tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16460307849255516612024-03-13T08:14:33.375-07:00Christian Writers of the West BlogChristian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-60812440156054947392018-05-26T09:43:00.000-07:002018-05-26T09:43:18.774-07:00Motivation
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"> . . . So What's the Big Deal About Motivation?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;">By Ruth Douthitt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: black;">I<span style="margin: 0px;"> have to facilitate a presentation about motivation at work soon, so I have
been deep in motivational videos, theories, and podcasts in preparation for
it. </span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="margin: 0px;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"></span><br /></span></div>
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The results? I am super motivated!!<br />
<br />
I'm motivated to share motivational tools, and ideas that I have found so
helpful for me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #660000;"></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKm8ikRVLu4cZIGx2EH2OaOYlNwJAJjYuhdYIx0Z8uyU2lwWGBVN9UN_-IcLlv5PDJ07J4620sQZWT31oGINlDJbfxDfU-Jigi8_oMsQv9LQ-d7OPKw9z9DlIjXS0MAAJhugKn_LnJ-oQ/s1600/motivation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="384" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKm8ikRVLu4cZIGx2EH2OaOYlNwJAJjYuhdYIx0Z8uyU2lwWGBVN9UN_-IcLlv5PDJ07J4620sQZWT31oGINlDJbfxDfU-Jigi8_oMsQv9LQ-d7OPKw9z9DlIjXS0MAAJhugKn_LnJ-oQ/s200/motivation.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Motivation</span></b><br />
<br />
What's the big deal about motivation anyway? Why do managers attend such
presentations about motivation?<br />
<br />
Well, what are the benefits?<br />
<br />
Improved productivity<br />
Strong work culture<br />
Reduced absenteeism<br />
Achievement of Objectives<br />
<br />
But why is motivation important for the rest of us?<br />
<br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNkpBAhHkAFqBWyZumPIWG7fUfxEfQajWdscd5BGJwlNeRpUjbcDegm1KHLkheHgW1oOIEfiIRfUgxFDcQAhyh9xLbcTlGyvT1UqE4D52Q6wd9x6j-t8QdGxNwg184Gy5B9MOEnkIK7s/s1600/douthitt+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="540" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNkpBAhHkAFqBWyZumPIWG7fUfxEfQajWdscd5BGJwlNeRpUjbcDegm1KHLkheHgW1oOIEfiIRfUgxFDcQAhyh9xLbcTlGyvT1UqE4D52Q6wd9x6j-t8QdGxNwg184Gy5B9MOEnkIK7s/s200/douthitt+blog.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">As I have blogged before, I run and train for races. I am also an author with
many projects set for 2018. Motivation is key for me to meet all my goals for
the year.<br />
<br />
There are so many motivational theories out there. I lean toward Maslow's
Motivational Theory because it's simple:<br />
<br />If your very basic needs aren't met, then everything comes crumbling down. In
other words, if you have no food in your belly, shelter over your head, and
clothes on your back, you won't be motivated to do much of anything let alone
achieve your potential!<br />
<br />
But once those needs are met, then you move on to the other needs:
Socialization, belonging and love, respect and acceptance, validation of ideas,
challenging yourself...all of these can help you reach your potential, and then
self-actualization.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #660000;">Self-Actualization</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">What does that level look like? Let's use Oprah as an example. She reached
stardom through hard work and innovation. She started the "daytime talk
show" trend by restructuring it and making it more personal. That
achievement led to her challenging herself by trying new concepts:
Acting.<br />
<br />
After receiving an Academy Award nomination, she had the self esteem to venture
out into more challenging roles on TV and in film. She began her own studio and
cable network.<br />
<br />
But one thing keeps knocking her off the top of Maslow's Pyramid: Her
weight.<br />
<br />
Oprah's constant battle with her weight has always brought her down a few
levels on the pyramid, but she has learned through the years how to get back up
to the top.<br />
<br />
And that's what self-actualization looks like. When you have reached autonomy
(meaning, you no longer rely on others to reach your true potential because you
know how to get back on top on your own) you have made it to the top!<br />
<br />
No, becoming a billionaire is not the requirement of
"self-actualization" or "transcendence." Gandhi reached
that level without being a billionaire and you will, too. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SJxOieskOIvGXkvNBJ1SM2KSJnwEOgib_zARgbYQlcAam6r06wwrEgzJtJvA2R4-8gvDPNnvVgU86i5TXF5v6vndx6yDs3zvJcHPty6JNCLNn4wpZlDiCc7ezyNxkkeQuiFsAq26eLE/s1600/happiness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SJxOieskOIvGXkvNBJ1SM2KSJnwEOgib_zARgbYQlcAam6r06wwrEgzJtJvA2R4-8gvDPNnvVgU86i5TXF5v6vndx6yDs3zvJcHPty6JNCLNn4wpZlDiCc7ezyNxkkeQuiFsAq26eLE/s200/happiness.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">Being able to carry on without relying on others for your happiness is key for
success. Your definition of success might differ from mine.<br />
<br />
What's your definition of success?<br />
<br />
The big deal about motivation is that we all need outside motivation to inspire
our inner motivation so we can reach our definition of success. But knowing how
to get back up again after falling down is what Self-Actualization is all about.<br />
<br />
<b>Motivation is a Big Deal</b><br />
<br />
I strongly feel that our calling is to know how to stay motivated so we can
motivate others around us. And by "others" I mean not just employees,
but family and friends, too!<br />
<br />
As a writer, I feel called to motivate my readers and students of writing. I
have learned (and continue to learn...) how to get back up again after
rejection and delay. I want to share my knowledge and wisdom. I'm a teacher,
that's what I do!<br />
<br />
Some motivational theories and tools you can try are:<br />
<br />
</span><a href="https://happify.com/"><span style="color: #00635d; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">Happify.com</span></a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"><br />
<br />
</span><a href="https://youtu.be/NF3jP3EPhWo"><span style="color: #00635d; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">Four-Drive Theory</span></a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"><br />
<br />
</span><a href="https://youtu.be/zrNAFfz90O0"><span style="color: #00635d; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">Goal Setting Theory</span></a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"><br />
<br />
These tools can help you assess your needs and learn how to help motivate
others in business or in your personal life. We'd be crazy to think everyone
knows how to motivate themselves. It's important for us to share our knowledge
with others. That's how things change for the better.<br />
<br /><b><span style="color: #741b47;">What about you? How do you motivate others? Why is it important for us to do
so</span>?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">R. A. Douthitt is an
award-winning author of books for middle grade readers. She is now working on a
contemporary inspirational novel, <i>Leaving Eden</i> for release
later this fall. She is also an educator and speaker with a Masters degree in
Education.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">For information about my books, please visit my website: <a href="http://www.thedragonforest.com/" style="color: #a0501d; text-decoration: none;">www.thedragonforest.com</a><o:p style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; position: static; width: auto;"></o:p></span></div>
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For information about my artwork, please visit: <a href="http://www.artbyruth.com/" style="color: #a0501d; text-decoration: none;">www.artbyruth.com</a><o:p style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; position: static; width: auto;"></o:p></div>
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-26988659831783240862018-02-06T20:41:00.000-08:002018-02-07T07:10:51.055-08:00Painting with Words<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OLgsiD_j8vQtej5f6Dd0fX2YnJm50G87Xxq58flLHBdrgHes-jjCEOxI3EX536nY-SJWDPmiKtvdHTZftCh_4ywxzB8vEyJeGnPCkw0ETdOckvERZbwpGNWyUz3GyDNfwXWKfbT-8RQ/s1600/Ruth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="510" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OLgsiD_j8vQtej5f6Dd0fX2YnJm50G87Xxq58flLHBdrgHes-jjCEOxI3EX536nY-SJWDPmiKtvdHTZftCh_4ywxzB8vEyJeGnPCkw0ETdOckvERZbwpGNWyUz3GyDNfwXWKfbT-8RQ/s200/Ruth.JPG" width="155" /></a><span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b> </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">By Ruth Douthitt</span></b></div>
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As an artist, I’ve learned how to see things. Painting and
drawing are basically “seeing” and then expressing what one sees onto paper or
canvas or any other desired medium. </div>
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Is it possible for art and writing to be similar? I’ve
blogged before about how running and writing are similar, but what about
drawing or painting?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve only been writing since 2004, published since 2008, but
I’ve been an artist all my life. I can easily tell you the answer is YES! There
are many similarities and that’s what makes me love both art forms. I’ll share
what I’ve learned from both mediums of artistic expression with you and let you
decide for yourself…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Creating art typically requires a <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">process</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. </span>This was something my art professors drilled into my
brain over and over again. Conceptual development came first. What’s the
context? Who is your audience? What is your theme? What are the comparisons?
What other artists inspired the work? What is the purpose? How will it be created
and why?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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All this must be decided first before an artist even
attempts to create art for a showing or exhibit. A concept brainstorm can be a
long arduous process, but I found it fun. I suppose that’s why brainstorming a
writing project is fun for me, too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLIB9Dh-TxQQPIw9bhu2R1UWBUwno_B_FvuQNS9zOs7HNZ91ZMdYEWAjZFZa2wtqdJEIgewzK5Sgkflh2L75OH0Q6mKoQi5K2NFExp53N1RILgq_f62KxmhJeGP_JQFKmp-RIstMgg3U/s1600/Douthitt+blog+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLIB9Dh-TxQQPIw9bhu2R1UWBUwno_B_FvuQNS9zOs7HNZ91ZMdYEWAjZFZa2wtqdJEIgewzK5Sgkflh2L75OH0Q6mKoQi5K2NFExp53N1RILgq_f62KxmhJeGP_JQFKmp-RIstMgg3U/s1600/Douthitt+blog+1.png" /></a>In the creation of art, it is always best to know the <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">medium </span></b>of choice. What are its strengths
and weaknesses? For instance, oil painting. What are the strengths of oil as a
medium? Gorgeous color and texture. It lasts for a lifetime. Blends easily. Its
weaknesses? Odorous, requires proper ventilation. It is very expensive.
Requires additional resources for preparation and preservation, which can be
costly. It dries slowly, so the process requires patience. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What about with writing? It is always best to know the
strengths and weaknesses of the tools you select for writing: MS Word,
Scrivener, Open Office, etc. What about <i>where</i>
you write? Can you work in uninterrupted bliss?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In art, a <b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">rough draft</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span>does
help. My one art professor required at least 15 (minimum) paintings/sketches
that he would approve of before we even attempted to work on a painting for our
show. I grumbled about it at first, but after a while, I realized how much this
process helped to produce a “rough draft” of a painting or drawing first. Not
only did it save me money on canvas or paper (my professor didn’t care about
what we used for the 15 paintings or sketches…), but it forced me to slow down
and truly settle on an idea that I had worked through. I loved that! I learned
how to settle on a composition and explain why I did so. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Doesn’t this remind you of writing? When we sit with our
editor to explain our plot premise of the rough draft, if we cannot explain it
in an interesting way to him, then how will our readers understand it? A rough draft
forces us to slow down and truly work out the plot details. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIa8HWjhWCET3RpzdH1jRA6g8vh3k4qJgzpDRE9wxFrwwf6c4zenAP9hqPQyQMrGqA4HpG_OS_elqq9xoSKfAqB4d7PSTfNFcczcpN2THlS5nsC6Zl6Y-BiV0PtdZWsY6gHXNze00I1M/s1600/Douthitt+blog+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="742" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIa8HWjhWCET3RpzdH1jRA6g8vh3k4qJgzpDRE9wxFrwwf6c4zenAP9hqPQyQMrGqA4HpG_OS_elqq9xoSKfAqB4d7PSTfNFcczcpN2THlS5nsC6Zl6Y-BiV0PtdZWsY6gHXNze00I1M/s320/Douthitt+blog+2.png" width="320" /></a>In art, the<b> </b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">focus</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span>is intense. I can stare at
my work for hours at a time. A wise artist will pause to take a step back in
order to inspect his work from a different focal point. In fact, my professor
always challenged us to turn the piece upside down! I definitely agree with
this approach because the errors in the painting or drawing always pop out when
turned upside down. I also look at my work in a mirror to find errors. In
writing, taking time to step away from a work-in-progress is most helpful. When
you come back to your work, errors glare at you. You are more capable of
checking for point-of-view and the voice of the characters. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, these are just some examples of how visual art and writing
reflect one another. One can see why they both are part of the Fine Arts.
