Tools For The Writer

Writer Tools

Every Writer has tools they use to make their jobs easier. Or they could be used to keep them on track. Some are pretty common to all writers. Others are specific to a particular writers personality and specific needs. I'll share a portion of my list with you. Perhaps you'll recognize a few of these items.

Earplugs I live in a noisy house. “I'm writing” doesn't always illicit the quiet I need for concentration. So I put in my earplugs. But they are no good alone, which leads to my second tool.

Simply Noise On this website (www.simplynoise.com) I can fill my ears with white, pink or brown noise. It helps to drown out the TV, stereo and video games. For the most part, it also drowns out voices too :)

Timer The timer has a two-fold purpose. Sometimes I use it to time my breaks. When it goes off then it's butt in chair time. Other times I use it for writing sprints. I set it and write until it dings. Both help me manage my limited writing time. If you don't have a good old-fashioned kitchen timer, you can always use an online one like http://www.online-stopwatch.com/.

Voice Recorder Why is it that the best ideas always come to me when I have no pen and paper handy?Does that ever happen to you? And the problem is, if I don't record it, it's lost forever. So to remedy that, mu husband bought me a hand held voice recorder a few Christmases ago. Of course now that I have an upgraded mobile phone, there is one on there as well. So now there's no way I'm letting an idea escape me.

EverNote I love this application. It allows me to access my WIP from anywhere. I have a copy of it on my phone. It's on my laptop. And if I'm anywhere with Internet access, I can get to it, pull up my WIP, edit or add to it, save it and access it from someplace completely different later. I think this is pretty cool.

So what tools do you find useful as a writer? Feel free to share.

About the Author:

Marietta "Mari" Taylor is the the author of Surviving Unemployment Devotions To Go and is monthly blogger for the GoAskMom blog at wral.com. Find out more about Mari at her blog or her website, www.mariettataylor.net.

Book Reviews

Last week in our Sisters in Crime local group meeting, we took care of the usual pre-guest presentation business. This being January that included electing officers, and making plans for guests and presentations for the upcoming months. Instead of having a guest author or expert in the field in February, we voted to have a members' discussion on publishing and marketing. During our introductions, one member mentioned she was a reader and also was a book reviewer. She is a retired librarian but she also put the word out there about doing book reviews, having done many of them herself, especially if we've read other members' books - word of mouth. Not only is that exposure for the book reviewer who is an author, it is exposure for the other author being reviewed.

Yesterday on my blog I talked about followers and readers, so it only makes sense that reviewers are part of the circle as well.

Therein lies the age-old question - how do you go about getting reviews and thereby readers of your books who are followers of your blog or website or your books in general? This is the hardest part of marketing. Getting those folks to read your books.

I've got a special deal running for the month of January of giving away PDF or ebook version files of all titles available in exchange for reviews. I have had one request for three of the titles (same person requested a copy of Finally Home, "The Proposal" and "The Tulip Kiss") as of the end of last week. How do I get people to read my books or stories when they won't even request a free PDF file to read in exchange for giving me a review?

I'm also going to try doing some sort of contest every time a new title comes out but I'm not really sure yet what I'll be doing. I need to build up some "swag" with covers, logos, et cetera but at this point, it's a bit tight. I don't think I can do contests and giveaways without really having a supply of things to give away. Please just keep checking my main blog for more information on what is happening with my writings.

I hope all of you will take me up and request a free copy of any of the titles I have available (all in PDF format, 100 copies of each title will be sent out) in exchange for reviews. This offer will go down the end of January. If interested, please email me at eeldering (at) gmail (dot) com and put "free books in exchange for reviews" in the subject line. In the body of the email, please state which titles you would like to review - State of Wilderness, State of Quarries, State of Reservations, State of Successes, State of Heights, State of Nature, Finally Home, "The Proposal" or "The Tulip Kiss". All of the state books will also have the accompanying study guide. You can request one or all nine or anything in between. If requests are made in the latter part of the month, I hope to have two more titles available (I'm waiting on covers for those two) - "Bride-and-Seek" and "Butterfly Halves" - so it is possible that will be eleven titles available. If you request them and they are not available at the time, I will send them to you as soon as they are available.

