Category Archives: Writing

Fixing the Truth

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Fixing the Truth

 How many of us blur the line between a lie, and not revealing the facts?

When I was a lad growing up on a farm in Kansas, finding trouble was easy. Both my parents constantly drilled me on being honest, and that telling the truth was always best. “Lies will only make things worse and will always catch up with you.” Now there is the truth for sure.

What about trying to spare ourselves embarrassment when the truth doesn’t really effect anyone else? I think that strategy makes it easier to lie about other things. I’d rather be embarrassed.

There is one form of lieing that human nature tries to excuse. We often hide information from people to protect their feelings, avoid worry or anger, or maybe to influence their decisions in the way we think is best for them.

Sometimes we try to stall long enough to fix the situation before the bad news is revealed. This is the situation Donnie Williams finds himself in my novel, TRAILS END. The palomino colt assigned to him to train, is expected to be a gentle horse for Robert Jarrett, Donnie’s 78 year old boss. The colt bucks Donnie off, and he makes no mention of it to anyone. When asked how Trails End is progressing, Donnie claims the horse is coming along perfectly.

Can Donnie “Fix the Truth”? I hope you will want to read the story and find out.

Joe Nichols

GREATEST STORY IDEA—LOST!

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GREATEST STORY IDEA—LOST!

It’s the middle of the night. Pitch black. The cricket’s chirping fiddle serenade has ceased and the man on the moon has shut his eyes in sleep. After what feels like the deepest sleep you have ever experienced, you sit straight up in the bed with the greatest story idea—ever. Frantically you try to remember the smallest details. Your mind races back to the beginning of the dream to piece together the plot line. Sleep fights the adrenaline as your eyes begin to close. In a haze you convince yourself that you will remember it in the morning.

As the alarm startles you awake and your eyes open and begin to focus, horror sets in because you can’t recall the greatest story idea—ever!

You didn’t write it down.

Keep a notebook or writing pad by your bedside and make notes when the thoughts happen or they will be lost forever.

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN

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By Natalie Bright

I have the perfect home office, which I blogged about previously at WordSmith Six.

Sometimes, the ideal situation might stifle your creative muse, as I found out when I tried to write a story that has been on my heart and mind for the past fifteen years. The story is about the loss of our firstborn son, and to write it I had to be in the middle of the chaos, with television and two perfectly healthy sons asking, “what’s for dinner”. The result is a book for grieving parents and families who’ve suffered the loss of a baby.

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN offers healing words through verse and text for grieving parents. I didn’t begin where most books do on this topic; instead, I started at what happens when you get home. With empty arms, parents have to return to their life without the much anticipated new addition to their family. The daily struggle seems endless and the loss is something you may never get over, but we made it through and you can too.

In addition to several of my favorite Bible verses, two very special ladies have contributed poetry on grief and hope.

Marianne McNeil Logan is an award winning rhyming poet. I’ve admired Marianne’s work for many years, and I enjoy rereading her chapbooks as inspiration for words and the writing craft. She continues to be a strong voice of encouragement for our local writing community.

Nell Lindenmeyer is a long-time friend through a our day jobs and through our work in an organization which educates its members about the energy industry. When I discovered she wrote poetry, I asked if she might have some pieces on grief and the free-verse samples she sent absolutely blew me away. I hope you find inspiration and peace through them as much as I did.

From my heart to yours, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN, is a book of hope and healing after the loss of a baby, and is available on amazon.com for your Kindle. Click on the title now to download to your Kindle, and please let me know if any of the content touches your heart. Email me natalie@nataliebright.com.

Read an excerpt below:

1. LIVING WITH GRIEF

This past year our oldest son would have turned fifteen. As I write, tears fill my eyes, and I swallow the lump in my throat. How could I have forgotten his birthday again? I had planned to purchase a wreath, fasten a well-used toy from a younger brother’s room, and visit the cemetery to honor the special day. In the swirl of daily life, the date had slipped past, and I had done nothing.

Through the years, the pain over losing a baby will resurface out of nowhere. Special dates and events will pass without a second thought, and at other times, the overwhelming sense of loss will smack you out of nowhere. You must learn to live with your grief.

Playgrounds are difficult for me. Watching children yell and swing and slide reminds me of the missing link in our family. Certain times of the year are more painful than others. When I buy new clothes and school supplies for our two sons, I always feel a certain sense of loss and emptiness. I should be buying three sets of erasers, glue, and colored notebooks, instead of two.

