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Novel Research: Town History

It’s always fun to dig into the history of the town you’re writing about.

Many famous people grew up in small towns, which is really surprising. Ronald Reagan grew up in Dixon, Illinois, and Abraham Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois (and Kentucky). When I began researching the town I’m writing about, I learned a lot about the town’s native authors. Several authors who wrote famously about this small, Midwestern town grew up in the town and moved away after graduation, only to write about their towns later in life.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Renowned theologian and author Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. Reinhold Niebuhr

Doing research behind the author of the famous poem, “The Serenity Prayer,” I discovered that Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. His father was the administrator of the state-of-the-art Deaconess Hospital in Lincoln. One of his brothers, Walter, was managing editor of the Lincoln Daily NewsHerald newspaper, until he passed away in 1946.
Niebuhr children
Siblings, Left to Right: H. Richard, Reinhold, Hulda, and Walter Niebuhr
A theologian, Reinhold was Dean and Professor of Applied Christianity at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. His photo was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1948. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and was in the top 100 most influential people in the twentieth century (Life magazine, 1990).
While he did not write much about his hometown as did other authors who grew up there, Niebuhr wrote about thought-provoking and often controversial subjects. He wrote about the spirituality of man and direction of its society shortly after WWII. Several of his titles are Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Nature and Destiny of Man, The Irony of American History, Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, among other titles that explored society, the human soul, and politics.
Incidentally, in my first (unpublished) manuscript set during WWII, my main character mentions “The Serenity Prayer,” which was published in the early 1940s.
William Maxwell
William-Keepers-Maxwell-Jr-local-author-tisha-martin-historical-fictionWilliam Maxwell was one of two locals who wrote extensively about their hometown. His stories and novels are often deep, exploring the social and psychological aspects of people living in a small town. According to online research, Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois on August 16, 1908. His parents were William Keepers Maxwell and Eva Blossom (née Blinn) Maxwell. He attended Senn High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1930 where he was class salutatorian, poetry editor of The Daily Illini, and a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. Maxwell earned a master’s degree at Harvard University. Maxwell taught English briefly at the University of Illinois before moving to New York. (Wikipedia.)
Maxwell wrote of tough but necessary topics, such as social and psychological strains of the small town and how various events affected him. Only three of his short stories held happier moments and included people from his childhood. For example Miss Vera Brown  was a popular fifth-grade teacher, whose death devastates her male students (“Love” in All the Days and Nights 245-248). Another example is Mr. Danforth, the venerable horse veterinarian whose advice is quietly sought by many townspeople (Time Will Darken It). A third example is Lincoln College biology Professor Chris Oglevee, who ably mentors the Cub Scout troop of the First Presbyterian Church (“With Reference to an Incident at a Bridge” [For Eudora Welty] in All the Days and Nights 265-269). (D. L. Henson, Finding Lincoln Illinois.)
But one incident happened in his life that he wrote searchingly but fondly of. During the Spanish Flu of 1918, young Maxwell and his mother became ill. Maxwell recovered but his mother did not. Her death devastated the family, and his father sent the boy to live with relatives in Bloomington, a town nearly an hour away, which would have been quite a trip in 1918. He later rejoined his father in Chicago. Maxwell’s story They Came Like Swallows depicts this event so vividly and shows how such a wide-spread epidemic (that spread all the way to Philadelphia) affected an eight-year-old boy from a small Midwestern town.
In my current WIP, I dive a bit into the social history of the townspeople that my journalist is writing about. The more she uncovers about one of the oldest buildings in town, the more prominent folks will stop at nothing to silence her.
So, the next time you’re writing historical fiction or reading historical fiction, appreciate the amount of research the author took to create even a small scene to “get the facts just right.” It really adds meaning to the depth of the novel.
What interesting towns have you read about?
Photos: Courtesy of D. L. Henson and Wikipedia
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Novel Research: Town History

It’s always fun to dig into the history of the town you’re writing about.

