A Useful Podcast for Writers from Joanna Penn, with Dean Wesley Smith

by Marsha Ward

I don't listen to many podcasts, because, well, you know, time. But recently I listened to one from author Joanna Penn's series at https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/

The title is "Your Magic Bakery Of Intellectual Property Rights With Dean Wesley Smith" and it's found at
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/07/31/intellectual-property-rights-dean-wesley-smith/

If you know me at all, you know I count Dean Wesley Smith as a mentor, which is really why I listened to the program in the first place. I love Dean's view on many things, including keeping your intellectual property rights intact. I'm a control freak like he is, I guess.

The podcast lasts just over an hour, which includes an introductory discussion from Joanna, but if you can't bear to listen all that time, the site includes a transcript. DO read it. Go take a look here.

Marsha Ward is the Founder of American Night Writers Association. She is a writer and novelist who grew up with a love of American values that are reflected in her body of work. Her historical novels in "The Owen Family Saga" are Gone for a Soldier, The Man from Shenandoah, Spinster's Folly, Ride to Raton, and Trail of Storms, all available in print from her website, at WestWardBooks.com, from online booksellers such as BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com; and in ebook formats at Smashwords.com as well as the booksellers above. Her latest work is That Tender Light, the origin story novella for the Owen Family series.

Advice for Writers: Write the Book!

By Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

The first step to getting a book published is to write it. Here's an encouraging excerpt about that from my new book for writers, The Checklist: Indie Publishing My Way.

The essential step in publishing a book is writing it. Yeah. That. This step will take however long it does, but the sooner you develop habits that help you move forward—without an internal editor on your shoulder to make you write, rewrite, polish, and re-polish Chapter 1—the better. It doesn't matter whether or not you own the most popular writer's software out there, or if you write your 1st draft using Word, Open Office, Pages, or Notepad. The point is to push through and finish the draft, because you can't publish a book that isn't finished.

On my checklist, I allow two to three months for writing. Sometimes I hit it, and sometimes I don't, Because Life. Happens. Did I mention that I have a condition known as ADHD? That's Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A great many creative people—or Creatives, for short—suffer from this malady in its various forms. The condition is difficult to deal with, but all challenges can be overcome (or so I keep telling myself).

Here's a Truth that you must remember: every writer writes differently. In other words, there is no One True Way to write. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that their method for writing is the only method of writing.

The corollary to the Truth is that every writer may write each book differently. Okay, I don't want to scare you or introduce unneeded stress into your life, so I won't say much more about that. Just realize that you may need to write a second book using a different method. No stressing about it, okay? Just get this book finished.

Writers write using methods that string along a spectrum that ranges from Plotter at one end to Pantser at the other. Where you may fall on this spectrum (and it probably will shift from time to time and book to book) depends on how your brain is wired. Plotters feel a compulsion to know everything that will happen in a book, so they plot it out, using outlines of varying degrees of exactitude and comprehensiveness. Pantsers (the name comes from the term "writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants") are also called organic or discovery writers. They want to write the story and discover what happens as their fingers work on the keyboard. You'd be surprised how many top authors are Pantsers. Really surprised.

Pantsers often are stymied by complete outlines. For example, if I write so little as a synopsis of a book, my brain says, "Well, look there, you've written the story. You don't need me anymore," and it shuts down and refuses to cooperate with me in writing a first draft.

There is so much danger in this state of affairs that I cannot plot out a book. I can only figure out who the main character is, a vague estimate of where the book could end, and maybe a couple or three things I hope will happen along the way. I usually know when and where the story will be set, and maybe what the "inciting incident" or "change in the character's life" is. Beyond that, I have to let my mind direct my fingers when I write.

The process is really kind of cool.

That doesn't mean it's your process. It's mine. And it can change. Slightly.

Different books I've written have called for different degrees of foreknowledge, so I have ranged a bit from the Pantser end toward the Plotter end, but never so much that my brain turned off.

