Hold Your Horses!

Hold on! Before you jump too quickly to the conclusion that I neglected my blog these past 3 weeks, let me tell you something.  I have been tied up with a little project of my own which I think will help you--- self-publishing something!  I always want writers to be writing their memoirs.  Not exactly what I accomplished. But, in a way, because I wanted a family tradition to live on, I made up a children’s story for Christmas. You see, placing 9 wooden scripture ornaments on our tree each Christmas Eve is what the kids in our house did. While I've never written a children’s story, I fancied one starring three little angels searching for the real Christmas.

So, how did I get started? Here’s how! Oh, not like the old days when you looked for an agent and selected many publishers for simultaneous submissions! I studied the self-publishing offers, checked with self-published friends, and checked my bank balance. Did I need a hard cover/soft cover? Page-sized illustrations? Not being a graphic designer… (Stay with me!....TBC on Wednesday!)

How You Play the Game

How You Play the Game

Grantland Rice wrote: "For when the One Great Scorer comes

                                      To mark against your name--

                                       He writes not that you won or lost---

                                       But HOW you played the game."

So what are the rules for the Writer's Game?  Let me share one writer's list:

1. Rule 1:      Limit 15 words per sentence. Whether you are writing a story, a screenplay, or an ad, remember "Brevity."
2. Rule 2:      Do not use the same word twice in one sentence. *Exception: words of 3 letters or less.
3.  Rule 3:     Limit one adjective at a time.  The tall, towering pines framed the sky.
4.  Rule 4:     Limit  one comma per sentence. This keeps you from saying more than one thing at a time.
5.  Rule 5:    Write like you talk. Eliminate the editorial "we.
6.  Rule 6:    Do not insult the  reader's intelligence.  Charlotte is dead, she weeps no more. It was snowing, the sky was overcast.
7.  Rule 7:      Work to find the perfect word.  "Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown."
8.  Rule 8:      Work to find the perfect verb.   Your words should march, bounce, jump across the page.
9.  Rule 9:      Avoid overuses of the verb "to be".
10.  Rule 10:     Begin the story with a "grabber" and close with a clear "take-away". What you'll sandwich in between in your story is the main character, a crisis, and a solution.

Set Your Sail

"One ships sail east, another west by the self-same winds that blow..

It's not the gale, but the set of the sail that determines which way they go.."  Helen Wheeler Wilcox

Tonight, let's take a minute to discern your gift as a Christian writer. At the same time let's write not only for Christians, but for the broader audience as well. This will get you in shape to do the Lord's thing through your pen/computer. We all need to be craftsman, don't you agree?

The greatest Teacher who ever lived found the short story the surest way to reach the minds and hearts of his audiences. The earliest account we have of His life was probably written 40 years after his death, and yet the stories He told never faded.

What a craftsman He was! Listen closely---"a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves..."  Just 13 words. But, instantly you have a specific location, a central character, a crisis that demands resolution. "Which stripped him of his clothes and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead..." Fifteen more words:action, danger, man against death, mounting suspense.  And then what happened? Something in the listener cries out, and is not satisfied until the Good Samaritan comes to the aid of the victim and the great moral question, "Who is my neighbor", is answered for all time.     *Location, character/s, crisis,---resolution.

YOU--- the writer, are the main focus. Out there in the world there are literally millions of people who have turned Him off long back.They have given up on the church, and as a result there is a despair, a deep searching and restlessness adrift.

 You can be a good writer and you can do wonderful things for the Lord if you how to get your  computer running, and your mind moving in the direction of proclaiming the gospel through the written word. It's all in the set of the sail!

Want to catch a moonbeam?

     Want to catch a moonbeam? A falling star? Ever want to slide down a rainbow and find its end? Why not? Let's try it!
     A good writer...No, a great writer collects bits and pieces of good material, not to plagiarize, but to assimilate and make it his own. He stores away a clincher line that sweeps him away. He jots down catchy phrases and colourful imagery. He reads, reads, reads. He grabs his random thought and scribbles it down whenever it comes...in the grocery aisle, in bed at night, or while driving. (*Please pull over to do this!)
     He finds a great quote, lines from a poem, or a terrific expression like, "Keeping a secret from Aunt Maude was like trying to sneak dawn past a rooster!"  (*If you like that one, why not write one of your own right now?)
     Eyes and ears of great writers are ever on alert. They see a rainbow---really see the vibrant pastels, trace the graceful arc, and chase the crescent ribbons to where they fold into the earth. You'll do well to craft your stories like the rainbow---a gently lift-off, a graceful arc, a satin landing , and you just may find a pot of gold awaiting you at the rainbow's end!

Here I am getting started---the Grandma Moses of bloggers! I have been putting off hitting "publish" until I'm comfortable with what is a new way to write for me; but if I do not take the leap and "carpe diem" now, I may just run out of days to seize and chances to leap! So here it goes!  I'm called 'Apron Pockets'! Why? you're asking?  Like Brer Rabbit, I have a thinkin' spot! Guess where mine is?  In my kitchen! So,while I'm cooking, I may not tuck recipes away, but I do stuff all my.thoughts to share with you in my Apron Pockets~
I have a passion to try to help writers, who 'haven't ever', get busy writing their memoirs, their articles, their novels, and even their letters


!This is for you! If you "haven't ever", now is the time----TO WRITE! Never before have the markets been so open to Christian writers as they are today! Not only do authors have their works readily available, they are sharing  up-to-date writing tips, conferences and how-to's on publication.

 They are pointing us to all the on line sources, and to bookshelves where books on marketing,  grammar, organizational skills, and  platforms for writers are waiting. Come on this journey with me---I'm bound to share the best of writing tips and writers who've 'made it'!