Craft
Promotion: to do or not to do
How much time do you spend on promoting? That’s a question I ask myself periodically. Lately it has crept up again. Promotion for an author is becoming more and more important. But where do you draw the line? If you spend too much time promoting, that means you aren’t writing. How do you balance promoting…
You must remember this…or maybe not
I found a link that may help when we’re writing to be more aware of the audience we’re targeting. My epiphany for the significance of frame of reference came one school year when I was discussing the assassination of President Kennedy. As a teacher, I know enough to realize when the eyes of everyone in…
Freedom
Earlier this month we celebrated the birth of our nation. The fourth of July took on an extra special meaning this year as we’ve studied early American history for homeschool and spent a week in Washington DC. Often the subject of freedom weaved its way into our reading and conversations. And into our hearts. My father and grandfather…
$26
You would think $26 wouldn’t make so much difference, but I remember that amount like it was the hinge my life swung on. And maybe at the time it did. I was just weeks from having all of my college classes behind me (still had student teaching, but I had a summer to save for…
Putting it all together to write your hook!
Hey Everyone! Happy Fiction Friday! For the last month we’ve been talking about HOOKing the reader you’re your story. I hope you remember the SHARP acronym! S-Stakes H – Hero/Heroine Identification A – Anchoring R – Staring the story on the RUN P – The problem or Story question. Today, I’m going to give you…
What’s the problem?
Hey there! Welcome back to our HOOKS discussion! We’ve been talking about the elements of a great HOOK – using the acrynom SHARP S= Stakes (Public or Private) H = Hero Identification (or Sympathy) A stand for ANCHORING! Or, using the journalist inside to create place!R – Starting your story on the Run, or two…
I’ve Got a Bone to Pick up Here on my Soap Box!
Nothing frustrates me more than reading a book filled with lazy writing. I’m talking about dialogue tags and telling. So and so “said eagerly, or demanded or protested,” so and so “felt defensive, violated, etc.” Anyone whose been studying the craft of writing for some time will tell you to nix the dialogue tags when…
Simple Obedience
On the way home from church or during morning Bible reading time, my family and I often talk about something that jumps out at us in a passage. One time we were discussing 2 Samuel 24 where a plague had come over the Land of Israel and was stopped by the angel of the Lord…
What Would You Do?
I have the opportunity to attend a Cecil Murphy mentoring clinic and I sort of have the money. I was saving up for ACFW, which I still plan on attending, but I put the money toward this mentoring clinic with this amazing author. Haven’t heard of him? That’s because he’s ghost written a gazillion books…
Summer Savings Ideas #3
Don’t let your cash get away from you this summer. Join me Saturdays here at Portrait of a Writer…Interrupted and get a grip on your cash flow and start sharing your savings ideas. I don’t know about you, but I’m appalled at how quickly gas is rising, so I’m on a mission to think of…