Give the Gift of Reading This Holiday Season!

Toys are broken and clothes are outgrown ... 
but the impact of books lasts a lifetime.

The volunteer organization “Write On! For Literacy” is holding its Tenth Annual Holiday Book Drive to benefit underprivileged children! Last year we collected nearly 1,000 books (bringing our grand total to more than 12,000 books!) that were distributed to various schools and charities including the Boys & Girls Club, Casa Pacifica, and Project Understanding. Please do your part to help children have a better holiday season. Help beat illiteracy and give the gift that lasts forever: the gift of reading!

Want to get involved?

• Mail book donations to the Write On! chapter headquarters: 400 Roosevelt Court, Ventura, CA, 93003

• You can also mail monetary donations that will be used to purchase books to the above address. (Checks made out to Dallas Woodburn.)

• Start a chapter in your area! Donate books to a local charity -- Boys & Girls Clubs are usually very grateful for donations -- and then e-mail me the total number of books donated which will be added to our grand-total. 

Many thanks to our recent generous contributors!

* Barry Kibrick, host of the Emmy-award-winning PBS television show "Between the Lines," annually donates 400-500 books to charity.

* Raeanne Alliapoulos donated 30 books to the Boys & Girls Club in Pomona, California.

* A. William Benitez and his company Positive Imaging, LLC, shipped out 20 copies of Lottie's Adventure, a marvelous and imaginative book for kids and middle-graders: http://lottiesadventure.com

About Write On!

“Write On! For Literacy” is a volunteer-run organization founded by author Dallas Woodburn in 2001. The goal is to encourage kids to discover confidence, happiness, a means of self-expression, and connection to others through reading and writing. The Write On! website features writing contests, book reviews, author interviews, writing tips and ideas, and ways for everyone to get involved. http://www.writeonbooks.org 

The past nine years, Write On's Holiday Book Drive has donated 12,106 books to disadvantaged children across the nation.

The Importance of Non-writing Tasks

As writers we place a lot of emphasis on the writing craft. That's extremely important because it makes our writing better. But I think it's also a good idea to pay attention to some non-writing tasks as well. They can help or hinder our writing without us realizing it. I have three non-writing tasks I think will help increase your writing productivity.

Writing Space How's your writing space? Is it cluttered? Does it take you a few minutes to find everything you need? What about that reference book you always refer to but can never find? Is it within sight and easy reach? Do you have pens, paper and highlighters readily available? These are things to consider. When you sit down to write, you don't want to waste precious minutes searching through unorganized piles or unlabeled notebooks. Clean up your space. Make sure everything you might need is easy accessible. Also, try to put together a simple organization system. While you decluttering, you might as well go a bit further and actually organize things too. Just these simple steps can add precious time back into your writing schedule.

Peace and Quiet This might not be a problem for everyone, but it is for me. I live in the house with two teens and a husband. It's hard to get peace and quiet so I can concentrate. There are a couple of ways to handle this without having to leave my writing space. You can invest in some headsets that either block out reduce noise. These can be a bit expensive, so if you are frugal like me, you can take the alternative route. I have some inexpensive ear buds. I plug them in and head over to http://simplynoise.com/. I can listen to white, pink or brown noise. Basically it drowns out my family and since there are really no words or rhythms, my mind doesn't focus on the noise. You can use it online, or for a small price, you can download the type of noise you want. Simple peace and quiet.

Blocking the Internet If the Internet is your distraction, there are a few ways to keep it from sabotaging your writing time. If you have DSL you can disconnect Internet on your individual computer. If you are connected directly into the router, then unplug yourself. If you are connected wirelessly, get to your network connections and then choose disconnect for your wireless connection. Be sure to turn off the connect automatically option. If you forget, it will reconnect you in short order! Another option is to use Internet Blocking Software. My favorite is called Freedom. It costs a mere $10. You simply tell it how long you want the Internet blocked, up to a maximum of eight hours. To get the trial version top by http://macfreedom.com/.

These three things can add productivity back to your writing time. And I bet somewhere along the line, will make it more enjoyable as well. I'm sure that's going to come through in your writing as well. Happy writing!

About the Author:

Marietta "Mari" Taylor is the the author of Surviving Unemployment Devotions To Go and is monthly blogger for the GoAskMom blog at wral.com. Find out more about Mari at her blog or her website, www.mariettataylor.net.

