Chynna T. Laird's Blog, page 3

Writing About Writing ~ Building A Writer/Author Platform

Good grief! Can you imagine having to plug out an entire novel on this thing? Actually, it looks very similar to a typewriter my grandparents had upstairs in my uncles' old bedroom. I actually used it a few times. Let's just say you build up a tremendous amount of patience as well as excellent spelling skills using these babies. There were no inkjets for these - these used typing ribbon. And there was no 'undo' button or whiteout. If you made a boo-boo, you had to redo the entire page. OY!!!

I...

Foodie Friday (on a Thursday) ~ Using Up That Leftover Steak/Roast

Again? We've gotten behind in our posting. With all of the appointments we have going on (mine and the kids'), editing, fulfilling requests for full manuscripts and article requests, editing papers for my kids (I should really start charging them for that, now that I think of it...), I barely have time to squeeze in some sleep, never mind my wonderful blog. At least I can eat at my desk.

Anyway, I realize it's only Thursday today but I'm not sure I'll be able to get on here tomorrow with...

Writing Prompt Saturday ~ Oh, Those Powerful Verbs!

With all of the re-vamping of the blog and my other sites, I seem to have forgotten a few posting days. Oopsys. And I had an amazing recipe for Foodie Friday. OH well. There is always next week.

I've been swamped with editing lately (both my books as well as assigned edits) and have come to the realization that, maybe, we should have a post where we try experimenting with more exciting and powerful verbs. The reason for this discussion is that in using more powerful verbs, it can reduce the...

Talk About It ~ Teen Dating Violence: Let's Make It Stop

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. I speak out on this subject every year as it hits a very personal button for me. I know many people, especially young people, who have had to endure this issue in silence because they are too afraid to tell someone else.

Dating violence is a form of control one person feels they have over another. The relationship usually starts off okay, then hints of things to be concerned about pop up. Maybe the other person raises their voice a bit more...

Music Mantra Monday - In My Life, I Loved You More

I had this song in my head all weekend. The song, and the lyrics, are reserved for a very special place in my heart. And, well, John Lennon is one of my favorite people.

I related a lot to him and the things he'd gone through. Plus, he was multi-talented and used those talents to get his message and words out. I admire that he came through it all. Sure, he made mistakes. No, he may not have always turned down the right path or made decisions everyone liked or agreed with. But he had the...

Writing Prompt Saturday ~ Photo Prompt Writing Contest!

Remember my post from Wednesday about entering writing contests as a way to get your work out there a bit further? Well, the writing Gods must have read my post because after it was published, I got a wonderful invitation to enter a contest...a photo prompt contest. My favorite kind.

The Institute For Writers is a fantastic resource I've been a part of for many years now. In fact, it was through them that I found the contest I entered, and won, that kick-started my writing career. I owe...

Foodie Friday ~ Another Vegetarian Idea: Eggplant Parmesan

Since my kids were really tiny, I have had a "meatless night". I never really assigned it to a specific night but it was usually smack-dab in the middle of all of the carnivore-ness. What can I say? My kidlets love their meat (not a treat for those of us who don't like touching, smelling or feeling it). It hasn't been a huge struggle on these nights. I mean, I won't lie to you; they won't dive right in with the same enthusiasm when something is veg-based rather than meat-based. But in all...

Wednesday's Writing About Writing ~ Where Do You Fit In?

As you can see, we've had to change the focus of our Wednesday segment, at least for now. Due to the fact that a few of my works are in limbo at the moment, awaiting their new arrival, we are changing this more to a writing guidance day rather than a sample day. We'll still be sharing snippets in the future but we thought a fresh posting idea would fill in the gap temporarily. We'll keep you posted as things progress.

I thought today we'd talk about something that many new writers struggle...

Music Mantra Monday ~ You Are My Sunshine

Alrighty. It's nostalgia time.

I grew up in a house surrounded by music. I had a Godmother who was trained in classical music and was also a Mezzo-Soprano in the Manitoba Opera. My grandparents always had their stereo on and loved Classical and Jazz. My mother was a piano teacher and sang in choirs who not only exposed me to classical music that she played and taught, but she also listened to all of the "oldies but goodies" that weren't as old when I was a kid. You can imagine all of the...

Writing Prompt Saturday ~ Writing Contests

Although I've been writing since I was in my single digits, I didn't actually make the effort to publish my work until much later. I have always been rather self-conscious about my writing as there are so many other amazing writers out there. Even with the strongest encouragement from those closest to me, I never had the courage to let it go and allow others to read my stuff. Then, one day, one of my writing mentors sent me a link to a writing contest after reading one of my short stories....