Monday, April 29, 2013

Writing Tips - From the Internet

Today's post is about various writing tip sites I've found on the Internet. I wanted to share them with you and hope that you get as much out of them and maybe even bookmark them like I did.

10 Writing Tips from the Masters

Daily Writing Tips

Webster University: Writing Tips

Writing Basics: Daily Writing Tips

Writer's Helper: Writing Tips





Did you find these sites helpful and interesting?


Friday, April 26, 2013

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Expectations


1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about your expectations. Write about the expectations that you have for yourself and the people around you. Do your expectations define a part of who you are? Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to write about your expectations?

Why or Why Not?



Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Give Me 250 - Faith

Let's celebrate our writing. Your Writing Coach has the "Give me 250 on Wednesdays" prompt. Every Wednesday I will give you a prompt and all you have to do is give me 250 words on whatever pops into your head about the prompt. It can be a draft or a final revision. Just give me the 250 words you want to share. Post the 250 words on your blog. Celebrate your writing!

Then, when you are finished, link your permalink post here and discover what others have posted for their 250. Share this link with your Twitter friends and Facebook friends. Share away. Just celebrate and share. Use the hashtag #250Wednesday on Twitter.

Only one rule: Encourage the person who linked before you. It's important that we all have validation for our writing. Encouragement is important. Validate another's writing; be supportive, just like you'd want someone to validate yours.

Invite your friends to join in the fun. What can you write in 250 words with our prompts?

This prompt will stay up for your writing pleasure for one week, Wednesday until Tuesday. Then, the prompt changes.

Let's grow this writing prompt challenge. Grab the button and share with others.

250 Wednesdays Button


4/24/13 Prompt - Faith

Today's prompt asks you to write about your early memories of faith, religion, or spirituality; yours or someone else's.



Have fun with this. Did you enjoy the writing prompt?





Monday, April 22, 2013

Writing Tips - Ten Tips for Aspiring Authors

Everyone has a tip for an aspiring author. For the next few weeks I'm going to share with you tips I've collected over the years. I hope they will inspire you as much as they have me. You may not find every tip helpful, but hopefully you'll find something to take away that will help you with your writing.

My first "guest" advisor is Karen Kingsbury, a Christian writer from Tennessee.

She offers these ten tips for aspiring authors:

1. Keep Writing: If there is a book inside you, do everything you can to get that story out. Write, write, write. Get it finished and make sure it is written to the best of your ability.

2. Join a Writer's Group: There are many Christian or other kinds of writers groups for aspiring authors. In order to make your manuscript the best book it can be, you should join one of these groups and learn from others. Do an Internet search for the kind of book you are writing. Many writing or author groups or organizations will display. Find the one that works best for you. You may find local groups where you can attend in person or online groups for extra help.

3. Join a Critique Group: Once you've connected with a writers' group, you should be able to find a Critique Group. Either through the writers' group or in another Internet search. If you don't know what occurs in a critique group you usually read one another's work and offer feedback. Everyone writes at a different level, thus various levels of expertise is provided.

4. Read Other Books Similar to Yours: There's an old adage that says "write what you know." If you want to write Romance stories, read Romance books. Editors and agents will expect you to be well versed in the genre you intend to write. Read, read, read.

5. Get a Copy of Writer's Market: This informational book releases a new version every year chock full of editors and agents acquiring new material.

6. Write a Brief Synopsis for Your Book: Once you've finished your book and it's the best it can be, write a very brief one or two sentence synopsis describing the story. This will go a long way in helping you convey the story to an editor or agent.

7. Write Back Cover Copy: After the synopsis, you'll want to create back cover copy for your book. To do this, you'll expand the synopsis until it's long enough to work as back cover copy. In order to help you, read back cover copy from various books to get an idea about the type of back cover copy needed.

8. Write a 2-3 Page Synopsis: Expanding on your brief synopsis and back cover copy, you will create a synopsis that contains all the information about your story. You will not hold anything back in this synopsis, whereas you might have hinted or intrigued your reader of the back cover copy or brief synopsis. It will contain information about characters, plot points, conflict and resolution in a concise version of the novel.

