me is Finnish. Though Finland isn’t Sweden, it IS next door to it. And I think that counts as a good explanation as to why I love the black gold so much. This picture is of my most favorite coffee mug in the world. My blog friends Erica and Christy are having a blogfest about coffee cups today. Each blogger is supposed to post their favo

Music and Me

So, this post is about music. Why? Because author extraordinaire Alex J. Cavanaugh  is doing a music blogfest. For those who chose to sign up and write about this subject, like me, we get the opportunity to muse about the top ten songs that have inspired us the most over our life. This is a rather subjective and varied blog idea, because sometimes the strangest music can inspire us, or move us, or allow us to remember a time or place or moment or person ... for the rest of our lives! And that is also why it is such a grand idea to make a list of the most inspirational songs: to remember, to pontificate, and think about such like: Wow, that song was awful, but I sure loved it! Warning: This list is going to be majorly filled with eighties music. Why? Again, for the reasons listed above. I was age "ten and up" in the mid-eighties. Talk about an inspirational and impressionable time of anyone's life! Because of that, I feel the eighties were good to me. And I don&

Carpel Tunnel Be Gone

Okay, so as my second resolution stated from the January 1st post, I don't wish anyone to acquire carpel tunnel from writing. That's not only painful, but really sad. However, if you did happen to get sore wrists, say without the Carpel Tunnel, then that may be a good thing for this year. Why? Because it means you are spending a whole lot of time doing what you told yourself you should do: write! The literal act of writing is probably one of the hardest things anyone will ever do--even for "authors" too (crazy people who want to make a living through writing.) But, take your plumber, or your firefighter, or your teacher and make them sit down to write a book, and really, they're not going to want to do it either. Writing, creating a world, visualizing dialogue and characters, scenery and hidden plots, well that's practically like coming up with an organized way to take over the world. It's that complicated. Yet, it isn't impossible (the writi

Changing the World with Your Writing

Remember how my last post listed "resolution" type blessings on your writing life? Well, I want to get into those blessings with a little more detail. This week, it's the "May your minds be full of creative, change-the-world-with-your-story- ideas " aspect. I know. You may think I'm kidding, or that I wrote that one as a joke. But as far-fetched as it sounds, it isn't a joke. Realistically, a change-the-world story is a crazy concept. We don't necessarily know what and how to change the world; or if what we write will make a difference to anybody. Can we change the world? Should we try to change the world? Well, if you are passionate about what you write, then (and this is the kicker) it doesn't matter. What you have to do-- as a writer wanting to write something worth ... something -- is make sure that your words are as truthful, honest, heart-felt and real to what you feel and believe as possible. If you are happy with this, if you ar