Summer Is Here!

Yes! Summer is here - and so are the distractions.

While writers always tend to find the ability to do other things than write - answering emails, 'marketing' on Facebook, etc, the distractions are even more challenging when the sun comes out and the fun begins.

How can you keep your focus this summer?

Today, even before the first official day of summer, sit down and write down your goals for the next few months. 

1. Set a goal for the number of words or pages you will write per day, week or month and keep that goal front and center on your desk. Make it a commitment that you cannot break. No excuses.

2. If you are a member of a writer's critique group, make sure you have the meetings marked in your calendar and search for ways to contribute even if your summer journeys take you away for a week or two.

3. Summer is the perfect time to find yourself a writer's conference where you can work on your craft.  Close by or a journey away, either can help to keep you motivated.

4. Finally, set your work hours and keep to them. Yes, you can ask the 'boss' for a day off, but know that your work will still need to be completed.

This summer put down on paper your goals and keep moving forward.

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D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Series was written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole and, Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.  

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook

To Serialize or Not To Serialize?

About a month ago, my friend, Lana Voynich, shared a link with me from the KBoards where an author shared his KDP sales graph, showing that he had spiked to over 1000 sales in one day. He'd been averaging 400-600 sales a day, across multiple genres and serials as he calls them.

I went to his blog but really wasn't find much information on actually creating a series, but a helpful article on writing serials was posted on the same forum, which I believe was more helpful than the answers I was getting from the author of said 1000+ sales in one day.

There are many benefits to serializing your stories and just as many downfalls. If you would like an overview of serializing (this is geared specifically to romance, but there are other genres that you can serialize), check out the posting here.

The debate is whether or not serializing is right for you.  If you are a writer and love writing the shorter stories, then serializing your stories may be the better way for you to go. If you really enjoy the longer novels and you do well with what is published, then maybe serializing isn't for you.

If you are serializing your books, the best way to think of them is as 30-minute to 1-hour TV shows. Each episode follows a complete storyline; your characters recur from episode to episode and sometimes you introduce new characters and sometimes you don't use all the characters; you leave your reader hanging, wanting more and they can't wait for the next episode to come out.

The genres that seem to work best as serials are romance, sci-fi, horror, to name a few.  There are probably more genres that would work as a serial but I'm at a loss right now to come up with them.

The one thing I did notice from several postings is the difference between a "series" and a "serial".  A serial is like the 30-minute TV show; a series is novel length books (over 50 or 60,000 words) where you carry your characters forward.  Most series won't leave you hanging, in the case of mysteries, and most serials will rely on reading in order of being written/published.  Serials are short; series are longer and probably involve fewer stories.  You can have a 3-book series; and however long you want to make the serial stories.  Serials have a minimum of three stories and usually expand out a lot longer than a series does. 

If you are considering writing a serial or several serials, be prepared to put a new story out at least once a month.  This seems to be the average timeframe from all sources with information on writing serials.  Research and follow other authors' examples. 

Good luck, if this is the route you are deciding to take. See you all in the postings.

Elysabeth Eldering, Author
FINALLY HOME, a Kelly Watson, YA, paranormal mystery
Elysabeth's Blog

How to combine writing with parenting

“Mummy…mummy!”
“Darling, please be quiet, mummy’s trying to compose a sentence.”

Yeah, right. Try waving a red flag to a bull and asking it not to charge. Combining parenting with writing is probably no more difficult than combining parenting with any job, except that writing doesn’t usually come with a flash/separate office and childcare initiatives, and can often be put aside when something urgent calls. As a parent, something urgent is always calling. It’s easy to try and do it all—support school council, attend events, Playgroup, lessons, matches, help with homework, the day job. So how do you make the time? How do you say no when your children (What could be more important?) are counting on you to be there for them? How do you get those sentences composed when everything else is more urgent?  Here are a few tips:

• Don’t try to be superperson. You have to accept that you are a parent and that your children will only be little and attention hungry for a short time. You shouldn’t stop writing, by any means, but you also have to be realistic about what you can accomplish. Long projects like novels will take many years. If you write shorter pieces, you’ll have to be honest about the output you can manage. 
• Plan, plan, plan and then expect the plan to go a little askew if someone gets sick. Sit down for a few hours each year (after the kids have gone to bed perhaps, or while they are at school), and plan what you are going to accomplish during that year, bearing in mind that your family will also need your time. Each month spend a half hour or so revising the plan; each week a few minutes and each day a moment, so that you’re always clear about what you are going to achieve from a writing perspective. 
• Cut your plan into bite sized, relatively urgent pieces and make sure it’s in your planner/diary. Don’t have a planner/diary? You need one. Decide what writing work you’ll be doing each week and that way you can maximise any available time, whether it’s an hour after the kids are in bed, or five hours while they’re at school. Once the big plan is broken into little segments, you’ll feel a sense of writerly accomplishment meeting those small goals, but only if they are achievable!

Above all, don’t resent your children. What else is life about? The time spent with your children is, even in the most Machiavellian terms (never mind what you’re doing for them…think of what they’re doing for you), inspiration for your work. Notice what excites them, what interests them, how they look while they play and you’ve already got the basis for your next characterisation. Parent writers are lucky in that their work and play often bisect and that the joy and unconditional love in a child’s eye is the best fodder for writing.

Magdalena Ball is the author of the novels Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Sublime Planet, Deeper Into the Pond, Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find out more about Magdalena at www.magdalenaball.com.

photo credit: legends2k via photopin cc

Books to Give You Aha Moments in Writing

Image Copyright © 2014 Joan Y. Edwards

"Books to Give You Aha Moments in Writing" by Joan Y. Edwards

Get out your favorite book on how to write. Which one(s) gave you an "Aha Moment" in writing? Here are four books on the craft of writing that I highly recommend because they gave me several "aha" moments while reading them. I know they will offer wonderful learning opportunities for you, too.

1. James N. Frey. How to Write a Damn Good Novel: http://www.amazon.com/Write-Damn-Novel-Step—Step/dp/0312010443
James N. Frey explains in an easy to read and comprehend voice. It’s easy to learn the writing process with his book. He teaches you how to tell a story and how to correct problems. He asks, “What are you trying to prove about human nature?” He explains Egri’s theory that a premise is character, conflict, and conclusion. He explains how to choose the right viewpoint for telling your story. He tells when to use flashbacks and when to leave them out. He gives several ways to gain benefits from a critique group. He shows you with examples of premise and dialogue using popular stories and movies. He also shows you by making up a character or story right before your eyes.

2. Karl Iglesias. Writing for Emotional Impact-Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, and Fascinate Readers: http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Emotional-Impact-Techniques-Fascinate/dp/1595940286/

This book impresses upon writers the importance of presenting the emotions of the characters for readers to relate to on a personal level and shows you how to do it. I think following the reading of this book by the reading of the Emotion Thesaurus, or vice versa is a good plan.

3. Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. The Emotion Thesaurus
http://www.amazon.com/The-Emotion-Thesaurus-Character-Expression/dp/1475004958/ref=pd_cp_b_0

This book gives you body language for different emotions. It tells you how to show the emotions in body movements, and how people might be feeling inside, too.

4. Noah Lukeman. The First Five Pages-A Writer’s Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile:” http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Five-Pages-Rejection/dp/068485743X

Noah Lukeman explains the importance of getting a firm grip on the attention of readers in the first five pages. If you don't, editors, agents, and readers may not finish your book. The First Five Pages reveals the necessary elements of good writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry, and points out the ingredients of great first five pages:

•  A good opening with a catchy, hook
•  Frugal use of adjectives and adverbs
•  New, colorful metaphors and similes
•  Clear, crisp dialogue
•  Well-developed characterizations and appropriate lively settings
•  Good pacing and progression of story

If you need more books to help you with writing skills, here is a post on my blog with 28 Craft Books to Help You Get a Grip on Writing.

Celebrate you.
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
Copyright © 2014 Joan Y. Edwards

Flip Flap Floodle, delightful picture book that teaches children to believe in themselves and Never Give Up - even mean ole Mr. Fox can't stop this little duck.