Book reviews, authors desire them and need them since this lets us know we are being read. Happy reading - E :)

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Ms. Eldering is the award winning author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad (JGDS), 50-state, mystery, trivia series. Her stories "Train of Clues" (shared 2nd place story), "The Proposal" (third place winning story, now available as an ebook), "Tulip Kiss" (1st place winning story, now available as an ebook), and "Butterfly Halves" (runner up, now available as an ebook) all placed first, second, or runner up in various contests to include two for Armchair Interviews and two for Echelon Press (Fast and ... themed type contests). Her story "Bride-and-Seek" (now available as an ebook) was selected for the South Carolina Writers' Workshop (SCWW) anthology, the Petigru Review. Ms. Eldering makes her home in upper state South Carolina and loves to travel, read, cross stitch and crochet. When she's not busy with teenaged children still living at home, she can be found at various homeschool or book events promoting her state series and her YA paranormal mystery, Finally Home.

For more information about the JGDS series, please visit the JGDS blog or the JGDS website.

For more information about Elysabeth's other writings, please visit her general writing and family blog or her website.

Tips to Writing a Nonfiction Picture Book for Kids By Maryann B. Sawka, Author of “Good Table Manners Made Easy”

As we are taught in elementary school, the difference between fiction and nonfiction is quite substantial. Nonfiction is meant to inform by sharing factual information and data that educates us. Whereas fiction is meant to entertain us with stories that are built on fantasy and untrue events. At times, fiction can be based on some factual historic event or supported scientific theory, but the writers and developers of the work of fiction generally take some license as they adapt the factual information with a heavy dose of fiction to entertain us and keep us hooked on the product that they generate.

We have to admit that, at times, some works of nonfiction have been labeled as dry, boring and “too wordy,” with passages that are quite long and sometimes lose us along the way. When reading nonfiction, we often have to re-read the same sentence several times as we interpret the meaning and make the understanding our own.

The same challenges that adults may face with nonfiction are not very different than the challenges that children face when reading nonfiction in science, history and other classes at school or when learning a new topic for a book report or project. Teachers work to determine the best instructional methods that they can employ to successfully educate their students with valuable factual information.

When writing nonfiction for children, it is important to remember who your audience is so that, like a teacher, you are presenting the material in a way that is less challenging for their level of learning. That being said, nonfiction works do represent valuable information that children need to learn.

Nonfiction for children generally includes shorter passages on each page of text combined with colorful illustrations to demonstrate the concept that is being shared. The age-level of the intended audience determines the complexity of the illustrations. For younger audiences, perhaps toddler through first grade, the illustrations are rather simple with less detail and larger images. The illustrations are bright with vivid colors that are inviting to the learner. When moving upward in audience age, the illustrations become more refined with greater detail so that the intricacy of the concept is more readily understood.

In the same way that the illustrations appeal to different age groups so do the words that the author uses to convey the concept of the published work. Early in the writing process, an author determines who the intended audience is for their work. Will the book be intended as a storybook where an adult or older child will read the work to a younger child? Is it intended to be a picture book that a young child can “read” independently? The answers to these questions will provide the direction in which the author works while writing and collaborating with an illustrator and editor.

Picture books are appealing to children because they are meant to entertain while informing. In many instances, their messages or valuable pieces of information are supporting the illustrations rather than the opposite when writing for an older audience. Picture books for young children have illustrations that are large, often encompassing an entire page with short, concise and succinct text that helps to explain the illustration.

Fiction and nonfiction books for children often look very much alike until you read the title or the first few sentences. Once you have read a picture book to a young child, it is fun to ask if they think the story was real or just pretend. With so many clothed, talking animals in our picture books, young children probably wonder why their own pets don’t talk! But remember that the talking animals in their nonfiction picture books are teaching them a valuable piece of information, even if we don’t always agree with their sense of fashion.

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 As an educator and parent, Maryann has always embraced the notion that good manners are stylish and timely in every situation. She founded Charming Manners, a training company that educates all ages in the quest for civility and self-confidence.  Maryann introduces good manners with a fun, engaging approach that makes the pursuit for knowledge an enjoyable experience.  She resides in southwestern Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.  Learn more at www.charmingmanners.net

 

 

Good Table Manners Made Easy is a quick, easy-to-read resource that teaches basic table manners in a delightful fun way. It also serves as a quick refresher for the table manners that we may have forgotten.

