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Down The Homestretch!

Wow!  I am making significant progress on my next book.  I may not be proceeding as quickly as I should, but I can see the finish line.  For me, writing a book is more of an art than a science.  I am not aware of any formulas that I can follow to complete a book.  I just keep writing and editing and re-writing and so on until it FEELS like its time to let my baby loose.

Even though I am heading down the homestretch, I don’t FEEL anywhere close to releasing my book.  But, I am getting close to completing the first stage of my book which is writing it.  Then comes the fun stuff of editing and obsessing over particular words, phrases, paragraphs and character development.

But it’s all good.  I can practically smell the finish line!

PS  That isn’t me on any of the horses in the photo. (smile)

Writer or Storyteller: You Choose

I read an interesting post entitled, “Are You A Writer or a Storyteller?”  If you would like to read it for yourself, here is the link: http://novelspaces.blogspot.com/2009/08/writers-vs-storytellers.html

For those of you who plan on writing a book, I wanted to share the strengths and weaknesses associated with each category.

Writer  -  Strengths  -  Great with plots, language, minute details and other stuff I call “technical” skills

Weaknesses  -  Visualizing the big picture

Storyteller  -  Strengths  -  Creating unforgettable characters and looking at the big picture

Weaknesses  -  The nuts and bolts of writing  -  some refer to this as the “craft” of writing.  Another word may be “technical”

Which is better?  I think most of us have a combination of the two.  But for anyone who wants to write interesting and enjoyable works, storytelling probably is more valuable.  Think of it this way, a writer can have all of his/her “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed, but have an uninteresting story.  On the other hand, a writer can have a highly enjoyable book with interesting characters but their work is full of technical errors (misspellings, incorrect punctuation and grammatical errors.

Concerning your writing goals and aspirations, which would you chose?

Three Secrets of Successful Writers

The following three tips are from one of the websites I visit regularly for writing advice.  I hope you find them helpful in your writing career.

The first secret is that successful book writers write every day. They don’t take days off, weeks off, try to do all their writing on the weekend, or write sporadically. They methodically commit themselves to writing every day. Some write in the morning, some in the evening. That’s a matter of personally choice. Many writers feel they write better at one time of the day rather than another. That’s nonsense, but if it makes them feel better, no problem. Some have a special place where they go to write. It could be an office, a spare room, in the garden, a different building.

The second secret is that you have a daily quota of words that you write. The major league book writers have quotas of several thousand words. They know they can do it, because they’ve done it time and time again. Yes, just as with the daily discipline, the writing does get easier with time. Most professional writers think 2,000 words a day a simple task. They can do it without even breaking a metaphorical sweat.

If you’re just starting, don’t aim so high right away. Start with 100 words as your daily quota. You can (and will) always increase it later as you start to realize how much you can produce and how quickly it flows.

The third secret is that you keep on writing until your writing quota for the day is met. You keep on writing until you’ve written those 100 or 1,000 or 4,000 words are created. That’s the rule. And just about everything else, short of a fire (and it had better be a fast-moving fire) must be put on hold until you finish that quota.   Some days you’ll be finished in just a handful of minutes. On other days, the quota seems like a time penalty that stretches on without end.   Regardless, you keep on writing until the quota is met and you can walk away from your writing feeling you’ve really accomplished something today, and every day.

Books Or Reading – Which Would You Choose?

A couple of Sundays ago, I heard an interesting discussion on National Public Radio (NPR).  The topic discussed was:  “Which do you like more, books or reading?”  Prior to that discussion, I never really thought of the difference.   But here it is in a nutshell.  Some people like the act of reading while others like the touch and feel of a book.

For those who like to read, the item being “read” is not as important as the activity of reading.  Like someone who enjoys swimming, the place where they swim is less important than the physical activity of swimming.  Lovers of reading may peruse the words on a computer, cell phone, kindle or maybe even listen to the book on audio tape.

For those who like books over the act of reading, they just like holding a book.  They may like the smell or the feel or they may enjoy the sound of pages being turned.

I am not sure which side of the question I fall on .  I do like to read and I am not much of a fan of audio tapes or other non “books”.  I prefer hardcover books to paperbacks.  But I relish the precious opportunities to read a good book.  So, where does that put me?

