Overstating/Visual/China/Aging/Christian Fiction

1.  Karen Lange, at Write Now, did a helpful article on, "Are You Guilty of Overstating?" It's tempting to pepper our readers with exclamation points, all caps, and extreme pronouncements.

2.  Margie Lawson guest posts at Writers in the Storm. Sometimes we think we're showing, but we're really telling. Margie asks, "What's the visual?" Wow! This is a workshop in a blog post

3.  China has oppressed Christians for many years. Here's their latest action, giving rise to speculation more stringent regulation is on the horizon. See this report by the NY Times. At the rate we're going in the U.S., we could be facing some of this ourselves.

4.  Dena Netherton, at My Father's World, My Father's Words, writes about the words, "At Your Age..."

5.  Publisher's Weekly has an interesting article on the Business of Christian Fiction. There's a quote from Gilead Publishing that surprised me both as an author and reader.

Writers:  Were you surprised by the number of Christian Fiction titles put out annually? What are your thoughts?

Readers:  Do you relate to Dena Netherton's observations on how younger people treat older people? (You don't have to be older to comment on this. It would be interesting to have younger people's reactions to her post.)

Photo Credit: Colin de kroon

Stereotypes/Anthologies/Deadlines/Immigration/New Year

1.  Kristina McMorris guest posts at Writer Unboxed on the subject of Stereotypical Perspectives. She gives great advice on incorporating characteristics based on common knowledge. I think you'll find this article thought provoking and a good balance between showing reality and the desire to avoid offense.

2.  I've written for anthologies, and I know many of you have as well. Susan Spann posts at Writers In The Storm on the subject of, "Show Me The Money: Royalties in Anthology Contracts." She defines certain terms and gives examples of contract language.

3.  Whether we're writers or not, we all face deadlines. I came across this blog post by Carol Garvin on the subject. The insights she gives crystallized some thoughts for me.

4.  You'd have to be totally cut off from TV and the Internet not to hear the growing debate on immigration. This article by the Family Research Council gives a logical, sane view and frames the debate from an ideological perspective. I highly recommend it.

5.  We've landed! On the moon - yes, but that was a long time ago. No, I'm referring to 2016, a New Year.

Along with the New Year comes time management challenges. Jeanette Levellie released her new book, Shock the Clock, the middle of December 2015.

Why do we need this type of advice? If everything stayed on a neat schedule, we could do this with our eyes closed. Unfortunately, it's like hitting a moving target. Just when you think you've got everything figured out, a tire goes flat or Junior breaks a leg.

Check out this interview at Write Now and her new book.

Writers:  What kind of issues derail your writing time?

Readers:  Do you set goals for the New Year? Please share.

Photo Credit:  Richard Dudley

My Reference Shelf - Writing for Life by Karen Lange - GIVEAWAY!

The Author:  Karen Lange is a homeschool veteran and consultant, freelance writer, editor, and online writing instructor for teens and adults. Her articles appear in parenting, homeschool, and other publications. Homeschool Co-ops 101, her first book, was released in 2013. She and her husband homeschooled their three children for grades K-12 in southern New Jersey. They now live in north central Kentucky where Karen enjoys reading, walking, and playing with her grandson. She is a fan of dark chocolate, hockey, and historical fiction.

The Book:  Write for Life:  Volume One:  Writing the Research Paper 

Find it Here.


This book offers ready to use lessons for grades 7-12 that guide students through the process of writing the research paper. Suitable for homeschool families, co-ops, or other student groups, these eight lessons break down the process from start to finish with helpful instruction, encouragement, and practice.

Lesson topics include:

*  MLA style research paper basics, topics, and sources
*  Thesis statements
*  Outlines
*  Developing content
*  Rough and final drafts
*  Citing sources

My review:

As always, I'm so impressed with Karen's thoroughness and knowledge. The research techniques are valuable not only for doing papers, but also for those writing novels or non-fiction pieces. I wouldn't limit this book to teaching teens.

Karen includes great Time and Stress Saver Tips. All in all, I'm keeping this on my Reference Shelf. It's a great resource.

You can connect with Karen on her Amazon Author Page.
Blog:  http://karenelange.blogspot.com/
Email:  karenelange@gmail.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorkarenlange
Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/klelange/
Twitter:  @KLELange

Giveaway Information:  One winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card and a copy of the Write for Life ebook.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclaimer: The author provided a copy of her book for my honest review. I did not receive any payment. All opinions expressed in the review section of this post are mine alone.

Writers: What topics from your school days would you like to revisit? Please share.

Readers:  Do you purchase how-to books for yourself or your kids? Please share.

Conference Update

The 2011 Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference will go down in my personal history as one of the most exciting I've attended. Besides meeting Jeanette Levellie and her hubby for the first time, my work caught the eye of two editors and an agent.

After talking to various people, I did something out of character. I abandoned the one sheet. Speaking from my heart about my book, "The Moses Conspiracy," piqued their curiosity and yielded two requests from editors for partials and also from an agent.

