Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 92
March 29, 2020
OPEN CRITIQUE FOR BLUE MOON MONDAY!!!!
Okay, darlings, some of you know the drill.
Some don't.
We keep it simple.
You have bestselling, award-winning inspirational authors here, but we don't limit our critiques to just inspy works.... as long as it's G-rated, you're welcome to post below!
Here are the rules:
Keep it fairly short, this forum doesn't allow for chapters... but a few paragraphs to share the idea is great.
If you have to hunt through your work to find a few good paragraphs, then it probably needs polish OR you need stronger coffee because you're scared to death. Both are normal.
We are not critics... we are authors and bloggers and we love great work, but our opinions are just that: Opinions. Although every one of us will tell you that we wouldn't be where we are today without paying attention to early critiques and contest judges who helped us see what worked... and what didn't.
So today it's a drive-by critique.... Any Seeker may stop in and tell you what they think, and they/we don't always agree... and YOU know your story... so take that into consideration.
But it is also advised to leave wounded egos and overly-sensitive hearts at the door because we might tell you that your work needs work... and that should always be okay.
And we have a prize today of a one chapter critique for some brave soul, but you have to tell us you want it.... you have to mention that you want to be put in that drawing...
Don't be too scared, darlings.
No one's died from one of our critiques.
YET.
Coffee is here. Doughnuts/donuts, too, including the amazing cannoli cheese-filled donuts I get at Ridge Donut Cafe.... Because it's nice to share.
USA TODAY bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne is the author of more than 50 published novels and novellas and while she can be a meany-pants from time to time, her tough persona hides a really soft heart but she doesn't like folks to know that, so she hides it well. Very well, some say. You can friend her on facebook, follow her on the most unfriendly social media in the world, AKA: Twitter and stop by her webpage ruthloganherne.com. She also actually answers email (and it's really her, not "her people", so be careful what you say, lovies!!!!) at loganherne@gmail.com.... and she may brag about how her bestselling Wishing Bridge series has been on the Amazon bestseller lists for weeks, but gosh, a girl's got to be able to share good news, right??? Even bossy girls!
AMAZON LINK HERE JUST IN CASE YOUSE WANT TO USE IT. :)
Some don't.
We keep it simple.
You have bestselling, award-winning inspirational authors here, but we don't limit our critiques to just inspy works.... as long as it's G-rated, you're welcome to post below!
Here are the rules:
Keep it fairly short, this forum doesn't allow for chapters... but a few paragraphs to share the idea is great.
If you have to hunt through your work to find a few good paragraphs, then it probably needs polish OR you need stronger coffee because you're scared to death. Both are normal.
We are not critics... we are authors and bloggers and we love great work, but our opinions are just that: Opinions. Although every one of us will tell you that we wouldn't be where we are today without paying attention to early critiques and contest judges who helped us see what worked... and what didn't.
So today it's a drive-by critique.... Any Seeker may stop in and tell you what they think, and they/we don't always agree... and YOU know your story... so take that into consideration.
But it is also advised to leave wounded egos and overly-sensitive hearts at the door because we might tell you that your work needs work... and that should always be okay.
And we have a prize today of a one chapter critique for some brave soul, but you have to tell us you want it.... you have to mention that you want to be put in that drawing...
Don't be too scared, darlings.
No one's died from one of our critiques.
YET.
Coffee is here. Doughnuts/donuts, too, including the amazing cannoli cheese-filled donuts I get at Ridge Donut Cafe.... Because it's nice to share.
USA TODAY bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne is the author of more than 50 published novels and novellas and while she can be a meany-pants from time to time, her tough persona hides a really soft heart but she doesn't like folks to know that, so she hides it well. Very well, some say. You can friend her on facebook, follow her on the most unfriendly social media in the world, AKA: Twitter and stop by her webpage ruthloganherne.com. She also actually answers email (and it's really her, not "her people", so be careful what you say, lovies!!!!) at loganherne@gmail.com.... and she may brag about how her bestselling Wishing Bridge series has been on the Amazon bestseller lists for weeks, but gosh, a girl's got to be able to share good news, right??? Even bossy girls!
