Posts
What Percentage of Your Social Networking Should Be Promotional?
Several years ago, a marketing firm revealed what many already knew: 40% of Tweets are pointless babble. That’s “babble” as in tweeting about What you’re eating, What you’re wearing, What you’re watching, and What time you go beddy-bye. Of course, what constitutes “pointless babble” is mostly determined by the follower’s interest in the Tweeter. I…
Summer Critique Special Ending Soon!
Getting ready for the ACFW or another writing conference? Plan on entering a contest soon? Need a thorough and honest critique, but can’t find something that fits in your budget? Check out our comprehensive and affordable critiques! But hurry, there are only so many clients we can take before the end of the summer! …
Vision Trouble
by Tammy Nischan On the way to work one day I kept thinking, ‘My right eye seems blurry. I must have my contact lens in upside down.” When I arrived at school, I went straight to the restroom and discovered that there is actually no lens in my right eye! I don’t know how I…
Oh, My Aching Muscles!
After prolonged neglect, muscles tend to let us know when they are not pleased with a sudden change in activity. Surely, you have experienced this. You set a goal, gather up some motivation, and head to the gym. Thinking you can pick up right where you left off, you crank out a 60 minutes workout…
Scrivener for Windows Review
When I found out Scrivener for Windows was in beta testing, I dropped everything to find out more about it. This writing software by Literature and Latte includes tons of cool features for writers, but until recently was only available to Mac-users. Because I’m using a trial version and the developer is still actively collecting…
Writing Lessons from a Dream
I used to dream a lot! Vivid, storyline dreams that made complete sense…until I woke up. But lately those kind of dreams are rare. So when I had a dream about Donald Maass as my drama coach dancing with me ballroom style as I sang “Popular,” I had to laugh! Here’s why… I’m an impressionable…
Is Balancing Your Life Possible?
I started blogging to try to find the balance between raising my family and working on my writing career. I interviewed close to a hundred moms and dads who seemed to have found that balance. Six ears later I am still searching for that balance. I’m starting to think balance is the wrong term to…
Whose Point of View
Psalm 37:30 – The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The greatest jolt for a reader is to be absorbed into a story, sensing the urgency of the dangers, feeling the onset of emotions, being carried away by the events, when all of a sudden, the story…
Ape House by Sara Gruen
In Ape House, Sara Gruen’s follow-up novel to Water for Elephants, Gruen again finds a unique setting: a lab where scientists work with bonobo apes on interspecies communication. The scientists, led by Isabel Duncan, teach the bonobos English and sign language so that the apes can understand English and respond with sign language. John Thigpen,…
Seasons of Waiting or Excuses?
In January, I was all set to dive into my WIP. I had just put my daughter in school full time, and I had my days mapped out by the hour. Then “I got the call.” The novella I submitted to Barbour for an anthology the week before was sold! After the shock registered, I…