Many famous people grew up in small towns, which is really surprising. Ronald Reagan grew up in Dixon, Illinois, and Abraham Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois (and Kentucky). However, several authors who wrote famously about this small, Midwestern town grew up in the town and moved away after graduation, only to write about their towns later in life.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Renowned theologian and author Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. Reinhold Niebuhr

Doing a bit of research behind the author of the famous poem, “The Serenity Prayer,” I discovered that Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. His father was the administrator of the state-of-the-art Deaconess Hospital in Lincoln. One of his brothers, Walter, was managing editor of the Lincoln Daily NewsHerald newspaper, until he passed away in 1946.
Niebuhr children
Siblings, Left to Right: H. Richard, Reinhold, Hulda, and Walter Niebuhr
A theologian, Reinhold was Dean and Professor of Applied Christianity at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. His photo was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1948. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and was in the top 100 most influential people in the twentieth century (Life magazine, 1990).
While he did not write much about his hometown as other authors who grew up there did, Niebuhr wrote about thought-provoking and often controversial subjects. He wrote about the spirituality of man and direction of its society shortly after WWII. Several of his titles are Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Nature and Destiny of Man, The Irony of American History, Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, among other titles that explored society, the human soul, and politics.
Incidentally, in my first (unpublished) novel set during WWII, my main character mentions “The Serenity Prayer,” even though the poem wasn’t published until the early 1950s.
William Maxwell
William-Keepers-Maxwell-Jr-local-author-tisha-martin-historical-fictionWilliam Maxwell was one of two locals who wrote extensively about their hometown. His stories and novels are often deep, exploring the social and psychological aspects of people living in a small town. According to online research, Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois on August 16, 1908. His parents were William Keepers Maxwell and Eva Blossom (née Blinn) Maxwell. He attended Senn High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1930 where he was class salutatorian, poetry editor of The Daily Illini, and a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. Maxwell earned a master’s degree at Harvard University. Maxwell taught English briefly at the University of Illinois before moving to New York. (Wikipedia.)
Maxwell wrote of tough but necessary topics, such as social and psychological strains of the small town and how various events affected him. Only three of his short stories held happier moments and included people from his childhood. For example Miss Vera Brown  was a popular fifth-grade teacher, whose death devastates her male students (“Love” in All the Days and Nights 245-248). Another example is Mr. Danforth, the venerable horse veterinarian whose advice is quietly sought by many townspeople (Time Will Darken It). A third example is Lincoln College biology Professor Chris Oglevee, who ably mentors the Cub Scout troop of the First Presbyterian Church (“With Reference to an Incident at a Bridge” [For Eudora Welty] in All the Days and Nights 265-269). (D. L. Henson, Finding Lincoln Illinois.)
But one incident happened in his life that he wrote searchingly but fondly of. During the Spanish Flu of 1918, young Maxwell and his mother became ill. Maxwell recovered but his mother did not. Her death devastated the family, and his father sent the boy to live with relatives in Bloomington, a town nearly an hour away, which would have been quite a trip in 1918. He later rejoined his father in Chicago. Maxwell’s story They Came Like Swallows depicts this event so vividly and shows how such a wide-spread epidemic (that spread all the way to Philadelphia) affected an eight-year-old boy from a small Midwestern town.
In my current WIP, I dive a bit into the social history of the townspeople that my journalist is writing about. The more juice she uncovers about one of the oldest buildings in town, the more prominent folks will stop at nothing to silence her.
So, the next time you’re writing historical fiction or reading historical fiction, appreciate the amount of research the author took to create even a small scene to “get the facts just right.” It really adds meaning to the depth of the novel.
What interesting town research have you read about or uncovered?
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ACFW June 2019 Book Releases

Isn’t this great? It’s the first day of Summer, and here’s a list of sweet new reads from awesome ACFW authors! Enjoy the pleasures of summertime, and don’t let the ice cream dribble onto your page . . .

June 2019 New Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Contemporary Romance:

The Art of Rivers by Janet Ferguson — Can a woman whose life has been damaged by addiction trust her heart to a man in recovery? (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)

Cross My Heart by Robin Lee Hatcher — Horse rescue farmer Ashley helps Ben start an equine therapy barn on his great-great grandfather’s farm. When they consider a relationship together, her bitter experience with her opioid addict brother reins in any hope for a future with Ben, who is five years in recovery from alcoholism. Ben knows that with God, all things are possible—but will Ashley find it within herself to give love a chance? (Contemporary Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Risking Love by Toni Shiloh — Nikki lives with a perfect trifecta of noes. No guys. No dates. No way. After years of keeping men at bay, Nikki Gordon has it down to a science. No one, not even sweet, hunky Shorty Smalls can change her mind. Period. So if she’s got it all figured out, why does her heart sink to her toes when she sees Shorty with another woman? (Contemporary Romance from Celebrate Lit)