To Splice or Not to Splice

I recently edited a manuscript that was rife with sentences combined with the word “then.” Like this one: She pulled the lever, allowing the big steel blades to catch the wind. At first nothing came then finally a small trickle of water splashed into the trough.

My red pencil itches to add a comma. It’s two separate actions. The “and” seems to be understood and to me is redundant. At first nothing came, and then finally a small trickle of water splashed into the trough. If you use “and,” do you even need “then?” But in this case, “and” just doesn’t say the same thing.

According to grammar gurus, this is called a “comma splice” and is supposedly a no-no. As one grammarian put it, “It feels so right. It flows so well. It looks so pretty. But technically, it’s as wrong as wearing wooly socks with strappy summer sandals.”

This same source reminds us of an acronym to remember what a coordinating conjunction is: FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So. But, she says, be careful of the words then and now; neither is a coordinating conjunction.

And regarding the use of a comma with "then," the Gregg Reference Manual states:
"When hence, then, thus, so, or yet appears at the beginning of an independent clause, the comma following is omitted unless the connective requires special emphasis or a nonessential element occurs at that point."

Examples:
Melt the butter over high heat; then add the egg.
Melt the butter over high heat; then, when the foam begins to subside, add the egg.

But, to me, it’s not so cut and dried. “The old dog awoke at the sound of his master’s voice, lifted his head then stood up, and wagged his tail.” The phrase just seems all run together. I know the sentence can be reworded to solve the problem. But, since it’s fiction, can we take a little liberty now and again, then add a comma?

What say you, fellow authors?

-------------------------


A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in Northwest Washington. Her first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, is based on her grandmother, and the sequel, Follow the Dream, has recently won the national WILLA Award. Heidi has a degree in journalism, a certificate in fiction writing, and is a member of Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She teaches writing and edits, blogs, and is working on the next books in her “Dare to Dream” series.

Find your passion.

It seems that, as humans, we can’t help but compare ourselves to others.  

• His plots are so well constructed
• Her character development is so much better than mine
• He makes more money
• She has more speaking engagements…..
• And on and on.  

Whenever we make those comparisons we put ourselves in a no win situation.  

There will always be someone better at something.

The key is to find our passion, to live that passion and to be true to the gifts that are uniquely our own.  You are perfectly equipped to be you.  No one else in this world can smile your smile, think your thoughts or walk your walk nor can you smile, think or walk like another. 

I have a friend that I always say has the life I would like to live.  She lives in NYC, brings home a 7 figure paycheck and travels the world.  But if you really put me (the me that is really me) in her place nothing would fit.  I cannot be her and she cannot be me. 

As a new year approaches I challenge each of you to reflect on your gifts, your talents and your special essence.  Ring in the new year committed to being the best that you can be….and enjoy the world that you create. 

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” 

Dr. Seuss

Happy New Year.

Martha Swirzinski, M. A. 

www.Movementplus.com

www.WholeChildPublishing.com

Revision – What Works for Me

Whoever said revision is what makes your book is, in my view, correct. I like to write the book quickly. I do plan the plot first, but I find that it changes as I write, and for me, that's a benefit.

However, it leaves me with a manuscript that is far from publishable.

These are the three steps I use to clean up the manuscript:

• First, I print the book and read it as though it was a published book. I mark the places that don't work and note any corrections that leap to the eye. This usually identifies places where I lose the thread of the plot; where scenes are lovely, but don't contribute to the forward motion; and where I lose focus on the characters.
• Second, I remove the chapters or scenes that don't work; rewrite where necessary; and add new scenes or chapters. I usually find that I have to add more than subtract. I have a tendency to race through the plot leaving out scenes that the reader needs to understand the ending.
• Third, I do a thorough reread and make editorial changes. This is the place to fine tune wording, make sure typos are corrected and generally clean up the manuscript.

I don't know if this method would work for everyone, and I'm not completely consistent. I'll make wording changes on the first reread, if I think of them, and on the third pass, if a scene doesn't work, it goes.

The process is time consuming and makes you think of your work as if you were asked to critique someone else's, but that's the important point. Once you've finished the ecstasy of initial creation, the rest is work, and lots of it. Characters need to be consistent. Scenes need to add to the flow of the story, typos must be corrected. I find this works for me. Tell me about your revision strategies.

Nancy Famolari
http://sites.google.com/site/nancyfamolari/
Winner's Circle available from Amazon.com

30 Second Elevator Blurb

Hi everyone. As always, thanks for stopping by. Here is a fun little exercise I learned from one of my Yahoo! Writer's Groups. You can do this in your spare time (what's that?).