AMAZON LINK HERE JUST IN CASE YOUSE WANT TO USE IT. :)
March 28, 2020
Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community throughout this pandemic. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, please leave a request for prayer in the comment section below.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! May the Lord bless you and your families abundantly as we journey to Easter.
Please join us in praying for our country--and the world--during this coronavirus outbreak.
Dear Lord, protect us and keep usfree from COVID-19 infection. Help all who are working hard to contain the spread of this virus, especially those in the healthcare professions and those caring for the sick. Give clarity and right judgement to the WHO, CDC, NIH and federal, state and local agencies combating this outbreak.Guard all of us and especially our elderly and immunocompromised. Bring healing to those who have the disease, Eternal Glory to thosewho have succumbed to the virus andcomfort to the families who have lost loved ones.God bless us, and God bless the United States of America.Amen.
The Raising of Lazarus, Rembrandt., c. 1630-1632,
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. [PD-US]
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,“Master, the one you love is ill.”When Jesus heard this he said,“This illness is not to end in death,but is for the glory of God,that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.So when he heard that he was ill,he remained for two days in the place where he was.Then after this he said to his disciples,+Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarushad already been in the tomb for four days.When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,she went to meet him;but Mary sat at home.Martha said to Jesus,“Lord, if you had been here,my brother would not have died.But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,God will give you.”Jesus said to her,Your brother will rise.”Martha said,“I know he will rise,in the resurrection on the last day.”Jesus told her,“I am the resurrection and the life;whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.Do you believe this?”She said to him, “Yes, Lord.I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,“Where have you laid him?”They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”And Jesus wept.So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”But some of them said,“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind manhave done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,“Lord, by now there will be a stench;he has been dead for four days.”Jesus said to her,“Did I not tell you that if you believeyou will see the glory of God?”So they took away the stone.And Jesus raised his eyes and said,“Father, I thank you for hearing me.I know that you always hear me;but because of the crowd here I have said this,that they may believe that you sent me.”And when he had said this,He cried out in a loud voice,“Lazarus, come out!”The dead man came out,tied hand and foot with burial bands,and his face was wrapped in a cloth.So Jesus said to them,“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Maryand seen what he had done began to believe in him.John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community throughout this pandemic. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, please leave a request for prayer in the comment section below.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! May the Lord bless you and your families abundantly as we journey to Easter.
Please join us in praying for our country--and the world--during this coronavirus outbreak.
Dear Lord, protect us and keep usfree from COVID-19 infection. Help all who are working hard to contain the spread of this virus, especially those in the healthcare professions and those caring for the sick. Give clarity and right judgement to the WHO, CDC, NIH and federal, state and local agencies combating this outbreak.Guard all of us and especially our elderly and immunocompromised. Bring healing to those who have the disease, Eternal Glory to thosewho have succumbed to the virus andcomfort to the families who have lost loved ones.God bless us, and God bless the United States of America.Amen.
The Raising of Lazarus, Rembrandt., c. 1630-1632,Los Angeles County Museum of Art. [PD-US]
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,“Master, the one you love is ill.”When Jesus heard this he said,“This illness is not to end in death,but is for the glory of God,that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.So when he heard that he was ill,he remained for two days in the place where he was.Then after this he said to his disciples,+Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarushad already been in the tomb for four days.When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,she went to meet him;but Mary sat at home.Martha said to Jesus,“Lord, if you had been here,my brother would not have died.But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,God will give you.”Jesus said to her,Your brother will rise.”Martha said,“I know he will rise,in the resurrection on the last day.”Jesus told her,“I am the resurrection and the life;whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.Do you believe this?”She said to him, “Yes, Lord.I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,“Where have you laid him?”They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”And Jesus wept.So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”But some of them said,“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind manhave done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,“Lord, by now there will be a stench;he has been dead for four days.”Jesus said to her,“Did I not tell you that if you believeyou will see the glory of God?”So they took away the stone.And Jesus raised his eyes and said,“Father, I thank you for hearing me.I know that you always hear me;but because of the crowd here I have said this,that they may believe that you sent me.”And when he had said this,He cried out in a loud voice,“Lazarus, come out!”The dead man came out,tied hand and foot with burial bands,and his face was wrapped in a cloth.So Jesus said to them,“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Maryand seen what he had done began to believe in him.John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
March 27, 2020
Weekend Edition
If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes. Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com
Monday: Erica Vetsch blogged about how to play Regency Bingo! Prizes, fun and more in the Facebook Group Regency Bingo 2020.