General:

Uncharted Destiny by Keely Brooke Keith — When Bailey sets out to rescue her lost friend in the Land’s dangerous mountain terrain, she discovers more about the Land—and herself—than she bargained for. (General from Edenbrooke Press)

Six Houses Down by Kari Rimbey — Two days after Sharon Webster’s distant husband returns for a surprise visit, their autistic son slips out of the house and is lost in historic Washington D. C. As they search for their boy, Sharon is forced to rely on the husband she believes no longer loves her. An elderly black couple down the street seems to understand her unspoken hurts. Has God sent them to help her find trust again? (General Contemporary, Independently Published)

Historical:

In the Shadow of the King by Melissa Rosenberger — Beset by doubts and jealousy about prophecies spoken over her brother Yeshua, Hannah struggles to see the truth before her eyes until it is too late…or is it? (Historical from Carpenter’s Son Publishing)

Historical Romance:

This Healing Journey by Misty M. Beller — An adventure-seeking wilderness girl and an ex-cavalryman looking to settle down fall in love while caring for a wounded Indian child that shows up in his barn. Will their differences keep them apart or become their greatest strengths? (Historical Romance, Independently Published)

Cameo Courtships by Susanne Dietze, Debra E. Marvin, Jennifer Uhlarik, and Kathleen Y’Barbo — In 1851, a special cameo is gifted by Queen Victoria to Letitia Newton, who though considered an old maid, meets the perfect gentleman minutes after donning. Told by the Queen the cameo is to be shared, Letitia gifts the “Victoria Cameo” to a woman in her family, hoping adventure and romance will follow each of its subsequent wearers. Adventure indeed follows two competing journalists, one of whom carries the cameo while looking to expose a smuggler, a trouser-wearing frontierswoman and a reverend who are on a mission to ransom the cameo from a manipulative brothel owner, two Pinkertons who are charged with the care of the cameo but must rely on one another when the cameo is once again stolen, and a young woman who doubts the cameo can help her when a handsome Scottish library administrator ruins her dream of overseeing the new Carnegie Library children’s department and keeps a social chasm between himself and her father. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)

Mail-Order Refuge by Cindy Regnier — Carly Blair from Baltimore buys a train ticket to Kansas where she will become the wife of a man she’s never met. She must leave Baltimore to escape the evil plans her ex-fiance has for using her artistic talents for a counterfeit operation. Rand Stafford, Kansas cattle rancher is looking after his two orphaned nieces, but knows they need a mother. He’s not interested in love since being left at the altar so he advertises for a mail-order bride, willing to do whatever it takes to give Mary Jo and Jenna a proper home and upbringing. Can Carly and Rand find love where they least expect it, or will the shadows of the past dash their hopes for the future? (Historical Romance from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas)

No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky — Between the years of 1869 to 1939 more than 100,000 poor British children were sent across the ocean to Canada with the promise of a better life. Those who took them in to work as farm laborers or household servants were told they were orphans—but was that the truth? (Historical Romance from Waterbrook/Multnomah [Random House])

Romantic Suspense:

Darkwater Truth by Robin Caroll — Adelaide Fountaine, general manager, is enthusiastically renovating parts of the Darkwater Inn. Her intentions come to a screeching halt when a skeleton is found behind a makeshift wall—an axe beside it. As Adelaide works alongside owner Dimitri Pampalon and Detective Beau Savoie, the two men who have been pursuing her heart, she learns the eerie death has tentacles that reach deep into the seedy past of both the Darkwater Inn and the evil underground of New Orleans. The past and the present collide as the stakes are upped—not only for Adelaide’s heart, but for her very life and her father’s life as well. The threats are deadly, the coils of evil are tightening around everyone involved, and they are more powerful than anyone could have ever imagined. (Romantic Suspense, Independently Published)