Structure, planning, plotting, and preparation are necessary for both types of
artistic expression. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Because I dabble in both mediums, I find it most fascinating
how writing and art align so nicely. I suppose that’s why I love both art
forms. Music, theatre, visual art, and writing…the Fine Arts are each unique
threads in the tapestry of artistic expression. If you excel in one, you will
probably discover that you can excel in the another! I am learning to play
piano and violin. I also sing with a praise and worship band. Maybe, someday,
I’ll try acting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What about you? Why not give another form of artistic
expression a try? You have nothing to lose and so much to gain. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For information about my books, please visit my website: <a href="http://www.thedragonforest.com/">www.thedragonforest.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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For information about my artwork, please visit: <a href="http://www.artbyruth.com/">www.artbyruth.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-82852886776223477922016-11-10T20:40:00.002-08:002016-11-10T20:50:22.696-08:00The Beauty of Distracted Writing<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJjxiazURk7bKXE2gXHGY-Q2KXr5flg75z2FEz8cFoJHI7KtdqZXnx82ni51F4Fkk8ZAHmqvuoq57wlNDq0e2G22xOUrM3m5M155rrMhXzyaSbCKbSxSDBl8qjxyDc1l1lQo65O7Ue1Q/s1600/Laura+L+Zimmerman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJjxiazURk7bKXE2gXHGY-Q2KXr5flg75z2FEz8cFoJHI7KtdqZXnx82ni51F4Fkk8ZAHmqvuoq57wlNDq0e2G22xOUrM3m5M155rrMhXzyaSbCKbSxSDBl8qjxyDc1l1lQo65O7Ue1Q/s200/Laura+L+Zimmerman.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">by Laura L. Zimmerman</span></span></div>
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I used to think I
couldn’t write unless I had an hour or more to devote to it. Of course this
would rarely happen, since a little thing called ‘life’ would get in the way. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The idea was sound: I
wanted to avoid distraction. I never wanted to settle for a 5-minute block of
time, or writing with kids around because it seemed pointless. I couldn’t do my
best writing in that environment, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">But a few years ago I
read an interview with a well-known author who claimed there was no excuse for
writers who said they didn’t have time to work on their craft. While in
college, she’d write on her Blackberry in the few minutes downtime she had
before class, and that’s how she wrote her first bestseller. No amount of
writing time was too little to get her book written.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I made my own
attempt. I wrote first thing in the morning, even if the kids were already up.
I wrote at night, when it was past bedtime. I wrote in the middle of the day,
as ‘Cupcake Wars’ blared in the background. Sometimes these only consisted of
ten minute increments, at best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s what I
discovered: It is absolutely possible to write this way. Not only
that, but it’s rewarding! Is my writing perfect? No. That’s where
edits and revision come in. But at least it’s a start. A writer isn’t
a writer if there’s nothing on the paper, after all! Dropping my
preconceived notion that I must have a specific amount of time to
write has greatly improved the amount I get written.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I challenge you to do
the same. Make an effort to write as many words as you can in the few minutes
you have each day and see what a difference it will make in achieving your
writing goals! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #45818e; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 10pt;">Laura L. Zimmerman resides in Phoenix, AZ and is a homeschooling
mom to three beautiful daughters. She is thankful for a supportive husband, who
is always quick to encourage her love of singing, reading and drinking coffee.
Laura writes young adult and middle grade fantasy fiction. </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #45818e;">You can
learn more about her at </span><span style="color: #741b47;">www.lauralzimmerman.com</span><span style="color: #45818e;">, on Twitter </span><span style="color: #741b47;">@lauralzimm</span><span style="color: #45818e;"> , and
on Facebook. Laura is represented by Cyle Young through Hartline Literary
Agency. </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-8556265195479468232016-09-23T23:41:00.001-07:002016-11-10T20:43:18.033-08:00Finding Your Way <span style="color: purple;"><strong> by Dana McNeely</strong></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYCm8Mz6uEl06azV__eTgzJ9umJm-rJWQc0nYFmiAs8tCQVcPKUKxfh6uiVZGBr0ydt__J7QJRWXryhGJyRVAhRGykc0TelaS4iax0WdZAkku9Kn0UU8dz4DeQlM9o6_95Izymrw9R3Q/s1600/Dana+McNeely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYCm8Mz6uEl06azV__eTgzJ9umJm-rJWQc0nYFmiAs8tCQVcPKUKxfh6uiVZGBr0ydt__J7QJRWXryhGJyRVAhRGykc0TelaS4iax0WdZAkku9Kn0UU8dz4DeQlM9o6_95Izymrw9R3Q/s200/Dana+McNeely.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Soon after I obtained my driver’s
license, I learned the most ominous words in the English language. As I
prepared to embark on my first cross-town errand, my mom rattled off directions
involving cross streets, stop signs, and a fire hydrant on the corner. She
closed with these words, which first inspired confidence, later fear:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>You can’t miss
it.</strong></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In writing, as in the rest of life,
you can indeed get lost. Not everyone has a finely honed sense of direction,
but if you get lost, you can find your way again! I struggle with plot. You may
struggle with characterization, pacing, or dialogue. Writing workshops and
craft books can inspire and guide our writing journey, but they can also
overwhelm us. This is when we need to stop, breathe, and think about how we do
our other work - our day job, caring for our family, planning a get-together
with friends. We plan. We make lists. If we need something, we go out and
get it.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>The Germ of an
Idea</strong></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ideas sneak up on us like a sports
car in our blindspot. Pull over, grab your notebook, and write the complete
idea - everything in your brain at that moment. Don’t just write “green
hedgehog” because later, you’ll have no idea what that meant. Next, sit down
and explore that idea. Make lists of things that might happen, where they
happen, and who they happen to. Think about your main character, her friends,
and her opponents. What are the worlds she lives in? There are probably more
than one - her home and neighborhood, her work, where she goes for fun. What
are the connections between the people in those worlds? Make sure there are
connections - and collisions.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Small Goals</strong></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM4kMeVFiW-GyeLoyQOilbwXrFcPydk6wDM4j057XIrnWbX485avtQt15MpIqpt_pF2VujwYf4gPOaScKVUWjGgCFfOvetyszG5JOTkab5PLQoq1J63nMamDWpLpfmzVt5nW8bxSznIO4/s1600/driving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM4kMeVFiW-GyeLoyQOilbwXrFcPydk6wDM4j057XIrnWbX485avtQt15MpIqpt_pF2VujwYf4gPOaScKVUWjGgCFfOvetyszG5JOTkab5PLQoq1J63nMamDWpLpfmzVt5nW8bxSznIO4/s200/driving.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I have a new idea, it’s a
merry jaunt as I write those first chapters. The time comes, though, when I
stall. Maybe I’ve come to the end of my ideas, maybe my day job has upped its
demands, maybe there are familial issues to deal with. Days go by as I mull
things over, but I can’t seem to get back in the driver’s seat. The last time
this happened, a writer-friend suggested writing just fifty words that
day. “Start with writing about why you can’t write.” I learned that writing
about what’s keeping me from writing, is naturally followed by solutions. If
it’s the job or family, can I find 15 minutes to read what I last wrote? (Of
course!) If it’s a dearth of ideas, could this silly thing happen? What if this
other thing happens? Soon, I’ve written my fifty words, but nearly always it’s
many more. And some of them are keepers.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>A Writing Journal</strong></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The mystery author, Sue Grafton,
has spoken about keeping a Writing Journal for each novel. When I learned this
I zipped on over to her website and found several examples. In those journals I
found validation for several of the behaviors I had already begun to discover,
but I also learned more about discovering plot. Take a look at this little
blurb from her “G is for Gumshoe” journal.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Just checking in to have a little
chat. I'm in Chapter 3 and feeling pretty good, but I'm wondering if I don't
need some tension or suspense. We know there may be a hit man after her. She's
currently on her way to the desert and everything seems really normal..nay,
even dull. Do I need to pep it up a bit? She's almost at the Slabs. I've been
doing a lot of description but maybe I need to weave it into the narrative
better. Flipping back and forth from the external to the internal.”</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>A Hitchhikers
Guide</strong></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, in real life, I would
never recommend picking up a hitchhiker. But on your writer’s journey, I recommend
offering to proofread a friend’s manuscript, write a helpful review, or share
your favorite writing tips. In fact, now it’s your turn.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">Now its your turn, share your
favorite writing tip!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></strong></em><br />
<em><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cochin" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></em></div>
<em><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>
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<b><i><span style="color: #007f7f; font-size: 14.5pt;"><span id="yiv9489577837yui_3_16_0_1_1474312013666_15731">Dana McNeely</span></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="yiv9489577837yui_3_16_0_1_1474312013666_15730">2014 Semi-Finalist, ACFW
Genesis Contest</span></span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span id="yiv9489577837yui_3_16_0_1_1474312013666_15793">2013 & 2014 Finalist,
OCW Cascade Contest</span></span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/dana.mcneely.5" id="yiv9489577837yui_3_16_0_1_1474312013666_15782" target="_blank"><span id="yiv9489577837yui_3_16_0_1_1474312013666_15783"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.facebook.com/dana.mcneely.5 </span></span></a></span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://twitter.com/dana_mcneely" id="yiv9489577837yui_3_16_0_1_1474312013666_18127" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: blue;">https://twitter.com/dana_mcneely</span></span></i></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A longtime desert dweller, Dana McNeely dreams of rain. She lives in an oasis with her husband, Mike, two good dogs, and migrating butterflies.</span><o:p></o:p></strong></div>
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-33466952703708152662016-08-15T22:14:00.000-07:002016-08-15T22:22:47.341-07:00Enough . . . a journey in writing<br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">By Barbara Bras</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBxx4MnG90bQAA0YggBABLfwDAudVfcrPmBX04zRUGLVnS-CR52wauhvPUKAde7UsRcRQA1capKCfCGgeZYJbE5lst9i4q8m_RiVN5JfLDhOWLgARvg48zeBQU-B0kmEEjvZo7-sU5_w/s1600/Barbara+Bras.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBxx4MnG90bQAA0YggBABLfwDAudVfcrPmBX04zRUGLVnS-CR52wauhvPUKAde7UsRcRQA1capKCfCGgeZYJbE5lst9i4q8m_RiVN5JfLDhOWLgARvg48zeBQU-B0kmEEjvZo7-sU5_w/s1600/Barbara+Bras.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you for inviting me to be the featured CWOW
member this month. It’s an honor. In thinking about what may be interesting, I
thought I would answer a question I often receive:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>what inspired me to write and publish two
books within a year? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a bit of a story. Unlike many authors, I didn’t
always write, nor did I yearn to write. In fact, the opposite was true for me;
fear of judgment discouraged me from writing. Judgment from my mother, an
English teacher and a strict perfectionist who demanded excellence in
everything, especially writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In spite of the circumstances, my love of reading led
to my first profession, teaching English at the high school level. Teaching
laid the foundation for my career, which ultimately resulted in twenty-five
plus years in various corporate environments as a Human Resources leader.
Naturally, during my career I wrote a great deal, including proposals, papers,
and communications of all kinds. But never anything creative, I never even
journaled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Almost two years ago, our Pastor handed out little
pieces of paper during his sermon that said, “ENOUGH.” He questioned our inane
desire to accumulate things when we already have the one thing that is needful.
Just as Mary choose to worship at the feet of Jesus rather than be distracted
by the world, so must we choose what is most important. (Luke 10:42) It struck
a nerve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Shortly thereafter, I made the decision to leave my
position of ten years. Unsure of my next move, I focused my energy on a burning
desire. Ever since the Lord provided a son for us through a miraculous
adoption, I believed He wanted me to share it as an encouragement to others. I
had tried to write the story many times without success. I signed up for retreat
that promised, “Write your book in a weekend!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcRhF8ihUJIlsXD6AdQHlnzqKBAheVXCWUKEFeMQ8uzG_7GteKVxuLgcv91Xv5361Ks9G5tfQG4SSCYZS3vkcyj-5lLOT0EWIeylqX0xbDRmTluS6I2tHfNw3Z46t-1CYxgvaTv-_JYI/s1600/Wrapped+in+God%2527s+Grace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcRhF8ihUJIlsXD6AdQHlnzqKBAheVXCWUKEFeMQ8uzG_7GteKVxuLgcv91Xv5361Ks9G5tfQG4SSCYZS3vkcyj-5lLOT0EWIeylqX0xbDRmTluS6I2tHfNw3Z46t-1CYxgvaTv-_JYI/s1600/Wrapped+in+God%2527s+Grace.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The three-day retreat required nonstop writing, first
in long hand, then on the pc. Amazingly, at the end of the third day I had not
only finally written the story of the miraculous adoption, I had shared the
incredible disappointment and heartache of the years that followed, all captured
within the context of my life and the life of my ancestors. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wrapped
in God’s Grace, a Life Rediscovered</i></b> had materialized. I felt a great
release and I thought that would be the end of my writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6BdGDgAM2jibbm-nNYKozlHGm6JwOqY4xsu5BkMaRkLfOsImk9vUG-2pn9UVpDLyiBNATc1OWN3ilGb6LHz5IMgyGATFQTEvky3aX9_mjlt76JzuOhBH3Q3Y6YNbe8G8TJYL1LQkfe0/s1600/She+who+knows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6BdGDgAM2jibbm-nNYKozlHGm6JwOqY4xsu5BkMaRkLfOsImk9vUG-2pn9UVpDLyiBNATc1OWN3ilGb6LHz5IMgyGATFQTEvky3aX9_mjlt76JzuOhBH3Q3Y6YNbe8G8TJYL1LQkfe0/s1600/She+who+knows.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Over the next few months as I edited the book, I
followed the system of editing for 45 minutes, and writing new material for 15.
What emerged during those 15 minute segments became Cassandra’s story, or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She
Who Knows, a Tale of the Heart. </i></b>The story unfolded in front of me, inspired
by the woman who supervised my student teaching in Honolulu back in 1977.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Barbara Robinson was an inspiration to me both as a
teacher and as a person. As we worked together that semester, she shared many
stories and took me under her wing. She told me the story of how her
grandmother, a musician, had come to islands and married her seafaring grandfather.
