I get all kinds of newsletters, blog updates, and motivational articles in my inbox. Why? Because you never know when someone will say thing that strikes a cord. Well that happened today with Shery's article on "You Don't Need Inspiration". But instead of me telling you what she had to share, I'm going to let Shery.
From Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ
You don't need inspiration. Or do you?
Writers write. You shouldn't wait around for inspiration to come. But sometimes, there are days you can't get anything written down. Or you're at a loss for words. You can't think of anything to write. You don't have any idea what to write about.
And then you end up believing you're having writer's block.
You end up believing it too much, you stop writing altogether. You might even think of yourself as not a real writer.
And all because of what? You think your muse deserted you? You think you have writer's block?
Think again! You sure as heck don't need inspiration to write!
What you do need are prompts to help get your writer's mind working and your hands writing or typing.
These prompts are your beginnings; the glimmer; the little sparks that you can shape and fashion into stories, articles, essays and features.
You don't need inspiration. All you need is an idea; a spark.
And here are a dozen sparks you can try out for yourself:
1. The first typewriter was patented on July 23, 1829. Interview some of the writers in your group and find out how they write. You can develop this into a light-hearted article for/about writers.
2. Many fictional characters are not fictional at all. Write about one real person who has been fictionalized.
3. Electricity is a recent discovery. Think of 10 things to do when there's no power.
4. Pirates no longer just refer to the highwaymen of the seas. There are different breeds of pirates today. Write about today's pirates and what they're pirating.
5. Many words in the English language come from the names of people -- such as mesmerize (from Mesmer, a hypnotist). Find out more words from people's names and write the story behind the words. (Or invent stories for names that became words.)
6. The US Declaration of Independence begins with this line: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Write your own Declaration of Independence by using the same line as your starting point.
7. How do you start a fan club? Write a how-to on organizing a fan club for a favorite author, singer, actor or sports figure.
8. How do planets die?
9. Expound or dispute this: "Where science ends, religion begins."
10. Take a look at your bookshelf. Pick one book and write a review of it.
11. How is privacy invaded on the Internet?
12. Write an article on how to choose a pet. Target your piece for kids aged 7-10.
Copyright © Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ
About Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ:
Shery is the creator of WriteSparks!™- a software that generates over 10 *million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks!™ Lite for free at http://writesparks.com
THE WILD SOCCER BUNCH, KEVIN THE STAR STRIKER
Title: The Wild Soccer Bunch, Kevin the Star Striker
Ages: Middle Grade
Author: Joachim Masannek
Illustrator: Jan Brick
Hardback: 145 pgs
Publisher: Sole Books
Publication Date: 2010, Wild Soccer USA, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9844257-0-9
Reviewed by Kathy Stemke
Kevin, the star striker, grabs your attention immediately with his action packed description of each member of the Wild Bunch. The action continues with down to earth dialogue as we experience their passionate love and devotion to the game of soccer. With the birth of spring, each unique personality must overcome many obstacles just to get to the soccer field.
When they finally manage to get to the field, they find themselves surrounded by Mickey the bulldozer and his gang, the Unbeatables. This older, bigger, and meaner gang has taken over the field.
Kevin explains, “He (Mickey the bulldozer) stomped across the wet field; his every step turned the muddy water into steam. The ground shook. So did his flabby paunch. But underneath all that fat were iron muscles and a black heart.”
Instead of running, the Wild Bunch stands their ground and challenges the Unbeatables to the most important game of their lives. The winner takes back the field.
When they turn to Larry, the alcoholic lemonade guy and ask for help, they are in for a few surprises. The Wild Bunch learns many life lessons about teamwork and perseverance from their new coach. Their struggles and hard work also improve their soccer skills. With some unexpected twists and turns in the story, you’ll wonder until the end if this bunch has the stuff to win.
As a retired teacher, who has taught many reluctant readers, I highly recommend this inspiring book. The fast paced action and gritty dialogue that flows through every chapter will captivate boys everywhere. Readers will find themselves rooting for these average boys who become super heroes by their sheer determination to win.
CREATE A SOCCER SHAPE POEM
Create the words for your poem below! Write whatever words come into your mind for each of the three words below. I'll give some examples.
Soccer (nouns): speed, game, friends, skill, Wild Bunch, ball,
Descriptive words (Adjectives): fun, fast, rugged, zoom,
Rhyming words: breed, fame, trends, kill, tall, call, sun, last, blast, boom,
CREATE YOUR POEM
Use some of the words above to create a shape poem in the soccer ball. Remember your words can flow anywhere in the shape, but make sure readers can follow your poem. You don't need to use all the words. Have fun!