Over the Line by Kelly Irvin — Gabriela’s brother is missing, he’s a suspect in a murder, and she’s in the cross hairs of a criminal organization. The only person who can help her is the one man she can’t trust. Will Gabby & Eli find her brother before it’s too late? (Romantic Suspense from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Long Walk Home by DiAnn Mills — As an Arab Christian pilot for a relief organization, Paul Farid feels called to bring supplies to his war-torn countrymen in southern Sudan. But with constant attacks from Khartoum’s Islamic government, the villagers have plenty of reasons to distrust Paul, and he wonders if the risks he’s taking are really worth his mission. American doctor Larson Kerr started working with the Sudanese people out of a sense of duty and has grown to love them all, especially Rachel Alier, her young assistant. But despite the years she’s spent caring for them, her life feels unfulfilled. It’s a void noticed both by Paul and by Rachel’s older brother, Colonel Ben Alier of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. When Rachel is abducted, Paul, Ben, and Larson agree to set aside their differences to form an unlikely alliance and execute a daring rescue. Their faith and beliefs tested, each must find the strength to walk the path God has laid before them, to find their way home. (Romantic Suspense from Tyndale House)

The Last Chaplain by Carl M. White — At the request of Pastor John Grant, the last chaplain of the United States Senate, Lisa Smithy embarks on the adventure of a lifetime: find a former Senate staff member and convince him to reveal to a DC reporter the plot that led to Dr. Grant’s removal and the discrediting of his best friend, a United States Senator. From the South, to the West, to the Midwest, evil men are desperate to stop her, and romance surprisingly finds her. Can she bring together the former Senate staffer who knows all and the Washington reporter who can tell all, while eluding the men who would end it all? (Romantic Suspense from Austin Brothers Publishers)

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15 Survival Quotes for Writers

ebay 8-12-09 001

This blog post first appeared here, September 8, 2016.

Recently, I attended the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Association yearly conference in Nashville. Armed with my program booklet for the four-day conference, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the various sessions the conference offered.

In this post, I’ve included only a snippet of key elements and survival tips taught in the sessions–elements that caused me to sit up and take notice. Hope they are an encouragement to you as well.
Erin Healy, How To Think Like Your Editor

  • Authors who edit place high values on their books. (And readers will thank you.)
  • Don’t give up ownership.
  • Read your story like a reader, for emotion. Read your story like an editor, for clarity.
  • About Erin

Susan May Warren & Rachel Hauck, Supercharge Your Series

  • Put all your good stuff into one book, and pitch that book.
  • Create over-arching character.
  • Put the secret in the middle of the book. Don’t wait until the end.
  • Keep raising the stakes.
  • About Susan

Steve Laube, Developing a Thick Skin

  • Criticism is a form of rejection, but “No” means “I believe in you. You can do much better,” which essentially, is a huge encouragement.
  • Don’t engage the critic publicly. Own the mistake.
  • Emotion is essential to good writing.
  • Persistence is Key.
  • About Steve

What survival tips do you have? Please share!

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Novel Research: Town History

It’s always fun to dig into the history of the town you’re writing about.

Many famous people grew up in small towns, which is really surprising. Ronald Reagan grew up in Dixon, Illinois, and Abraham Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois (and Kentucky). However, several authors who wrote famously about this small, Midwestern town grew up in the town and moved away after graduation, only to write about their towns later in life.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Renowned theologian and author Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. Reinhold Niebuhr

 

