define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true); Learn how to write your story - MyBookTherapy

Social Media Minute—Basic Building Blocks for a Strong Online Platform

By on June 24, 2014 in Edie Melson, Learn the art of Social Networking, Social Media Primer

Anyone who reads this blog knows I believe it’s possible to build a strong platform through social media. I should, I did it. Beyond that, I’ve helped hundreds of other writers do the same things.

But with all the posts I’ve shared over the years, I haven’t lately laid out the basic building blocks, all in one place. Today I’m going to do just that.

Basic Building Blocks

Blogging
Facebook
Twitter
That’s all there are, just three. But when you work them together you can capitalize on the synchronicity that results, here’s how:

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2014 Frasier Bronze Medalists!

By on June 21, 2014 in Editing Basics

I remember the days of submitting to writing contests…if I didn’t final, I wanted to know…how close was I to the top 5? Because writing is a journey, and we’re always about improving our craft, we want to celebrate those who earned the spot of top 15, right behind the Finalists. Great Job! Frasier Bronze Medalists 2014 Nancy Sample LAYERS OF TRUTH Piper Huguley A Virtuous Ruby Londa Hayden Jasmine in Bloom Cindy Stewart Only One Life to Give Dee Bright Murder Between the Lines Jennie Atkins One Last Miracle Lorna Woods Storm Tossed Heart Delores Topliff Cruising Down the River Sally Pitts Surprise Marriage Christina Suzann Nelson Torn Edges   Erin MacPherson Painting Home Jennie Atkins Black-Eyed Suzie Chandra Smith The Turtle Box Jennifer Dyer The Secret of Shelazon Heidi […]

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Use FOCUS to craft vivid scenes

By on June 19, 2014 in b. Building a Scene, What is Storyworld, and how do I write it?

I went to my first My Book Therapy (MBT) retreat in 2009 – the first-ever Storycrafters Retreat. I’m four years further along the writing road, on deadline for my fourth novel, and I often review things I learned at back then. One of my favorite MBT techniques is FOCUS, an acronym that helps you craft vivid scene descriptions.
FOCUS stands for:

First Impressions

Observations

Close Up

Simile (or Metaphor)

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Extreme Book Makeover: Keep your Scenes from Sagging!

By on June 16, 2014 in 6. Search by Series:, Extreme Book Makeover, Saggy Scene Solutions, Susan May Warren

Ah, contest season. Love it! I just finished judging 1,385,643 contest entries. Okay, maybe it only felt that way. But I found a common issue in many entries – something that took me a few years as a writer to really understand. A scene has to have the right set up to create enough tension to draw a reader all the way to the end. Many writers fall into the trap of writing what I call, the police report. They simply tell us what happened/is happening, as if they are narrating the story, or letting the characters narrate what is happening. Sure, there are “things” that happen in the scene the might be interesting, but without the right set up, the scene is boring. It has nothing at stake, nothing […]

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