Today the U.S. celebrates Labor Day as a national holiday.
It’s a perfect day to make and eat popcorn, a favorite snack!
Enjoy this insightful video with the Muppets Swedish chef attempting to make enough for everyone.
Fun Fridays – September 2, 2022
Tomorrow is International Bacon Day! Celebrate the bacon! A few years ago, there was a fun online thread with creative people replacing movie titles or book titles with the word bacon. For example: The Lion, the Witch, and the Bacon Pretty in Bacon Harry Potter and the Goblet of Bacon Eat, Bacon, Love The Lord of the Bacon So I thought, “Why not apply the same to bestselling Christian …
7 Tips for Pitching Your Idea
You have a chance to pitch your book idea to an editor or an agent at a conference. I’ve written about this before (see “That Conference Appointment”) but thought it may be helpful to come at the topic from a different direction. The pitch itself. These tips can help whether or not your appointment is virtual or in-person. 1. Relax. Seriously. Relax. This 15-minute appointment won’t make or break …
Fun Fridays – August 26, 2022
You may not enjoy this video as much as I do. The reason is that I played basketball in high school and was able to dunk. In addition, I had the fun of going to State as a high jumper. But this video is highest-level stuff (pun intended). When I see things like this I’m stunned at the sheer athleticism. Metaphor? You may be good, but there will always be someone better based on certain …
The Woman Beside the Man
Forty-one years ago today, a beautiful young lady said “I do”; and we have been married ever since. They say that beside every good man is an even better woman. I couldn’t agree more. Through the ups and downs of life, my wife, Lisa, has been the foundation of our home and raised three incredible daughters (and now two grandsons are part of the extended family!). I can safely say …
Fun Fridays – August 19, 2022
When professionals take a moment to have fun, we can enjoy the spectacle. See what I mean with today’s video of a doubles match held at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Is there a writing metaphor here somewhere? Add your ideas in the comments below. (If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.)
Rejection: A Fact of the Writing Life
Rejection is a fact of life. Especially the writing life. As one crusty publishing veteran said: “Welcome to the industry that will break your heart.” Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it? But let me put a little perspective on it. I admire writers. You put your souls on a few pages and send them to strangers and pray for acceptance. How do you do that, day in and day …
Fun Fridays – August 12, 2022
World’s fastest typist. Watch this lady type 185 words a minute and the awe of the students. Put it this way. Stella Pajunas in 1946 set, and still holds, the world record for typing at 216 words per minute. The average person types around 40 words per minute. (See the infographic on this page.) My high-school typing teacher could do 80 wpm on a manual typewriter, the kind I learned on. If …
G Is for Great
“There are a lot of good manuscripts out there. What we want are those which are great.” I’ve said this many times but thought I should elaborate. Please note the following information applies mostly to nonfiction projects. When it comes to the nonfiction books that attract major publishers, I believe the author must have at least two of three “great” things: Great Concept Great Writing Great …
Fun Fridays – August 5, 2022
I may have shown today’s video to you before, but it still thrills me to watch it again. This young prodigy is given four random notes, drawn from a hat, and improvises an entire piece in about a minute. Amazing. Can you, as a writer, take four words and improvise a story in one minute? “See the ball bounce.” Now go write something beautiful!