Doing a bit of research behind the author of the famous poem, “The Serenity Prayer,” I discovered that Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. His father was the administrator of the state-of-the-art Deaconess Hospital in Lincoln. One of his brothers, Walter, was managing editor of the Lincoln Daily NewsHerald newspaper, until he passed away in 1946.
Niebuhr children
Siblings, Left to Right: H. Richard, Reinhold, Hulda, and Walter Niebuhr
A theologian, Reinhold was Dean and Professor of Applied Christianity at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. His photo was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1948. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and was in the top 100 most influential people in the twentieth century (Life magazine, 1990).
While he did not write much about his hometown as other authors who grew up there did, Niebuhr wrote about thought-provoking and often controversial subjects. He wrote about the spirituality of man and direction of its society shortly after WWII. Several of his titles are Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Nature and Destiny of Man, The Irony of American History, Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, among other titles that explored society, the human soul, and politics.
William Maxwell
William-Keepers-Maxwell-Jr-local-author-tisha-martin-historical-fictionWilliam Maxwell was one of two locals who wrote extensively about their hometown. His stories and novels are often deep, exploring the social and psychological aspects of people living in a small town. According to online research, Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois on August 16, 1908. His parents were William Keepers Maxwell and Eva Blossom (née Blinn) Maxwell. He attended Senn High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1930 where he was class salutatorian, poetry editor of The Daily Illini, and a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. Maxwell earned a master’s degree at Harvard University. Maxwell taught English briefly at the University of Illinois before moving to New York. (Wikipedia.)
Maxwell wrote of tough but necessary topics, such as social and psychological strains of the small town and how various events affected him. Only three of his short stories held happier moments and included people from his childhood. For example Miss Vera Brown  was a popular fifth-grade teacher, whose death devastates her male students (“Love” in All the Days and Nights 245-248). Another example is Mr. Danforth, the venerable horse veterinarian whose advice is quietly sought by many townspeople (Time Will Darken It). A third example is Lincoln College biology Professor Chris Oglevee, who ably mentors the Cub Scout troop of the First Presbyterian Church (“With Reference to an Incident at a Bridge” [For Eudora Welty] in All the Days and Nights 265-269). (D. L. Henson, Finding Lincoln Illinois.)
But one incident happened in his life that he wrote searchingly but fondly of. During the Spanish Flu of 1918, young Maxwell and his mother became ill. Maxwell recovered but his mother did not. Her death devastated the family, and his father sent the boy to live with relatives in Bloomington, a town nearly an hour away, which would have been quite a trip in 1918. He later rejoined his father in Chicago. Maxwell’s story They Came Like Swallows depicts this event so vividly and shows how such a wide-spread epidemic (that spread all the way to Philadelphia) affected an eight-year-old boy from a small Midwestern town.
So, the next time you’re writing historical fiction or reading historical fiction, appreciate the amount of research the author took to create even a small scene to “get the facts just right.” It really adds meaning to the depth of the novel.
What interesting town research have you read about or uncovered?
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Interview: Author Pitch Toolkit with Katie Morford Phillips

Cover Sheet

I’m excited to introduce Katie (Morford) Phillips, the creator of this amazing and easy-to-use author pitch toolkit. As a writer who’s agonized over knowing how to pitch to an agent or editor and what to put together, it’s a relief to know that this reusable toolkit is available. Before we get started, though, Katie…

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Um, where to start. I’m a slow writer, a fast fiction editor, and a voracious reader who grew up re-imagining the endings of books I didn’t like. My first published novel was a co-authored romantic suspense novel, Kenan, but I typically trend toward soft speculative fiction. I have a space opera fantasy in revisions and I am currently working on a YA historical urban fantasy (think Harry Potter meets X-men in WWII-era northern England). I married a ballet/swing dancer and love travel, strawberries, and Cadbury Royal Dark Chocolate.

Sounds like you have life moving in beautiful circles. Your YA historical sounds intriguing!

What is the Author Pitch Toolkit?

The Author Pitch Toolkit is full of tips to impress agents and editors, real-life examples, and reusable templates for your querying/pitching journey.

Tell your story with clarity and confidence!

Wow, I wish this toolkit available to me when I had first pitched, or even when I had created my first book proposal! I’m so glad it’s available now!

What drew you to the crazy wonderful world of gifting authors with your awesome pitch toolkit?

As first an author, then a publisher and fiction editor, I’ve had the unique opportunity to see the book industry (especially the querying/pitching process) from both sides of the table. When so many of my fiction editing clients expressed to me how lost and overwhelmed they felt trying to navigate the pitching process, I knew I had the experience and expertise to guide them to telling their story with clarity and confidence. As one of my multi-published clients said, “This is the toolkit I wish I’d had when I was first starting out!”

This is super exciting! I can’t wait for Authors to get started using the toolkit!

What’s your favorite tool and why?

I absolutely love the query letter, synopsis, and one-sheet templates. So many amazing stories are sitting on a shelf because their author is too overwhelmed to try pitching or hasn’t been equipped to communicate their story in an intriguing way. Many writers struggle to condense an entire novel into a synopsis or blurb. The templates are designed to be super simple, plug-and-play resources. They guide authors step-by-step through the process and eliminate overwhelm so they can reach their goals.