Wednesday: Cate Nolan was here talking about the writing journey and how James Scott Bell's book helped her write her way through the mist.
Thursday: Friend of Seekerville and medical suspense author Dr. Richard Mabry spent the day with us today and chatted about how to take the grain of an idea and turn it into the wheat of a story... winner of a copy of Doc's newest medical suspense is Dalyn!!!!
Friday: We spent Friday sharing God's word and uplifting verses with our Seekerville friends and family and the winner of "Jesus Calling" is Sherrinda Ketchersid! Congratulations, Sherrinda!!!!
Monday: BLUE MOON MONDAY!!!! Every now and again the good Lord and the calendar give us a random extra Monday or Friday, and this is it which makes it OPEN CRITIQUE DAY!!! Polish a bit of work over the weekend, and then suck up the courage to post it on Monday and we'll honestly tell you what we think... because if you want to make it in this business, lads and lasses, you better develop a thick skin and a thicker hide. And I'm not kidding. One person will win a chapter critique.
Wednesday: There will be no fooling when Mindy Obenhaus discusses the writing process in hopes of helping you find what works for you. And because books bring us comfort, she's got some giveaways in store, too. Friday: Never Let a Good Crisis Go To Waste... Some of the best stories come out of times of crisis. How do you look at a crisis from a writer's point of view, and how do you weave a single story or series out of a monster-sized event? Join us on Friday to hear how authors take a crisis... and make it into story.
LAST WEEKEND FOR BUYING RUTHY'S BESTSELLING "WELCOME TO WISHING BRIDGE" AND "AT HOME IN WISHING BRIDGE" AT THE $1.99 SALE PRICE FOR KINDLE!!! AND HUGE THANK YOUS TO SO MANY READERS WHO HAVE PUSHED THOSE TWO STORIES TO FIRST & SECOND PLACE ON AMAZON'S WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN FICTION BESTSELLER LIST. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!
WELCOME TO WISHING BRIDGE ON SALE
AT HOME IN WISHING BRIDGE ON SALE
New cover art for Erica Vetsch! Two Christmas Novella collections coming this fall:
A Joyful Christmas features six previously released Christmas novellas all in one place, including Erica's "Christmas Service."
Three Regency Christmas stories, including Erica's "Wonders of His Love." Joy to the World releases in October!
Come on over to Petticoats and Pistols. We're talking quarantine! What are you doing...when you're doing NOTHING?There are prizes. THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR...STAYING HOME
Tina Radcliffe's Inside Edition - terrific newsletter that contains all the industry news you need.(yes, you need to sign up for it, but well worth it!)
The Importance of Secondary Characters In Your Novel by CS Lakin at Live Write Thrive
The Power of Hopeful Stories in a Stressful Time by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors
Plot Your Novel With Mini Arcs by Janice Hardy at Fiction University
Two Free At-Home Workshops To Keep You Busy During Quarantine by Janice Hardy at Fiction University
An Editor? Or a Predator? by Eva Marie Everson at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Conference
8 Ways Authors Are Helping Authors With Books Releasing During COVID-19 by Diana Urban at BookBub Partners
Indie Publishing 101 - Part III by Piper Bayard at Writers In The Storm
How To Boil Loads of Research Down To A First Draft by Michael Gallant at Book Baby Blog
6 Secrets To Becoming A More Productive Writer by Tiffany Joy at The Creative Penn
Tips To Write Through The Chaos by Edie Melson at The Write Conversation
This Is About More Than Toilet Paper: Some Thought On The Coronavirus by Jeff Goins at Goins, Writer
March 26, 2020
Fear Not: The Seekers Share Verses That Help Them Through Tough Times
Fellow authors, writers and readers, we don't want to belabor the current situation, but The Seekers are a group of Christian authors and bloggers.
