WOW!

Hey Bloggers,

I'm so pumped about an internship I am now involved in with WOW-Womenonwriting.com.

And YESTERDAY was my first blog post on their daily blog. Check it out at http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/2007/12/making-manly-men.html.

He He He, I'm stoked about this post and looking forward to adding to the fun of the WOW site, and the joys of the writing experience. :)

Happy Writing

Writing with Heart

I don't know about you, but from time to time my writing hits a wall. Not writer's block in a sense, but more of a misdirection. I get so focused on getting my word count up, and adding that little twist in each scene that I loose track of the heart I started with.

Follow this link to a blog I like to read through to read an encouraging word from Janet Rubin: http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/2007/11/sun.html

We'll talk more about the heart behind your writing later this week.

Beware or Be Amazed

I just got done reading Michael Crichton’s State of Fear, which is just as intellectual as it is roller coaster ride. I won’t give any spoilers if you haven’t read it, but on thing absolutely amazed me when I got to the end of the book… there was a bibliography.

Not only that there were footnotes and references throughout Crichton’s work of fiction (Yes, Fiction not Non-fiction), he goes on to say his take on the global warming subject that is addressed in State of Fear. And then Crichton writes that he spent three years researching before starting State of Fear. THREE YEARS! That is Amazing, and a little daunting if I think through how much research I’ve put into my own WIP.

It makes me question the amount of time I spend researching before I place my characters in the first scene. Would you count your research time in hours, weeks, months, or years?

I think this is an important thing to think about, when joining in the insanity and fun of writing a manuscript. If Michael Crichton didn’t do his years of research would we believe: Dinosaurs can be brought back from the Jurassic Age(Jurassic Park, The Lost World), Time travel is possible (Timeline), or Global warming doesn’t exist (State of Fear). The amount of time he puts into researching his novels is what makes them bestsellers time and time again. His story worlds are so in depth and you can’t help but see them as truth on some levels.

This should be the goal of all writers.

To present a story world that makes us think about our own place in this universe. That is the joy of Fiction, and what I hope to be the goal of all my manuscripts.

Happy Writing!

Question for James Brausch

Just about everyone in the CBA knows the Snowflake Guy, Randy Ingermanson. So when his blogs said he takes his marketing advice from James Brausch. You have to take notice. I jumped over to James Brausch's blog and found that he is taking questions from us mere mortals and to quote Randy Ingermanson,

"Brausch has built an extremely successful business around his blog, and the information he sells is based on hard empirical data. When he tells you to do something, he’s basing his advice on real experiments he’s done. Ya gotta respect that."

So my question is.....

If you're a beginner in world of marketing yourself and your products would you recommend building trust aka establishing crediblity, or pushing your products and building crediblity over time?

If you want to ask James Brausch a question, here’s how it works:
You ask a question related to generating an internet business, and he will answer all questions on Monday.

You ask your question by posting to your own blog and linking back to this blog entry. He'll see the link or trackback and therefore see your question. He will answer questions in a post on his blog.

Good Luck!

A Writer Moment

I”M HOME!!!!!!!!!

(Wow that’s kind of weird to say during the week of Easter- think about that…)

Today I just got back from Mount Hermon California, and the excitement of a Christian Writer's Confernece. Part of me didn't want to come home! I learned SO much and got to chat with successful authors, editors, and agents. I learned SO much about myself, my writing, AND MY GOD.

It was amazing to see him work in my heart and in the conference every day! I almost got sick while I was there, but through the power of prayer God did not let that hinder all he did this week. I have so many resources to go through and so much to remember/ put in practice that I don't want to go to work tomorrow. (besides the fact that I will probably crash with exhaustion)

Check out some pictures below and come back on wednesdays to see some of the nature shots I did while I was there. Thank you for all your prayers!

May your hearts be supple and your ears open to hear the heart of Christ this Easter Season!

Where have the Classics gone??

Over the past few Christmas’ I have been asking for a few literary classics. Like Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Miserable’s, and others to add to my mini library.

I recently started The Three Musketeers, and then a thought crossed my mind. Will any of the novels of our age become ‘classics’? Can the novels of today be classics, since reading have become more of a chore than an enjoyable past-time?

The classics that are force feed to teens are books that pushed the envelope of literature. Taking the people of the day to new places, and new ways of thinking through their characters. They were creative and fresh, belonging to no genre. What books of today can say the same?
You might be able to list a few that you feel strongly about, but will they stand the test of time to become a ‘classic’, read in the classrooms? Has the book market been flooded with people on soap boxes, where we are unable to find the books to define our age?

Have movies, which require no imagination of the audience, diminished out ability to think and grow freely. Movies and TV shows have become our classics, and the written word has lost its power. Have you noticed that in the classroom, more teacher resort to movies than encouraging their students to read and develop thoughts and ideas of their own?

Our own laziness is drowning us. Our culture, our heath, our intelligence, our willingness to learn and challenge ourselves is lost by the way-side.

Can the human race survive this trend and the loss of books that challenge our hearts and minds. Are there books out there that force us to look outside of ourselves and take us to new places of the heart.

I sure hope so, and encourage you to take a trip into the pages of a classic and see what the technology age may be stealing away from us.