Go with what works for you in writing your book, but do go forward.

The Checklist: Indie Publishing My Way is now available for only $4.99 on the sites of all major ebook vendors:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Smashwords 

Coming soon in Print!

BIC-HOK-TAM

By Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

BIC-HOK-TAM?*

What? Is she kidding? Isn’t that HoHoKam for “go to sleep right now or the evil raiders will get you”?

Not really. BIC-HOK-TAM stands for “Butt in chair-hands on keyboard-typing away madly”. It’s what every writer needs to learn to do—every writing day.

Notice I said every writing day. This also might be “every writing moment.” I know some of us can’t write seven days a week like some full-time novelists do. As a women writer, I do have other commitments. Some women writers have families who need some measure of care. However, I encourage all writers to write in what time you can make available for writing.

Writers find the time to write in a variety of ways. We cut out watching that favorite television program. We vacuum twice a week instead of five times (or teach our children to do that job). We stop going to every baby shower or lunch date. Maybe we use comforters on the beds instead of making tight hospital corners each morning (again, why aren’t the kiddos making their own beds?). Perhaps we eat Cheerios for dinner a few nights a week instead of cooking gourmet meals.

Whatever sacrifice we (and our families) make gains us a few more minutes to write. A few more minutes to practice BIC-HOK-TAM!

Okay, we have a few minutes before we have to pick up Tabitha from kindergarten. How do we do BIC-HOK-TAM?

We sit down (BIC), put our hands on the computer keyboard (HOK), and start typing whatever comes into our minds, if we don’t have anything already flowing (TAM). Okay, so it’s a letter to our Aunt Katie on how fun it was to play in the snow at her house on Thanksgiving Day, 1983, or a grocery list, or a journal entry that can touch our family members many years down the road.

Maybe it’s just pure hoop-di-doo and garbage, but we’re WRITING, and soon, our minds will open up and we’ll start to write something we need to share, maybe a poem, an essay, a short story, a character sketch or a novel chapter. Maybe we’ll write a magazine article entitled “10 Ways to Make Time for Writing,” or another chapter in our non-fiction book. The point is to begin, and that’s where BIC-HOK-TAM comes in handy.