Key word: CHRISTIAN. That comes first, before the word author or blogger.
From Love Inspired author Mindy Obenhaus:
We are believers.
We are women of God, believers in Christ, sisters of the Spirit, bound together not just because we love good books and great stories and romance...
We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord... and they'll know we are Christians by our love...
So that's what today is about.
Everyone reading this has a story right now. We are living in the pages of a coming history book, the Covid 19 Pandemic of 2020, and students will look at graphs and curves and numbers and they'll see that we were willing to risk one of the best economic booms we've had in decades to save lives.
A verse that brings solace to Missy Tippens:
But that doesn't come without pain and sacrifice and worry as millions of people are told to stay home from work and millions of others lose their jobs as schools and businesses face a mandatory closing order.
So here are some beautiful sayings that help us keep it in perspective because that's what God expects us to do.
From Debby Giusti....
Dear Friends, I select a new scripture verse each day and write it on a 3x5 card that I place on my kitchen counter. I also open my Bible to that verse and keep both close at hand to pray throughout the day. The verses are from the daily readings.
My verse today is Psalm 34:7 When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.
Nature is nature. Nature will change things. Nature is not always predictable, and sometimes awful things just plain happen.
And we learn to take up the yoke and walk with it.
Here's a beautiful verse from Carrie: (meme by Beth Jamison)
And here is a favorite from Winnie Griggs, one that I think we all love and embrace:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.John 14:27BE NOT AFRAID...Someone once said that there were 365 exortations to "not be afraid" in the Bible. This gal checked that out and found 145... And that's still a lot, my friends! And you know why? Because we're human. We get nervous. We don't like change. We're normal. Simply put, we are not God. And so we get anxious and we fear and the Lord, our God says "Fear not!"
Annie shared these three verses that bring her comfort when life and the world get out of hand:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."- Romans 15:13
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."- Romans 8:28
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."Jeremiah 29:11 And Mary Connealy said offered up one of my favorite verses, too:
And Mary sent this along with the meme....
This makes a wonderful prayer. Isaiah 40:30b-31
And I try and remember when you pray for someone using this prayer that, when someone doesn't survive whatever this life hands out, then God lifts them up, as if on eagle's wings. He takes them to himself to a place and renews their strength. A place where they can run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.
That is what we believe.We believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his son, our Lord. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
In this time of anxiety, nerves and reflection, when it seems like our world has been put on pause, or flipped upside down, we are blessed to have God.
And blessed to have each other.
I'm pretty sure I have one more copy of Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling" and let us know if you'd like it... it's absolutely lovely and I'd be happy to put your name into the candy dish.
No cat dish today.
We're going full tilt on candy, and we are happy to share with all of you. Leave a comment or tell us your favorite verse in the comments. We would love to hear from you!
And may God bless you, all of you, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
And a beautiful way to draw this to a close is with this verdant reminder from Jan Drexler:
The Seekers are a great bunch of gals who love great books, who write great books and who are blessed to call one another friends... and who enjoy welcoming people into their lives.
Thank you for being here with us today.
Key word: CHRISTIAN. That comes first, before the word author or blogger.
From Love Inspired author Mindy Obenhaus:
We are believers.
We are women of God, believers in Christ, sisters of the Spirit, bound together not just because we love good books and great stories and romance...
We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord... and they'll know we are Christians by our love...
So that's what today is about.
Everyone reading this has a story right now. We are living in the pages of a coming history book, the Covid 19 Pandemic of 2020, and students will look at graphs and curves and numbers and they'll see that we were willing to risk one of the best economic booms we've had in decades to save lives.