Kathy's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/kathy-ann-stemke/moving-through-all-seven-days/ebook/product-5251681.html
What does it Mean to Write Vivid Descriptions?
When I first started writing, I had the hardest time writing vivid descriptions. Instead of pulling the reader into my scene, I would tell them what was happening with the least amount of words possible. However, I learned quickly that it is the writer’s job to provide a vicarious experience for your reader. This does not mean you need to bombard your reader with too many details, but to gradually draw them into your story with active descriptions that make them feel as if they are right there with the main character.
By stimulating your reader’s imagination with vivid and clear descriptions, you not only make stories come alive, but more memorable. Using concrete and specific details help paint a picture for your reader and you can do this by carefully choosing the right words to describe something, which makes your reader use all five senses. Not only can they imagine what is happening, but they can also feel, smell, and hear what they read.
Okay, so how did I learn to do this? One way I learned, was by my ICL instructor pointing out all my flaws with details. The other way I learned was by buying Picture Writing, by Anastasia Suen. If you have not read this book, I strongly suggest you do if you have trouble with too many details or not enough description. What is great about this book is Anastasia not only covers fiction writing, but also nonfiction and poetry as well.
I learned from Anastasia that picture writing using the whole brain. That means not just your creative half. Wow, I thought, this is great news. I tend to use my local side more than my creative side. Therefore, this means there was hope for my writing. I’m happy to say between my ICL course and Anastasia’s book, I am much better about vivid descriptions, so here are a few things to keep in mind when write.
- Avoid abstract and general words. Don't just say a girl is beautiful. Instead, describe how she looks, walks, moves her body, etc.
- When using description, make sure to use as many of the five senses—touch, sound, taste, sight, and scent—to help stimulate your reader’s imagination.
- Use words that spark emotion. In Anastasia’s book, Picture Writing she talks about what editors what to see. She says, “What makes readers turn the page is an emotional connection to the characters in the story. Reader’s aren’t’ reading fiction for facts or information.”
- Give life to inanimate objects, abstracts, or animals. By giving human characteristics, a reader can relate better to what you are trying to show them.
- Use onomatopoetic words. These words imitate the sound they describe. An example would be: buzzing for a bee or fly. Another would be: bang for a hammer or something falling to the floor.
- Use comparisons or contrasts. This is great tool for something foreign or not common to a reader. For example, “a calamansi fruit tastes like an orange, but is less sweet and more sour.”
These simple suggestions have really helped me and I am sure they will help you. Just remember to use fresh words in your descriptions. Forget about writing, "They walked slowly to the park." Instead, think about just how slowly did they walk? Did they trudge? Did they drag they feet? Remember, if you want your reader to experience the same things you've experienced - or experience something you've imagined - write and describe it well.
VS Grenier, Award-winning Author & Editor
www.vsgrenier.com
www.vsgrenier.com
The Writing Mama
Super Ben's Dirty Hands - A Children's Picture Book Review
Author: Shelley Marshall
Illustrator: Ben Mahan
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 13: 978-0-7660-3513-3
Reviewer: Karen Cioffi
What child doesn’t get his or her hands dirty? Well, Super Ben’s Dirty Hands addresses just this issue. Aimed at ages 5-8, and only 24 pages, this wonderfully colorful illustrated picture book will help make children aware of the importance of washing their hands, especially before eating. It also touches on the importance of sneezing into your arm, to help avoid spreading germs.
With colds, viruses and the flu making their rounds regularly, Super Ben’s Dirty Hands is a must have book to help introduce the topic of cleanliness, considerateness, and staying healthy to young children . . . young children who are constantly touching toys, along with anything, and everything else in their path.
In a fun and engaging story, the little bear Ben, and his friend Molly, have an adventurous outing at the park. When it’s time to eat, Ben’s ready to dig in. But, sensible Molly reminds him of all the things they touched throughout the day. Ben readily agrees, “Let’s wash our hands. We do not want to be super sick heroes.”
With the knowledge that one of the best preventive strategies children and adults can take to prevent the passing of germs is washing your hands, it’s a good idea to instill this practice in little ones as soon as possible. Super Ben’s Dirty Hands will be a useful tool to accomplish this.
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children’s ghostwriter/ rewriter. For tips on writing for children OR if you need help with your project, contact me at Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. Sign up for the newsletter while you're there!
A Review of What is Electricity and Magnetism?
Authors: Richard and Louise Spilsbury
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 13: 978-0-7660-3096-1
ISBN: 10: 0-7660-3096-2
Reviewer: Karen Cioffi
I love books that teach children about the world around us, and Enslow Publishers’, What Is Electricity and Magnetism? by Richard and Louise Spilsbury, is one such book.