Joan’s Elder Care Guide, Release December 2014 by 4RV Publishing

Website/Blog

Twitter/Linked in/Facebook Author Page

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Avoiding Common Punctuation Errors Part 1: The Vocative Comma

Commas Save Lives

Your story is written.  You have compelling characters, a rich setting, deep symbolism, and a perfectly twisty plot.  You're ready to share your creation with the world.  But take a moment to consider the underrated art of punctuation.

Punctuation isn't a ridiculous torture device invented by English teachers.  It's a guide for your reader.  Used properly, those little commas, periods, and quotation marks help your reader interpret your words correctly the first time.  After all, you masterpiece isn't a masterpiece if people keep getting tripped up by punctuation (or lack thereof). 

Today we'll consider just one little rule, simple but often ignored.

The Vocative Comma:

When you address someone or something directly, use commas to set off the name or title. 
    Your car is ready, Mr. President.
    Alex, turn off that horrid music.
    At the end of the day, folks, the only thing that matters is how many people we help.
    Stupid computer, can't you just work right this once?

When authors forget this rule, at best the result is clunky or awkward.  At worst, it creates an entirely different meaning.  Here's the most classic example: 

           Let's eat Grandpa.
           Let's eat, Grandpa.

If your character is a heartless cannibal, the first version is fine.  Otherwise, you need the comma.

More Examples:

I don’t know Mom (character denying any familiarity with his mother)
I don't know, Mom (character telling his mother that he doesn't know something)

You are Sigmund.  (Revealing to an amnesiac that his name is Sigmund)
You are, Sigmund.  (Answering Sigmund's question, "Who's the crazy one here?")

Children put your toys away.  (You have very young servants who clean up your toys for you)
Children, put your toys away.  (You're telling your kids to put their toys away). 

I killed, John (character admitting to John that he killed someone)
I killed John (character admitting to the police that he murdered John)

You called me father (I'm not really your father, but it touches me that you consider me like a father.)
You called me, father.  (You're my dad, and I'm returning your phone call.)

I'll see you in February June. (You're a little confused about dates)
I'll see you in February, June (You have an appointment in February with your friend June)

And that man is the truth. (You're apparently looking at the god of truth or something)
And that, man, is the truth. (Man, I'm telling the truth)

Don't marry, Alice (Alice, stay single!  Marriage is for the birds.)
Don't marry Alice (Alice is bad news.  Don't marry her.  Marry me instead.)

Conversely, if you use the comma to set off a name or title when you're not addressing someone directly, you get results like this:

Those irresponsible cows!  Why won't they keep their dogs under control?

If you want your masterpiece to shine, pay attention to punctuation, and join me next month for more common punctuation errors.

Avoiding Incorrect Punctuation Pt 2:  Commas and Periods in Dialogue

Melinda Brasher wrote the cover story in this month's edition of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show.  Check out the artwork here.  She loves writing, but can't read anymore without unintentionally editing, and loves a good punctuation or grammar joke.  Nerd power!  Check out her author page at Amazon.

4 Major Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Blog Posts

By Karen Cioffi

Writing is a craft, a craft that needs to be learned. With that being said, there are many successful bloggers who had no writing training.

You might consider writing as being doubled sided. There are research papers, resumes, articles for medical and scientific use, business and health content, and even short stories, children’s books, and novels.

To write for these genres, you need to learn the craft of writing. Depending on the genre you write, you need to know how to write dialogue, how to reference quotes in a nonfiction article, and how to write POV (point of view). You should know the difference between a comma and a semi-colon, and how to use each. You get the idea.

On the flip side, there is web writing: blog posts and writing copy. In these niches there aren’t many rules, aside from grabbing the reader and making your content engaging and shareable.

While there aren’t many rules for blogging, there are four mistakes you should avoid:

1. Avoid aiming for perfection.

If you wait for the perfect time, the perfect circumstance, the perfect topic, the perfect anything, you’ll be forever waiting.

While you do need to be a responsible writer and respect your reader by providing quality content and doing the best you can, you shouldn’t wait for everything to be perfect. There’s nothing wrong with learning as you go along.