For me, I’ve always struggled putting my story into a synopsis or even a blurb. Now that I’ve had the chance to look through this amazing toolkit, I’m confident that using it will 100% chase away all those intimidating feelings about the whole pitching/proposal process.

What do you want authors to come away with after purchasing their Author Pitch Toolkit?

I really want authors to walk away with tremendous clarity as to their story and its strongest selling points, and therefore great confidence in their story. I want to take authors from overwhelm to enthusiasm, and guide them through sharing their passion with an industry desperate for fresh stories and voices.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Katie, and for introducing your very affordable Author Pitch Toolkit!

Authors, you don’t have to wallow in self-doubt and insecurity over pitching in front of agents and editors. An affordable $30 lifetime investment for today’s author. 

Purchase the Author Pitch Toolkit today!

About Katie:

She sKatie Morford Phillips Author Pitch Toolkittarted writing with a friend in high school and eventually branched out on her own and completed 11+ novels and novels (which will never see the light), although she does have one romantic suspense novel published. After three years in journalism and three years living overseas doing communications for a non-profit, she returned to her native Kansas to launch her own fiction editing career. Helping authors is her passion. She’s also co-founder of Crosshair Press, an indie publishing house specializing in adventure stories.

How can Authors connect with you?

 

Website: www.storyforhisglory.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/create.explore.illuminate

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/create.explore.illuminate/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthKarisWaters

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthKarisWaters/pins/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/silverferncreativeservices/

Crosshair Press: www.crosshairpress.com

Amazon (Kenan, a romantic suspense novel): https://www.amazon.com/Kenan-Katiller-Book-Karis-Waters-ebook/dp/B00Y32P47A

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15 Survival Quotes for Writers

ebay 8-12-09 001

Recently, I attended the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Association yearly conference in Nashville. Armed with my program booklet for the four-day conference, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the various sessions the conference offered.

In this post, I’ve included only a snippet of key elements and survival tips taught in the sessions–elements that caused me to sit up and take notice. Hope they are an encouragement to you as well.

Erin Healy, How To Think Like Your Editor

  • Authors who edit place high values on their books. (And readers will thank you.)
  • Don’t give up ownership.
  • Read your story like a reader, for emotion. Read your story like an editor, for clarity.
  • About Erin

Chip MacGregor, Working With an Agent in the New Industry

  • The writer has opportunity more than ever now in the publishing industry.
  • How and where can I market? (author branding)
  • All art is hard.
  • The author is a miniature business
  • About Chip

Susan May Warren & Rachel Hauck, Supercharge Your Series

  • Put all your good stuff into one book, and pitch that book.
  • Create over-arching character.
  • Put the secret in the middle of the book. Don’t wait until the end.
  • Keep raising the stakes.
  • About Susan

Steve Laube, Developing a Thick Skin

  • Criticism is a form of rejection, but “No” means “I believe in you. You can do much better,” which essentially, is a huge encouragement.
  • Don’t engage the critic publicly. Own the mistake.
  • Emotion is essential to good writing.
  • Persistence is Key.
  • About Steve

 

What survival tips do you have? Please share!

 

 

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ACFW 2016: What is Success? Part 2

zinsser hard writing is easy writing

In an ACFW conference session about writers developing a thick skin, Steve Laube had asked us to define success.

In my quest for defining success, I learned the real value of writing and strategy.

The process for writing one or a hundred books will be different for every writer from every different level. Some may crank out four novels a year, and others one novel every two years, or even four years. Steve’s blog post Praise Slow Writing really made me think. However, in my reply to his post, I did not think well enough. Well, I did not choose well enough.

Steve’s gracious reply:

Tisha,

I must be very clear that this post is in no way a criticism or critique of those who write and publish much faster.

I represent Susan May Warren and know that she has a gift. She is very deliberate and careful in her writing but she can do it at a speed that makes it appear easy. Her manuscripts go into her publishers very clean and her readers love her writing.

Sure, Susie’s output is prodigious. But it is not slap-dash or haphazard. We just had a meal together last week and talked about her work strategy. She has spent a long time working long hours to get to this point. It just seems like she “cranks ’em out” when in actuality that is part of the strategy!

But remember it is a gift honed through years and years of discipline and learning.