During the past years, the only way I have found best to deal with this grief is to block the five days of our firstborn son’s life from my mind. That’s the way it’s been since we lost our sweet Clayton. My husband finds comfort in stopping by his grave and honoring our son on birthdays and holidays. For me, when I visit the cemetery, I sink into a deep depression that lasts for weeks. The memory of the overwhelming sense of hopelessness I felt as we left the hospital with empty arms consumes me. Every emotion and memory vividly haunts me, even now fifteen years later. I have learned to block the delivery experience from my thoughts without guilt, all the while remembering his presence in this world.

To read more, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN is available on Kindle for only $4.99.

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 37 KB
  • Publisher: Apollo Publishing LLC; 1 edition (August 25, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B005K9POP2

WINDJAMMING

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Windjamming

An icy drizzle penetrates my newly purchased plastic poncho as I drag my suitcase down the weathered-plank wharf toward the schooner. At anchor, the MARY DAY lacks the grandeur of the full canvass pictures in the brochure. Still the wooden vessel enchants me. I feel as though I’ve stepped a hundred years into the past as I stand at the ladder and request permission to board.  Homer, one of the ship’s mates, greets me and helps me load my luggage on to the deck. He holds out a calloused hand to assist my climb up the rope and wood ladder. Leading me through the hatch and down the steep companionway steps to a dimly lit corridor, we approach my cabin’s open door. Two sets of thick plank bunk beds bolted to the wood walls dominated the room. A small sink hugs one wall. Naked bulbs dangle from the ceiling and provide sufficient light for reading, dressing, and basic grooming. The shower and the head (bathroom) are on deck. As the cabin is below the water line, a damp chill invades the dim space. After stowing my gear, I make my way to the saloon to meet my fellow passengers. We huddle around the wood-burning stove and introduce ourselves.

I wake to the aroma of fresh coffee. A chill hangs heavy in the small room. I dress quickly and hurry topside to infuse my sleep-fogged body with caffeine. Rain drops plop onto the canvas overhang, adding to the gloom of the early hour. The heavy stoneware mug warms my hands as I sip the strong coffee our cook provided.  I soon realize my Amarillo, Texas clothes are not warm enough for the early June rains. Our captain assures us we have time to go into Camden for any last minute purchases, so I head for a clothing shop near the dock.  With two pair of stretch pants, two Maine souvenir sweatshirts, a bottle of wine, and a six-pack of Diet Coke stuffed into my canvass ice-tote, I retrace my steps to the slip. Changing into my warmer clothes and donning my ugly but practical foul weather gear, I climb the companionway to the deck.

Camden Harbor is one of the busiest ports in Maine. Boats from outboards to schooners to yachts anchor in the sheltered waters. The harbor master maintains a strict schedule for moving craft from their slips into the bay.  The tug ties onto the MARY DAY and hauls us from the far end of the harbor towards Curtis Island.  Once past the Coast Guard Station and Curtis Island Lighthouse, we enter Penobscot Bay. The tug releases the lines and we are on our own. The captain requests volunteers to help hoist the sails. I join one of the two lines. Grabbing the oiled jute rope, I listen to the captain’s instructions. His commands echo across the water. “All together, pull!” “Right side, hold.” “Left, pull!” Inch by inch, gray-white canvas rises to the sky. The kid, Scooter, crawls across the mast protruding from the bow. Wearing flip-flops, he balances on the ropes and releases the rigging securing the canvas to the polished wood. One wrong move and the teen will plunge into the icy waters of the bay. My unused muscles burn and scream by the time sails fill the sky. I make a decision as the five-mast beauty glides into the open water. Tomorrow, I will lie on the deck, train my camera lens on the masts and shoot Scooter as he scampers up the tall spikes toward heaven.

Cait Collins

FACING YOUR FEARS

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Facing Your Fears

As the giant spider crawled across the floor, my legs involuntarily drew up under me on the bed while my arms crossed themselves to protect my vital organs from the monster. As much as I hated looking at the hairy thing, I couldn’t take my eyes away. My lungs pulled in a gulp of air and pushed out a piercing scream.

Is that fear? How about this . . .