Use BIC-HOK-TAM as often as you can, to write and get closer to your writing goal.
~~~

*This blog post first appeared on The Ink Ladies Blog on July 26, 2007.

A Bible?

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I have been taking time away from writing to put together a big project, a collection of the five books of The Owen Family Saga as a box set. It has been a huge job of work.

"What work?" you may ask. "Just slap all the books into one file and you're done!"

Not so.

I had to tinker with scenes that don't exactly play well with each other over the scope of the saga. Gotta be consistent.

"Is that kid named Ezra or Harry?" I picked Harry.

"Did Rod Owen meet Julia Helm's brother before they got married?" I thought they had in The Man from Shenandoah. As I write my current writing project, it appears that I was wrong, so I had to fix that in the existing work to jibe with the upcoming story.

Now that I've written Gone for a Soldier, that passage about Rulon and Mary's relationship in The Man from Shenandoah seems off. (Rewrite passage.)

Did he or didn't he during the Mexican War? Hmm. That question may remain forever unanswered.

How to explain the bit about the wedding ring? (Rewrite passage.)

Such fun!

I wish I had started a series "bible" when I wrote The Man from Shenandoah, to keep all the facts and characters straight, but I didn't know then that this tale about the Owen Family was going to expand into a series. Creating the "bible" now is going to be quite a task, but it's one I really need to do. When I'm done, perhaps it can become something new, maybe something called The Owen Family Companion.

After all, it's been done before: "Little did Louis L'Amour realize back in 1960 when he published The Daybreakers, a novel about two brothers who came west after the Civil War, that he had begun creating what would become perhaps North America's most widely followed literary family: the Sacketts." From The Sackett Companion: The Facts Behind the Fiction.

Every author should keep handy a notebook for facts (was the dog black or brown), characters (am I reusing too many names, or do all names begin with a single letter?), items (was that letter written in pen or pencil?), and the like, whether or not he or she is writing a series. Every little thing will come in handy for checking consistency within that story.

Can oxen run?  No, but they can perambulate pretty quickly if motivated. (I asked a large animal vet.)

Did people ride in wagons when on extended journeys? Not if they had a lot of belongings and/or foodstuffs to carry.

How many stories tall is the house? What does the general store look like inside? How far away from the house should the stable/barn/pigsty be? Is the bar/saloon/pub well lit, smoky, smelly, just a "belly-up-to-the" bar, or does it have gaming tables and sit-down tables, too?

You're the author. Make it easier on yourself with a "Book Bible."
 

Writing Book Descriptions AKA Book Blurbs

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I've seen a whole bunch of authors lately asking for help in writing their back cover copy, a.k.a. book descriptions, a.k.a. book blurbs.

As usual, writers panic when they get out of fiction-writing mode and into writing the bits of non-fiction that help them either sell a book to an editor or publisher (pitch, synopsis), or sell the work to readers (book blurb). They start to sweat, thinking of the overwhelming job of writing just the right words to do these jobs.

Author Dean Wesley Smith thinks it's not all that monstrous a task. One only needs to realize that the job calls for sales copy, not elaborate descriptions of the plot or even of the characters. Just sales copy.

Mr. Smith wrote a short book on this topic called How to Write Fiction Sales Copy. I have found it to be a must-have book on my Essentials Bookshelf.

He says that it is imperative to get rid of two deeply ingrained bad habits when we buckle down to write our sales copy for a book.

1. We can't see beyond the plot
2. We tend to write about our work in passive voice

How to Write Fiction Sales Copy gives many excellent blurb patterns. Here is just one, a very basic blurb of four paragraphs. Yes, only four paragraphs, and short ones, at that.

1. Summary of character or world. Make it interesting, Nail down the genre, if possible.
2. One very short paragraph with short sentences about the first page of the plot.
3. Plot kicker line.
4. Why readers will want to read the story, mostly using tags.

I know you're saying gaaaa, how do I do that?

Let's see how it works for Smith's A Bad Patch of Humanity: A Seeders Universe Story

Most of humanity died one ugly day four years before. Now the survivors wanted to rebuild.

Angie Park’s job consisted of telling survivors outside of Portland, Oregon, of the plans to rebuild. But some survivors wanted nothing to do with civilization.

And some thought killing worth the price to pay to stay alone.

In the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe, “A Bad Patch of Humanity” focuses down on an early event in Angie Park’s life, an event that starts her on her path to becoming a woman of legend in a hundred galaxies.

That's not so hard, right? You can do it, too! Resist any instances of "and then this happens." Use only action verbs.

To read more and quit having the vapors over book blurbs, go get this book, How to Write Fiction Sales Copy. It's well worth the price!

