As most of you know, I’m currently in the middle of a cross country bicycle tour across America. I’ve seen some really beautiful country, navigated some treacherous roads and had some very interesting adventures. Along the way, I’ve learned so much about continuing the journey that I want to share with you. These things will help you when you’re navigating the writing road: You’re never lost. You may not know where you are in relation to somewhere else but wherever you are, that’s where you are! And you’re never alone as long as you’re there! The hills are worth the climb. When you finally get to the top, a whole new world opens up. You weren’t able to see it while you were digging in, grabbing anything you could to […]
Read the RestArchive | 7. Search by Author: RSS feed for this section
Today I Pulled 2,254 Teeth
Okay, not teeth, actually, but words. This was THE slowest writing day EVER. Usually I hit a spot where the words just flow while time seems to slow. Next think I know, I hit 1K+ words in more than an hour. Not today. Letter by letter, word by word, I eeked out a couple of crappy scenes. See, it’s okay to stink up the page on the first draft. It’s key to get the story down. Pantser or plotter, you have to eventually type words. I’m confused about folk who can write a great scene the first time. I must have missed that “talent” line in heaven when they called it out. I have to write, then rewrite and rewrite one more time. If I’m lucky, one more time before […]
Read the RestThe What and Why of Writing: Theme
There are so many vital elements that go into crafting a can’t-put-it-down manuscript: engaging characters, a vivid Storyworld, a strong spiritual thread and knowing what’s at stake in your story. But so often, as we craft these aspects of our story, we overlook a fundamental aspect of our novel – and then we have to back up and figure out something we should have known from the beginning. What: Theme We often shut down when we hear the word “theme” because we recall high school English class and the dreaded “What’s the theme of the book?” question. Theme is the overall idea of a book – what the book is about. As you read, theme is what you’re going to discover about yourself, others and God – and it’s usually […]
Read the Rest
Social Media Minute—Tips to Connect with Your Readers Through Pinterest
by Edie Melson Pinterest is growing by leaps and bounds as a valuable social media tool for writers. It’s a great way to connect with readers and there are numerous ways to utilize this image driven platform. Here are just a few ways to connect with Pinterest: Build boards with your book’s subject. Build boards that help you with world building or setting. Share blogs from others who write in your genre. Build boards from books you love—you can legally post the book covers and links to Amazon or the author’s blog. Build a board and share the blogs you follow—as long as the blog has a picture you can post it. Build boards with your personal interests, like knitting, sewing, bird watching, there’s no limit to the topics you […]
Read the Rest
