Category Archives: Writing

Jump Start

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Jump Start

By Nandy Ekle

 

 

I was innocently scrolling through Facebook yesterday, minding my own business, and reading about everyone else’s business. I was taking a short fifteen minute break from my intense day job.

As I scrolled, I came across a short video. Now, since I joined Facebook all those years ago, I have seen tons of videos, I’ve read tons of memes, and I’ve even participated in one or two. But there have only been a few that have stuck to me as if they had glue on them.

There was once a video of two cats playing Patty Cake that I enjoyed very much. I also fell in love with a video of a wedding where the entire wedding party comes into the auditorium dancing like it’s the happiest day of their lives. I’ve had a lot of fun with some of the music videos, and, of course, pictures and videos of children and cats/kittens are always fantastic.

But this short little flick I saw yesterday was really not funny, unless you have a twisted sense of humor like I do. It was a 60 second story that ended with a scare. I watched it and broke out in giggles, which is what I do when I’m scared or nervous (I’m a total riot walking through a spook house in October). So I watched it again. And then again.

And that’s when it happened. A new story. I immediately had a plot, characters, scenes, and an ending. The biggest problem I had was deciding the best place to start. So I just put my hands on the keyboard and began typing. I was halfway through the second page when the title to my new project flung itself on the screen. The title was so perfectly diabolical that I sat giggling as much as if I actually was walking through a spook house.

The point of all this is that inspiration can jump out and attack you at the most unexpected times by the most unexpected things. Don’t be afraid to look at anything.

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

 

Writingexcuses.com

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Writingexcuses.com

by Adam Huddleston

 

Now that I’ve caught on to an excellent online podcast about writing, I may be including their topics in my blogs from time to time. I promise to always give credit where credit is due as well. The podcast can be found at www.writingexcuses.com. The original moderators were Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells. Each episode lasts around fifteen minutes and is chock-full of great information.

The first episode covered brainstorming. I really appreciated the ideas the writers gave concerning different techniques they use to come up with ideas. One of the authors described how he uses the “map” or “navigation” feature of Microsoft Word. He creates three headings (plot, characters, and setting) and begins filling each one in with ideas. Once he begins the actual process of writing, he can move throughout the document easily by clicking on an item under one of the headings. I can’t wait to try this with my own work.

If you have a few minutes to spare, I highly recommend giving their podcast a listen. Happy writing!

Customer Service

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Outtakes 236

Customer Service

By Cait Collins

 

I have worked in customer services industries most of my career. I believe in the concept of providing the very best service to clients. That’s why I appreciate businesses that focus on the customer. It’s the reason I enjoy shopping at Barnes and Noble. Every time I’m in the store, at least one bookseller approaches me and offers assistance. Not one associate is too busy to stop stocking shelves to help me find special titles. And if the book is not in stock, it will be ordered. Even during busy seasons when the store is packed, I’m still treated as if I’m the only customer in the store.

This type of service is, in part, due to excellent training. But I believe success is due to hiring people who love books. Their associates want to pass on their passion for reading. Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. And it shows when the customer purchases more than just one book. In fact, I often have to step back and edit my selections because my simple request results in multiple returns. Instead of one book or magazine dedicated to my subject, I have five or six publications.

Recently, I witnessed a member of the B&N management team work with a young man who wanted to know more about a well-known Western figure. There wasn’t much available, but the manager kept pulling books and checking indexes and tables of content for any references to the character. That’s service and that is why I keep going back. I like being made to feel important.

While I appreciate being provided good service when I patronize a business, I also enjoy authors who consistently provide a good read. I look forward to their next book and often pre-order to ensure I don’t miss out on a few hours of escape. These authors inspire me to do my very best so that one day, I will be in their company. After all, a good story is good customer service.

What if I Fail as a Writer?

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What if I Fail as a Writer?

Rory C. Keel

 

So you want to be a writer but you’re afraid of failure. Perhaps your dream is to write a novel, publish an article in a magazine, or write a famous screenplay but the idea of failing keeps you from ever starting. Putting the “cart before the horse,” as they say, can skew a person’s thinking.

Here are five steps to help realign your thinking so you can achieve your dream of success.

  1. Realize success comes in steps.

Achieving any goal is like walking up a staircase, it has to be one step at a time. Honestly assess where you are in your writing skills. Do you understand grammar and sentence structure? Perhaps you’re farther along and need to work on story telling or plotting?

By knowing where you are on the staircase of writing, you can know what your next step is. That next step is success.

   2. Reaching the next step can be difficult.

Famous authors such as Stephen King, Charles Frazier, Larry McMurtry, J.K. Rowling didn’t reach fame in one day. It takes hours of putting one word next to another, days of sitting in a chair, months of research and rewriting, and sometimes years of waiting for a project to be noticed. Take one step today and another tomorrow and you will be successful.

   3. You will run into obstacles.

Have you ever walked through the house in the dark to get a drink from the kitchen and stubbed your toe on the coffee table? Immediately you scream OBSTACLES!

Understand there will be hindrances to your writing such as finding time to write, family members that need attention, or even the need to make a living and pay the bills.