A verse that brings solace to Missy Tippens:
But that doesn't come without pain and sacrifice and worry as millions of people are told to stay home from work and millions of others lose their jobs as schools and businesses face a mandatory closing order.
So here are some beautiful sayings that help us keep it in perspective because that's what God expects us to do.
From Debby Giusti....
Dear Friends, I select a new scripture verse each day and write it on a 3x5 card that I place on my kitchen counter. I also open my Bible to that verse and keep both close at hand to pray throughout the day. The verses are from the daily readings.
My verse today is Psalm 34:7 When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.
Nature is nature. Nature will change things. Nature is not always predictable, and sometimes awful things just plain happen.
And we learn to take up the yoke and walk with it.
Here's a beautiful verse from Carrie: (meme by Beth Jamison)
And here is a favorite from Winnie Griggs, one that I think we all love and embrace:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.John 14:27BE NOT AFRAID...Someone once said that there were 365 exortations to "not be afraid" in the Bible. This gal checked that out and found 145... And that's still a lot, my friends! And you know why? Because we're human. We get nervous. We don't like change. We're normal. Simply put, we are not God. And so we get anxious and we fear and the Lord, our God says "Fear not!"
Annie shared these three verses that bring her comfort when life and the world get out of hand:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."- Romans 15:13
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."- Romans 8:28
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."Jeremiah 29:11 And Mary Connealy said offered up one of my favorite verses, too:
And Mary sent this along with the meme.... This makes a wonderful prayer. Isaiah 40:30b-31
And I try and remember when you pray for someone using this prayer that, when someone doesn't survive whatever this life hands out, then God lifts them up, as if on eagle's wings. He takes them to himself to a place and renews their strength. A place where they can run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.
That is what we believe.We believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his son, our Lord. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
In this time of anxiety, nerves and reflection, when it seems like our world has been put on pause, or flipped upside down, we are blessed to have God.
And blessed to have each other.
I'm pretty sure I have one more copy of Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling" and let us know if you'd like it... it's absolutely lovely and I'd be happy to put your name into the candy dish.
No cat dish today.
We're going full tilt on candy, and we are happy to share with all of you. Leave a comment or tell us your favorite verse in the comments. We would love to hear from you!
And may God bless you, all of you, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
And a beautiful way to draw this to a close is with this verdant reminder from Jan Drexler:
The Seekers are a great bunch of gals who love great books, who write great books and who are blessed to call one another friends... and who enjoy welcoming people into their lives.
Thank you for being here with us today.
March 25, 2020
It's Not the Idea That Counts
by Seekerville Guest Blogger Dr. Richard Mabry
The question that people ask an author is always the same. “Where do you get your ideas?” But it’s not so much the ideas that are the determining factor in a novel—it’s what you do with one after you get it.
Ideas are all around us. Each of my novels and novellas has come from an idea that started out as no more than an idle thought. Walking through a med school parking garage late at night led me to an idea about a kidnapping that occurs there, and resulted in Stress Test. Wondering how a physician would react to a phone call that conveys the worst possible news about his father culminated in Guarded Prognosis. Musing about how a physician would handle a potentially fatal infection in two patients when he has just enough of the curative treatment for one led me to write Miracle Drug. My wife, as we brainstormed, mentioned a female physician finding a cell phone that gives her the instructions that she’ll have to kill a patient to free her kidnapped husband, and it led me to write my latest novel, Critical Decision.
No, the idea isn’t the thing that makes a novel. What sets us apart as writers is what we do with that idea. In addition to the fact that it’s impossible to copyright an idea or concept, it’s also unnecessary. If half a dozen writers start out with the same premise, each will produce from it a different manuscript. That’s called the author’s voice, and it’s unique to each person. Some writers finally find their voice, some seek it for years but never achieve the right way to put the words together. And, like a giraffe, a writer’s “voice” is difficult to describe, but you’ll know it when you see (or hear or read) it. It doesn’t depend on the idea or even the arc of the story that follows. It’s all in what we do with that idea.