I watched him open the door of the car and toss his bags into the backseat. His last words stung my face as if they had needles and stuck in the air. I couldn’t believe he would leave me like this, that the years we spent together were over and he now hated me. I had no idea what I would do without him. My tears ran openly as I screamed for him to come back.

Fear is a huge part of every plot, whether it’s very obvious, as in the case of a character running for their life from a monster, or whether it’s disguised with another emotion, such as anger. Even a romance story has an element of fear: fear of commitment, fear of intimacy, fear of losing someone.

If you take the fear and amplify it to a phobia, you have a nice big glowering obstacle for your character to overcome. There are hundreds of well-known phobias; it’s the unusual phobias that make a story interesting.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

MAKING SENSE OF THE SENSES

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Making Sense of the Senses

 

How does the loss of sight affect your hearing?

What color does an orange smell like?

How loud is an inner voice?

Can you describe how the wind feels?

What does sour taste like?

When I am writing, it’s easy to visualize what I want my characters to see and feel or even smell. However putting it down on paper so that the reader can clearly see them is a difficult task. For example, if I write, “He walked into the room and gazed at the beautiful painting hanging on the wall.” What does the reader see? What object is displayed in the painting? What colors make the painting beautiful? How is it framed?

This dilemma came to life for me when the main character of my novel, UNLAWFUL WORDS, suddenly goes blind. Writing what he saw with his eyes came to an abrupt halt. How do I write his experiences now?

A blindfold

Using a blindfold I spent several hours experiencing the darkness. Immediately I began to depend on my hearing, turning my head from side to side trying to capture all the sounds around me. My hands automatically reached forward hoping to feel something familiar and my feet slowed their steps to prevent stumbling. The objects once identified by sight now had to be described by feeling the texture, or the smell. These are the details that help the reader understand what the character is experiencing.

In your writing, use the basic senses such as taste, touch, hear, see, smell. Be careful not to give the reader sensory overload by giving a long string of description using all five sense on every situation, when generally the use of two or more different senses can tie the picture together for the reader.

Rory C. Keel

MAKING RETAIL CONNECTIONS

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Making Retail Connections

By Natalie Bright

If you’ve self-published a book, it’s up to you to establish retail connections.

An author once told me that he’d only intended to write the book, and never wanted to be a book salesman. Now he’s traveling around with a car full of books. Welcome to the reality of today’s publishing world.  How are people going to read your book, if they don’t know it exists?

As the CEO of YOU, guess who is in charge of book promotion?

Make the Connection

While the internet offers a multitude of book promotion opportunities, for this particular post, I want to talk specifically about working with retail outlets and how to approach owners or managers.

On cold calls, approach them in a friendly, cooperative manner, introduce yourself and ask if they’d like to see your book. Most bookstore owners are always interested in talking to authors. Ask them if it’s a subject their customers might like. Information flyers and postcards work as well. When I receive inquiries in regards to my middle grade book, OIL PEOPLE, I offer to leave the store manager a preview copy. If it’s an inquiry by phone or email, I always offer to mail a preview copy. Be sure to include promo copies in your budget.

Store Owners Rule

Retail stores have to realize at least a 50% to 60% markup in the items they sell. They have a store front to operate which includes payroll, building utilities, and inventory expense.

DO NOT tell the storeowner the retail price. It’s their store, they set the price. Business owners are independent and territorial. If you tell them how to run their business, you’ll be out the door in a flash. Quote them the price you need, and you can suggest a retail price but ultimately the cost to customers is the store owners decision.

Setting the Price

If you self-publish, you have to leave a little wiggle room when setting your price. I hear this complaint all of the time and it is confusing to self-published writers. Authors quote the price printed on their book or the over-inflated price they paid for printing, expecting that’s the price they are due. Shop around and find the best possible printing deal in order to keep your price per book as low as possible. Hopefully, you’ll have room to make a few bucks, and the store comes out ahead as well.

Retail owners are in business to make a profit. If business owners’ efforts aren’t going to generate dollars to pay for the cost of staying open, it’s not worth having your book take up valuable shelf space.

The key, I think, is being able to offer a low price to retail outlets and being able to negotiate a price without being too pushy.

Consider ALL Possibilities

Major chain bookstores may not be an option to self-published authors for many reasons which are beyond your control. Are there specialty shops in your area? What about possible connections through family and friends?