I love what George Fisher said about perfection: “When you aim for perfection, you discover it's a moving target.”

2. Avoid confusing and unfocused content.

The quickest way to lose a reader is to make your content confusing. If you’re topic is ‘allergies,’ don’t go on a rant about the latest clothing styles.

Blogs posts should be in easily digestible pieces of information that are focused. From the title to the concluding paragraph, keep it on topic.

In addition, you want to lead the reader down your post. In the beginning let the reader know what to expect, what’s in it for him. This will motivate him to read on.

3. Don’t write long paragraphs.

We all lead hectic lives. We want to get targeted information as quickly as possible. For this reason, your content needs to be easy to read and written in short paragraphs. This is especially important for skim readers.

Keep your content clean and leave plenty of white space. White space is the space between paragraphs, between words, and such. It’s the blank space on the page.

4. Don’t use grandiloquent language.

Here we go back to the premise that people are in a rush and along with this, most people don’t want to have to look up words to get the gist of the article. This is another quick way to lose a reader.

Keep your writing simple. Write how you would normally speak.

In addition, choose your words with care. C.S. Lewis knew the importance of this when he said, “Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”

Following these ‘four mistakes to avoid’ will help you write blog posts that readers will appreciate and will want to share.

Original Article Source: http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/2014/01/4-major-mistakes-to-avoid-when-writing.html

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You Know You're a Writer When Your . . . Part 2

Dare to dream  Photo by Linda Wilson

 

Build a strong foundation:  Read as much as you can. Study your weak areas so you can improve them. Share your work with a critique group. Take courses. Attend workshops and conferences. Build a marketing platform. Write the best article/book/poem/memoir you can. Ask a professional editor to proof your work. Whatever you do, don't give up. You've covered the bases. You are on a sure road to success.

And, don't forget: write from your heart. For, without putting your heart and soul into what you write, your works would have little meaning. To find meaning you need only to look inside. As one editor put it, "Go to the well. That's were you'll find what to write." Sound easy? It hasn't been easy for me. Nestled in among the flowers inside there are weeds, weeds that I sometimes don't want to see. But when I take a good, hard look, each weed that I pluck adds meaning; and in the end, could be the very reason for my story to linger.

What has made up your well is the sum total of your past, your thoughts and feelings, your experiences; in short, where you come from. While reading through this small sampling of the main forces that have shaped great authors' careers and how far their humble beginnings have taken them, think about how your own writing choices originated; how these choices have driven you, even challenged you, toward the subject(s) you write about today.

You know you're a writer when your . . .

. . . relative is a journalist.

• Brian Doyle, the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland, Oregon; and author of thirteen books, most recently The Plover, published in April 2014, writes that he is asked how he became a writer in almost every class he visits. His short answer is "By writing." In an article for The American Scholar, Doyle imparted precious gems he learned from his journalist father: "My dad was a newspaperman, and still is, at age 92 . . . he taught me immensely valuable lessons. If you wish to be a writer, write . . . Note how people get their voices and hearts and stories down on the page . . . Be honest with yourself about the size of your gift . . . The best writers do not write about themselves but about everyone else . . . The best writers are good listeners."

. . . family is your biggest influence.

• As an extremely shy girl, Jane Austen, the youngest of seven, centered her world around her family. The author of six novels, including Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, Austen drew her "comic abilities" and "knowledge of the sea" from her brothers. Though Austen never married, she drew much of her fiction from her own life.

• Eudora Welty grew up in a house full of books. After attending college at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia, she returned to her childhood home in Jackson, Mississippi, where she lived most of her 92 years. She never married, saying, "It never came up," and of her life at home, said, "I am a writer who came of a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within." Welty wrote four short stories which were reissued in 1980 as The Collected Stories; five novels, a volume of essays, The Eye of the Storm (1978), and a memoir, One Writer's Beginnings (1984).

. . . life is changed by a catalystic event.