9. Submit: After you've edited your manuscript, written your brief synopsis, the back cover copy, and a 2 - 3 page synopsis, you are ready to submit your package to an agent or editor. Do your homework. Stud the Writer's Market. Find agents or editors looking for the kinds of stories you write. Take into consideration exactly how they want your package delivered. Each agent or editor will probably want your work arranged differently. Follow their requirements. Overall, make sure you include the following:

   * Cover letter introducing yourself and your idea
   * Brief bio of yourself
   * All forms of your synopses
   * First three chapters of your book

10. Pray! Nothing written or done for God will happen without your diligent prayer. Pray and seek God's will.

Thank you to Karen Kingsbury for her insight and tips for aspiring authors. We appreciate the help.

Keep Writing!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Pick a Word


Friday Five Minute Exercise - Pick a Word


1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2.Choose from one of the following words: dream, believe, inspire, peace. Write whatever comes to your mind about one of these words. Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to write about one of the word prompts?

Why or Why Not?



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Give me 250 - Ordinary Ritual

Let's celebrate our writing. Your Writing Coach has the "Give me 250 on Wednesdays" prompt. Every Wednesday I will give you a prompt and all you have to do is give me 250 words on whatever pops into your head about the prompt. It can be a draft or a final revision. Just give me the 250 words you want to share. Post the 250 words on your blog. Celebrate your writing!

Then, when you are finished, link your permalink post here and discover what others have posted for their 250. Share this link with your Twitter friends and Facebook friends. Share away. Just celebrate and share. Use the hashtag #250Wednesday on Twitter.

Only one rule: Encourage the person who linked before you. It's important that we all have validation for our writing. Encouragement is important. Validate another's writing; be supportive, just like you'd want someone to validate yours.

Invite your friends to join in the fun. What can you write in 250 words with our prompts?

This prompt will stay up for your writing pleasure for one week, Wednesday until Tuesday. Then, the prompt changes.

Let's grow this writing prompt challenge. Grab the button and share with others.

250 Wednesdays Button


4/17/13 Prompt - Ordinary Ritual

Today's prompt asks you to write about an ordinary ritual in which something goes terribly wrong.



Have fun with this. Did you enjoy the writing prompt?





Monday, April 15, 2013

Writing Tips - Pairs

Writing Tips - Pairs

What is it said about opposites? Pairing sentences that seem like the opposite might be the creative jump your story needs. It could help you provide focus for your story. Give these exercises a try and see where they take you. You'll find it helpful to begin by writing sentences in arbitrary pairs with established parameters.

1. Write the first sentence about a birth. Now, write the first sentence about a death.

2. Try another pairing such as falling in love and filing for divorce.

3. Try pairs that are not in opposition, such as spring and summer.

4. Invent your own pairs.

The Objective: This is a way to sharpen skill by working for a specific kind of clarity. It is about naming essences.





Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Intimacy


Friday Five Minute Exercise - Intimacy


1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. How comfortable do you feel with your writing? Are you on intimate terms with your characters? Describe an intimate relationship between two of your characters. Go into detail here for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to successfully describe an intimate relationship between two of your characters?

Why or Why Not?


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Give me 250 - Inspiration

Let's celebrate our writing. Your Writing Coach has the "Give me 250 on Wednesdays" prompt. Every Wednesday I will give you a prompt and all you have to do is give me 250 words on whatever pops into your head about the prompt. It can be a draft or a final revision. Just give me the 250 words you want to share. Post the 250 words on your blog. Celebrate your writing!

Then, when you are finished, link your permalink post here and discover what others have posted for their 250. Share this link with your Twitter friends and Facebook friends. Share away. Just celebrate and share. Use the hashtag #250Wednesday on Twitter.

Only one rule: Encourage the person who linked before you. It's important that we all have validation for our writing. Encouragement is important. Validate another's writing; be supportive, just like you'd want someone to validate yours.