Think about cross-selling. If you have a book of poetry, why not approach a lingerie shop? If you have a children’s book about horses, drop by a saddle and tack store or the local feed store. Stop stressing over things you can’t control and consider all of the possibilities, and keep writing!

Natalie Bright

ON BECOMING A SENIOR CITIZEN

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On Becoming a Senior Citizen

I dreaded turning fifty, but three weeks prior to my birthday, I met a talented writer whose praise for my writing erased all my depression. As my sixtieth birthday approached, I realized I looked forward to the day. No depression this time, no doubts about aging. Instead I looked forward to another decade. You see the older I get, the less I fear. I have my successes and my failures and celebrate both. I care less about what others think and put more emphasis on what I’ve come to know to be right and honorable. There’s less drama in my life. And I get senior citizens’ discounts.

I remember the first time I saw snow and my first snow storm. I met an English gentleman, had my first and only high tea. I experienced a stormy ferry ride from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, and I sailed a windjammer, hauling canvas and taking the wheel. I recall my father taking us to a regatta, seeing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in their bright red uniforms patrolling the grounds. I’ve felt the mists of Niagara Falls on my face, gone snorkeling, watched dolphins play. I was privileged to be elected as a delegate to the state convention and assist in the election process. I was the first female video tape operator in Amarillo, Texas. I saw the development of an industry from back and white television to color to digital to high definition. Alan Shepherd blasted into space, John Glen orbited the earth, and man walked on the moon. I saw John Kennedy six weeks before his death. I remember the Civil Rights Movement and the tension following the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Secret Service finger printed me so that I could join the local press corps for President Gerald Ford’s visit to Amarillo. Computers were huge main frames with data was printed on punch cards. Now home computers, internet, and wireless printers are the norm. I stood in line at the bank while the man at the window robbed the teller. I am a member of Delta Psi Omega, a national honorary acting fraternity.

I have loved and lost, and lived to love again. I stood at my mother’s and my husband’s bedsides and watched them lose their battles against disease. Friends have died. Children were born. My faith waivered and was restored.

I don’t mean to sound like a braggart. The truth is we all have experiences that are unique as well as universal. Our experiences shape our lives and add richness to them. And it’s these experiences that can lend depth and color to our characters and stories. As writers, we should never fear to draw on our own experiences to bring added dimension to our work. It’s easier to write about standing at a gravesite when you’ve been there. How can you write about love if you’ve never experienced it? It can be done, but authentic emotions tell the story best. Use what you have witnessed, experienced and felt as you craft your stories. Your work will be better for it.

Cait Collins

A THOUSAND WORDS

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

A Thousand Words

In the back of one of my closets is a green plastic tub full of the images of memories. There are pictures of my wedding, the births of my children and grandchildren. There are family photos, Christmas photos and birthday photos. I look in the tub and see reminders of children sleeping, playing, fighting, performing and posing. I also find reminders of places where we took those children, and when they left my house. And sometimes I find a face I don’t remember in my green tub.

One really fascinating place to find inspiration for writing is pictures, paintings, photos and mementos. Each little scrap of paper, ticket stub, greeting card or lock of hair brings up the memory of an incident.

Have you ever seen an old photo that brings memories and feelings to your mind and the story behind them begs to be told?  Did you ever come across a scrap of paper with what appears to be a coded message that you know you wrote but will never remember why or what it means? And who is the nameless person smiling at you in the photo begging for your attention?

Congratulations! You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

FEELING BIG

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Feeling Big

Why is confidence so fragile? How do we let one negative happening destroy our memory of all the times when we were successful? And when everything clicks together one time, all our confidence can return just as fast. One day you feel out matched by a sick chicken, the next day you’re sure you could knock King Kong down and stomp on him. I truly admire people who can level out the highs and lows to remain focused, and at peace.

Donnie Williams in TRAILS END has no belief in himself. Yet, his determination allows him to succeed at times. His self-worth soars in these moments, then crashes shortly after. As the story progresses and he matures, he figures out the important, and the insignificant aspects of life.

I think most of us struggle with our self-confidence often. I hope this novel will capture your interest and you can relate Donnie’s challenges to your own.

When you’re on top, stay humble. When you’re on the bottom, look back to your successes, then look up.

Thanks for reading and check in next Wednesday.

Joe Nichols