Suppose that you actually follow up that idea by writing a novel. By putting together all the words, you’ve joined the small group that has gone beyond just saying “I should write a book.” What now? Resist the temptation to submit the first draft, no matter how good it seems. You revise, and revise, and keep on going until you feel it’s perfect. Then it’s time both to submit and to prepare for rejections. It goes with the profession.
Eventually, after a few rejections, let’s suppose you submit your novel and get it accepted. Congratulations, now you’re definitely in a very small minority. You’re a published author, and surely instant fame and fortune will follow. Right? Sorry. Your book could be one of a million that’s published this year. If your name is Clancy or Rowling, you can probably support yourself on your earnings. But the majority of writers hold down a “day job,” and write, not as a means of support, but because…well, they can’t notwrite.
What’s the point of this? It’s not necessarily warning the neophyte author of the pitfalls that lie ahead, although there are a bunch. It’s pointing out that, despite the question that is asked of every author about getting an idea, the hard part of writing is what you do with that idea. There’s a long distance that separates an idea and a published novel. But some of us will keep on going down that road. And that’s what makes us who we are. We’re authors.
Ready to travel down that road? C’mon along. It’s hard work, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Ruthy here: Doc has graciously offered a copy of "Critical Decision" to a commenter... so let's see what the lot o' youse has to say today? Are you a writer or a reader? And where are you on your journey in life?
Dr. Richard Mabry is a retired physician, now writing “medical suspense with heart.” His novels have garnered critical acclaim and been finalists for multiple awards. In addition to one non-fiction book, The Tender Scar, he has written eleven novels and four novellas. The latest is Critical Decision.He and his wife live in north Texas, where he works fruitlessly to improve his golf game and tries to convince his family that staring into space is really working. You can learn more at his blog and web page, as well as finding him on Facebook and Twitter.
March 24, 2020
Back to Basics - Writing from the Middle and Some Confessions
Originally, I had planned to do a post today on Growth Mindsets for Writers. I'm a teacher, and Growth Mindsets is something we focus on a lot in education. I thought it would be fascinating to explore how they affect writers.
But sometimes life throws us curves, and in this case, it's thrown the world a curve in the form of COVID 19. For me, that has meant my city on complete lockdown with a terrifying number of cases exploding exponentially. For me as an educator, it has meant an upheaval in the way I teach - and a very quick introduction to conducting my classes via Google Meet.
Because of that (and a rapidly approaching deadline), I decided to refresh one of my very old Seekerville posts (from 2015) today. I think in some ways it is related to the Growth Mindset post I had intended, but actually, I was inspired by a link in last Saturday's Weekend Edition. Into the Mist...And Off the Cliff by Mary Gillgannon at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.
It reminded me of this post I did about how one of James Scott Bell's books had helped me find my way out of the mist.
The context for that was I had originally done a Seekerville post on Writing Into the Mist which was based on a speech I heard Jo Beverley give aeons ago at RWA.
Confessions of a Reformed Writer (Or How James Scott Bell Helped Me Find my Way out of the Mist)
Once upon a time, there was a young woman who loved to read. Writing books never ever crossed her mind. She beheld authors as on a pedestal. They were magicians who created the extraordinary stories that swept her away to other lands and times. Surely they weren’t mere mortals.
Time passed and the young lady grew up and got a job working for a movie company. One day, while traveling to a business conference, she grabbed a magazine in the airport newsstand. The magazine contained a feature on two women, California secretaries, who typed best-selling historical romances during their lunch hours.
That article was life-changing because the young woman, for the first time, began to consider that ordinary people could be authors. Did that mean even she could possibly become an author? Join the hallowed ranks of people like Frank Yerby and Gwen Bristow, Walter Farley and Irving Stone?
I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I was that young woman. The year was 1984. I remember the moment as if it happened yesterday. I was a newlywed, alone on a business trip for Columbia Pictures. I picked up the magazine so I’d have something to read in my hotel room. The two authors were Rosemary Rogers and Shirlee Busbee.
To this day, I credit that article for planting the seed that I could write a book. I’d always had ideas in my head. I’d always made up stories. It just never occurred to me that I could turn them into those magical books that meant so much to me.