Invite your friends to join in the fun. What can you write in 250 words with our prompts?

This prompt will stay up for your writing pleasure for one week, Wednesday until Tuesday. Then, the prompt changes.

Let's grow this writing prompt challenge. Grab the button and share with others.

250 Wednesdays Button


4/10/13 Prompt - Inspiration

Today's prompt asks what inspires you as a writer? Is it a new journal? A new pen? Music? What inspires you to write the words you do?



Have fun with this. Did you enjoy the writing prompt?





Monday, April 8, 2013

Writing Tips - What If?

We've all been there. We've written a great beginning to a story only to have it bog down in the middle.  Where do we go from here? Let's use the "what if" process to "unstick" our story and wrap it up.

Let your imagination run free with ideas. Don't think of ways to complete the story but continue it. For each idea, ask yourself "what if" and then continue the story.

For example, let's begin our story with two boys playing hooky from school. By using the "what if" process, we can continue the story by asking "what if these two boys went to the circus instead of school?"

From the "circus" lead, we can extend the "what if" question to encompass the kinds of animals that these two boys encounter while at the circus. "What if" can focus on the kinds of acts at the circus as well as the kinds of people the boys might run into while at the circus. You can get as specific as you want or keep the story purposely vague.

Find a story idea that you've been struggling with and see if you can come up with a list of "what if" options for it.

Does your story take place at the beach? In the mountains? In the city? Shake things up a bit. Put your character in a compromising situation. Lead your imagination on a wild chase.

Give yourself the freedom to come up with as many ideas as possible for your story then choose the one that most speaks to you. It's not about which idea makes sense, only that you give birth to the idea and follow through with plot points. Be extravagant. Be outrageous. Be creative.


Friday, April 5, 2013

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Loss


Friday Five Minute Exercise - Loss


1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. What would happen if you lost your ability to write? Would you be able to find another activity to take the place of writing? What would it be? What would you do? Go into detail here for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?


Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you mournful about not being able to write again? 

Why or Why Not?



Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Give Me 250 - Smell

Let's celebrate our writing. Your Writing Coach has the "Give me 250 on Wednesdays" prompt. Every Wednesday I will give you a prompt and all you have to do is give me 250 words on whatever pops into your head about the prompt. It can be a draft or a final revision. Just give me the 250 words you want to share. Post the 250 words on your blog. Celebrate your writing!

Then, when you are finished, link your permalink post here and discover what others have posted for their 250. Share this link with your Twitter friends and Facebook friends. Share away. Just celebrate and share. Use the hashtag #250Wednesday on Twitter.

Only one rule: Encourage the person who linked before you. It's important that we all have validation for our writing. Encouragement is important. Validate another's writing; be supportive, just like you'd want someone to validate yours.

Invite your friends to join in the fun. What can you write in 250 words with our prompts?

This prompt will stay up for your writing pleasure for one week, Wednesday until Tuesday. Then, the prompt changes.

Let's grow this writing prompt challenge. Grab the button and share with others.

250 Wednesdays Button


4/3/13 Prompt - Smell

Today's prompt is all about smells. What's your favorite? Least favorite? Describe a smell or have a character experience a smell. Pull out a smell from your childhood and re-experience it.



Have fun with this. Did you enjoy the writing prompt?





Monday, April 1, 2013

Writing Tips - Writer's Block

writing block
Calvin & Hobbs cartoon excerpt
Everyone has it. Staring at a blank page. Finding the motivation and spark that will fill that page with words, sentences, and life. Writer's block can last a moment, a day, or longer. Click if you want a detailed description of Writer's Block.

You must be the one to break it and discard it.

How, do you ask?

Good question. We will explore Writer's Block and discover what may be holding us back and some tips to help alleviate Writer's Block.

Are you ready?


"I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible." -- Roy Blount, Jr.

Is that what writer's block is to you? Are you afraid you are going to write something horrible?

Get over that dread by allowing yourself to write anything. Horrible or not. Write what spews forth, whether it is garbage or gold. Just write.