H0w about you?  Which do you prefer, books or reading?

Show Me What You Got 070809

Here is an opportunity to show off your writing skills.  The rules are simple.  Using 50 words or less, complete the thought or action being described in the paragraph below.  Be creative and let your muse guide you.  Please, no profanity or sexually explicit languages or behaviors.  You can write about sex or sexuality, but try to do so decently.  I will read your comment and give you some feedback.  And maybe we can spark a conversation with other readers of this blog.  So have fun, relax and show me what you got!

Feeling guilty about the way he spoke to his girlfriend last night, Josh decided to do something unexpected for her.  He……….

Why Write A Short Story?

Short stories are an excellent way to show your skills and initiate a relationship with a publisher.  Usually, the fee to submit a short story is minimal ($25 for entrance into our short story contest).

With Sowjourn Publishers, once we receive your short story submission, we read it with the intention of getting you published.  The obvious option is we end up including your submission in our book of short stories.  Another option is we recognize you have enough talent that we suggest further projects even though your short story did not make the cut for a book of short stories.

Once you become part of our family, all of our efforts are geared to helping you reach your writing goals.  You may eventually want to write a memoir or a historical novel or maybe you have a science fiction novel taking root in your consciousness or perhaps the great romantic novel is pulling at your heart strings.  Fiction or non-fiction may be your ultimate goal, but writing a short story is one way to get your foot in the door.

Also, when we publish your short story, you are eligible for discounts off our total publishing package for your novel or other major work.  Plus, you are also eligible for our profit sharing bonus.

So, go ahead and write that short story and submit it to us.  We will learn about you and you will learn about us.  Who knows, maybe we will produce great books together!

Watch Out For This Tricky Little Devil

As writers, there are several little devils that we have to watch out for.  In this context, little devils are habits or actions that diminish the quality of our work.

One of the top little devil for writers is poor grammar.  Using correct grammar is a skill that can be learned and improved.  The more you write, the better you should become at the use of proper grammar.  Every once in a while, a bad habit or incorrect use of punctuations or other grammatical faux pax will crop up.  But, these minor mistakes should appear less and less.

As an edit0r, I sense from the works I have read that many grammar errors are caused by a writer’s laziness or carelessness.  It’s like playing tennis.  When we swing the racket, we may not always use the proper form or fully follow through on our swing.  Often in basketball, you will see a person’s defensive posture lapse when he is tired or not concentrating.   What results is missed oppportunities or advantages in favor of your opponent.

The same is true of writing and errors in grammar.  The more of this particular little devil that you have in your written work, the more it detracts from the quality of your project.  Can you imagine getting to the big championship game and losing because you didn’t pay attention or you became lazy?  Observers would wonder what you were thinking or how you made it so far only to blow it in the big game.  For writers, getting our work published is the big game.  It makes no sense to put all of the time and effort and expense into getting our work published only to blow it because of bad grammar.

If we are not careful, the grammar little devil can result in a major waste of our time.  So, take the time to eliminate as many grammatical mistakes as you can so you won’t have to say, “The devil made me do it.”

Author FAQ 070109

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I have too many to mention, but I always enjoy reading Pearl Cleage, Paul Doherty (his historical novels set in ancient Egypt) and Marita Golden.  I just discovered a not so new detective novelist by the name of Robert Greer.  I say “not-so-new” because he has written over 7 detective stories.    As I talk about Greer,  I also enjoyed reading the mystery novels by Hugh Holton before he passed away.  If I keep on thinking, other favorite authors will come to mind.

Title FAQ 602209

How is Songs of Singleness different from your first book which is also geared to singles?

My first book was written specifically for African-American Christian singles and is very research heavy.  It is not the kind of book that is meant to read in one setting.  It should be used a resource book that you refer to from time to time.  It also incorporates our history, our culture, the application of Christian principles and the borrowing of concepts from psychology.

Songs of Singleness is written for all Christian singles.  It cannot be over-emphasized that this book is not just for a particular segment of the singles population.  As a single person, if you have ever pondered your spirituality or went out on a date or had a romantic relationship end or suffered through a period of depression or loneliness or spent time as a single parent or dealt with sexual desire; then this book is for you.  It does not matter if you are Black or White, young or old, rich or poor or whatever; there is something for you in this book.