We talk a lot at My Book Therapy about “The Lie” journey. It’s an easy way we examine and layer in the Internal Journey of the character, and even tap into the spiritual element of the journey. The Lie is essential to every story because the lie defines the over arching emotional journey of the protagonist. And the truth is… we all believe a lie at some point in our life. We probably weave in and out of various lies our whole lives – from what others think about us to what we think about ourselves to what God thinks about us. Talking with one of my spiritual daughters, I learned she feared God would bring her to a certain place, then pull the rug out from under her. Let […]
Read the RestArchive | January, 2012
You are what you read: A tip from the Writing Career Coach
Many times people underestimate the value of spending time reading to get information for every area of their life and business. I’d like to hone in on business, marketing, and business growth. Remember, writing is a business, selling is a business, all of us are salespeople, all of us can apply this to our daily business growth. These are the principles I’ve applied to Writing Career Coach to grow my business exponentially while other businesses contracted, particularly in the publishing industry. 1: Don’t NOT read a book simply because you can’t read the entire thing. Confucius said “Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” It’s true. Every journey in writing and business begins with the first step. Whether it’s a new idea for a marketing strategy, […]
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Quick Skills: A tip to discovering your Voice
The concept of author Voice is so elusive, it’s can feel like a loose football, bouncing around the field (she says as she watches the Giants and 49er’s chase the ball). Just when we think we have a grip on it, it wiggles out of our hands. Voice, easily expressed, is your storytelling style. Words and plot and character – and how you weave these together. Much like an actor dons a role, bringing their own style to a script. Although we can work to recognize Voice and even analyze it by finding great style in other works, we don’t really discover our Voice until we put the pen to page. Until we write words that make our own hearts sing. Here’s a trick I’ve used to develop my voice: […]
Read the RestConversations with an Aspiring Novelist: What is voice and how to you find yours?
Outside, the wind howled, the thermometer dropping to a bracing negative nine degrees as I waited for Sally to arrive for our Monday Morning conversation. I had hoped she’d found a story question as she thought about the themes of her story. Ironically, I’d been thinking about marketing my new book, and had to return to the storyquestion of that book to create the right marketing and PR campaign. I blew on my hot cocoa, glad I’d opted for a large as Sally came in, wrapped in a scarf and hat, the icy blast dragging in behind her. Anne already had her coffee ready. Sally set a stack of books on the table as she retrieved her coffee. I looked at her choices – Jane Eyre, the movies Pearl Harbor […]
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