• In answer to why he became a writer, on his website Stephen King writes, ". . . there was nothing else I was made to do. I was made to write stories and I love to write stories." King grew up without a dad. Endearing to me is that he made a success of himself in spite of that. Though he grew up with meager finances which continued for the first part of his career as an English teacher, he and his brother David benefited from a loving mother. At six and seven years old King's mother read aloud to them. Stephen loved her choice of stories, from the comic book series, "Classics Illustrated," to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. She said of a thin, plain "grown-up" book, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, "This one's a scary one. It's about a man who changes into something else." Stephen begged, "Read it to me." She gave in. The story only fanned the fires already burning in Stephen's heart. Even at the tender age of seven he thought, "I have to do that, but I have to do that worse."

• When Stephen was eleven years old he and David amused themselves by going to the movies. They liked the scary ones best. One matinee, The Pit and the Pendulum, moved Stephen so much that he wrote his own version and passed copies of it to his friends. Movies helped develop his unique writing style: "I write down everything I see. It seems like a movie, and I write that way."

• Yet King's most poignant influence came at the discovery of an old box of his father's books--horror stories--that he found in his aunt and uncle's attic. Among the books was a 1947 collection by H.P. Lovecraft, one of the first noted horror writers, called "The Lurking Fear and Other Stories." Like Lovecraft, King was from New England. King realized, too, that he could establish his stories in the place he knew best--Maine.

. . . life experiences have moved you to help others.

• Offering examples from the experiences of the patients in his psychiatric practice, M. Scott Peck, M.D., developed a philosophy discussed in his best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled (1978). It is an engaging read which, in the first part, focuses on the importance of discipline in helping solve life's problems and in living a fulfilling life. Peck sums discipline up in neat categories, such as: Delaying gratification: the process by which some children by the age of twelve "are able to sit down on occasion without any parental prompting and complete their homework before they watch television;" Acceptance of responsibility: the ability to accept responsibility for our actions and not avoid it by expecting others to be responsible; Dedication to truth: "Courageous people must continually push themselves to be completely honest, yet must also possess the capacity to withhold the whole truth when appropriate," and; Balancing: the ability to handle situations appropriately. Peck argues that by trying to avoid legitimate suffering, people ultimately end up suffering more. The last two parts of The Road explore the nature of love and the power of grace, respectively.

• "Be in control of your life and live the life of your dreams." That's the mission stated on Dr. Wayne Dyer's website. Dyer is the author of over 40 books, many audio programs and videos, speaker in the field of self-development, and guest on thousands of television and radio shows. His belief that every person can live an extraordinary life is particularly poignant, for he grew up in orphanages and foster homes. In the late '80s, I listened to audio cassette tapes by Dr. Dyer in which encouraging words were spoken by him in rhythm. The rhythm matched the steps I took on walks, and provided reassurance at a time when I needed it most. Dyer's books and audio products have evolved since then; I haven't been able to find that specific program I enjoyed while on walks. But Dyer's works, available in print, CD and audio download, cover the gamut of encouragement.

Writers from our own ranks at Writers on the Move exemplify the urge to help their readers by virtue of their writing choices. Readers can scroll down from this post to the list of contributors and by checking out our writers' websites and blogs, can find a treasure trove of expertise and heartfelt advice.

Now for my humble beginnings: Chronicling my life in diaries has satisfied a natural inclination to record anything that strikes my fancy, from childhood on. Serious efforts began by reading "how-to" books and writing for local newspapers and periodicals. Today, after retiring from teaching elementary school, my dream to write for children has finally come true. The best part is that writing for WOTM has allowed me to delve into topics that I enjoy writing for adults, too. I feel I have arrived at the best of both worlds.

Sources:  http://theamericanscholar.org/how-did-you-become-a-writer/#.U3Z7XznnZaQ;  "Jane Austen: Get the Particulars," by Ginny Wiehardt, at http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/interviews/a/JaneAusten.htm;

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/reviews/p/welty.htm; http://stephenking.com/ and "Stephen King," Biography Today, vol. 1, 1995; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.Scott_Peck; 
http://www.drwaynedyer.com/

Next month: Know Your Audience

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, recently completed Joyce Sweeney's online fiction course. Linda has published over 40 articles for children and adults, six short stories for children, and is in the final editing stages of her first book, a mystery story for 7-9 year olds. Follow Linda on Facebook.