She spent a great deal of her childhood isolated in the mountains on Maui,
presumably to recover from an illness. When finally allowed to return to school
years later, her years of isolation and her archaic English made for a lonely life.
She also believed she that she had an usual gift, which she decided was better
left unused. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So what began as an effort to share my story and
encourage others has developed into a love of writing and a desire to serve the
Lord through my new passion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Soli Deo Gloria. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To
God Alone Be the Glory!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: indigo; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Barbara Bras</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">
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<b><i><span style="color: indigo;"><a href="http://authorbbras.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">AuthorBBras.com</span></a></span></i></b></div>
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-73253326542148155412016-07-10T21:46:00.000-07:002016-07-10T21:46:34.933-07:00Things Take Time<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ7liBTecXb6TBat3UuyCXDJS09ga7_BnH5Fgv3Par1lYMD0gPLwWmYu1hbeb2yV-rOmKGEA7SdiqSfWNmbEoD0v7v4jSVBoYiyCQZq4brCQ845E7m05pQGtQVwRH-dsvMxC5iAW-2wQ/s1600/Gail+Kittleson+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ7liBTecXb6TBat3UuyCXDJS09ga7_BnH5Fgv3Par1lYMD0gPLwWmYu1hbeb2yV-rOmKGEA7SdiqSfWNmbEoD0v7v4jSVBoYiyCQZq4brCQ845E7m05pQGtQVwRH-dsvMxC5iAW-2wQ/s200/Gail+Kittleson+blog.jpg" width="150" /></a> By Gail Kittleson</h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Some
people seem to read their destiny from childhood—others receive glimpses, but
their vocation evolves and blossoms over decades. The latter rings true for me.
From adolescence, I loved reading all kinds of novels, history, and poetry. I
wrote some—mostly poems, and knew writing was more than casual for me, yet that
understanding remained nebulous until my fifties. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In the meantime, I plunged into life
as a pastor’s/Army chaplain’s spouse, parenthood, created a sympathy card line
for the bereaved and caregivers, taught college expository writing and ESL, and
became a grandparent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">A nomination to a state writing
retreat led me to memoir. Oh my . . . and that led to delving deeper into
essays, which led to writing women’s historical fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Writing
and writing and writing . . . oh my! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I’ve probably never felt so much in
my God-intended niche before. Connecting with individuals in workshops I
facilitate gives me such a high. But writing, day in and day out, sustains me
and allows a channel for my gift of story to flow. I’m so grateful my true
vocation has found me, even though it took some time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><strong>Characterization Takes Time<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Right now, a heroine holds me
enchanted. She’s with me all the time—every day I learn something new about
her. This World War II character fascinates me, because in several ways, she’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">not</b> like me. Her predecessor, Addie, hung
out with me four and a half years, and I thought I’d never be closer to a
character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">But then, along came Twila Fae
Brunner. She reveals the spunk I squelched in early adulthood, and pursues her
dream even before she knows its specifics. How I wish I’d been more like her,
unafraid of life and willing to take risks! No hiding her light under a bushel
for Twila! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway,
it’s such a delight to consider what makes this young woman tick, especially in
light of the chaos the war forced upon her generation. But they made do, and
Twila’s way of making do includes working at a POW camp about an hour and a
half from our home in Iowa. Doing research has led me to such interesting
connections, which led to doing a workshop in that town—Algona, Iowa—in
September. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“You can’t hurry love...”</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> The Supremes had it right back in
1966, but I’ve imposed a deadline on Twila Fae. She must divulge all her
secrets by September first, plus whisper a title for her story. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">And
then I need to get going on the edits for another sequel that’ll take me back
into Addie’s life. This book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Purpose
True</i>, releases in February 2017 (when I’ll be in Arizona). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Listening
and listening and listening . . . oh my! </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirB3Wc7YJ2QsgCYD7ubxc2qn72wkwZRng7xSpDH10m7CLaX1ePr5EBhenw82zVRkcUO-bbwhhLP-Do0sxgLbUmvaHilsLj-R3VIeJJiIkFPQjgNmqP3L1UnR3XIobilh0UDK5UgCnaT30/s1600/InThisTogether_w9364_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirB3Wc7YJ2QsgCYD7ubxc2qn72wkwZRng7xSpDH10m7CLaX1ePr5EBhenw82zVRkcUO-bbwhhLP-Do0sxgLbUmvaHilsLj-R3VIeJJiIkFPQjgNmqP3L1UnR3XIobilh0UDK5UgCnaT30/s200/InThisTogether_w9364_300.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzV14LXgtNsUXAFuAzeen-_N0G6KFjMGF_EMfUnLAinh8NpLQ0LkqB1SjyLHVCivS-Tc0_RgD-k4yqDCr-ZlcLXkVrdQudCpQIYIzlpVTnntEs3Aha6sgEXUcqYOW8o5v8wnv_TItQTAM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-05-07+at+10+31+13+AM+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzV14LXgtNsUXAFuAzeen-_N0G6KFjMGF_EMfUnLAinh8NpLQ0LkqB1SjyLHVCivS-Tc0_RgD-k4yqDCr-ZlcLXkVrdQudCpQIYIzlpVTnntEs3Aha6sgEXUcqYOW8o5v8wnv_TItQTAM/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-05-07+at+10+31+13+AM+copy.png" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gail Kittleson<br />
DARE TO BLOOM!<br />
<a href="http://www.gailkittleson.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">http://www.gailkittleson.com/</span></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GailKittlesonAuthor"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">www.facebook.com/GailKittlesonAuthor</span></a></span><br />
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-39236688016928668632016-04-15T08:36:00.000-07:002016-04-15T08:36:17.825-07:00A Call to Write<br />
I was a young mother – in my 30’s – of five children. I was active and
involved in church with a life filled with crises. My marriage had hit
bottom, my oldest child – a fifteen-year-old daughter – was pregnant, there was
never enough money to meet our needs. The list could go on, but you get the
idea. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnifBVVWsrCLRahlQUEvwZ_FtcWyute1ayZ7W-U7QRb7FgXsmqX5ect-VJbx85mQlbm6i-EcYmLBbGm7mI8OcDcmuVLzxsHAg7-TTpVWQKxtRGFaIzKsaiSPYj-XQAnW-tLg6BNxGRqP8/s1600/Leola.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnifBVVWsrCLRahlQUEvwZ_FtcWyute1ayZ7W-U7QRb7FgXsmqX5ect-VJbx85mQlbm6i-EcYmLBbGm7mI8OcDcmuVLzxsHAg7-TTpVWQKxtRGFaIzKsaiSPYj-XQAnW-tLg6BNxGRqP8/s200/Leola.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leola Ogle<br />
CWOW Secretary</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I loved Jesus. When plagued with despair and depression, my faith in God was
never shaken. I remember standing in the church kitchen on a Sunday after our
ladies had served food, set up and took down the fellowship hall. As president
over our women’s group, I had been busy. In a quiet lull, my shoulders slumped
with the enormity of the problems I was facing. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
One of the church ladies walked into the kitchen. I pasted a smile on my
face and engaged in small talk. Few people knew everything, but most knew some of my struggles. Mary gazed at me with compassion. “You are such an
inspiration, Leola. No matter what you’re going through, you never miss church.
You stay strong in your faith.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I thanked her. She left the room. I gritted my teeth, fought back tears, and
mumbled, “I don’t want to be an inspiration anymore, God. I just want the pain
to go away. I want to not hurt anymore. I want my life to be okay. Why? Why is
all this happening to me?” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
There have been a few times in my life when the spirit of God has spoken
clearly to my spirit. He did then. He simply said, “Because of what I’ve called
you to do.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
For years, I thought God was referring to this thing or that thing. I’ve
always been involved in ministry in the church. Years after God spoke that to
me, I worked nineteen years in the ministry of Teen Challenge. Maybe that’s
what God meant. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Do you feel called by God to be a writer? It was a dream rebirthed in me
before I retired from Teen Challenge. I can truthfully say it’s what God has
called me to do at this stage of my life. So why hasn’t my writing journey been
what I anticipated it would be? Especially since God reminded me, “Because of
what I’ve called you to do.” I know now that all those experiences have set the
groundwork for my writing. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The voice of our writing is usually an extension of our life experiences. I
write/want to write about real life issues Christians face. As my own
experiences weave in and out of what I write, I understand that although God
isn’t responsible for the things that ripped my heart out, He has used it to
bring depth to my writing that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I’m truly convince God has called me to write. So why do I have so many days
where I just flat out don’t want to write? Days I ask myself what’s the use?
Who’s going to read my stories/books? <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
You know what? The enemy of my soul tells me those things. I’m responsible
to write. God gets it to whoever it’s meant for. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God, I pray for those who are
struggling right now. Whether it’s in their personal life or in their writing
journey. Remind us of Your faithfulness. Remind us that what You have birthed
in us will accomplish Your purpose if we stay true to the calling. Your love,
Your mercy and grace are sufficient. You reign over our lives in splendor and
majesty. Thank you, father God. </i><br />
<em> </em><br />
<em> - Leola Ogle</em><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-37152191472246915302016-02-09T00:10:00.002-08:002016-02-09T00:38:17.679-08:00A reflection . . . by Dee Kincade <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9w1A-LJJXifg_h_XUibQs31_YswRSkFsmcCqrKTXKjfjohpJOOHOb31_7jXy01F9Cakm_1vD4BQgPNQrc_n5PleMeZaX_fTupyhl8Y1d4-Sx3jnSCtr9MXKLf0SmPS4IfiwszQ1Yborg/s1600/Dee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9w1A-LJJXifg_h_XUibQs31_YswRSkFsmcCqrKTXKjfjohpJOOHOb31_7jXy01F9Cakm_1vD4BQgPNQrc_n5PleMeZaX_fTupyhl8Y1d4-Sx3jnSCtr9MXKLf0SmPS4IfiwszQ1Yborg/s200/Dee.JPG" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dee Kincade<br />
CWOW VP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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Last Saturday, January 30, Karen Ball, from Steve Laube Agency, spoke
at CWOW Mini-Conference. First, I must say I was impressed by how down-to-earth
Karen was, then by her knowledge, energy, and her humor. But, more importantly,
her love for the Lord. </div>
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</div>
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At the conference, Karen shared information about POV characters and
show not tell. We also completed a character building chart to help us “get to
know” about our characters better. As authors, we need to know every aspect so
our characters will act and respond true to who we made them be. </div>
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</div>
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In my opinion, Karen saved the best information for the end of the day.
</div>
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</div>
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I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has been disappointed at some
point in our writing career. Many have received negative comments from a reader
or an editor, or maybe no response from a publisher, it might be a lot fewer
sales than you hoped or possibly unfavorable responses from beta readers or
critique groups. It is, sadly, part of being a writer. </div>
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</div>
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I’ve read articles suggesting writers to toughen up. Some advise us to
ignore uncomplimentary comments from readers; others tell us not to read
reviews. But, how do we get our hopes up when we are already in that place? </div>
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</div>
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At the conference, Karen reminded us that we are NOT writing for
ourselves, our agent, publisher, or even our readers. We are writing because
God wants us to write. He has given each of us something to share with others. </div>
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</div>
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I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I needed to hear that. God
places people, websites, and articles in our lives to help us navigate through
those things that drag us down. However, ultimately, and hopefully first, we
turn to God for help. When we are right with Him, He will lead us down the
right path of “our writing career.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Happy writing!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dee
Kincade<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
P.S. Go to
<a href="http://www.writefromthedeep.com/">www.writefromthedeep.com<o:p></o:p></a></div>
<h4>
</h4>
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<o:p> </o:p></h4>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-73558485353244949322016-01-01T23:43:00.000-08:002016-01-02T09:10:37.633-08:00Bringing in the New Year with Brenda<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3iNZLCCj6OWNmSI_p3ttS64bJ2hw3hEH9UjgJ9UrEmTSTcLPM4IUGccemX0y-WwqY4lL1w93AYZ_AJFC0dpWb_6FQwD0Vzb1aV3Ib7JSHPRZn-dP1BFKJahqd40JEF2gbfOrn-6BVaY/s1600/DSC01851.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3iNZLCCj6OWNmSI_p3ttS64bJ2hw3hEH9UjgJ9UrEmTSTcLPM4IUGccemX0y-WwqY4lL1w93AYZ_AJFC0dpWb_6FQwD0Vzb1aV3Ib7JSHPRZn-dP1BFKJahqd40JEF2gbfOrn-6BVaY/s200/DSC01851.jpeg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brenda Poulos<br />
CWOW President</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Well, here it is. The start of a brand new year. It’s hard
for me to believe I have held the office of President for twelve months,
already!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">As my mother always says, “Time flies when you’re having
fun.” </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Truth is, it has been a lot of fun. The CWOW members are a great group of
people. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know a lot of them. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I have learned a lot about writing this past year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve been coming to our meetings, I know
you have, too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Due to the illness of our keynote speaker, Karen Ball, we
cancelled our January 2015 mini-conference at the last minute. However, we
heard from some interesting speakers throughout the year, as well as hosted
five workshops at the Tempe library.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Five of us flew to Dallas in September for the ACFW
Conference. We had a great time at the workshops, learning from “big name”
authors and agents. We were able to put names with faces as we had ample
opportunities to network. I came home with a suitcase full of book giveaways.