The topics: What is Electricity; Making and Storing Electricity; What is Magnetism; Electromagnetism; and Motors and Generators are explained in easy to understand text. And, each topic has color illustrations that will certainly help with a child’s comprehension.
What is especially useful in What is Electricity and Magnetism? is the Close-Up section in each topic. This section describes in detailed, yet simple language exactly how a particular subject, such as a battery, actually works:
All batteries have three parts: an electrolyte, a negative electrode, and a positive electrode. The electrolyte includes chemicals that can make electricity. The negative electrode is a metal case that surrounds the electrolyte. The negative electrode reacts with the electrolyte to make electrons flow.
The explanation goes on to further enlighten the child. And, along with the text, illustrations provide a visual of what is actually going on. The combination of thorough explanations along with explicit illustrations make for a powerful learning tool.
Along with this, What Is Electricity and Magnetism? features an extensive “hands on” section that provides fascinating and doable experiments. All children within the intended age group will love to explore science by working on projects such as building an electromagnet, building batteries, and creating a lemon cell.
I highly recommend What is Electricity and Magnetism? by Richard and Louise Spilsbury.
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children’s ghostwriter/ rewriter. For tips on writing for children OR if you need help with your project, contact me at Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.
Fie on Ties: Let's Support Publishing and Fellow Authors on Father's Day!
My writing friend Carolyn Howard-Johnson is celebrating Father's Day with poetry this year. This is how:
How about literature for Father’s Day instead of ties or dinner?
We know ties are a cliché and in a few years, Dad won’t remember one Father’s Day dinner from another. Let’s face it, not all literature is created equal, thus some books are just as fleeting, though most would be a step up from a gift certificate and certainly would help support the industry that we believe important for the future.
I’m proposing—selfishly—poetry. Frugally!
First, you may have never given your father, grandfather, or a favorite father figure in your life a book of poetry. Thus, it will be memorable.
A small book of poetry will also be flattering. He will appreciate being treated tenderly. In fact, present a small chapbook with a single rose or gladiolus spray. Who says that only women want romance and tenderness in their lives!
Some of the readers of this blog could easily write a poem—even if they don’t think poetry their forte. Print it out on some lineny paper and present it with any other gift you may be giving.
You might choose to tuck it inside the cover of the Chapbook Imagining the Future: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions that Magdalena Ball and I wrote for our Celebration Series of chapbooks. Our idea for this series is to have small books written for those who prefer something a little a little more literary than the typical greeting card, but still accessible for those who didn’t study literature in school. And at an affordable price. With cover art (and sometimes interior art) chosen from among our circle of talented writing and artist friends.
Most of our booklets are $6.95. We now have one for mothers (She Wore Emerald Then: Reflections on Motherhood, www.budurl.com/MotherChapbook), one that says love (Cherished Pulse: Unconventional Love Poetry), and one for men and fathers (Imagining the Future). We’re working on one for Christmas (not the holidays, but Christmas). It will be called Blooming Red.
Think of your poetry presentation to Dad as a Father’s Day card; it costs little more than a really nice one. Or think of it as a tuck-in gift or a tie-on as part of the wrap. Any poetry book you choose can be made more personal if you tie in a little grosgrain or satin ribbon inside the crease of the book to be used as a bookmark.
And don’t forget the hug.
Here is a sample poem from Imagining the Future : It was originally published by Dash, a literary journal.
Long Before They Shut the Napster Down
my father collected blursounds
get out of town
downloaded into the night soft jazzy
lights, sweet pink smoke
the smell of Jack Daniel's hot
satin doll
to real applause, nothing canned
found in the night a voice
like a staccato bass Wes Bowen
at KSL croons ella and shearing
at midnight to benefit a crowd
of one, alone at the wheel
make believe
marimbas, smooth
lullaby of birdland
sweet humanbaby-whine of clarinets
and a moon
no electronic nothing
humthrum of base, brushswish metal on cymbals
tell you what it's all about
lucky to get it before they shut the music down
smokey joe's
dispenser of joy, free of charge
cut me a rose
Happy Father's Day!
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
How about literature for Father’s Day instead of ties or dinner?
We know ties are a cliché and in a few years, Dad won’t remember one Father’s Day dinner from another. Let’s face it, not all literature is created equal, thus some books are just as fleeting, though most would be a step up from a gift certificate and certainly would help support the industry that we believe important for the future.
I’m proposing—selfishly—poetry. Frugally!
First, you may have never given your father, grandfather, or a favorite father figure in your life a book of poetry. Thus, it will be memorable.
A small book of poetry will also be flattering. He will appreciate being treated tenderly. In fact, present a small chapbook with a single rose or gladiolus spray. Who says that only women want romance and tenderness in their lives!
