Fairytales heroines nab our attention because they are either princesses, become princesses or encounter the supernatural. Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, The Snow Queen. Even the heroine in Rumpelstiltskin marries the King who locked her in a room, demanding she turn straw into gold. (What’s up with that, by the way? Marrying the greedy guy put you in a tower?) But fairytale heroines are often tools in a morality story. A symbol. A two-dimensional character that shuffles the plot along to teach a valued lesson. For a novel, we need a heroine readers can relate to, who looks someone like them even if they are a princess, or meet a prince, or who’s superpower is strictly her beauty. From the web site Den of Geeks: “We don’t care who they are, […]
Read the RestArchive | February, 2013
Writing Q & A: Where In The World is Susie May?
At the beach with the Deep Thinkers Retreat. Having a great time. Wish you all were here.
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Finding Balance With Writing & Life: Saying No & Letting Go
My grandparents owned a dairy farm. When my siblings and I were younger, we’d play in the barn with our large extended family. My cousin, who was a year older and my closest friend at the time, used to convince me to follow her across the barn beams suspended above the hayloft. We’d practice our gymnastics routines, even though neither of us had any training. As we stood above our adoring audience of barn cats, we’d extend our arms and put one foot in front of the other to make our way across the rough-cut beams. Despite our stupidity, God’s angels shrouded us in safety. Balance was the key to moving forward without tumbling to the hay-scattered wooden floor about 30 feet below. The same goes for a writer’s life. […]
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One Thing Marketing: Marketing Before You’re Published Part 2
Today we’re continuing our discussion on practical steps you can take to start marketing you and your book before you’re contracted. Last week we covered the first six tips. Here are the next seven: 7) Keep a list of research contacts. Anytime you contact someone for research help—or really anything book-related—add his contact information to your ongoing list. These are people who are guaranteed to be interested in your project because they played a part in it! Thus, they will be great word-of-mouth marketers in the future. 8) Business cards—have them, use them! The young’uns among us may feel business cards are old school. But when you’re serious about marketing and building a network of professional contacts, business cards are incredibly handy. Let’s say you meet a Lifeway Store buyer […]
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