Keeping Track of Word Count

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard
[Most of this post was previously published on The Ink Ladies Blog on August 21, 2010. It has been mildly edited for updates.]

I've been busy, believe it or not. As I drown in slip-sliding paper falling toward me and my fingers on the keyboard (most of which I could shred, once I extract the odd computer disk, wedding announcement, and hardback book from the pile), it occurs to me that I could share how I keep track of my word count as I write.

Now understand, this can be as complex or as simple as I want to make it. I can use the Excel chart my friend J. Scott Savage sent me several years ago that nags me incessantly, or I can add and subtract words as I write and edit, or I can keep a simple running tally at the beginning and the end of my writing day. I kind of like the simple style nowadays, so I'll tell you how that last thing works.

I love the 9.5 inch by 6 inch one-subject notebooks for this task. They're not so big as to be in the way, and not so small as to disappear amidst the rubble on my desk. I open it up and draw three equally-spaced lines down the page. This gives me two sections of columns to fill up.

In the left-most column, at the top, I put the date. I can put anything else in the nature of notes in that column, like the times I start and end, the scene or chapter I'm working on, and how many hours I work. I see I have a notation saying slippery elm bark and chamomile tea. Ha! I know what scene that one was!

The second column is where I put the beginning word count opposite the date. If I'm starting fresh, this is zero. If I want to, I can add the word count when I do a save, when I get up for lunch, or what-not (I usually only put down the last three digits, or hundreds). The last figure I put in that column is the final word count of the day, unless I want to do a total of words written underneath it. I finish the day with a horizontal line drawn under all the notes for the day, in both columns.

The other section of two columns is for when I get to the bottom of the page. You knew that, right?

How do you find your word count at the beginning and end of the writing period?

If you're writing your novel or other kind of piece in Word, click on the menu item called Review, then highlight all your text (Ctrl+A). In the far left section, look for Word Count. Click it, and you'll have a rough estimate of your words. I say "rough," because it will count every asterisk (*) and Chapter Heading, but it's good enough for starters. Do this again when you quit for the day, and you have the second count.

Actually, if you want an even simpler method, just look at the bottom of your Word document, on the left. If you have Word 2010 or newer, the word count is already there for you.

Or, you can use the software program I use. I bet some of you chimed in with "Scrivener," but no, what I use is similar but FREE! It's called yWriter5. It, too, gives me the total word count of the project at the bottom of the main window (as well as words written that day when I'm finished), so I check the word count when I begin and when I end, and put those numbers in my notebook at start and end of day. Actually, since I belong to a couple of accountability groups, I also note the total words written that day in my notebook so I can report.

yWriter5 and its antecedents were written by novelist and computer programmer Simon Haynes of Australia. He couldn't find a writing software that suited his needs, so he wrote it. He updates it quite often, sometimes to meet suggestions of users, but it's a lean program written to use few resources of your machine. It even runs off a flash drive, so it's highly portable.

You can find yWriter5 at http://www.spacejock.com (Hal Spacejock is the hero of Simon's futuristic sci-fi series). There are several other useful programs to be found there, as well as a link to the  how-to wiki created by the folks in the next paragraph.

This software is free, not only no-cost, but free of nasty surprises like virii, Trojan horses, and other malware. There's an active community of users in a Google group who support each other. The old hands answer the questions of the newbies, and Simon occasionally pops in, too.

I really like yWriter5, not only to keep track of my word count, but for ease of writing a scene at a time (which is about all my brain can fathom at one time).

How do you keep track of your word counts?

The Writer's Support System

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

According to a friend of mine, every writer does better at her endeavors if she has people who play four key roles in her life. These roles are Mentor, Cheerleader, Critiquer, and Motivator. Let's take a brief look at these roles:

Mentor - this person gives the writer tools so she can do a better job at writing.

Cheerleader - this person buoys up the writer, telling her she can do it.

Critiquer - this person's role is to keep the writer sharp and examining her work for errors. The Critiquer also gives suggestions for improvement.

Motivator - this person gets the writer past hurdles that come along, such as writer's block, keeping the writer moving and motivated. May be the best at being a sounding board or brainstorming partner.

Sometimes a person may act in more than one role, but usually four people shake out into the roles.