Karen Lange and I wanted to test the level of interest for our book before we got too deep into the writing. A couple of people questioned the timeframe (Colonial), but Karen found a title being released next year by a major publisher in the same genre. Our book has a working title of, "Unexpected Pathways." One editor and an agent want to see the chapters.

I couldn't wait to get home and call Karen with the news. We're both a bit shell shocked at all the interest and worked like crazy to get the submissions out. We'd appreciate your continued prayers for favor.

Next Monday, I'll share some of the things I learned in the workshops. If I can get my pictures developed and scanned into the computer, you'll also get to see some happy faces.

Have you ever "thrown out the script" and poured out your heart? I'd love to hear about your experience. Readers: Can you discern when a writer is completely immersed in their story?

One Sheet? Two Sheet?

Karen Lange, of Write Now, and I are preparing a one sheet for our book. We want to see if there's an interest in our story.

Some questions came up with the one sheet format:

1) With two biographical sketches needed, how could we fit everything on one page? After much discussion, we decided to depart from the norm and produce a two sheet. All the book information is on the main page, while our biographical information is on the second page. Otherwise, there would have been no room for the book summary.

2) What is the title of our book? We have to come up with one...fast. I slapped a temporary name onto the draft of the one sheet/two sheet, but we're still emailing about that subject.

Technical problems:

1) My ancient Microsoft Publisher program that I used to produce the one sheet for The Moses Conspiracy decided not to cooperate. I managed to put something together, so we'd have a basic document to refine.

2) When I emailed the document to Karen, she couldn't open it. Snail mail to the rescue.

3) I sent my picture to Karen's secondary email address because she couldn't open it from her primary account.

Karen was able to do the layout in Word and solved the picture problem via cut and paste. Her son did a small graphic. We were happy he was in the wings to bail us out if we ran into serious trouble. Karen will send the finished one sheet/two sheet to me via U.S. Mail.

I'll be putting together a packet for the conference. The one sheet/two sheet, our business cards, and the first two chapters will be put in a presentation folder. It keeps everything organized. 

Collaboration is a lot easier when you have the right equipment and it meshes with that of your co-writer. Karen is doing a post on producing a one sheet. I hope you'll visit her sometime this week.

Have you run into difficulties sending pictures via computer or opening documents from another writer? Have you ever had an email submission get lost in cyberspace? I'd love to hear your experiences and advice.

Of Purses, Plots, and Prioritizing - Part II

By now, all of you know I am a Seat-of-the-Pants writer. Yet, with my latest WIP I'm getting a little wistful...about plotting.

Knowing what's coming up in a story has advantages. Research targeted toward a specific storyline is much easier than covering an entire subject from A to Z. Characters' personalities can be crafted to match a plot-driven novel.

Karen Lange, of Write Now, and I embarked on this adventure a few months ago. Yes, we're collaborating on a novel. We've both wondered at times whether we'd lost our sanity, but things are beginning to chug along.

The Method

Susan

We decided on a genre (a secret for now), timeframe (American Colonial period), and characters. Then, we turned the whole kit and caboodle loose.

I wrote the first chapter. From there, we take turns, building upon what the other writes. We never know what twist, turn, or dilemma will surprise us when we receive the latest installment.

Karen

As Susan mentioned, we alternate writing the chapters. I think this is a great way to share the responsibility. We have each done/continue to do different aspects of research, and both bring a different yet similar skill set to the project. It's a wonderful way to blend our writing styles and bring an interesting angle to the book.

The Difficulties

Susan

The biggest difficulty for me is the loss of momentum when it's Karen's turn to write a chapter. There's no way to mull over my next move because I have no idea what she's written. As a pantser, my brain feeds off what I've written previously. We're both adjusting to this rhythm although we need to pick up the pace.

Karen

We can plan ahead in generalities, but not specifics from chapter to chapter. You just never know what is going to happen. It is hard to think ahead on what we each might write. Overall, the frustration is offset by the excitement. Even though we brainstorm, the plot surprises make things interesting.

For example, I added a character in Chapter 2. She just popped up and will serve us well later. Then Susan used her for a scene in Chapter 3 that had me laughing out loud. Although we face difficulties a single author might not, we get to enjoy feedback and more specific help as we go along.

The Disagreements

Susan

Uh-oh. Early on, Karen and I had an alternate vision for an event in Chapter 2. We emailed back and forth, debating the issue. Finally, a research book I'd purchased gave us the answers we needed.

There's a lot of trust involved in taking on a project like this. It's a marriage of sorts and contains the elements of communication and working things out. (And prayer!)

Karen

We discuss the issue, examine it from different angles as necessary, and make a decision. Some of this involves more research, so we check into it and go from there. We are trusting God for wisdom along the way. I'm not concerned that any issues won't be resolved.

Susan here. So now you know what Karen and I have kept under wraps for several months...a collaborative effort on a novel. We'd appreciate your prayers.

Have you ever attempted a team writing project? We'd love to hear your experiences and tips.