Get a sneak peek of the book at http://youtu.be/CGGKkxa9qSQ 

 

You can find out more about Maryann B. Sawka’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/MaryannBSawka.aspx. There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with Sawka and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions.

In addition, come listen to Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network show: Stories for Children at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork. The hosts VS Grenier, Kris Quinn Chirstopherson and Irene Roth will be chatting with Maryann B. Sawka about her book, writing, the publishing industry and experiences. Sawka will also be sharing writing tips and trials, and the tribulations of the writer’s life.

The show will air live January 16, 2012 at 2pm EST.

Self-Publishing: A Three Step Primer

The world of publishing is changing dramatically.  Every day it seems, there are new options on how to publish your book, and many of these involve by-passing the traditional route of querying, waiting (sometimes for up to a year) for an almost inevitable rejection, and then querying again.  Although I believe strongly that the curation role of traditional publishers is valuable and will continue to be important as publishing morphs into the future, it's also the case that for many authors, self-publishing will be an important part of their overall platform - even if it's just to produce promotional, in-between material.  I've noticed an almost continual stream of new companies coming along to encourage writers into what's being dubbed "Partnership Publishing", but caveat emptor (buyer beware) since many of the contracts on these sites are signficantly worse than traditional publishing contracts, and where they don't involve substantial upfront payments (better spent, if you've got it, on high quality editors), usually involve you giving up a significant portion of royalties.   If you are self-publishing, you may as well do it yourself, and hire the specific skills you need, keeping control of your project.  After all, keeping control and reaping a high portion of the rewards are two key reasons for self-publishing.  Following are three no frills steps to getting your book published, and out into the market place.  

1. Get hold of good guide book. This is one place where a twenty dollar investment is well spent.  There are so many good books out there, and many are so well written and laid out, that you could use them for every book you self publish.  

2. Learn to turn your word processed file into a series of formats for electronic reading.  e-books are now outselling print books, and it's so easy to take a file and turn it into a .pdf file and other formats that there's no excuse for paying someone else to do it for you.  The easiest one-stop solution is to get hold of Calibre software.  Calibre is free, and will convert your book into any ebook reading format from ePub to .pdf to .mobi, etc.  Just make sure you check each format that you want to sell on a real ebook reader, as selling poorly formatted books is a fast way to make a bad name for yourself (and self-publishing in general).

3. Find a great printer. Not only can the right print company set your book up for print publication of your book at very reasonable prices for small print runs, but you can also use a trusted source for all sorts of promotional material like brochures, stickers, bookmarks, and postcards.  Develop this relationship and you may find that you can negotiate a great package deal that will be far and away more beneficial to your book sales than paying someone to do it all for you.

Of course there's much more to self-publishing than these three steps, as you'll find when you get hold of one of the manuals above, but at base, all we're talking about is taking your completed writing project,  polishing it to perfection (don't skip this step! Or the need for a professional editor), and then making it available to a readership.  Between electronic formatting and a great print resource, you're good to go.

About the Author: Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, the novel Sleep Before Evening, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Deeper Into the Pond, Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find out more about Magdalena at http://www.magdalenaball.com

Goal-setting in the New Year

For me, January is always a time to reflect on the old year and prepare for the new one. I love this quote from Jim Rohn: "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." That is so true, and great motivation when striving after your goals day by day.

Another thing to keep in mind when setting goals is to be cognizant of all areas of your life. As Coach Wooden said, "The two most important words in the English language are love and balance." With that in mind, I like to break up my goals into different sections: goals for my writing, goals for my nonprofit organization Write On! For Literacy, and general goals for a healthy, balanced life. Here are some examples in each category:

Writing Goals

• Write 400 words every day.
• Complete new novel manuscript.
• Submit to a literary magazine every other week.
• Write a three-act play.
• Read at least half an hour every day.

Write On! Goals

• Send out a newsletter every month.
• Be a guest speaker at 8 schools/organizations.
• Create a Write On! DVD.
• Start a Holiday Book Drive at Purdue.

Healthy Life Goals

• Exercise three days a week.
• Learn to cook 10 new healthy recipes.
• Plant a garden.
• Do at least one act of kindness every day.
• Count my blessings every night.