That’s life. These things still exist for famous authors, they have just learned to prioritize and deal with them.

   4. Surround yourself with other writers.

By surrounding yourself with other writers, you set yourself up to succeed. Learn from others who have what you want. Success is a level small or great not a final ending. So when you associate with those who desire to write and have a mindset to accomplish goals, you become motivated to move along with them.  Famous authors haven’t reached the pinnacle, they only have a greater level of what you can achieve in a small step tomorrow – SUCCESS!

   5. Never, ever, give up on your dream.

“Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It’s no use. I can’t go on. If you do, you’re licked, and by your own thinking, too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on.” — Norman Vincent Peale

roryckeel.com

IF YOU’RE A NOBODY~Now Is the Time to Develop a Social Media Platform

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IF YOU’RE A NOBODY~

         Now Is the Time to Develop a Social Media Platform

Natalie Bright

Where are you going with your writing? What do you want to achieve in the next year? The next five years?

If you let rejection, lack of cash, family obligations, day job, or whatever excuse distract you from your goals, that’s okay. Writing can be very therapeutic.

However, if you know without a doubt, deep down in your gut, that you will be a successful, published author. You will finish a book and publish it one day through whatever method or opportunity comes your way, then now’s the time to work on your online presence.

This year, one of my goals is to absorb an understanding about social media. Every interview I’ve read and every podcast I’ve listened to has revealed some surprising facts. Authors with sales through the roof have a good grasp on their social media (or in some cases, they hire somebody who does it for them). They set aside time to spend on social media, and they know what works best to reach their target market of readers.

Predictions are that three times as many people will be reading books on their mobile devices in the coming years. It’s been almost a decade since the eBook craze began in the U.S. and then onto England and parts of Europe. Today, the sales for eBooks and iBooks are just beginning to gain world wide appeal.

ESTABLISH A PRESENCE

So where should you be? Twitter? Instagram? Google+? Facebook? Amazon Author Pages? All of the above? Trying to determine this AFTER your book is published is too late. Guess where children’s book authors are finding success in sales and fan interaction? Statistics don’t lie, and several authors swear by Pinterest for selling their indie-published kid lit.

Another indie author swears by Twitter, which generates three times the sales as his other social media posts. Incidentally, I held out from Instagram as long as I could, but now it’s my absolute favorite go to place for following book stores, author news, and the western culture.

One thing about successful authors; they tend to be very statistically and data savvy. Having an understanding of where your sales come from, how each of these sites differ, and what they can do for you as a published author is just good business sense.

LEARN IN DOING

I started posting articles on my website about sites, people, and life in general several years ago. One day the comments reached a frenzy. My blog had gone viral! Not.

In reality my site had been hacked with comments relating to Viagra and Rolex. I deleted thousands and thousands of comments, and blocked the comment option. I learned that there was nothing I could do but delete that site and pay for a redesign. She couldn’t cut and paste because of the risk of transferring the spam virus. So to save money, I retyped all of the content from my blog. Thank goodness I wasn’t up against a hard writing deadline.

The next time stats showed hits in the thousands it actually was a blog post that went viral! Lesson learned.

I could go on and on about the weird things relating to my social media experiences, but you get my point. As with any “job” there is a learning curve. If you’re a newbie writer looking up from the trenches, this is the most fun and less stressed place to be. If you mess up or post something stupid, only a few friends will know. You can laugh about it later over marguerites.

I’ve always believed that doing is learning. Learning is doing. So take a leap. You’ll find tons of information out there to get you started. One of my favorite podcasts is thecreativepenn.com with Joanna Penn.

And for info about a freelance career check out makingalivingwriting.com

This is a great time to be a writer!

Nataliebright.com

 

O.C.D.

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

O.C.D.

By Nandy Ekle

So, I seem to have a few obsessive tendencies, as well as a few compulsive tendencies. I must have order in my life. I binge watch TV shows, and I have to start with Season 1, episode 1. In performing my day job, I must hand write all my notes, then retype them into the computer, putting them in chronological order. And if I have to search through lines and lines of check numbers looking for one specific check, I must write them all down by year, color code each year, and number them.

Sometimes being a little obsessive is disruptive. When you have 15 minutes to complete a task, but the more you do, the more there is to do, you have to learn to let go of the least important pieces.

But there are times when an obsessive tendency is a huge asset. Such as writing. You get the proverbial light bulb over your head and realize you have the perfect plot for the perfect story. Immediately you are transported to the world of your story. And you’re so deeply involved that nothing else in the world matters until you get the whole thing written. But even that’s not enough. The story stays with you for days. And even after it leaves the front of your mind, it comes back later, and later, and later. And when it’s perfect and you find a public home for it, you still can’t stop thinking about it.

And that is a worthwhile obsession.

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

Hero vs. Protagonist vs. Main Character

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Hero vs. Protagonist vs. Main Character

by Adam Huddleston

 

I was listening to a podcast recently where the moderators were discussing the difference between the hero, protagonist, and main character in a story. To be honest, I had never really considered it and simply assumed that they were one and the same. The moderators explained the difference thusly:

Hero: the character in a story that you want to see succeed.