Great stuff.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">We have asked Karen Ball to come back on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">January 30<sup>th</sup></b> to speak at our
2016 mini-conference. We look forward to hearing the presentation that she had
planned to give last year: “Taming the Fiction Dragons” and “Know Your
Characters.” You won’t want to miss it. (Click <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">HERE</span></a> to go to the CWOW web page for conference information and RSVP.)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">We are planning to keep our same schedule of events for
2016. This means you can count on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">lunch
meetings and guest speakers in odd-numbered months</b>; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">workshops in even-numbered months</b>. Meetings are always on the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">last Saturday</b> of the month.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Our <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">workshops</b>
will continue to be held at the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tempe
Library from 1-3 p.m.</b> Since Coco’s closed, we have tried having our
luncheon meetings at various places, so please check the website or email me
at </span><a href="mailto:mtnst14@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria;">mtnst14@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> to find out where
we will be in March. (If you are a member, you will get a personal email each
month with this information).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">We welcome your feedback and your suggestions for workshops.
Let us hear from you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are committed
to the growth and future success of every CWOW member!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">If you are serious about your craft, make it your New Year’s
Resolution to be at all of the meetings. It is essential that we continue to
hone our skills. What better way to do that than among dedicated and
knowledgeable fellow writers at CWOW?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Blessings for 2016,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Brenda Poulos, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">CWOW President 2016</span></div>
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<span style="color: #d5a6bd; font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #c27ba0;">Check out more on Brenda including her books and blog at</span> </span><a href="http://www.brendapoulos.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #741b47;">www.brendapoulos.org</span></a></div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-75117730589085472402015-03-06T21:19:00.000-08:002015-03-06T21:25:19.100-08:00Crowd Funding for Indie Authors<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
By Rebecca Bruner<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LwUhWeHlFwinXoi3_IM8IeATRc9LFcBvKwZMHkcpOOYGHz1EiqkkGUOFjRSby-Ab9cw4_MAqiU2frQkSmHby_nKpzNKhtFCfSYIyLXupGlepjOPn-H_Jqvkq0bekYfdZt1CYZgKIa-I/s1600/Rebecca+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LwUhWeHlFwinXoi3_IM8IeATRc9LFcBvKwZMHkcpOOYGHz1EiqkkGUOFjRSby-Ab9cw4_MAqiU2frQkSmHby_nKpzNKhtFCfSYIyLXupGlepjOPn-H_Jqvkq0bekYfdZt1CYZgKIa-I/s1600/Rebecca+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Independently published authors face two major hurdles to
success: financing and book promotion. Professional quality publishing packages
for print books can cost thousands of dollars, and without a marketing plan,
your book is still likely to become just another title floating through
cyberspace on the endless tides of Amazon.com. Crowd funding provides authors
with the means to both raise capital to underwrite the costs of publishing, and
at the same time, build an audience by raising awareness for their book
projects.</span></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: purple;">What is Crowd Funding? <o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<span style="color: purple;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Crowd funding is a way for groups of people to sponsor
projects and products that they feel strongly about. In exchange for their
pledges of financial support, crowd funding investors are offered “Perks.” A
perk is any product, service, or benefit that the supporter will receive in
exchange for the money they pledge. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">If you stop to think about it, non-profit organizations,
including local churches, have always been subsidized by the donations of
people who feel strongly about their mission. The same basic principle operates
in crowd funding, except that the donors receive tangible perks in exchange for
the money they invest in a project.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="color: purple;">Kickstarter and Indigogo<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Two of the most widely known crowd funding platforms are
Kickstarter (<span style="color: blue;">www.kickstarter.com</span>) and Indiegogo (<span style="color: blue;">www.indigogo.com</span>). These
platforms have slightly different emphases. Kickstarter focuses on raising
money for creative projects. Indiegogo has a broader focus and is therefore
less exclusive about what kinds of projects they will take on. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPiRpEpoThR0Cz2QDnDMaF302Sz6oN_TY3YfQAgRCLfUJifzoJ0WA6UyW_3eK91SB-cZu79JgFTbieqE3wxGIXbSNIbtBEPuXzv_u3vNKegaxmMJVm_Wynb987BG7fyupCgE-84MkOs0/s1600/kickindie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPiRpEpoThR0Cz2QDnDMaF302Sz6oN_TY3YfQAgRCLfUJifzoJ0WA6UyW_3eK91SB-cZu79JgFTbieqE3wxGIXbSNIbtBEPuXzv_u3vNKegaxmMJVm_Wynb987BG7fyupCgE-84MkOs0/s1600/kickindie.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">If you are a fiction writer, and you have no plans to crowd
fund anything other than fiction, Kickstarter may be right for you. If you plan
on crowd funding any non-fiction projects, Indiegogo may be the better choice.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">With both Kickstarter and Indiegogo, setting up a campaign
is free. However, these sites obviously have to make money to stay in business.
They do that by taking a percentage of the money raised through the crowd
funding campaigns hosted on their websites (this can be anywhere from 4-10%).
It costs nothing to set up a campaign, but once the money comes in, the host
site will collect their share of the donations. Learn more about the specific
costs associated with Kickstarter and Indiegogo by visiting their websites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="color: purple;">Fixed Funding vs. Flexible Funding<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another significant difference between these two major crowd
funding platforms is that Kickstarter only allows for fixed funding campaigns,
while Indiegogo also allows for flexible funding campaigns. A fixed funding
campaign is an all or nothing proposition. Your supporters pledge money toward
your project, but if you do not meet your goal, you don’t receive any of that
money. Your supporters pay nothing, and you get nothing. End of story. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">With a flexible funding campaign, you receive all the money
pledged toward your project, whether or not you meet your funding goal.
However, for campaigns that fall short of their funding targets, Indigogo
charges higher fees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The main advantage of a fixed funding campaign is the
motivation it gives your supporters. If they want your book and they understand
that it won’t be published unless you get enough pledges to reach your goal,
they will feel a greater sense of urgency about getting their friends to
support the project too. This may be a little easier if you are writing
non-fiction, because people may be quite passionate about your topic, even if
they have not yet read your book. It’s somewhat more difficult to inspire the
same kind of passion in fans who haven’t yet read your fiction.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;"></span></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="color: purple;">Resources for Learning More</span></h3>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I learned about crowd funding for authors when I attended an
evening session presented by Thomas Umstadt Jr. from Author Media at the Mount
Hermon Christian Writers Conference last spring. He explained the basics of how
to use crowd funding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo to finance
independent publishing projects. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Since then, Author Media has produced “The Ultimate Crowd
Funding Course for Authors” <span style="color: blue;">http://www.authormedia.com/products/ultimate-crowdfunding-course-authors/</span>.
In this course, Thomas Umstadt Jr. and author Mary Demuth discuss all the
phases of a crowd funding campaign, drawing heavily on the lessons they learned
through Mary’s highly successful campaign for her book, <em>Not Marked: Finding Hope
and Healing after Sexual Abuse</em>. Mary raised about 250% of her original $10,000
goal and pre-sold approximately seven hundred copies of her book in the course
of her crowd funding campaign. I highly recommend this very helpful and
comprehensive resource. After listening to it, I felt very well prepared to
design a crowd funding campaign of my own.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: purple;">My Own Experience</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Right now, I am working to set up a crowd funding campaign
for <em>Welcome, Earthborn Brother</em>, my science fiction novel for young readers. I’m
planning to launch this campaign on Indiegogo by the end of March. I made the
decision to do this for two principle reasons:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> 1. <span style="color: orange;"><strong>To raise
money</strong></span>— Writing <u>is</u> my day job. Publishing independently puts all the costs of
book production on the author’s shoulders. I simply don’t have the money for
all those essential up-front expenses, like professional editing, layout, and
cover design. I can’t afford to spend so much getting <em>Welcome, Earthborn
Brother</em> published that I have to sell thousands of copies just to recoup my
initial investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> 2. <span style="color: orange;"><strong>To
promote my book</strong></span>—I see crowd funding as a great marketing tool. Unlike
independent film makers or visual artists, authors have it pretty easy when it
comes to figuring out what perks to offer our supporters. We can offer them
copies of our books! In exchange for different donation levels, I plan to offer
copies of my ebook, my print book, and autographed copies of my book. Because
nearly everyone who invests in the crowd funding campaign will receive the
novel in exchange for their support, I will be enlarging my reader base
automatically. I’m hoping people will get so excited about <em>Welcome, Earthborn
Brother</em> that they will spread the word to their own friends and social
networks, encouraging them to invest in this campaign, too. I think it’s a
fantastic promotional strategy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: purple;">Why Indiegogo?<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I decided to use Indiegogo for two main reasons:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> 1. The first
reason is that I also write non-fiction. If I should decide down the road to
crowd fund a non-fiction book, I know that Kickstarter is not open to projects
of that kind. In some ways, this campaign will be an opportunity for me to
learn the ropes of crowd funding through Indiegogo so that if I need to create
a bigger campaign in the future, I will understand how it all works.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> 2. The
second reason is that Indiegogo allows for both fixed funding and flexible
funding campaigns. Since this will be my first experience with crowd funding a
book, I’m not completely certain what to expect. That’s why I wanted the option
of creating a flexible funding campaign. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m quite excited to see how all of this will work out. <span style="color: red;">I’m
planning to run this campaign throughout April, 2015.</span> If you are interested in
following the progress of this venture as it unfolds, please check out my blog
at <span style="color: blue;">www.rebeccabrunerauthor.com</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-3978450786589253042015-01-10T13:19:00.000-08:002015-01-10T20:43:56.295-08:00Writing Characters - The Men in My Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ9pWikyGVGa3NyTXaeixDuQJRh1vCKqUvnO6LeKrAyiLW9XUpHK1SMC0I2nnbJEdt49qplxfy3duL2-4Ay9cuM-1IWPnV2eVPHfdz_1o2pwtSWsJ0kYMOA-Tr-GdrSwCoMZcK3m1bHM/s1600/Tori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHINnf3YljMZlTOThtiPsZ1GV1bKT9b4hiFZtozB8hYNPMMKzKzi5fwa0Olqn3RF6ifM06FuBqoYPIyHqkDs8XlI7LZtreXiU14IW3p8Fo5a6FDuIvPD3lrsPhRd5SeoMRwIBK99A_ZE/s1600/headshot+red+alternate.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHINnf3YljMZlTOThtiPsZ1GV1bKT9b4hiFZtozB8hYNPMMKzKzi5fwa0Olqn3RF6ifM06FuBqoYPIyHqkDs8XlI7LZtreXiU14IW3p8Fo5a6FDuIvPD3lrsPhRd5SeoMRwIBK99A_ZE/s1600/headshot+red+alternate.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Shannon Taylor Vannatter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve been happily married for thirty years and have
a thirteen year old boy. They are the men in my life. But since I write
inspirational romance, there are other men in my life. For my readers to fall
in love with the hero, I have to fall for him first. A large part of a lovable
hero comes from how they treat the heroine. That part is easy. My heroes treat
my heroines the way my husband treats me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As my writing has evolved, I’ve found an audience
for cowboys. But my husband isn’t one, nor do I live where there are a lot of
genuine cowboys. I had to learn their lingo and mannerisms as well. The best
place to study cowboys that I’ve found is <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>. Especially since my rodeo books are
set in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>.
Since we have family there, we visit every few years. And as a rule, I try to
only use settings I can actually visit, so I know I’m getting the details
right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For my first cowboy book, I spent a day at the Fort
Worth Stockyards, where my rodeo series is set. I researched the rodeo,
history, and lifestyle, but I spent a lot of time just watching and listening
to cowboys. I also Googled and found a list of cowboy lingo and rodeo slang to
help me get into character.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since we’re talking romance, they have to look good
too. I’m a very visual writer. In the beginning, my friends and family saved
their magazines and catalogs. I cut out pictures of attractive or interesting
looking people and kept them in a large folder. When I started a new book, I’d
get out my folder and find a picture to represent my hero and heroine. It
depended on the story. If there was an important side character, I found their
picture too. And if hero and/or heroine have kids or pets, I had pictures for
them also.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For the last ten years or so, I’ve Googled to find
my characters. In a way, I miss the old catalog and magazine days. It was more
time consuming than Googling, but with the JC Penney catalog and Redbook
magazine, I didn’t worry about seeing underdressed men. When I first ventured
into internet images, I used Stock Photo. But as my booklist grew, Stock Photo
didn’t have enough variety. One day, I Googled male models with green eyes. I
found a lot of them, but some of them didn’t wear clothes. And if you Google
cowboys, they almost never wear shirts. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I finally figured it out—I Google male model
headshots. Sometimes, they don’t wear shirts, but you can only see shoulders.
