Whether you have a brainstorm partner or not, or a crit group, you can find successful ways to brainstorm a story. I’ve brainstormed with Susie for years, and it began after the Dallas ’06 ACFW conference. Christine Lynxwiler and I started talking in the hotel lobby as her husband waited in the van with their daughter to drive home. Then Susie met up with us, and next thing we knew, we were in my Presidential suite, brainstorming our books. Chris’s husband graciously took the girls shopping, then sat in the suite living room watching TV as Susie, Chris and I duked out our stories. It was fun. Adrenaline. And a pattern was formed. The next year, we purposefully stayed over Sunday to brainstorm. That year, Annalisa Daughty stayed with us. […]
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Get Your Twitter On!
I’ve already posted on how to utilize Twitter and Tweetdeck on this blog so today I want to talk about how to Tweet effectively. As Twitter has gained popularity it’s become harder to stand out in the crowd. But with a little Twitter Tweaking, you can encourage new folks to visit your site. First, and MOST IMPORTANT, utilize hashtags. A hashtag (#) makes the letters following it searchable within the Twitter universe—even if the person searching doesn’t follow you. For example, when I tweet about My Book Therapy I utilize two hastags—#write and #MyBookTherapy. Important Note: When you space, the hashtag ends. That’s why I wrote out #MyBookTherapy with NO spaces. Second, be creative when you compose your tweets. Avoid the tired old tweet, “Check out my newest blog post.” […]
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Quick Skills: Sellability
Raise your hand if you’ve seen the new movie, The Vow. I haven’t, but I’m intrigued because it contains a twist on the premise of my new book, The Shadow of Your Smile. A wife loses her memory, and her husband has to woo her all over again. My story is different in that my hero and heroine have been married for 25 years, with a family and life. However, their marriage is on the rocks…so while they have a lot to lose, there’s also that sense that they’ve already “forgotten” each other. Still, as I was building my story, I thought – how will this be different? How can I make this story more powerful, with bigger issues to make it stand out in the market? How do I […]
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Conversations: The Four Pillars of a Best-Seller
I was drinking an extra tall vanilla latte, blinking back the sand in my eyes as Sally came in. A glorious Monday morning, the sun winking off the frosty waves of Lake Superior, the sky a triumphant eggshell blue, the snow glistening under all that grandeur like diamonds. Good thing, too, because I’d stayed up late watching both Casablanca and Pearl Harbor to prepare for our conversation this morning. I knew, after meeting with Sally for three weeks, she took our conversations seriously and wanted to be on my game. She sat down and pulled off her knitted mittens. “I started a notebook from last week, like you suggested.” She pulled out a hardbound journal with a leather cover and handed it to me. I opened it and to my […]
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