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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Archives for Karen Ball » Page 3

Karen Ball

The Seeds of Great Ideas

By Karen Ballon January 18, 2017
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Thanks so much for sharing your tips and sources for ideas last week. What fun to read your thoughts and insights. I’d invite you all to review those comments from time to time, considering if one or more of them might not help you expand the ways you develop ideas.

For today, though, I want to encourage you to give something a try, and that’s an Idea Journal. This isn’t a regular journal. It’s what you use as the primary repository for your idea sparks. This is specifically an Idea Journal. This is where you jot down any and everything that can be a springboard for story ideas, characters, quirks, and so on. From one word, to an idea, to whatever you need to remember the flash of genius that hit you. A few examples:

  • Names (I have a whole list of unique and interesting names from the booksignings I’ve done.)
  • Things that move you. (Odds are good they’ll move others, too. And that emotional trigger can be the seed of a story.)
  • Funny, painful, poignant moments. You don’t need to go into detail, just get enough down to remind yourself why the moment impacted you.
  • Pictures from cards, magazines, newpapers, wherever.
  • Quotes (with the source, in case you choose to use them in your book).
  • Websites you find interesting or helpful.
  • Understandings or That moment when the light goes on about something? Jot it down.
  • Food. (Hey, entire series have been built around types of food!)
  • Colors can spark everything from character traits (the big brawny guy who loves fuchia) or obsession (the women who only wears lavender) or even names for things (a rock band called Atomic Tangerine).
  • Smells. Few things elicit emotion and memory like fragrances.
  • Funny things people say or unique pronunciations. I always teased my dad because he pronounced wash as warsh, and satan as saintan.
  • Drawings or doodles.
  • A list of topics you want to write about some day.

And on and on it can go. Like I said, any and everything that will spark an idea. You may be surprised what an invaluable resource it will become.

Have fun!

 

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Category: CreativityTag: Creativity

Finding Great Book Ideas

By Karen Ballon January 11, 2017
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The beginning of a whole new year seems like a good time to think about new ideas. Specifically, new ideas for stories to write. We all have our favorite sources for new ideas. Some pull story ideas from breaking news stories, some from their own personal experiences or struggles, some from the lives of those they know, some from all of the above and more. Next week I’ll share some ways to spark …

Read moreFinding Great Book Ideas
Category: CreativityTag: Creativity

Who Needs Another Marriage Book?

By Karen Ballon December 21, 2016
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Today is Don’s and my 37th anniversary. Don likes to say we’ve been happily married for 20 years, and that’s not bad out of 37. <grin> While he’s being funny, he’s also being honest. Ours has not been an easy marriage. We’ve been through many years of counseling with pastors, friends, and professional counselors. To say we’ve learned a lot is a major understatement. And quite a bit of it has …

Read moreWho Needs Another Marriage Book?
Category: PersonalTag: Personal

Are Deadlines Killing Your Christmas?

By Karen Ballon December 14, 2016
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Remember the days when all we had to do at Christmas time was sip hot chocolate, trim the tree, and wrap gifts, all while listening to Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole croon out those wonderful old carols? Yeah, me neither. For so many of us, Christmas has become another item on our To-Do list. One that we keep moving as deadlines grow ever more dire. It’s crazy. This time of year, the time when we …

Read moreAre Deadlines Killing Your Christmas?
Category: Faith, The Writing LifeTag: Christmas, Deadlines, Faith, The Writing Life

Christmas in Story

By Karen Ballon December 7, 2016
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December is here, the time we celebrate the greatest story of all—the advent of a holy baby/Savior. Of course, my favorite version of the Christmas story is found in Scripture, but I love that the spirit of that story can be found in countless venues and styles of story. So I thought I’d share my favorite Christmas books and videos with you fellow storytellers, in case you’re looking for something …

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Category: PersonalTag: Christmas

The Writer’s STEP

By Karen Ballon November 30, 2016
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As some of you know, I have asthma. As does one of my very best friends. And you know what these two…ahem…”seasoned” asthmatics love to do? Hike! Yup. We plod along, coughing and wheezing and laughing (or, to be more accurate, gasping) about how they’ll find our poor deceased selves on the path, but that’s okay, because at least we went out doing what we love. I realize that people who don’t know …

Read moreThe Writer’s STEP
Category: Career, Encouragement, Faith, Get Published, Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Encouragement, Faith, The Writing Life

Getting Ready to Give Thanks

By Karen Ballon November 23, 2016
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No doubt about it, it’s been a tough year. In publishing. In politics. In our nation. In our world. There are so many things to worry about, to be frustrated about, even to fear. And yet… God is. Whoever runs the country…God is. Whatever personal or professional trials you face…God is. However discouraging circumstances may be…God is. Whatever is happening… GOD. IS. As we prepare to celebrate …

Read moreGetting Ready to Give Thanks
Category: Personal, TheologyTag: Faith, Personal, Theology

Lessons from a Crab

By Karen Ballon November 16, 2016
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No, the title isn’t talking about a grouchy person. It’s about a real, live crab. One that I encountered one day on the Oregon coast as I walked along the beach. It was early morning, with the rising sun streaming across the vast water, the glory of the sunrise reflected in the wet sand. I’d gotten a little to close to the surf as it came in, and since I hadn’t rolled up my pants legs, I had to …

Read moreLessons from a Crab
Category: The Writing Life, TheologyTag: The Writing Life, Theology

How Do You See God?

By Karen Ballon November 9, 2016
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I love going to the Oregon coast. love the power and beauty and sense of God’s creative genius that surrounds me when I’m there.  Ever since I was little, I’ve looked on the ocean as a friend, even played tag with the water as it came in, daring it to wash over my bare feet, running when it got close, laughing when it caught me. (Yes, I still do this.) Recently, though, while at the coast, I was …

Read moreHow Do You See God?
Category: The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Faith, The Writing Life, Theology

Waiting for Perfect

By Karen Ballon November 2, 2016
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Recently a friend and I walked on a beach in Oregon. All around us were countless treasures the tide had brought in and deposited in the sand. Rocks, shells, driftwood…so many  beautiful, intriguing items to pick up and examine. I’ve always been a gatherer when I’m on the beach, collecting items to take home and put in my garden, remembrances of my visits. But my friend? She picked up as many …

Read moreWaiting for Perfect
Category: The Writing LifeTag: The Writing Life
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