Not that I’m opposed to shirtless men, but it feels odd when I have to send my
editor pictures for the cover art and I send her a shirtless cowboy. I’ve
only done that once and apologized because it was the only picture I could find
that fit the cowboy in my head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I used to keep all of my character images in my
Picture file on my computer. But then I discovered Pinterest, a writer’s best
friend. I have boards for all of my books except my first two rodeo titles I
wrote before I discovered Pinterest. I have a board where I keep images of
future and potential characters and a board of engagement photos for scene
inspiration. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, as I write books, I create a board with
characters and scenes as I go. On my Rodeo Family board, I included a lot the heroine’s
clothing since she dreams of being a fashion designer. My book boards have
gotten larger and more detailed with each book. And when it comes time to send
my editor images for cover art, I have everything together and ready to go on
Pinterest. I keep private boards for books not yet released. Shortly before the
book releases, I make the board public and share my Pinterest reveal on
Facebook, so readers can get a glimpse of the book to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I often joke about
getting paid to Google men and that it’s part of my job. A few years ago, I was
stuck on a character, partly because I couldn’t find a picture to represent the
guy in my head. My local writer’s group was planning their first retreat, so I
went and once everybody learned about my character problem, several of them
helped me Google men. We laughed because our Christian writer’s group was
Googling men at our Christian retreat at a church camp.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My husband knows about the cowboys in my life.
Often, I’ll be at the computer and he’ll ask what I’m doing. My
response—Googling men. He doesn’t bat an eye. In one of my dedications, I
thanked my husband for not minding if I dream about cowboys all day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">Answer this question for a chance to win a paper copy of my latest release, Rodeo Family: Do you have any tips for organization in writing or any other area of your life?</span></span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">To purchase your own copy now, click <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/rodeo-family-shannon-vannatter/9780373487653/pd/487650?event=ESRCG" target="_blank">here.</a> </span></em></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxI_fXAHpeOO8l6Dx-c3fHFv9CyV0C6TPHob8Sd0YVO1y59HDZbiebjqXilBpbrPqWCCHkTGEZRBp3aX42nKS-ZXTvcc8J7BrCoj6bmJQZwMg8_5ebauiognznw9A5B76bRrtgigVYU0/s1600/Rodeo+Family+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxI_fXAHpeOO8l6Dx-c3fHFv9CyV0C6TPHob8Sd0YVO1y59HDZbiebjqXilBpbrPqWCCHkTGEZRBp3aX42nKS-ZXTvcc8J7BrCoj6bmJQZwMg8_5ebauiognznw9A5B76bRrtgigVYU0/s1600/Rodeo+Family+cover.jpg" height="320" width="202" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;">TORI EATON IS READY TO START OVER</span> </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">She's beginning a new chapter in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Aubrey</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>,
away from her abusive ex-boyfriend. As she picks up the pieces of her broken
life, Tori's surprised at the helping hand the church's new song director,
Brant McConnell, offers her, and at the warm emotions he inspires.<br />
<br />
Brant is drawn to Tori. And as their friendship grows, so do his feelings for
her. But Tori is still hounded by her past, and the walls she's built around
her heart are high. Can he convince the wounded beauty that he's exactly the
kind of man she needs—and deserves</span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;">?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-K9GVbU37c6kEi5k1M48v2kwukw5Bs84cAeIzmj5rf24bhp23PxqnmVc-zB2EgywhL1qh25wik7uXNA0S0qPbS7B_hBxNPbN54S_no-Ui56aUl6qxEOAjxPrLQCCiJgH-uj8sOxKFBk/s1600/Brant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-K9GVbU37c6kEi5k1M48v2kwukw5Bs84cAeIzmj5rf24bhp23PxqnmVc-zB2EgywhL1qh25wik7uXNA0S0qPbS7B_hBxNPbN54S_no-Ui56aUl6qxEOAjxPrLQCCiJgH-uj8sOxKFBk/s1600/Brant.jpg" height="200" width="157" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ9pWikyGVGa3NyTXaeixDuQJRh1vCKqUvnO6LeKrAyiLW9XUpHK1SMC0I2nnbJEdt49qplxfy3duL2-4Ay9cuM-1IWPnV2eVPHfdz_1o2pwtSWsJ0kYMOA-Tr-GdrSwCoMZcK3m1bHM/s1600/Tori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ9pWikyGVGa3NyTXaeixDuQJRh1vCKqUvnO6LeKrAyiLW9XUpHK1SMC0I2nnbJEdt49qplxfy3duL2-4Ay9cuM-1IWPnV2eVPHfdz_1o2pwtSWsJ0kYMOA-Tr-GdrSwCoMZcK3m1bHM/s1600/Tori.jpg" /></a>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><st1:place w:st="on"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Central Arkansas</span></strong></st1:place><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> author, Shannon Taylor
Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife. She lives in a town with a
population of around 100, if you count a few cows and once climbed a mountain
wearing gold wedge-heeled sandals which became known as her hiking boots. Vannatter
won the </span></strong><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #660000;">Inspirational
Readers Choice Award</span></span></em><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> in the short contemporary category, </span></strong><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #660000;">The 18<sup>th</sup> Annual Heartsong Awards </span></span></em><strong><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #660000;">3rd Favorite New Author</span> </span></i></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <span style="color: #990000;">#</span><span style="color: #660000;">1 Contemporary Award</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">
</span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">She has ten published titles and is contracted for five more. Her books
are available at: christianbook.com, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com,
harlequin.com, and barbourbooks.com. Learn more about <st1:place w:st="on">Shannon</st1:place>
and her books at <a href="http://shannonvannatter.com/">http://shannonvannatter.com</a> and c</span></span></strong><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">heck out her real life romance
blog at <span style="color: #0b5394;"><u>http://shannonvannatter.com/blog/</u>.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">Connect with her on Facebook: </span><a href="http://facebook.com/shannontaylorvannatter"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;">http://facebook.com/shannontaylorvannatter</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">,
Goodreads: </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/29672798-shannon-vannatter"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/29672798-shannon-vannatter</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;">,
Pinterest: </span><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/stvannatter/"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-small;">http://www.pinterest.com/stvannatter/</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,
and Twitter: <span style="color: #0b5394;">@stvauthor</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-36362770604976996152014-07-28T21:31:00.004-07:002014-07-28T21:31:53.546-07:00CWOW Rattler Contest <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWx34bZ7puf_yla_6R9eOEeq1A0hrSvOu0UNS9IxT0qwXGayA7nc7Uu0G_AlkvMkYMMMd7T95Zj22m9dERSUo-6bXiEfbfgiJkBHWBMmiQgOROSLqh-xEpxqj1mrs3DMGsOmYghOxBI0Y/s1600/giveaway2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWx34bZ7puf_yla_6R9eOEeq1A0hrSvOu0UNS9IxT0qwXGayA7nc7Uu0G_AlkvMkYMMMd7T95Zj22m9dERSUo-6bXiEfbfgiJkBHWBMmiQgOROSLqh-xEpxqj1mrs3DMGsOmYghOxBI0Y/s1600/giveaway2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Winner of the 2014 Christian Writers of the West Phoenix Rattler's Writing Contest will receive a free Kindle Fire HD! More information about the contest can be found at on the <a href="http://christianwritersofthewest.com/" target="_blank">CWOW website</a>.</span><br />
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<br />Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-66481709830567800082014-07-02T09:57:00.002-07:002014-07-03T10:08:46.186-07:00The 2014 Phoenix Rattler Writing Contest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhuC1VQu_2NJ73qFcU9GxpJlbmPKWHeOLVJHUN6WaPrLYhNJTJkRISSwUqJh3um2mBg7rIiPXsZXjBrcPTDjeWu0kKobcFa3jXRLRhup9Tls_FVYC1TskNmuxXmZ3nCk85793lcBO9dg/s1600/rattler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhuC1VQu_2NJ73qFcU9GxpJlbmPKWHeOLVJHUN6WaPrLYhNJTJkRISSwUqJh3um2mBg7rIiPXsZXjBrcPTDjeWu0kKobcFa3jXRLRhup9Tls_FVYC1TskNmuxXmZ3nCk85793lcBO9dg/s1600/rattler.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Does your story have bite?</span></i></span></b></span>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://christianwritersofthewest.com/" target="_blank">Christian Writers of the West</a> (the Phoenix chapter of <a href="http://www.acfw.com/" target="_blank">ACFW</a>) is holding their annual Rattler writing contest. It's open to all <span style="font-size: small;">unpublished fiction writers or those who have not
published in the last five years. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Enter the FIRST FIFTEEN PAGES of
your novel. (completed manuscript is not required for entry). We have
lined up 90 preliminary judges and the following final judges, so you
will be getting some really good feedback on your writing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">2014 RATTLER CONTEST JUDGES</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="30%">CATEGORY</td><td width="30%">JUDGE</td><td width="40%">ORGANIZATION</td></tr>
<tr><td>Contemporary</td><td>Michelle Grawkowski</td><td>Agent, 3 Seas Literary Agency</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mystery/Thriller</td><td>Elizabeth Mazur</td><td>Editor, Harlequin Love Inspired</td></tr>
<tr><td>Fantasy/SciFi/Speculative</td><td>Steve Laube</td><td>President, The Steve Laube Literary Agency & Editor, Enclave Publishing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Young Adult</td><td>Rachel Kent</td><td>Agent, Books & Such Literary Management</td></tr>
<tr><td>Historical</td><td>Susan Brower</td><td>Natasha Kern Literary Agency</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Categories are: <br />
___ Contemporary Fiction (includes Contemporary Women’s, Romance and Romantic Suspense)<br />
___ Historical Fiction (before 1960, includes Historical Romance and Romantic Suspense) <br />
___ Mystery/Thriller (non-romance) <br />
___ Young Adult (for under 18) <br />
___ Other Fiction (includes Fantasy, Science-Fiction and Speculative Fiction)
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Contest is open for entries from</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">August 1, 2014 to August 29, 2014 </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">(5:00pm Arizona Time)</span></b> </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
For more information, pop over to the CWOW website @ <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/">http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com</a> , where you can download Submission Guidelines, Contest Rules, Entry Forms and a Sample Score Sheet.</div>
</div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-74282778580045625582014-05-20T14:12:00.000-07:002014-05-20T14:12:01.765-07:00Blog Hop - How I Write<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSrnDk7bj6LLiLyC2bEXp-LzNkIL6ESwocleSLDVKLZjbljoNN4_L_3z2J9S4jxX4iIrdV5VqVdfLTA3OMYno3WWDY8g4rAGto_U3b3BLu5LR3SkcmzD5C9czNtkCL-Lk5LiiY4xhyphenhyphenw8/s1600/Dana+McNeely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSrnDk7bj6LLiLyC2bEXp-LzNkIL6ESwocleSLDVKLZjbljoNN4_L_3z2J9S4jxX4iIrdV5VqVdfLTA3OMYno3WWDY8g4rAGto_U3b3BLu5LR3SkcmzD5C9czNtkCL-Lk5LiiY4xhyphenhyphenw8/s1600/Dana+McNeely.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Dana McNeely, President<br />
Christian Writers of the West</td></tr>
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I’ve been asked to participate in a “blog hop”. The
assignment is to answer four specific questions about my writing and tag three
other writers who will answer the same questions on their blogs. (Because I got
so excited, I got four writers!) Be sure to see the links at the end to their
blogs – each of them has had some exciting things happening in their lives
lately. Thanks to my friend, Laura McClellan, for challenging me to dip my toe
into the blogosphere! Laura writes wonderful women’s fiction and is a
practicing lawyer. You can find her answers to these questions at her blog, <a href="http://www.laura-mcclellan.com/blog-hop-a-little-about-my-writing/">Where
Life and Grace Collide</a> .</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What are you working on?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m working on a couple things. First, I’m editing a
historical fiction based on the Old Testament prophet Elijah and the boy he
raised from the dead. The biblical account is intriguing but brief, forcing a
curious person like me to ask questions. What would it have been like to die, go
to the other world, and come back? What happened in his life before Elijah came
to stay with him and his mother? What was his mother like? What was the “great
sin” she spoke of when she railed against the prophet “Why have you come? To
remind me of my great sin and slay my son?” Lots of ideas came to me and I
wrote a book to answer my own questions. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, I’m planning my next book, which will feature a
character with whom I fell in love while writing the ‘Elijah’ story:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While staying with her uncle, Miriam, a
strong and independent young girl, spends her time roaming the countryside
around Jezreel trapping birds to sell. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day, when checking her traps, she
witnesses the stoning death of her uncle, Naboth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I have a character, a setting, and an
inciting incident. I also have a love interest – Dov, a big bear of a soldier,
also from the previous book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’m
asking myself those questions again!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>How does your work differ from others in its genre?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tone of my writing may be different from some biblical
fiction. I loved ‘The Red Tent’ by Anita Diamante and ‘The Dovekeepers’ by
Alice Hoffman. I also read a lot of fantasy, dystopian, and magical realism.
That has to bleed into my work. </div>
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<b>
</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlyeci1bLAWwgp7aX1OMqKyINz1H20FRr1dfcRtFjohnmZl-EyNZlgImQai_Sg1rTLPVignFJkONxRcHyWmQXFYLqLVJDCWvSaGC0qML46WP_ljj9t6uxABSOj_v9IvYLasLIEiJhNNM/s1600/confused.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlyeci1bLAWwgp7aX1OMqKyINz1H20FRr1dfcRtFjohnmZl-EyNZlgImQai_Sg1rTLPVignFJkONxRcHyWmQXFYLqLVJDCWvSaGC0qML46WP_ljj9t6uxABSOj_v9IvYLasLIEiJhNNM/s1600/confused.jpg" /></a><b>How does your writing process work?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I struggle to overcome confusion and chaos! I’m not
naturally organized, so I superimpose process on myself, similar to the way I
do my day job. But in writing, I start with a character and a question. I write
lists of questions and possible answers, make timelines and charts, draw maps.