Unfortunately, the article made it sound really easy. Have an understanding boss, type away whenever you have free time, and you too can write for Avon books.
I can hear you laughing at me.
It’s okay. With the gift of hindsight, I’m laughing too. Sort of. Apparently I’m a slow learner. And that’s where this story takes a detour - a thirty year detour.
But hang on. It has the requisite happy ending.
Along the way there were babies, graduate degrees, career changes (several of them), and even other interests.
But through them all, the seed that had been planted grew. Slowly - sort of like those evergreen trees that grow an inch every seven years. But it had deep roots that never let go. I snatched moments at dance class or in a coffee shop between work and picking up my daughters. I wrote freely and happily, ignorant of rules or conventions. I was in love with writing. Ordinary, mortal me was writing books!
There were some early successes (Golden Heart finals) and the amazing world of writers’ conferences where I met other women like me who also loved to write. We plotted over tea and scones while our children played. The rush and the joy were incredible.
But into every life a little rain must fall.
Rejections.
Ouch.
And then there was this thing called craft.
At writer’s conferences people were all talking about this mysterious thing called GMC. Everywhere I turned I was hearing Deb Dixon’s name.
I began to learn that writing wasn’t just fun. It took discipline, attention to craft, and (*heavy sigh*) it needed a structure.
I’ll spare you the following pain-filled years.
By now you might be asking yourself what any of this has to do with James Scott Bell.
Good question. I’m getting there.
But first…
A few years ago, as I was muddling through the land of unpubbed writers, I shared a post here about Jo Beverley and my light bulb moment hearing her speech at RWA about writers who write into the mist. That was so much nicer sounding than pantsers.
As more time went by, I had to acknowledge something. As much as I loved writing into the mist, it wasn’t working for me anymore.
The problem was I wasn’t just writing into the mist, I was getting totally lost in it. I was happy when I was writing, but I ended up with many, many hundreds of thousands of words on my computer and very few final, complete manuscripts.
Confession is supposed to be good for the soul, so I’m confessing. I was a mess. I was a messy writer, writing in a misty world, and I desperately needed a compass.
That’s where James Scott Bell comes in. I don’t know if he’s ever envisioned himself as a knight in shining armor, but he came to my rescue as surely as any hero on a white steed.
Confession #2. James Scott Bell has no clue about who I am. This rescue was rather anonymous. It happened when I saw a tweet mentioning his book Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story.
I downloaded a sample to my Kindle App and my life changed again.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
You see, in between the mist post and me discovering Super Structure, there was some happy news. I sold a book.
Unfortunately, that didn’t solve my messy writing problem. In fact, it added pressure to repeat the feat.
Enter Super Structure.
My Kindle App doesn’t give page numbers for this book, but at the 11% mark I ran across a paragraph that practically screamed my name. Bell quotes a post by John Vorhauson on Writer Unboxed about the huge, ragged mess he’s left with after writing his pantsed first draft.
It made me want to cry. The mess he is talking about is one I know too well.BUT, there was a ray of hope. Bell said he had a way to help pantsers become more efficient. Yes! My white knight!
The help he offers is a very simple but profound list of 14 signposts a writer can use to organize the story. The remainder of the book explains each signpost in great detail.
Why does this excite me so?
I’m a teacher. I know that children learn in different ways. So it makes sense that as adults we go about our work in different ways. Gather any group of writers together and you’ll see that we work in equally many ways. Pantsers are pansters (or misters) and plotters are plotters, and it’s really pretty futile trying to convince one that the other way is better.
The beauty of Super Structure is that it can work for each of us in our own way. Sort of like play dough, we get to mold it in a way that fits our style while keeping the same central backbone of structure. Plotters can use the signposts as they outline their novels. Mist writers like me can use the same signposts to make sense of the ragged mess of story we’re left with after speeding through that first draft. As Bell indicates, we’re not all that different really. The pantsers are simply writing that outline as a rather long, somewhat rough first draft.