What do you think? Do you agree that these roles are essential to your writing success? Who fills these roles for you? Do you fill one or more of these roles in some other author's life?

This post was first shared with readers on July 29, 2007

Are You Afraid to Write?

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard
This blog post is adapted from one originally published on this blog on March 11, 2007.

It's amazing how much fear can paralyze a writer right from the start. Let's take a look at some of the fearful reasons people don't write, even when they long to do so.

• I'm afraid to write because I'll have to cut back on spending time with my friends, and they won't like me anymore.
• I'm afraid to let anyone read my work because they might steal it.
• I'm afraid to share in a writer's group because people might criticize my work.
• I'm afraid to submit my work because it might be rejected.
• I'm afraid to revise because I might get my work published.
• I'm afraid to get published because I might be successful and have to change my life.

How interesting it is that a writer's fears begin and end with making life changes.

Frequently self-doubt, a scurrilous fear, attacks a writer--even a published one--and causes him or her great anxiety, even to the extent of threatening a promising career. I know of a writer who was so convinced that he/she could not write his/her way out of a paper bag that he/she got rid of every vestige of the writing life, including the latest manuscript from the computer. Fortunately, calmer heads overruled the faulty self-assessment, and he/she has gone on to much success.

How does a writer overcome these fears?

That's a big question, because every writer faces it. Writers are notorious for mood swings from the heights of arrogance to the depths of despair. How can he or she keep on a more even keel?

Here's a list of things that help other writers:

• Listening to inspiring music
• Reading affirmations each day
• Hanging quotes above the computer monitor or in the writing space
• Praying before writing
• Lighting scented candles in the room

Probably the best suggestion for overcoming writer's fear is to face it head on and WRITE EVERY DAY*, even if it's only 100 words. This method of facing fear has the added plus of helping a writer overcome writer's block!

*I'm amending the suggestion above to "write every day" to include the phrase "when you are in writing mode." I've discovered over the years that I need breaks from writing constantly on a project. I don't mean taking breaks in the midst of writing on a project, but taking breaks between projects.

What do you do to conquer your writer's fear?

Learned something new

by Cassie Shiels

I think we can always learn something new from every writing book, blog, or conference we attend. So I was reading a book on writing the other night and something hit me. She was talking about how a character should have a major flaw. Not just she has a lisp or she is shy... but something that will get in the way of her living a normal life that will make what she has to do during the book hard.

That got me thinking and I had to rethink what I have been working on, because I agree. Her flaw should be part of the big picture in the book. I thought through some of my favorite movies and I could see that in a lot of them.

For example, in Willow, he is small and short, and doubts himself. That affects the whole story. Only when he accepts himself for who he is and has faith in himself does he win.

Or how about a chick flick, Sweet Home Alabama. She is ashamed of her past, and is hiding from it. It's only when she realizes that she loves being a southern girl that things become clear to her and she chooses to have that as part of her life again.

This idea can be seen in many other books and movies. I know it might not be in all of them but I loved the idea once I realized it. I think I am going to try and do this. Write a story where the main character's flaw is vital to the story. Some of you, I am sure, have already figured this out, but for me it was a little bit of an eye opener, and I was glad that I learned something new.

Using the Book of Mormon as a Guide to Writing

by Terri Wagner

This week as I again taught Gospel Doctrine, I reminded our group that the main question we should always ask ourselves is why did this particular author write that, and why did Mormon keep that story in his abridgement. We have lively discussions about that because there really is no right or wrong answer, just a practical application as to why Mormon thought that as latter day saints we would need to know about this. It's my favorite part of the class because I feel we all benefit from the discussion. Although it is hard to keep a straight face when some go off into obscure reasoning.

So what does that have to do with our writing? Frankly, I see it as a perfect example of what to do and perhaps more importantly what not to do. The first and only rule here is have an objective then write, throw out anything that does not support your objective. I know we hear this a lot. But imagine Mormon sitting in a cold, dark, damp cave with an oil lamp pouring over scrolls worried that he would get something wrong. Not understanding why he had to copy Lehi's journal then back it up with Nephi's version. He even says I do not know why I am doing this. Of course we know why. Centuries later, Joseph Smith would learn a great and terrible lesson about giving away parts of the translation to Martin Harris who to his credit was not really trying to sabotage the work. I can so see Mormon peering over his work. I would love to be in the background and have the chance to touch his shoulder and whisper it's ok, we will understand, we will treasure every word well except for all those "and it came to pass." Hopefully my reformed Egyptian would make sense to him.

