Please welcome this weeks guest Sylvia Bambola for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Years ago God spoke to me about writing a novel for the secular world. I believed it. I received it. There was no doubt in my mind that it was God even though He sounded nothing like Cecil B. DeMille. So, for two years I worked feverishly until finally the great American novel was ready. I had amassed a list of all the publishers I planned to favor with … [Read more...]
U is for Unsolicited Manuscript #atozchallenge
Have you ever gone to a literary agency's website or to a traditional publisher's website and looked up their guidelines to find out how you could send a query or proposal for your work only to find out it says something like this: We do not take unsolicited manuscripts. So exactly what is an unsolicited manuscript? It's one that is not represented currently by an agent or for a writer who has never been published before. In other words, agents and publishing houses don't want anyone to just … [Read more...]
T is for Tagline (Dialogue Tags) #atozchallenge
Taglines, or better known as dialogue tags, have been used in writing clear back to the Bible. They help the reader to know exactly who is talking during a scene. However, today, many publishers are moving away from dialogue tags as this is more telling than showing. Adding an action beat for whoever is talking is a way to show that person is the one talking instead of saying so-in-such said. As a reader, to be honest, I never really noticed that kind of stuff and it never bothered me. But … [Read more...]
R is for Revisions #atozchallenge
When it comes to writing, no one should ever just take the first draft as the final draft because we need to be certain that it sounds okay, grammar and punctuation is correct, spelling errors, and things like that. We should know going in that whatever we write down (or type) that we will go back and read over what's been said to make sure it looks okay. Even if we are one of those lucky people who gets it right the first time through, most of us must do this. Editing can be a tedious thing … [Read more...]
Q is for Query #atozchallenge
The dreaded query letter. No one wants to write this yet it is a very important part of the writing process. I wanted to get a specific definition for a query so I thought what better way to find it than by doing a Google search and here is what I found: "A query letter is a formal letter sent to magazine editors, literary agents and sometimes publishing houses or companies. Writers write query letters to propose writing ideas." A query is basically your first step in the door. That all … [Read more...]
P is for Pseudonym #atozchallenge
A pseudonym. How many writers out there today have them? I know several people within ACFW use them for different purposes. One writer that comes to mind that uses pseudonyms is Nora Roberts. She was actually born Eleanor Marie Robertson. She uses the Nora Roberts name for her romances. She uses J.D. Robb for her suspense stuff. She's also written under Jill March and in the UK she writes under Sarah Hardesty. A pseudonym can keep you private life separate from your writing life or … [Read more...]
O is for Outline
Or as I like to call it: Plotter. In writing a novel you have what we writers like to call either Pantsers or Plotters or somewhere in between. A pantser is someone who writes their novel, as they say, by the seat of their pants. In other words, there is absolutely no plotting of the novel whatsoever. They write their novel as it comes to them. However, with a plotter, it 180 degrees in the opposite direction where they outline everything before they write a single word for their … [Read more...]
M is for Mentor
In life we can find a mentor for so many things. Athletics. Business. Politics. Our Faith. In writing, finding a mentor to help you be the best writer you can be I feel is one of the most important things we can do. Sometimes you only have one, and if you are fortunate enough you may have more than one. These people take time out of their busy lives to help you as you grow. And they don't just help you in your writing but help you in your life when the time is needed. I feel like I have been … [Read more...]
L is for Literary Agents
How many of us dream of being a published author someday? I have a feeling many of us do, especially if we know we're writers and have been working on a book of any kind. Writing is relatively new for me. I only found writing after the loss of my daughter. I actually started writing while she was in the hospital those sixteen days fighting for her life from what the E. coli did to her little body. But in the end it had wreaked too much havoc on her little body and she went home to be with … [Read more...]
K is for Kindle Matchbook
How many of shop on Amazon today for a new book or whatever else it is we might be looking for? I have a feeling the majority of us go to this cyber giant for whatever it is we plan to read next. Are you one who still like to read the old school way of either a hardback or paperback book? I used to be like that up until about a little over a year ago when I needed to walk on my treadmill to help with hip pain issues I'd been having. However, either walking with a book in hand or even trying … [Read more...]