I read and collect tons of research books (ask my husband!) I love Scrivener,
and use it to write from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. and, after my day job, from 7:30 to
9 p.m. two or three evenings a week. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve developed rules to keep myself on track. For example, my
morning time is strictly for writing – not planning, plotting, or Facebook. I
do those in the evenings. I’m trying to teach myself to be a better planner – I
wrote the first draft of the book I’m editing by the seat-of-my-pants, and the
rework has been a painful learning experience I’d rather not repeat. So I’m
doing up-front planning for my next book.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All these rules to keep me focused are especially important
lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This month I was pleased and
humbled to learn I’m a semifinalist in ACFW’s Genesis contest in the Historical
Fiction category. You’ll see below that Christian Writers of the West is well
represented in the Genesis and other writing contests.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tag, You’re It! </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tanara McCauley</b> is a semifinalist in the American Christian
Fiction Writers Genesis Contest in the Contemporary category. She’s active in
CWOW and volunteered for the second time to help coordinate our Arizona Rattler
Contest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s currently finishing up
her second novel. In a few days, you’ll find her answers posted at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://tanaramccauley.org/">Tanara's
Blog</a>, where you’ll want to explore some of other her heartfelt writing.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>LeAnne Bristow</b> is a kindergarten teacher who also writes
contemporary romance. She loves stories about the “bad boy” who finds his way
to God...usually through a Godly woman. LeAnne is finalist in the Fab Five
Writing contest (Wisconsin RWA) and is also a semifinalist in the American
Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Contest in the Romance category.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a few days you’ll find her answers at <a href="http://leannebristow.weebly.com/blog"><span style="color: #1652ca; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">LeAnne's Blog</span></a>, where you may also
want to look around for “bad boys”.</div>
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<b>Rebecca Bruner</b> is a passionate Bible teacher, author, and
speaker. Her favorite author is C.S. Lewis. She writes in several genres
including nonfiction, Biblical fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. She
recently won a scholarship to the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference
through Kathy Ide's Promising Beginnings Contest. Her husband and two
nearly grown kids keep her very busy, but she loves every minute of it. In
a few days, check out her responses at <a href="http://www.rebeccabrunerauthor.com/"><span style="color: #1652ca; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Rebecca's Website</span></a><u style="text-underline: #1652CA;"><span style="color: #1652ca; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></u><span style="color: #1652ca; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tina Pinson</b> was a winner on Seekerville’s Perfect Pitch
Contest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has also completed the
following novels. Winds Across the Rockies, To Carry her Cross, When Shadows
Fall, Shadowed Dreams, To Catch a Shadow, A Shadowed Trail, This Shadowed
Land, and The Shadow of Her Smile are serial about the civil war and the
Oregon trail. Then Came Grace, a contemporary story about a future Sept 11 type
tragedy. Trail of the Sandpiper-Betrayed, Trail of the
Sandpiper-Rescued and Trail of the Sandpiper-Avenged, a WWII series
about a missionary and spy. Learn more about the prolific Tina at <a href="http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/">Tina's Website</a> and read her answers
in a few days at <a href="http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/">Tina's blog.</a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-50052029798780394582014-05-05T14:52:00.000-07:002014-05-05T14:52:24.971-07:00Congratulations are in Order!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4DNWCW2KAtSr8eKLZsI3CbKH5uCznyrEAI5MC9ct5tNh9jzDS4l83kik7StGTjt8CWNukT5xxi2ehQOha8GgLSdDwpfDEAumQzuWXbe821kMp8aX6Mra6t7Bipmxdx7xVF7Vjo1PphU/s1600/celebrate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4DNWCW2KAtSr8eKLZsI3CbKH5uCznyrEAI5MC9ct5tNh9jzDS4l83kik7StGTjt8CWNukT5xxi2ehQOha8GgLSdDwpfDEAumQzuWXbe821kMp8aX6Mra6t7Bipmxdx7xVF7Vjo1PphU/s1600/celebrate.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
ACFW just announced the semifinalist for the 2014 Genesis Writing Contest for Unpublished Writers and we are thrilled that four of our CWOW members are on the list!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: purple;">Contemporary Category - Lindsay Harrel & Tanara McCauley</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: purple;">Historical Category - Dana McNeely</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: purple;">Romance Category - LeAnne Bristow</span></span></b><br />
<br />
Congratulations, ladies - we're pulling for you to final!Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-91634414775697260462014-03-03T09:25:00.003-08:002014-03-03T09:25:35.221-08:00The Winds of Change, They Are a Blowin'<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL9rBi74-H_QyJqqOFpp9DqR389SmWoGsDI4ks6zVnZ7OMgAk8GYHG6LIB9GY7PZJ8AxJuV-v_QubWqOcgvDLCUapuusgyhGXcpoXVlhLAXCIYbcN_yBOjmj3HHN0pG_IhakVrzNoou8/s1600/windy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL9rBi74-H_QyJqqOFpp9DqR389SmWoGsDI4ks6zVnZ7OMgAk8GYHG6LIB9GY7PZJ8AxJuV-v_QubWqOcgvDLCUapuusgyhGXcpoXVlhLAXCIYbcN_yBOjmj3HHN0pG_IhakVrzNoou8/s1600/windy.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="irc_asc">
<span class="irc_ac"><a class="_Uf irc_al" data-ved="0CAgQoC0" href="http://www.flickr.com/people/christianbaudet/">Photo by <span class="irc_aln" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Christian Baudet</span></a></span><span class="irc_asd"> </span></div>
<div class="irc_asc">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">A windy day in the Parc Tête D'Or</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I just read an article by literary agent, Steve Laube. Steve asks...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://stevelaube.com/did-you-feel-the-tremor-in-the-industry-last-week/" rel="bookmark nofollow" target="_blank" title="Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?">Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?</a></span></div>
<br />
His article discusses the current change in royalty policy for self-published audio book authors and explores the question of what that might mean for authors who publish e-books through Amazon.<br />
<br />
We've known for some time that with the introduction and increasing popularity of e-book readers, that the world of publishing is quickly evolving. Amazon holds the lion's share of that market and has offered a wonderful opportunity to those who have been unable to secure a traditional publisher for their writing, however, as authors we need to be informed and diversified to keep from being dependent on one outlet for our work.<br />
<br />
Pop over to Steve's blog and <a href="http://stevelaube.com/did-you-feel-the-tremor-in-the-industry-last-week/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read this post</a>. Let us know what you think.<br />
<br />
<br />Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-72482885495506365582014-02-19T09:47:00.001-08:002014-02-19T09:47:20.949-08:00Rebecca Bruner Wins - Promising Beginnings Writers Contest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSP6dmDSL7GAcYzKP4N0MUjR5WiwfRw9hGdQ4ObuKxFEuXBhyphenhyphenPu0mR-d7exl_HRNjS0xp01-RYX86dbSOU9ceu1nXVHQnr6ncsreBwprP4ZKRmojE98P8s6jpFTu1gMnMMw4VvgrSTCHc/s1600/Rebecca+Bruner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSP6dmDSL7GAcYzKP4N0MUjR5WiwfRw9hGdQ4ObuKxFEuXBhyphenhyphenPu0mR-d7exl_HRNjS0xp01-RYX86dbSOU9ceu1nXVHQnr6ncsreBwprP4ZKRmojE98P8s6jpFTu1gMnMMw4VvgrSTCHc/s1600/Rebecca+Bruner.jpg" height="178" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Congratulations to our own Rebecca Bruner, winner of the Kathy Ide "Promising Beginnings" writing contest. Her prize was a full scholarship to the <span><b><a href="http://mounthermon.org/event/122" target="_blank">Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference.</a></b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span>We asked</span> Rebecca to tell us a little about the process that led to her win. Here's what she shared...</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span> </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I began working on the manuscript for <em>A Wife of Valor: Your Strategic
Importance in God's Battle Plan </em>back in December, 2012. The main premise of
the book is that marriage is not just a nice human convention, but an essential
element of God's battle plan against evil. While the enemy tempts husbands and
wives to fight against one another head to head, God wants to train us to fight
back to back, covering each other's weaknesses with our unique areas of
strength. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had originally given it the working title of <em>Fair Warriors.</em> When
I attended CWOW's annual mini-conference in January 2013, I pitched my idea to
agent Steve Laube. He gave me several helpful suggestions, including the idea of
changing the title to make it more descriptive and precise.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the CWOW event, he talked a little about the Mount Hermon conference
which he was planning to attend. He explained that at Mount Hermon, it would be
possible to pitch non-fiction book proposals to agents and editors. I knew I had
too much work to do on my manuscript to have it ready in time for the 2013
conference, but I began dreaming and praying that God would make it possible for
me to go to the 2014 conference. I also began inviting other writer friends to
think about going along with me.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I got word through CWOW about Kathy Ide's "Promising Beginnings"
contest, I knew I had to enter. The first prize was a full scholarship to the
Mount Hermon 2014 conference. Since I really wanted to maximize my odds of
getting that scholarship, and there was no limit on how many times you could
enter (so long as your submissions were either unpublished or self-published) I
sent in three different entries, two were fiction and one was from my
non-fiction work in progress.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The whole time I was hoping and praying that I would win, but I knew that
if there was another writer who needed to be at that conference and would be
unable to attend apart from winning the contest, then I needed to allow God to
make that call. I had to leave it in His hands.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I got word from Kathy Ide that my submission from <em>A Wife of
Valor</em> was the top non-fiction entry, and the overall runner up, I was both
encouraged and disappointed. I was happy to know that my work had done so
well when compared with approximately 150 other submissions, but naturally a
little disappointed that I didn't get the scholarship.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In her email, Kathy mentioned that there might be other partial
scholarships available from other sources. I wrote back to her asking for more
information about them. When she responded to my email, she told me that the
first prize winner had conflicts that would prevent her from attending the
conference. As a result, I would receive the scholarship. I was elated. It was
such an incredible gift from God, and such a dream come true!</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">My membership in Christian Writers of the West has been very instrumental
in this entire process. Despite the fact that my book is non-fiction, as I
polish my manuscript I am even employing techniques that I learned at our most
recent mini-conference with C.S. Lakin to help set scenes and make the personal
stories I include more vivid. I am very blessed for all that I have
learned and for the community of writers I have become a part of
through this group.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">All the Best,</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rebecca D. Bruner</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
Fresh Voice for Timeless Truths</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rebeccabruner.wordpress.com/">www.rebeccabruner.wordpress.com</a></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/rebeccabrunerauthor">www.facebook.com/rebeccabrunerauthor</a></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<br /> Thank you for sharing with us, Rebecca. Your story is an inspiration to all of us who are working toward publication. We're celebrating with you!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-1649477196852116992014-01-29T09:50:00.000-08:002014-01-29T09:50:02.971-08:00What are your writing goals for 2014?<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's the 29th of January.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Have you set any writing goals for 2014?</span> </div>
<br />
I'm not big on New Years Resolutions because usually by the time I get to this point in January, I've already lost my drive and my resolutions are falling by the wayside. Only a month in and already I'm feeling defeated, but not this year!<br />
<br />
In fact, not for the past couple of years, because instead of setting New Years Resolutions, I spend the time between Christmas and New Years seeking God for vision and guidance for the coming year. Once I have His perspective on the near future, I can set some attainable goals and map out a path to get me there.<br />
<br />
One area in which I set goals is with my writing. I understand that it's a gift God has given me - the ability to communicate, encourage and entertain while underscoring God's truths. I know that I want to be a good steward of everything He's given me, so being intentional with my writing honors Him.<br />
<br />
Here are some tips on goal setting...<br />
<br />
<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFspsxH1s3eGszXzZfMNE4erulMh8zQMx6TJ5JyhYFr5G961E-MHs0oe_-sHzGX2S-HA5Q_PGbulEFVJjh29h7xxCk4iK95zNI98magziu9tPPq51yXKCmEsR7K-ZP6TofUcktNyR1KMA/s1600/goals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFspsxH1s3eGszXzZfMNE4erulMh8zQMx6TJ5JyhYFr5G961E-MHs0oe_-sHzGX2S-HA5Q_PGbulEFVJjh29h7xxCk4iK95zNI98magziu9tPPq51yXKCmEsR7K-ZP6TofUcktNyR1KMA/s1600/goals.jpg" height="200" width="188" /></a>
<li>Pray first - it's pointless to set goals without first asking God for His guidance. After all, you don't want to try to go somewhere that God is not leading. Ask him about direction for your writing; fiction, non-fiction, devotionals, short stories, novels, poetry, etc.</li>
<li>Set realistic goals - leaving room for God do do more than you can think or imagine. We don't want to limit God.</li>
<li>Map out a plan - step-by-step, specific mini goals that will lead you to the completion of your big goal.</li>
<li>Be consistent - work those steps to your goal, press on, steady on the path that leads to success, continuing to pray as you go.</li>
<li>Celebrate - each mini goal reached is cause for celebration, a time of rejoicing with the Lord that He is leading in the direction He wants you to go, to bring Him glory.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> So, how about you?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Have you set any writing goals for 2014?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We'd love to hear about them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Leave a comment and share your 2014 writing goals. </span></div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-1560686268971478882014-01-23T05:55:00.002-08:002014-01-23T05:55:41.670-08:00Part 5 - Endings That Spark Beginnings by CS Lakin<div class="content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxUKGX0lNKozovFEqfoPVw6MyRTfy5ilZD-2qxfFT6jBzdQE5rpf9zXg0ku9_Ugstcr9cHhZd2PFw3t2N56m-_QSP2RA2KEc0aOX8XLKz8JVoWjBc04k6qfjUTri0n_hDt3lqaqA6SNc/s1600/cslakin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxUKGX0lNKozovFEqfoPVw6MyRTfy5ilZD-2qxfFT6jBzdQE5rpf9zXg0ku9_Ugstcr9cHhZd2PFw3t2N56m-_QSP2RA2KEc0aOX8XLKz8JVoWjBc04k6qfjUTri0n_hDt3lqaqA6SNc/s1600/cslakin.jpg" height="200" width="146" /></a></div>
Today's post is the last in a 5 part series of articles by C.S. Lakin, our guest speaker for the upcoming <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/index.html" target="_blank">CWOW Annual Writer's Workshop</a>
on January 25th, 2014. We hope you enjoy these invaluable tips. If you
want to hear more from C.S. Lakin on building your novels, scene by
scene, pop over and register for the <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/event-registration.html" target="_blank">workshop</a> and be sure to drop by <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.S. Lakin's blog</a> to learn more about this great writer! <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Endings That Spark Beginnings </span></div>
<br />
I covered scene beginnings and middles
over the last few weeks, so let’s look at endings. Just like
beginnings, endings carry a special burden. The reader must be left with
a feeling, like an aftertaste. So you need to stop and think. Just what
feeling do you want the reader to have? Shock, sadness, warmth,
confusion, curiosity? You want to keep in mind that the basic
storytelling structure for a novel is action—reaction—action—reaction.