I see you too pouring over your work, struggling like he did to get it right. I'm sure he prayed a lot and so should we. Many times I have written a scene thinking it was terrific only to discover however brilliant, it did not fit the narrative or altered it in a way that changed too much. I wonder if Mormon had his favorite characters, and wanted to showcase them a bit more over the others. And yet no matter how many times we read the Book of Mormon, we learn something new, we reintroduce ourselves to what seem minor characters, like all the sons after Jacob that just keep passing the records down giving us its genealogy so to speak.

Bottom line: use Mormon's example time and again. Pray over your work, stick to your objective, discard what is great for what is glorious. The lessons we get from our religion are just as applicable to our personal endeavors as they are to our spiritual growth. I truly believe that.

Writing Tip #9 by the WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #9 by the WWD

Stop comparing yourself with other writers around you. Write your heart and then roll up your sleeves and find a home for your work. 

Do you find that others around you in your writing world are having success with their books? You are happy for them, but now, doubt yourself and what you write. Maybe it won't appeal to others, maybe it's not good enough, maybe, maybe, maybe. We maybe ourselves into a corner. Let's not give up on ourselves. Let's write what are passionate about and then GO FOR IT!

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm . . . I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Admitting you're wrong

By Cassie Shiels

We all have these grand story ideas. Admit it; I know you do. And we think we have them all figured out. Many times we do and it's all great, but sometimes we get it written and then look at it and say it's all wrong, or the ending isn't right. At that point we have two choices.

Do we #1 say oh well its good enough, or #2 pull up our big girl pants and hit the delete button?

YIKES! I know its never fun to lose words on a story. It's such fun thing to see that word count hit 20,000 or 50,00 or more. Who in their right mind would delete a handful of pages? Those who want to get it right.

I ran into this problem with my current WIP. I had it all written the way I had planned it, but then the ending wasn't right. It was fine, maybe no one else would feel like I did that it wasn't right. Maybe, others would like it how it was, but for me, it just didn't feel right. I had to decided something then. Keep it the way it was or hit delete.

Well I chose the right choice, I think. It's hard admitting you're wrong even if it means sacrificing some word count. I'll admit it hurt drawing a big X on 15 pages and even more when a few more went after that, but it's worth it. I am still working on the new ending but I already know I made the right choice. So even thought it was hard, it was worth it.

For those who are nervous about it, don't delete it forever, keep a copy to refer to if you need to, but do it if your story needs it. Your future self will thank you!

Writing Tip #8 by the WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #8

Always keep a notebook with you. Jot down names you come across for future characters and plot ideas.

When you are having a plot or character issue, often the answer will come when you are doing other things. Don't let it drift away, thinking you will remember it. You may have super powers of "Elephant-like memory", but most of us have more of the "water down the drain memory."

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm . . . I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #7 by the WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

(The boss of the blog said we need to put our picture up on each blog--I think I have this right, so here it is. Happy and sassy!)

Writing Tip #7 by the WWD

DON'T BE LAZY!

How rude you say? Not if being lazy is used as an excuse to not write. I know an author who is a Stake President in his spare time and his daytime job is as a judge in Arizona. He had an idea for a book he wanted to write, but had NO TIME. Do you know what he did? He got up at four in the morning instead of six, for a year in order to crank it out. Now that is what I call NOT LAZY! 

I sure don't want to get up at four to write, however, I do want to take my own writing more seriously and follow a good daily schedule to write more. What do you do to get your writing done?

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm . . . I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #6 By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #6 By The WWD

If you choose to write a book with another human, make good and sure you have a rock solid relationship allowing give and take because you are in for a wild ride.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Do You Want to Be a Writer?