Protagonist: the character in a story that drives the events of the story forward and often changes during it

Main Character: the character the story focuses on, usually told through their point of view

Hopefully these definitions will help you in your writing!

Strange Characters

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Outtakes 235

Strange Characters

By Cait Collins

 

I have decided the most unusual characters are automobiles, bureaucrats, and political candidates. Take automobiles for example. People name their cars! Why? It’s an inanimate object. But vehicles do have personalities. I had an Escort that had a tricky gear shift. If it got too cold, the shift would lock down. Replacing the senor wasn’t cheap, so what to name it? I’ll call it Gigolo. Now days cars have so many bells and whistles, something’s bound to go wrong. I think Unreliable fits well.

Then there are the bureaucrats who consider themselves above everyone else. Doesn’t matter how badly they mess up, or how their stupidity creates messes, it always some rank and file guy who is responsible. Instead of accepting responsibility for their actions, they threaten some hard working man’s job if demands are not met immediately. Mr. Irresponsible makes the headlines and looks like the jerk he is. I think I’ve met this guy more than once. He’s the antagonist in one of my novels.

My favorite of this group of misfits is politicians. Yeah, promise everything, deliver nothing. I think I watch the debates just to get a good laugh. Sadly, these fast talkers actually make people believe they can cure the ills of the world. When I vote, I have no illusions that my candidate is squeaky clean; he’s just the least objectionable person. I call this person Unforgiveable.

So what’s this got to do with writing? Try this, Irresponsible and Unforgiveable arrange a meeting in the parking lot of a neighborhood Big Box Store. Irresponsible suggests they take a ride in Gigolo, and discuss campaign strategy. Of course Irresponsible will support Unforgiveable if, here’s the rub, if Unforgiveable will guarantee a high level position in the administration. Remember the slogan, Promise everything, and deliver nothing. Unforgiveable promises Irresponsible he will be named the Director of the Treasury when the election is over. Unfortunately, Unforgiveable is battling scandals. Before the election Unforgiveable is in prison for murder and spying. Poor Irresponsible is left out in the cold having spent all his money on getting a corrupt politician elected. He winds up on the street homeless and begging for pennies. Sounds like a fitting end to me.

Pressing on Update

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Pressing on Update

Rory C. Keel

 

Earlier this year, I posted the blog Pressing On in which I discussed a few things I would do to move forward in my writing. I must confess, today is the first day of March and I find myself struggling to find the time to write as much as I would like. I have added a few more words to my novel. Sometimes I write only a sentence, and at other times as much as a page or two. The novel is moving slowly, but it’s moving forward everyday.

One of the goals I made was to submit smaller pieces of writing for publication. Today I received my copy of The Secret Place magazine, spring 2016 edition published by Judson Press. You can read my devotional called Being Courteous in the April section.

Scan

Just keep pressing on!

Roryckeel.com

SATURDAY: A PERFECT MORNING TO WRITE

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SATURDAY:

A PERFECT MORNING TO WRITE

Natalie Bright

The sun is peaking over the pasture turning the sky a bright orange and purple. As I open the dining room curtains, a clump of bunny rabbits scatter. I start the coffee pot and drop some cat food into the dish to quiet the meows. While the gurgling sounds and rich smells swirl around the peaceful house, I put clothes into the washing machine.

Settling in at the computer, I gather my supplies around me. Submission guidelines, spiral to jot an outline of the first draft, pen, interview notes, and sample magazines to determine style and slant. This feature article is going to be brilliant! Thank goodness for productive Saturday mornings.

And Then…

My purple pen runs out of ink. I ALWAYS write the first draft in purple. I search for fifteen minutes, but there’s not another purple pen anywhere in the house. Fine. I’ll use blue.

Several cups of coffee later, it’s going well but I’m hungry and I hear my husband rattling around in the kitchen. Time to cook breakfast.

Back to the story, until an awful smell assaults my nose. The new to our house, stray kitten has just taken a poop in the potted plant next to my desk. I clean that out, and while I’m at it, decide to empty the kitty litter box too and take it all to the trash. The brisk walk and morning air rejuvenates me.

Back inside, the oldest is awake and drinks the last of the coffee. I brew more and then the washing machine buzzer goes off, so I transfer everything into the dryer.

Finally, back to the story.

With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, my head is buzzing (possibly from creativity, mostly from caffeine).

Our youngest is awake and turns on the television. He and his dad discuss a movie they watched the night previous over the blaring noise of the TV.

I can drown out the voices. That’s nothing new, but then I hear the dogs whining. They want their morning chewie. Delivered, with a pat on the head.

Deep breath, and I settle into my chair at the computer.

Oldest pokes his head around the corner, “Have you seen my car keys?” I join the search. Finally, success. He’s on his way with instructions, “Drive safe. See you later.” My husband leaves too.

I can feel the productivity oozing from my veins. This is going to be an unbelievable article. I settle into my chair, flitter through my notes to get back on track, reread what I have so far, and type a few words.

Youngest son pokes his head around the corner, “What’s for lunch?”

Done.

There’s always tomorrow.

Writer’s Truth: When your purple pen runs out of ink, it’s only going downhill from there.