Too many scenes end with a character experiencing something and then
. . . it ends. We need to see how the character <em>reacts</em> to what
has just happened. You don’t have to do this every time, and in some
genres where plot is king (suspense/thrillers), you may often end with
the building exploding and you have no idea if your character just died.
But as a general rule, you want to be with your character and see their
reaction, feeling, or response—even if just told in one line—to what
has just happened.<br />
<span id="more-574"></span><br />
<h2 align="center">
Endings Need to Feel Like Endings</h2>
A scene ending needs to feel just like that—an ending. There must be a
sense of completion, even if the reader is left hanging. I’m not sure
how to explain that, but even if the POV character is left confused in
the middle of something, the scene itself has to have a feeling of
completeness in that the scene wholly accomplished its objective—leading
you from one place to another, from one moment to another. The ending
must leave the reader with a sense of anticipation and a desire to read
on. Each ending, in essence, should spark a new beginning. That’s
accomplished by giving the reader a piece of new plot information,
presenting another clue, or revealing something moving or fascinating
about the character. Again, moments don’t need to be big. They are
powerful and impacting if they contain meaning for your character.<br />
<br />
<h2 align="center">
Two Types of Endings </h2>
There are basically two types of endings—plot endings and character
endings. Plot endings might be cliffhangers or contain a new plot twist
or reveal a clue. A character ending is more about insight. The reader
now knows something more about your character, or you may have the
character thinking about what just happened, or you may have some
poignant dialog (even one line) or description (motif or metaphor) that
your character ponders. Think about zooming in like a camera to your
character’s thoughts and feelings. Or maybe zoom out to show a larger
understanding your character now has for her life or her world. Moments
of insight make for powerful endings.<br />
<em>This week</em>, take a look at your scene endings and see if they
wrap up the scene like the ending of a good book. If they just stop
abruptly, think how you can create either a plot revelation or a
character insight to end smoothly and leave the reader wanting more.<br />
</div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-77385892816822865632014-01-22T14:02:00.000-08:002014-01-22T14:09:24.551-08:00Part 4 - Muddle the Middle of Your Scenes by CS Lakin<div class="content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFz4BoMNa-bptkNU6BdxDq-daXpd1SS3FXWmc50UVhuE3Gk0ODo92A4cwnpa7ejr0KO6ULeQfK2qCHJPu7PmmB0rizP2jeRN_VDANxK2MjgXw1HMkuflMqPjWDnkegEQKhDB7D9FoC9w/s1600/cslakin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFz4BoMNa-bptkNU6BdxDq-daXpd1SS3FXWmc50UVhuE3Gk0ODo92A4cwnpa7ejr0KO6ULeQfK2qCHJPu7PmmB0rizP2jeRN_VDANxK2MjgXw1HMkuflMqPjWDnkegEQKhDB7D9FoC9w/s1600/cslakin.jpg" height="200" width="146" /></a></div>
Today's post is Part 4 in a 5 part series of articles by C.S. Lakin, our guest speaker for the upcoming <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/index.html" target="_blank">CWOW Annual Writer's Workshop</a>
on January 25th, 2014. We hope you enjoy these invaluable tips. If you
want to hear more from C.S. Lakin on building your novels, scene by
scene, pop over and register for the <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/event-registration.html" target="_blank">workshop</a> and be sure to drop by <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.S. Lakin's blog</a> to learn more about this great writer! <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Muddle the Middle of Your Scenes </span></div>
<br />
I went into detail about<a href="http://cwowarizona.blogspot.com/2014/01/part-3-dont-go-nowhere-fast-by-cs-lakin.html/" target="_blank" title="Creating “Moments” So You Don’t Bore Your Reader"> scene beginnings </a>last
week, and I’ll be spending a bit more time on scene structure since
it’s so crucial and so often ignored. I talked about how scenes are mini novels and
must have a beginning, middle, and end, and how each scene is like a
promise to your reader that you are going to deliver something. And what
you are going to deliver is revealed in the high moment near the end of
the scene.<br />
<span id="more-571"></span><br />
<h2 align="center">
Middles</h2>
Just as middle scenes of a novel can slog along and sag, so too
middles of a scene can drag or not go anywhere. Knowing your high moment
will really help avoid that. One good way to have compelling middles is
to work backward from your high moment. If you know, for example, that
Mary thinks George has taken her out to dinner to propose, but the high
moment reveals he’s breaking up with her, you can picture that instant
of her being stunned and think how she is going to feel just before
that. You want your character to change in some small way by the end of
the scene, and so think how Mary feels ten, twenty, or thirty minutes
before this shocking moment. How is she going to be feeling twenty
minutes after? So you want to start the scene with her expectations and
in the middle of action—either already at the restaurant or pretty close
to being there. In your middle, you don’t want to spend a lot of time
(or maybe even any time) driving there or getting your character from
any one place to another. Don’t drag the middle by stretching time
(unless you want to).<br />
<br />
<h2 align="center">
<b>Complicate, Exacerbate</b></h2>
Middles of novels are where you up the stakes, complicate and
confound your character, make things worse. You might add danger or
reveal a surprise twist. A middle is the unveiling of the storyline. So
in each <i>scene</i>, as you build to your moment, you want to do the
same. Add complications, obstacles, twists. Maybe Mary’s car doesn’t
start and she’s late meeting George at the restaurant, which adds to her
anxiety. Maybe Mary gets a phone call right before she leaves that
complicates the subplot regarding her friend who’s going through a
divorce. That can enrich the scene as Mary thinks how lucky she is to
have George and how he’s going to propose to her in a few minutes. If
you are going to throw a twist into your scene, such as George breaking
up with Mary instead of proposing to her, you can use the middle to set
up Mary’s expectations of one outcome, only to have a reversal at the
high point. Reversals are terrific, and if you put in at least three
things leading up to them that indicate the opposite outcome, they will
be powerful.<br />
<br />
<i>This week</i>, take a look at not just your first scene’s middle
but those of random scenes in your novel. Find the high points and see
if you have developed the middle so that it is leading to that moment
and complicating things. See if you can add in expectations that imply
the opposite outcome. If your character expects something bad to happen,
have three things in the middle that imply her instincts will prove
right. Then when that bad thing doesn’t happen, it will pack a punch.</div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-21145910974900102042014-01-18T19:56:00.002-08:002014-01-18T19:56:45.850-08:00Part 3 - Don’t Go Nowhere Fast by CS Lakin<div class="content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3iDEJXeUs4-NnFex35kkm9hBMEz6AoWj8f1ZBCGbIJi0EYb8RGN1MY5Nm-0oFknSJRYwRdT0ifCeO80cwsTO0fiPuy5lBg07JSPGx75h001nmZhM-mWu_nWRMPsSGoMnPouagAECr1c/s1600/cslakin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3iDEJXeUs4-NnFex35kkm9hBMEz6AoWj8f1ZBCGbIJi0EYb8RGN1MY5Nm-0oFknSJRYwRdT0ifCeO80cwsTO0fiPuy5lBg07JSPGx75h001nmZhM-mWu_nWRMPsSGoMnPouagAECr1c/s1600/cslakin.jpg" height="200" width="146" /></a></div>
Today's post is Part 3 in a 5 part series of articles by C.S. Lakin, our guest speaker for the upcoming <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/index.html" target="_blank">CWOW Annual Writer's Workshop</a>
on January 25th, 2014. We hope you enjoy these invaluable tips. If you want to hear more from C.S. Lakin on building your novels, scene by scene, pop over and register for the <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/event-registration.html" target="_blank">workshop</a> and be sure to drop by <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.S. Lakin's blog</a> to learn more about this great writer! <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Part 3 - Don’t Go Nowhere Fast by CS Lakin</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Scenes must have a point to them or they shouldn’t be in your
novel. I’ll repeat that. Scenes must have a point to them or they
shouldn’t be in your novel. I discussed in <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/04/25/creating-moments/" title="Creating “Moments” So You Don’t Bore Your Reader">last week’s post </a>the
need to find your “moment” and build to it, and the first scene really
needs a kicker of a moment to hook the reader. Too many scenes are
poorly structured, but there’s really an easy way to look at them.<br />
<br />
<span id="more-566"></span><br />
<div align="center">
<strong>Each Scene Is a Mini Novel</strong></div>
There it is—the basic structure. If you think about each scene as a
mini novel, you can plan them out accordingly. Each scene, like a novel,
needs a beginning, middle, and end. A scene needs to have a point. It
needs to build to a high moment, and then resolve in some way (although
with a scene, you can leave the reader hanging. Okay, a lot of writers
do this at the end of their novels too, to make you run out and buy the
next installment, but I find that a bit annoying. I want a novel to <em>end</em> satisfactorily and wrap up the story). What you then have with your novel is a string of mini novels that all work as <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/04/18/the-defining-of-a-scene/" title="The Defining of a Scene">nice, tidy capsules</a> put together to paint a big picture.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<strong>Going Nowhere Fast</strong></div>
Here’s what literary agent Donald Maass says: “You would be surprised
in how many middle scenes in how many manuscripts there seems to be no
particular reason for a character to go somewhere, see someone, learn
something, or avoid something.” (And at his week-long workshop he really
grumbled about the plethora of scenes where two people are sitting
around drinking tea.) You don’t want this to happen in your novel.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<strong>The Burden of the Beginning</strong></div>
Scene beginnings have a tremendous burden. In every opening paragraph
of every scene you present to you reader you are making a promise or
offering an invitation. You are promising to deliver—to entertain,
impart enthralling information, move them emotionally. They have bought
(or free-downloaded or borrowed) your book out of the hundreds of
thousands of other novels available and are devoting their precious
hours to reading your novel, so they are expecting that commitment on
their part to pay off. If you open a scene with a promise to deliver and
you fail to deliver, they are not going to be happy. Avid fans of a
particular author may stick with a boring scene, and maybe read even all
the way to the end in hopes the novel will pull through and come out
shining. But most readers are not that gracious and forgiving. So you
want to make sure that you deliver. Here are a few points about scene
beginnings:<br />
<ul>
<li>They don’t have to start at a “beginning,” such as the start of a
day (too many characters waking up when the alarm clock goes off). The
beginning can and often should be in the middle of something already
happening.</li>
<li>They need a hook. Not just your opening scene but every scene needs a
hook to draw the reader in, chapter after chapter. If you start off
with boring narrative, you’re not going to hook them.</li>
<li>Each scene launch is a reintroduction. Ask—where did I last leave
those characters and what were they doing? You need to make the passing
of time clear, and if it’s been a few scenes since we’ve seen those
characters, you’ll need a bit of a reminder in the beginning of the
scene to connect to that last moment.</li>
<li>Just as with the first scene in your novel, you want to get your POV
character into the scene ASAP (and in real time). The points that apply
to your book’s opening scene mostly apply to every scene.</li>
<li>Start an action without explaining anything.</li>
<li>Give a nod to setting (a nod, not a treatise).</li>
</ul>
Next week I’ll go into middles and endings of scenes.<br />
<br />
<em> </em><em>This week</em>, choose a random scene in your WIP (work
in progress) and check to see if you have all you need in your opening
paragraphs as noted above. If you are missing some things, put them in.