I have clients who write one novel every three to four years.
I have other clients who write one novel every three to four months, or even faster.
Both are right in their methods.

I also know how hard Ted Dekker works on his books and how he wrestles with the text and the plots to make them impact his readers.

So, let’s be careful that we don’t fall into a comparison of volume in output as being somehow less literary than what I wrote here and called Slow Writing.

My intent is to challenge each of us to consider our words and make sure they are the right ones to put on the page. If they come at lightning speed it still may be Slow Writing because it too[k] years to get to the point where you can create quickly but with quality.

Other writers are gifted with the ability to write slowly. Neither is wrong in their approach. Merely different.

Uh-oh. I’d committed the cardinal sin for writers! Totally botched my word choice!

One word! Did you find it?
My  c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y  thought-out reply:

Thank you for the clarification, Steve, and for teaching me this deeper value of writing/strategy.

My word choice “haphazard” is incorrect, as I did not intend to or even want to slam writers who write quickly and label them as uber pansters who don’t care for their readers and the written word. I do apologize, for the word choice gave the impression that this post was criticizing fast writers. And I didn’t even take it that way! Ugh, words. Guess I should have rolled that one around in my tongue a little longer. 😉

I attended Susie’s and Rachel’s post-conference session this past weekend at the ACFW conference, and greatly admired their knowledge and writing ability.

I guess I’m just one of those Slow Writers. 🙂

Again, thank you.

It’s all about choosing the right word or definition. In a sea of a million. And even then, the above reply has some issues. (Maybe I’m in the wrong profession?) Haha. Just give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it!

Granted, this barely touches the definition of success (still working to define it as it pertains to my writing). 😀
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ACFW 2016: What is Success? Part 1

the trouble with writing

 

Steve Laube of The Steve Laube Agency taught one of the ACFW sessions. This session was the last Saturday sessions and it was really quite eye-opening. If any fledgling writer could be persuaded not to be an author, then Steve’s class would have done the job. He left the twenty or thirty of us with this challenge:

“If you can define success for yourself very quickly, then you’re on your way to being successful.” — Steve Laube

This week, in one of the Agency’s post, Steve offered a piece of advice that seems to counteract the thrust of the writing today. In the post “Praise Slow Writing,” Steve presents the idea of writing slower, choosing each word carefully, making sure that each sentence is precise in describing a scene or character description, or even plot idea.

Below is my reply:

For ten years, as I kept researching, writing, and editing my novel, I wondered: Why is it taking me so long to write just one book? Surely, while other authors are publishing a book a year, I will never accomplish very much in my lifetime.

Success is in the small things–sometimes–because it is the deliberate delay of writing and the careful study of the craft that will resonate deeply with readers after they’ve read a well-written sentence-by-sentence, scene-by-scene novel, causing them sink back into their couch and sigh and reflect and grow. So I must continue to stop and evaluate what I’m writing, why I’m writing, and how I’m writing.

Do I want to simply be that author who churns out book after book in haphazard fashion, or do I want to be the author who prays over each written word, until God has helped me to write a masterpiece to share with the world?

I may never be a Susan May Warren or Janette Oke or Ted Dekker, but perhaps I might be a Harper Lee or Margaret Mitchell or Elizabeth Gaskell, encouraging the world one word–book–at a time. Slowly.

I made a glaring mistake in my above reply to the post! What do you think it is? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post, and what I learned from replying to a blog post.

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Kind the Kitten

Recently, I saw a Kohl’s advertisement on Facebook, displaying attractive t-shirts for girls to wear to school. The t-shirts promote the non-profit Kind Campaign against girl-to-girl bullying. I like these styles, especially the gray one: Being Kind Never Goes Out of Style, and t he pink and white kitten shirt.

I immediately thought of another kind of kind — our gray and black striped kitten, Kind! We named this kitty Kind to help teach the little ones to be kind to him, and how to hold him properly. 🙂 When we named him Kind, I really thought it was crazy, naming an animal after a character trait. But, when the kids were actually nice to the kitty, I’m not laughing as much at this cute kitty. He really is the kindest kitten ever. 😀

So, looking for a pet name? Have little kids and want to teach them something that will stick with them forever? Name your pet a character trait! 🙂

What’s the funnest pet name you’ve ever heard of?