I've heard that the best goals are both measurable and attainable. Instead of saying, "In 2012 I want to write more" set a plan of action of how you will do this. The word "more" is so vague -- how much do you want to write every day? Do you want to measure your writing by time, i.e. one hour every day? Or would you be more motivated by a page or word count? Make sure the goal is attainable -- you don't want to feel defeated or overwhelmed -- but once your goal is set, try to be firm with yourself. Stick to it! Here is a website that I find really helpful and motivating in tracking my progress on my goals: www.joesgoals.com. Even after a long day, I'll put in the work to get that little green check-mark! :)

Something I am trying for the first time this year is breaking down my year-long goals into month-by-month goals. It helps me get a handle on more daunting projects by planning out how I want to move forward month by month. For example, one of my writing goals is to finish the current novel manuscript I am working on. I have a goal of writing a certain number of pages every month.

I am also a believer in daily to-do lists -- it feels so good to cross things off my list! -- but I think month-by-month goals are more flexible for those inevitable times when life gets crazy. For example, maybe I won't be able to write much for a few days during midterms, but then I can make up for it the next week and still be on track for my monthly writing goal.

What are your goals for 2012? How will you make them happen?

I'll close with another of my favorite quotes from Coach Wooden: "The journey is better than the inn." Here's wishing you a masterpiece of a journey in 2012!

Dallas Woodburn is the author of two award-winning collections of short stories and editor of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Her short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize three years in a row and her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of national publications including Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer, and The Los Angeles Times. She is the founder of Write On! For Literacy and Write On! Books Youth Publishing Company and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Fiction Writing at Purdue University, where she teaches undergraduate writing courses and serves as Assistant Fiction Editor of Sycamore Review.

Got Rhythm?

What does writing have to do with music?

When you are in the revision and self-editing mode with your Work In Progress (WIP), it is helpful to read it aloud, whether to yourself or to someone else. This not only helps you catch errors you might not have seen on the computer screen or printed page, but it also helps you create a musicality with your prose.

“What?” you may ask. “I’m not a musician.”

You don’t have to be, to create a beat or a rhythm with your sentences. You don’t want to have them all sound the same. Here’s a very simple example:

He went to the cupboard. He looked at the bare shelves. He took out a can of soup. He heated it. He sat down to eat.

For one thing, all the sentences begin with “He.” The second is that they all have the same rhythm or beat. To vary them, you might write something like this:
Joe stared at the dusty shelves in the cupboard. Nothing but soup. He selected a can of tomato, opened it and heated it. With a deep sigh, he sat at his lonely table to eat.

There are other ways to make your writing more poetic or musical. Use the senses to create mood or emotion and paint pictures, build on imagery, metaphor, simile.

Example:
Rain falls over the Atlantic Ocean from River Shannon to Limerick and will probably go on for a long time. The cold wetness has made people so sick they cough until they are breathless. Cures are sought to ease the sickness, such as boiled onions in milk, blackened with pepper.

Not terribly exiting or evocative language. A lot of “telling” the reader the “facts.”

Here’s a passage from Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt:
Out in the Atlantic Ocean, great sheets of rain gathered to drift slowly up the River Shannon and settle forever in Limerick. The rain dampened the city from the Feast of the Circumcision to New Year’s Eve. It created a cacophony of hacking coughs, bronchial rattles, asthmatic wheezes, consumptive croaks. It turned noses into fountains, lungs into bacterial sponges. It provoked cures galore; to ease the catarrh you boiled onions in milk blackened with pepper, for the congested passages you made a paste of boiled flour and nettles, wrapped it in a rag, and slapped it sizzling, on the chest.

By using poetic language, McCourt transforms lifeless description into a symphony.

What do you do to create rhythm in your writing?

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A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in Northwest Washington. Her first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, is based on her grandmother, and the sequel, Follow the Dream, has recently won the national WILLA Award. Heidi has a degree in journalism, a certificate in fiction writing, and is a member of Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She teaches writing and edits, blogs, and is working on the next books in her “Dare to Dream” series.

Forget Resolutions Go For Real Solutions

H- have faith in your abilities

A- advertise and market

P-post positive, handwritten notes to others

P-provide opportunities to grow

Y-yearn to be a success

N-network

E- enjoy the process

W- worry less, work more

Y-yearly mental and physical health checkup

E-educate yourself about your audience

A-adopt the 7 habits of highly effective people

R-rest, relax, renew



Thanks to my co-author Anita Tieman for this fun way to look at the new year.

Martha Swirzinski            Anita Tieman


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