If you need to rework the entire scene so you can have a terrific
beginning, then do that. And don’t forget to keep the “moment” in mind
so you will build up to it.<br />
</div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-38888122979911038742014-01-16T15:29:00.002-08:002014-01-16T15:29:38.013-08:00Part 2 - Creating “Moments” So You Don’t Bore Your Reader by CS Lakin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaKaa1-bkrEDfZnefuL9a4x4xOu0GftATzmGfS6P5KwkKlHiBnjz-WPjyGCVGy7zi4QfjwdPu-kuw4WaLtC6ALQ8Apz6E68kdWLQyoAwt3F1xQdXYUu1Hyr4ZTbgsRoFauovv_s8IaTg/s1600/cslakin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaKaa1-bkrEDfZnefuL9a4x4xOu0GftATzmGfS6P5KwkKlHiBnjz-WPjyGCVGy7zi4QfjwdPu-kuw4WaLtC6ALQ8Apz6E68kdWLQyoAwt3F1xQdXYUu1Hyr4ZTbgsRoFauovv_s8IaTg/s1600/cslakin.jpg" height="200" width="146" /></a></div>
C.S. Lakin, our guest speaker for the upcoming <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/index.html" target="_blank">CWOW Annual Writer's Workshop</a>
on January 25th, 2014 has given us permission to repost some articles
from her blog. This is part 2 in her 5 post series. Look for new posts
on Mondays, Wednesday's and Fridays and be sure to drop by <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.S. Lakin's blog</a> for more great writing tips!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Creating “Moments” So You Don’t Bore Your Reader</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="content">
We’re looking at scenes right now, and in <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/04/18/the-defining-of-a-scene/" target="_blank" title="The Defining of a Scene">my last post </a>I
talked about creating each scene so that it’s an encapsulated moment
for your character that plays out in real time and reveals something
significant.<br />
<div align="center">
<strong>It’s All about the Moment</strong></div>
Actress Rosalind Russell was asked: “What distinguishes a great
movie?” She answered, “Moments.” And that’s so true for scenes. We
remember great scenes because they contain a great moment in them. Often
that moment is not something huge and explosive. On the contrary—the
best moments are the very subtle ones in which the character learns or
realizes something that may appear small to the outside world but is
giant in scope to the character. <span id="more-560"></span><br />
No doubt you can think of great movie moments, such as in <em>Casablanca</em> (too many in there to list!) when Ilsa tells Sam to “play it again.” Or when Scout meets Boo in <em>To Kill a Mockingbird.</em> Or in <em>City Slickers</em> when Billy Crystal’s character is holding up his finger to indicate the meaning of life. One of my favorite moments is in <em>Babe</em>,
when Farmer Hoggett at the end of the sheep trials looks at Babe and
says, “That’ll do, pig.” Of course, these moments have been set up so
when they play out they’re powerful, but you want to think how <em>in every scene</em> you must have some moment. This is what you’re building to—either some revelation of plot or of character.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<strong>Just Why Is Your Character There?</strong></div>
So maybe you’ve put together this first scene. Just why is your
character there? What’s her reason or need to be in that place, that
moment? What do you plan to reveal in that scene that is significant and
important? These questions are especially important to consider when
constructing your first scene because, as you now understand, you have
to set up <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/02/08/the-crucial-question-you-must-ask-in-your-opening-scene/" target="_blank" title="The Crucial Question You Must Ask in Your Opening Scene">the visible goal and the MDQ</a> for the <em>entire book</em>.
So you need to pick a moment that will do this the best way. Too often
the first few scenes of a novel aren’t doing this. The protagonist is
off doing something, talking to someone, and nothing is really
happening—at least nothing significant. There are no high moments and no
natural sense of conclusion to those scenes. Writers may feel this is
the way to show the “everyman” character in his ordinary world, but as I
discussed<a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/03/21/ordinary-people-are-boring/" target="_blank" title="Ordinary People Are Just Plain Boring"> in early posts</a>, that is just plain <em>boring</em>. In next week’s post I’ll go more into scene structure.<br />
<br />
<em>This week,</em> spend some time thinking of a situation that can
launch your protagonist headfirst into his story, and focus on the
moment that you want to build to. If you already have a first scene
written, examine it to see if it’s really working. If you’re not sure,
think of three other possible settings and/or situations you can place
your character in that might help intensify the moment you need to
effectively detonate your novel. Make sure it’s a terrific one, because,
as you’ve learned, many agents and editors won’t read past the first
few paragraphs.<br />
</div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-78265201266657321902014-01-13T19:13:00.002-08:002014-01-13T19:13:59.635-08:00The Defining of a Scene by C.S. Lakin<div class="content">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Kr5-ljabMmBVng1BukGXS3EpGV2ZvgESqkBtqm3GPaIGXDZB3iXwEEHC3xlJaqs0bRr6mdcnvEgeTEs56vi-UsckD7GRlT4CxUBEzN8CggCjScAjbUDCfeOjiEUHsuwDKlOotBws7j8/s1600/cslakin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Kr5-ljabMmBVng1BukGXS3EpGV2ZvgESqkBtqm3GPaIGXDZB3iXwEEHC3xlJaqs0bRr6mdcnvEgeTEs56vi-UsckD7GRlT4CxUBEzN8CggCjScAjbUDCfeOjiEUHsuwDKlOotBws7j8/s200/cslakin.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
C.S. Lakin, our guest speaker for the upcoming <a href="http://www.christianwritersofthewest.com/index.html" target="_blank">CWOW Annual Writer's Workshop</a> on January 25th, 2014 has given us permission to repost some articles from her blog. Here is the first in a 5 post series. Look for new posts on Mondays, Wednesday's and Fridays and be sure to drop by <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.S. Lakin's blog</a> for more great writing tips!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Defining of a Scene</b></div>
<br />
While we’re on this multi-monthlong discussion of all the
essential elements needed in your first few pages, I want to take a
little break to insert some thoughts about scene structure. I can attest
that the biggest flaw I see in the manuscripts that I critique and edit
is poor scene structure. I don’t think many writers have fully explored
the topic to the extent that they plan out a scene with enough
understanding and craft tools to be able to really make each scene the
most powerful and effective that it can be. Often scenes seem to be
thrown together, starting in a place and in a manner that really doesn’t
work. And so, since each scene is like a mini novel (or should be), I
want to talk a bit about them, and particularly about scene beginnings,
since they parallel your novel beginning in many ways.<span id="more-554"></span><br />
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>How Would You Define a Scene?</strong></div>
If someone asked you to define what a scene is, what would you say?
If you think about it, it’s not easy to define. We tend to know when a
scene works and when it doesn’t. Here are some elements that make up a
scene that I’ve found in books on scene writing:<br />
<ul>
<li>The sum of myriad elements that work together [hmm, that’s a bit vague]</li>
<li>It starts and ends with a character arriving and leaving [sometimes, but not often]</li>
<li>It can be a single location with many people coming and going</li>
<li>It gives the sensation that a character is “trapped” in this moment and must go through it</li>
</ul>
I’m not all that ecstatic about these points. They don’t really tell
what a scene is. I mentioned in an earlier post that I like how Jordan
Rosenfeld defines a scene in her book <em>Make a Scene</em>: “Scenes are
capsules in which compelling characters undertake significant actions
in a vivid and memorable way that allows the events to feel as though
they are happening in real time.”<br />
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>What Is Real Time?</strong></div>
Well, it’s not back story. I already gave <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/01/11/hold-back-the-back-story/" target="_blank" title="Hold Back the Back Story">my lengthy post about leaving back story out of your story</a>,
so let’s focus on this concept of “real time.” Too many manuscripts
start off with either pages of narrative to set up the book or start
with maybe a catchy (or not) first paragraph or two that puts the
protagonist right in a scene in real time—meaning they are experiencing
something that, for them, is happening right then. Not a memory, not a
flashback, not even them thinking about what is happening to them right
now. But after these short moments of establishing the character in a
“happening” scene, the author lapses into telling the reader important
things they should know [read: back story]. Even if you are going to go
heavily into your character’s head, you need that character to be doing
it “here and now” in some sort of “capsule” (as Rosenfeld says) that is
unfolding in the moment. It’s not all that complicated, but writers
really need to resist the urge to stop the moment or veer off elsewhere.<br />
<div align="center">
<strong>Be Here Now</strong></div>
So, if you’ve pulled on your reins and disciplined yourself to
construct that opening scene with your protagonist in a moment in real
time, you now have the structure to show that character undertaking
significant actions in a vivid and memorable way. By now you have your
themes and <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/02/08/the-crucial-question-you-must-ask-in-your-opening-scene/" target="_blank" title="The Crucial Question You Must Ask in Your Opening Scene">MDQs</a> all worked out, and you’ve figured out how to hint at these, along with showing your<a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/03/07/three-things-you-must-have-in-your-novels-first-paragraph/" target="_blank" title="Three Things You Must Have in Your Novel’s First Paragraph"> character’s glimpse of greatness and core need</a>. You’ve set up their persona that they show to the world, and you’ve hinted at their <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/03/28/the-true-essence-of-character/" target="_blank" title="The True Essence of Character">true essence</a> underneath.<br />
Are you starting to feel a bit overwhelmed? You just might be. Not a
whole lot of authors can whip up a first scene intuitively and off the
cuff that contains every little element needed. And that’s why <a href="http://www.livewritethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/first-page-checklist.pdf">first page checklist </a> is
really helpful. Once you rough in that first scene, go through and make
sure you’ve got all the bases covered. Which begs the question . . .<br />
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>Just How Long Should a Scene Be?</strong></div>
I’ve actually read articles and book chapters that suggest certain
numbers of pages, and it’s not that formulaic. Genre can be a factor,
since a fast-action thriller may have short, terse chapters whereas a
thoughtful literary work may have long ones. The real answer, which may
not be so helpful, is that a scene should be as long as it needs to be
(the same is true for a novel’s length). You determine the length of the
scene by writing it and making sure it reaches its objective. And once
it’s done that, it should end. And next week I’ll go more into that
“objective,” because it is <em>the key</em> point to constructing scenes.<br />
<em>This week</em>, look at some great scenes in your favorite
novels. Jot down how the scene opens, how long it is, where it ends, and
note if the character is in an encapsulated moment that unfolds in real
time and that reveals something significant. Great scenes will do just
that. Feel free to share in the comments!<br />
</div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-8864943089806244712013-12-06T07:48:00.000-08:002013-12-06T07:50:05.129-08:00Get Ready to do a Little Happy Dance!Just heard that our own Tanara McCauley is a finalist in the ACFW First Impressions contest! Woot-Woot!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2jEqrmrnNpBzt6ww97hJGYd4pk51Zq7Ih7ktGZ_mT5ivnRxKwVJVCw-Uzz0z5E8l0htgGEwplFCuKyO7QABjVvSftQEqSWwsOZgkWfwjgh7CuK057n6FKEYJ4HKUk4Ti7dPvD8oVVPU/s1600/Tanara+McCauley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2jEqrmrnNpBzt6ww97hJGYd4pk51Zq7Ih7ktGZ_mT5ivnRxKwVJVCw-Uzz0z5E8l0htgGEwplFCuKyO7QABjVvSftQEqSWwsOZgkWfwjgh7CuK057n6FKEYJ4HKUk4Ti7dPvD8oVVPU/s200/Tanara+McCauley.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
Tanara is a stay-at-home wife and mother who loves the Lord and has stepped out to pursue the calling God has placed on her life - writing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Way to go, Tanara! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We're doing a little happy dance for you!</div>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent">ACFW Romantic Suspense Finalist:<br /> Tanara McCauley</span></span></span></h5>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646030784925551661.post-89570024158000051772013-11-26T09:04:00.003-08:002013-11-26T09:04:52.104-08:00Happy Birthday & Congratulations, Lindsay Harrel!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7Yadwaxbx_MbjFU-OlupQUOa-MshdBqHLTsw3rMUvTVvsJed47qAFCb0SRu2m-vpTtQGTVRRc72ttqNm30svAE0paL341FnjlrwCEMjgfCtrNnMnZ8jikGKIBHB7whQQ6-OkzcR5jIE/s1600/birthday+balloon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7Yadwaxbx_MbjFU-OlupQUOa-MshdBqHLTsw3rMUvTVvsJed47qAFCb0SRu2m-vpTtQGTVRRc72ttqNm30svAE0paL341FnjlrwCEMjgfCtrNnMnZ8jikGKIBHB7whQQ6-OkzcR5jIE/s200/birthday+balloon.jpg" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">photo courtesy Alessandro, rgbstock.com</span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today is CWOW member, <b>Lindsay Harrel's birthday</b> - YAY!<br />
<br />
We wish you a very Happy Birthday, Lindsay, and we celebrate the news you posted on Facebook today.<br />
<br />
Lindsay wrote...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"God gave me a really sweet gift this year: an agent! I'm excited to announce that I'm now represented by <span style="color: black;"><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1072271248" href="https://www.facebook.com/rachelle.gardner" id="js_14">Rachelle Gardner</a> of Books & Such Literary Management. Soooo incredibly blessed and excited to take this next step in my writing journey!"</span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Congratulations, Lindsay! </span></span></div>
Christian Writers of the Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14852290184879429397noreply@blogger.com1