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A Prayer of Thanks for Writing Tools

By Bob Hostetleron November 25, 2020

For fountain pens and India ink,

Legal pads and time to think,

Olivetti, Underwood, Selectric,

Typewriters both manual and electric,

Typing paper, carbon paper,

Correction ribbon and Liquid Paper,

Dictionaries and thesauri,

Keyboards, touchpads, countless styli,

Strunk and White and Zinsser too,

Staples, tape, and Elmer’s Glue,

Desktops, laptops, iPads, printers,

Modems, faxes, scanners, shredders,

Voice recording and dictation,

Chairs for work and relaxation,

Templates, shortcuts, tips and tricks,

Cross pens, Shaffers, Pilots, Bics,

For all the tools that have played their part,

Flow thanks from this poor writer’s heart.

How to Write for Children with Linda Howard

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on November 24, 2020

Children’s books are the fastest growing segment of publishing in 2020. There was a time a few months ago when The Very Hungry Caterpillar was in the top 10 of all products on Amazon–not only books, but all products in the everything store. The pandemic has caused many parents to spend more time with their children, and those parents are desperate for an alternative to screen time. So, how do you …

Category: The Writing Life

How to Write for Children with Linda Howard

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on November 24, 2020

Children’s books are the fastest-growing segment of publishing in 2020. There was a time a few months ago when The Very Hungry Caterpillar was in the top 10 of all products on Amazon–not only books but all products in the everything store. The pandemic has caused many parents to spend more time with their children, […]
You can listen to this episode How to Write for Children with Linda Howard on …

Category: The Writing Life

Give Thanks to God

By Guest Bloggeron November 23, 2020

There is a verse in scripture which sets out in bold relief the great besetting problem of the human race. It is Romans 1:21: ‘for even though we knew God…we did not give thanks.’ Astonishing! How can we actually know God and not give thanks? Scarcely a day passes in which we are not deluged by at least a hundred instances of God’s goodness to us. Thanksgiving ought to be the most natural of human …

Category: Guest Post, TheologyTag: thanksgiving

Fun Fridays – November 20, 2020

By Steve Laubeon November 20, 2020

Did you notice that today can be rendered as 11202020? Just thought I’d mention it. Has nothing to do with today’s video–unless you want it to! Aaron Yoder has been the world’s fastest backwards runner. He can run the mile in under six minutes, backwards. How many of you can do that running forward? (No, not back when you were a slim athlete, but today.) All sorts of …

Category: Fun Fridays

When the Movie Isn’t True to Your Story

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 19, 2020

Most writers love the idea of a film company bringing their books to life. However, if past movies based on books serve as examples, most authors can’t count on their stories being presented with complete accuracy, hence, the phrases “adaption” and “based on” the novel. Take the book Elmer Gantry, written in 1926. Sinclair Lewis, an atheist, wrote a satire about a minister who should never have …

Category: The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Movie rights

Do Writers Read Differently?

By Bob Hostetleron November 18, 2020

Writers are readers. Right? Of course, right. In fact, I’d say that if you’re not a devoted, even voracious reader, you might not want to pursue writing for publication, as reading and writing tend to go hand-in-hand. But do writers read differently than other people? And if so, how? I asked that question of some of my friends and clients, and here’s what they said: Yes, I think writers read …

Category: Creativity, Reading, The Writing Life

Are You High Maintenance?

By Steve Laubeon November 16, 2020

by Steve Laube

Last week I was asked to define what is meant when an author is deemed "high maintenance" by an agent or a publisher. The more I thought about this the more I realized how difficult it is to quantify. Any attempt to do so is fraught with potential misunderstanding because most people are looking for specific rules to follow.

Normally "high maintenance" is a description of …

Category: Agents, Book Business, Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, Editors, high maintenance, publishers

Fun Fridays – November 13, 2020

By Steve Laubeon November 13, 2020

Today’s video is one of those brilliant and clever mashups of video clips matched to a familiar song. According to its creator, not a single clip was sped up or slowed down to match the music. It has the appearance of a master choreographer! Can you name all the movies or dancers in this video? If you get stuck, click the closed-caption feature and all is revealed. I couldn’t help but …

Category: Fun Fridays

Is This Book Playing Tricks on You?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 12, 2020

Recently, I read a stylebook with lots of visuals. The author was trying to convince readers her ideas are the way to go on how to look great. Though the author’s an expert, she was selling her educated and informed opinion, not fact. I agreed with much of what she imparted but disagreed with other points. No matter, except that I resented a tactic she used several times with photos manipulated to …

Category: Writing Craft