Make a keyword list. Then make a book synopsis using lots of those keywords. In fact, for fun, use them all! But NO MORE THAN THREE SENTENCES. Yes, that's right. Your book in three sentences. It may be the worst synopsis/blurb you've ever written. See if you can make us understand what the heck you're book is about.

Here's my blurb I made from my list of key words:

A scientific breakthrough in Einstein-Rosen Bridges, or wormholes, is stolen by a group of misguided M.I.T. graduate students who wish to usher in a global science-based oligarchy leading the way with breakthroughs in physics, biochemistry, and nanotechnology. As the death toll mounts, Chase Manhattan and a multi-faceted cast of characters must battle this skilled team of killers on both coasts in a desperate race to control or destroy a discovery which threatens life as we know it. Greed, betrayal, murder, mayhem, spiritual contemplation, and unconditional love define the power-play struggle in this fast-paced suspense thriller of technology gone too far.

* Battle
* Betrayal
* Biochemistry
* Breakthrough
* Chase Manhattan
* Death
* Desperate race
* Destroy
* Discovery
* Einstein-Rosen Bridges
* Fast-paced
* Global science-based oligarchy
* Greed
* Killers
* M.I.T. graduate students
* Mayhem
* Multi-faceted
* Murder
* Nanotechnology
* Power-play struggle
* Physics
* Science
* Spiritual contemplation
* Stolen
* Suspense
* Technology
* Threatens
* Thriller
* Unconditional love
* Wormholes

Feel free to leave your three sentence blurb (no matter how good or bad it sounds) or other exercises you use in the comments. Have a great week.

If you feel this blog is worthy, go ahead and make my day. Retweet it

Awards Are Free Publicity Gold

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson,
author of the multi award-winning book,
The Frugal Book Promoter, now in its second edition

 

It is award season once again. It's exciting to see many of my author friends' books win, place, or show. I hope they remember that I told them their book doesn't have to be a top winner for the news to be newsworthy in my first book in the HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers.

Media editors see awards as anything from a sure-fire feature story to a filler. But I fear that many authors still don't utilize their awards to their fullest potential. A list of things authors should do with their awards appeared in the first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter and, because it's so important, appears in the second edition now in release.

Add your new honor to the Awards page of your media kit. If it’s your first award, center it on a page of its own. Oh! And celebrate!

• Write your media release announcing this coup. (See Chapter Eleven of the second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter to learn to build a targeted media list and Chapter Twelve to learn to write a professional media release.)
• Post your news on media release distribution sites. Find a list of these sites at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/mediareleasedisseminators1.htm .
• Notify your professional organizations.
• Notify bookstores where you hope to have a signing and those where you have had a signing.
• Notify your college and high school. Some have press offices. Most publish magazines for alumni and their current students.
• Add this information to the signature feature (see Chapter Twenty) of your e-mail program.
• Add this honor to the biography template you use in future media releases—the part that gives an editor background information on you.
• Use this information when you pitch TV or radio producers, editors of newsletters and newspapers. and bloggers. It sets you apart from others and defines you as an expert.
• If your book wins an award, order embossed gold labels from a company like http://labels-usa.com/embossed-labels.htm. You or your distributor can apply them to your books’ covers. If you win an important award, ask your publisher to redesign your bookcover or dustcover to feature it a la the Caldecott medal given for beautifully illustrated children’s books. If you don’t know this medal, visit your local bookstore and ask to see books given this award. It’s one of the most famous and most beautifully designed.
• If your book is published as an e-book only, ask for the contest's official badge or banner to use. If they don't have one, make one of your own using http://bannerfans.com/banner_maker.php.
• Be sure your award is front and center on your blog, your Web site, your Twitter wallpaper, and your social network pages.
• Your award should be evident on everything from your business card to your checks and invoices. I use the footer of my stationery to tout my major awards.
• Don't forget to put your award in your e-mail signature.
• Frame your award certificate and hang it in your office to impress visitors and to inspire yourself to soar even higher!

~This is just a blog-size excerpt from a complete chapter on awards in The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo) , including information on how to improve your chances of getting one. Carolyn brings her experience as a journalist, publicist, retailer and author of her own books to the how-to books she writes for authors. Georgia is helping her celebrate the release of the 2nd edition of this USA Book News and Irwin award-winning book. Learn more about the whole series at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.