Archive | September, 2013

It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination

Almost daily I speak to writers who pine for publication. They figure once they get there, they will have arrived. They’ll be where they always wanted to be. Sadly, I also know published authors who look back with an emptiness that haunts them. Why? They were so concerned about the destination of publication, they forgot to enjoy the trip.

It reminds me of a bicycling event in central Florida I rode once. The route took riders right by the space shuttle on launch pad 39-A at Cape Canaveral, as well as the largest known eagle’s nest in the United States. The roadway was cut right through coastal marsh land, providing a natural home for the alligators, snakes and countless water fowl.

At the end of the event, I listened as a group of riders standing close by recounted their trip.

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Ten Tips to Tightening Your Middle — Your Story Middle That Is!

Lessons from Our P90X The Middle of Your Story. Taught at ACFW 2013. 1. Drop the Bomb! — Don’t hold out on the “big” reveal or what you think is the big story point if your story calls for it to be done now. Otherwise, you’ll write in circles. In Dining with Joy, I wanted the black moment to be when Joy was outed on public TV as a fraud. But by the middle of the book, I knew I had to drop the bomb THEN. So I did. Then I could develop a new black moment fitting the story. 2. Tell the Secret! — Find a juicy secret in your characters you didn’t know existed when you started. When writing Softly and Tenderly with Sara Evans, I discovered that […]

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What’s Wrong with my manuscript?

There comes a time in every writer’s life when we face the question: What’s wrong with my manuscript?

“What’s wrong?” is not a bad question. We strive to tell the best story we can. During rewrites, we need to know what’s working – dialogue or Storyworld maybe – but what’s not working can overshadow your moments of brilliance.

Today, MBT Retreats Coordinator Alena Tauriainen and MBT Skills Coach Beth Vogt wrestle with the question What’s wrong with my manuscript?

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Social Media Minute—How Much is Too Much When it Comes to Staying Safe Online?

As writers we know the importance of developing an online presence, but is there such a thing as too much information out there?

Absolutely!

The result of too much information online can range from the irritating to the dangerous. But it is possible to be smart and still have an online presence that will garner you the right kind of reader notice.

So how much is too much to stay safe online? Anything that lets your online presence collide with your physical presence without you managing the connections.

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