Some of the readers of this blog could easily write a poem—even if they don’t think poetry their forte. Print it out on some lineny paper and present it with any other gift you may be giving.
You might choose to tuck it inside the cover of the Chapbook Imagining the Future: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions that Magdalena Ball and I wrote for our Celebration Series of chapbooks. Our idea for this series is to have small books written for those who prefer something a little a little more literary than the typical greeting card, but still accessible for those who didn’t study literature in school. And at an affordable price. With cover art (and sometimes interior art) chosen from among our circle of talented writing and artist friends.
Most of our booklets are $6.95. We now have one for mothers (She Wore Emerald Then: Reflections on Motherhood, www.budurl.com/MotherChapbook), one that says love (Cherished Pulse: Unconventional Love Poetry), and one for men and fathers (Imagining the Future). We’re working on one for Christmas (not the holidays, but Christmas). It will be called Blooming Red.
Think of your poetry presentation to Dad as a Father’s Day card; it costs little more than a really nice one. Or think of it as a tuck-in gift or a tie-on as part of the wrap. Any poetry book you choose can be made more personal if you tie in a little grosgrain or satin ribbon inside the crease of the book to be used as a bookmark.
And don’t forget the hug.
Here is a sample poem from Imagining the Future : It was originally published by Dash, a literary journal.
Long Before They Shut the Napster Down
my father collected blursounds
get out of town
downloaded into the night soft jazzy
lights, sweet pink smoke
the smell of Jack Daniel's hot
satin doll
to real applause, nothing canned
found in the night a voice
like a staccato bass Wes Bowen
at KSL croons ella and shearing
at midnight to benefit a crowd
of one, alone at the wheel
make believe
marimbas, smooth
lullaby of birdland
sweet humanbaby-whine of clarinets
and a moon
no electronic nothing
humthrum of base, brushswish metal on cymbals
tell you what it's all about
lucky to get it before they shut the music down
smokey joe's
dispenser of joy, free of charge
cut me a rose
Happy Father's Day!
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
3 Key Phrases (Keywords) Needed to Create an Effective Website
According to a number of marketers, the most essential words on your site are: SIGN UP. These two little words are the building blocks of your empire. They are the link to developing a relationship with the visitors to your site.
With attention spans dwindling and competition increasing, the main goal of your website is to get email addresses that convert into sales. During an initial visit, your visitor may not have the time to spend browsing your site for information to entice him to make the decision to purchase your book or product. This is where those two little words come in; it takes less than a minute to type in a name and email address. And, if you have a FREE GIFT offer for signing up, you’ve made the sign up decision even easier.
While it’s important to offer that Free gift, which is considered an ethical bribe, if it’s of no value to the visitor, he probably won’t bother signing up. So, how do you decide if your gift is valuable enough to grab that email address?
The answer to this question is easy: you know who your target buyers are. Think about it . . . what do they want? What would you want? If your site and product is about writing, guess what…your visitors would probably appreciate an e-book on that topic, maybe a how to write guide. Or, if you’re into marketing…offer an e-book of marketing tips and guidance. If your site is about cooking, offer recipes, or an instructional cooking e-book. The idea is to establish yourself as an expert…as someone your reader wants to learn from. They need to want what you’re offering, whether it’s for instructional value, information, entertainment, or other
So, that’s pretty easy, right? But, a word of caution here: make sure your new subscriber is able to get his free gift. There are a couple of sites I’ve signed up to because I wanted the free offers. When I received the link to the offer, either the link didn’t work, or I couldn’t download the gift. Either way, I unsubscribe to the sites. I have on occasion sent an email to the site owner and ended up receiving the gift, but most often I don’t, and I’m sure others don’t, have the time to do this.
Just a quick note here: you need an opt-in box in order to acquire those email addresses. Services such as Icontact, GetResponse, and ConstantContact offer this service.
The next two words that are essential to every website that is selling a book or other product are, BUY NOW, or some other call-to-action. The call-to-action words or button needs to be visible and near the top of your home page. It should also be throughout your site on the sidebar. It’s been said over and over that only 1% of first time visitors will buy a product. It’s usually after developing a relationship through your newsletter, information, and offers that your potential customer or client will click on the BUY NOW button!
These are just three of a number of items that your website will need, but they are three of the most important.
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children’s ghostwriter/ rewriter. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Writers on the Move and author online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.
If you need help with your author platform, check out:
Build Your Author/Writer Platform
This 4-week class shows you Basic Website Optimization, Blogging Smart, Email Marketing, and Social Media Marketing
And, you can follow Karen at:
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