Your writing muscle will lose mass if you do not exercise it every day. It doesn't matter what you write, only that you write.

Flex that writing muscle.

Listen to Monica Wood, from The Pocket Muse, she says, "Nobody has to see that first draft but you. You can eat it when you're done. You can make it into origami animals and decorate a table. You can dunk it in hot water, stir it up, mash it back into pulp. You can build a fire, line a birdcage, stuff a pillow. You can't do any of this, however, until you write the thing."

"All glory comes from daring to begin." -- Eugene F. Ware

Are you afraid of something? Is that why you can't start writing? Fear is normal. We all have it.

Do you have the fear of rejection?

It's a common fear. Probably the most common fear of all writers. Listen to what Jurgen Wolff from Your Writing Coach has to say, "Here's the hard truth about rejection: You can't avoid it. There isn't a single successful writer who hasn't had work rejected at one point or another. Most of them had many, many rejections before they had their first success."

Rejection Successes:

J.K. Rowling took a year to find a publisher for the first Harry Potter book. Only one publisher offered to take a chance on it. The publisher told her, "You'll never make any money out of children's books, Jo."

Melody Beattie' non-fiction book Co-dependent No More was turned down by 20 publishers. It went on to sell five million copies.

Joanne Harris wrote three books that failed to find a publisher. Her fourth book, the novel Chocolat, became an international bestseller and spawned an equally successful movie.

John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill was rejected by 15 agents and 26 publishers before Wynwood Press agreed to publish it at a mere 5,000 copies. The book wasn't a success until after Grisham's next three, which were hugely successful.

Wilbur Smith's first novel found no publisher, and he decided that writing wasn't for him. Eighteen months later, his agent convinced him to try again. That book sold, and since then his novels have sold 84 million copies.

The list goes on and on about those that have tried, tried again, persevered and against all odds became a huge success.

Is your fear that you won't be good enough?

This is a fear that can stop writers before they start.

Remind yourself, "that your writing doesn't have to be great literature to have value to your readers." This quote is from The Writing Coach by Jurgen Wolff.

Write your books to bring pleasure to yourself and to others. Write for your Ideal Reader. If you don't understand who your Ideal Reader is, reference On Writing by Stephen King.

Do you fear success?

Don't laugh. That's a legitimate fear, and more common that you'd think among writers. It might be because we fear change. Change can be good or bad. We all know that. It's how you deal with it, that makes it great or horrible. There is only one fact: the only constant is change.

Are you afraid you're too old to write a book?

Sure, everyone wants to see a sexy photo of an author on the back cover of a book, but hey, not all authors find their prime writing until they are more mature. For example, Annie Proulx, Penelope Fitzgerald, and Mary Wesley all started late and became a success.

If you're afraid you will "sound" old in your novels, don't even consider that. Your characters will help you find the right voice for your novel. Let your characters do what they do best: create your story and move your plot along.

What you need is courage. Courage to step up to your desk, sit down, put hands to keyboard and start writing.

Rollo May, from The Courage to Create said this, "If you do not express your original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself. Also you will have betrayed our community in failing to make your contribution to the whole."

Did you know there are other helpful sites for writers? I could spend days listing all of them, but here's one that was brought to my attention. First Site Guide

According to Nina Borovic, First Site Guide they have a plethora of resources available for writers. I suggest you hop on over to their site as soon as you can and settle in for some informative reading.

They have many resources for writers. I'd suggest using them as a starting point. Then, the Internet search world is your oyster!

Do you have a different fear?

What is holding you back from writing?

Can you put a voice to your fear? Maybe it's just the actual "act" of starting your writing? Maybe you need to read writing from other authors and possibly be inspired?

Inspiration. It can go along way.  Do you need inspiration? If so, read a magazine or newspaper, watch TV, go outside into the public and listen in on conversations, draw from your dreams, apply "what if" questions to common situations.

Don't know about "what if" prompts? Let's discuss them next week, shall we?

Until then,