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I came across a great blog by Indie Author sensation Hugh Howey a couple of days ago. In it, he gives the secrets to success as a writer, which a lot of people won't follow because, yeah, they're hard.

Here's how he starts out:

Sitting in your underwear, hearing voices, talking to people who are not there, mumbling to yourself, Googling how to dispose of bodies and the firing rate of an uzi submachine gun. Assuming this sounds like the ideal life for you—and you don’t want to be certifiably crazy but only a little crazy—then the life of the professional writer is what you’re after. And I’m going to tell you how to make it happen.

Then he gives "the #1 secret to success and a career of working in your underwear: You have to work harder than anyone else. Period."

I'll list a few of his bullet points, but you'll have to go over and read the complete article to get the full flavor of the meal. And yes, he says a couple of words I don't use, but nowhere near as many as Chuck Wendig does. They both give great advice.

• Make a long-term plan.
• Reading.
• Practice. 
• Daydream.
• Learn to fail.

And those are just the first five points. If you want to be a writer, go read these and the other five, with their explanations of how to implement them.

Then get to work!

Writing Tip #5 ~ By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #4 By The WWD

Don't live your life caught up in your stories. Get them out of your head by writing them. Remember their are real live people around you that need you to pay attention to them once in awhile.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Anticipation

By Cassie Shiels

This is a word that I didn't think about much, until recently. I knew I didn't like the anticipation of things. I am someone who dosn't do well with it in real life. If I have to get a cavity filled it had better be tomorrow not in two weeks, or else I will freak out about it for the whole two weeks. But what I am realizing is that Anticipation plays a huge role in writing.

Why do we love to read? Could one reasion be, its the anticipation that we feel for the ending that we seek? In romance we all know he is going to end up with her, but its the how, that keeps us turning the pages. In action or adventure we know the hero is going to win, but how? We anticipate, we count on these things to happen, which is why we turn the pages.

When we write we need to try and make sure we are building the anticipation up. It builds more emotion, the reader invests more of themselves into the story. They become more attached to the characters the words, everything when we build the anticipation.

Alfred Hitchcock said: "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

So true. The sound of a gun shot makes us jump but then its over. But the time it takes to read about the bad guy coming into the house, pulling out his gun, and tracking the hero into a cornner that we are not sure he can get out of, and then he pulles the trigger. Wow, that builds the emotion. We care about what happens next, we squirm as the bad guy comes up the stairs. We want to shout to the hero, "No don't go there, how will you get out!"

This works in any genra, but it was easy to use suspense here. Think about how you can use anticipation in your own writing, in your own way. Your readers will thank you! :D

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, said the King of Siam

or so I'm told. Someday I'll get around to watching *that movie.

by Marsha Ward

From time to time, I'll see words misspelled in blog posts, or emails, or articles, or on Facebook, and every time, they make me cringe. Yes, I'm that much of a perfectionist. Lucky me.

One I'm seeing consistently is "ect." [sic].

I think the word, or rather, the abbreviation, is so often misspelled because very few people know anymore what the abbreviation stands for, and maybe folks don't have a clue how it is pronounced. They kind of know what it means, but not the rest of it. So much for teaching to the test.

Instinctive teacher that I am, I'm here to offer enlightenment.

First, the proper way to spell that word is "etc." Please note that there is always a period after it, even if it occurs in the middle of a sentence. **Yanno, like Dr. or Mrs.

Second, etc. is an abbreviation of the Latin words "et cetera." Please look closely. The first word is spelled e t. The second word begins with a c. That's where the abbreviation comes from: the first word plus the first letter of the second word.

etc.

et cetera

My handy Webster's New World Dictionary (always kept by my desk) gives this information: et cet-er-a [and says the accent is on "cet."] and others; and the like: abbrev. etc.

Now you will never forget how to correctly spell that abbreviation, because you will hear et cetera in your head every time you go to write it.

Have a wonderful day. And don't misspell etc. ever again. Thank you.


* The King and I
** (Miss Snark's way of saying "you know." Miss Snark is the blog pen name of the much-missed, albeit potty-mouthed agent who is no longer entertaining the masses.)

Writing Tip #4 ~ By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #4 By The WWD

Don't be afraid when your characters talk to you. It just means they want their story told. You are not any crazier than the next person.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.