In the book, Bell uses many examples from books and films to show how these signposts work to support great stories. He takes you through step-by-step explaining the role and location of each signpost. It’s amazing!
Why am I a fan?
Because for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel frustrated by my writing. I’ve tried plotting ahead. I can’t. My brain doesn’t work that way. The ideas that fill out my stories come to me as I’m writing them, as I’m getting inside my characters. I can’t force that ahead of time no matter how much I wish I could. But now, I have a way of wrangling all those ideas into a story with structure
So what do you do when your natural writing style is impeding progress and derailing your career?
You have two choices: give up or keep going.
If you decide to keep going, you have to remember the famous advice attributed to Einstein. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Fortunately my sanity was saved when I saw that tweet and downloaded Super Structure.
Oh, one final note: once I summoned my courage, I decided to put Christmas in Hiding to the test. According to Bell, every great story has a moment exactly halfway through that is known as the “Mirror Moment”. It’s the moment he wrote an entire book about (Write Your Novel from the Middle) It is the moment halfway through the book when the “main character has to figuratively look at himself, as in the mirror. He is confronted with a disturbing truth: change or die.”
Nervously, I opened Christmas in Hiding to the middle, and WOOOHOOOOOO, there it was, just where it was supposed to be - my Mirror Moment.
Somehow, in my mad rush, my instincts (honed by 30 years of trying) had me do it right.
Now I just have to pull it off again.
And so do you.
Good luck!
So let’s chat.
I’d love to hear your thoughts - about your writing styles, how you organize your writing, whether any of you are as messy as I am. Have any of you read Super Structure?
Cate Nolan lives in New York City, but she escapes to the ocean any chance she gets. A devoted mom, wife and teacher, Cate loves to leave her real life behind and play with the characters in her imagination. She’s got that suspense writer gene that sees danger and a story in everyday occurrences. Cate particularly loves to write stories of faith enabling ordinary people to overcome extraordinary danger.
But sometimes life throws us curves, and in this case, it's thrown the world a curve in the form of COVID 19. For me, that has meant my city on complete lockdown with a terrifying number of cases exploding exponentially. For me as an educator, it has meant an upheaval in the way I teach - and a very quick introduction to conducting my classes via Google Meet.
Because of that (and a rapidly approaching deadline), I decided to refresh one of my very old Seekerville posts (from 2015) today. I think in some ways it is related to the Growth Mindset post I had intended, but actually, I was inspired by a link in last Saturday's Weekend Edition. Into the Mist...And Off the Cliff by Mary Gillgannon at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.
It reminded me of this post I did about how one of James Scott Bell's books had helped me find my way out of the mist.
The context for that was I had originally done a Seekerville post on Writing Into the Mist which was based on a speech I heard Jo Beverley give aeons ago at RWA.
Confessions of a Reformed Writer (Or How James Scott Bell Helped Me Find my Way out of the Mist)
Once upon a time, there was a young woman who loved to read. Writing books never ever crossed her mind. She beheld authors as on a pedestal. They were magicians who created the extraordinary stories that swept her away to other lands and times. Surely they weren’t mere mortals.
Time passed and the young lady grew up and got a job working for a movie company. One day, while traveling to a business conference, she grabbed a magazine in the airport newsstand. The magazine contained a feature on two women, California secretaries, who typed best-selling historical romances during their lunch hours.
That article was life-changing because the young woman, for the first time, began to consider that ordinary people could be authors. Did that mean even she could possibly become an author? Join the hallowed ranks of people like Frank Yerby and Gwen Bristow, Walter Farley and Irving Stone?
I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I was that young woman. The year was 1984. I remember the moment as if it happened yesterday. I was a newlywed, alone on a business trip for Columbia Pictures. I picked up the magazine so I’d have something to read in my hotel room. The two authors were Rosemary Rogers and Shirlee Busbee.
To this day, I credit that article for planting the seed that I could write a book. I’d always had ideas in my head. I’d always made up stories. It just never occurred to me that I could turn them into those magical books that meant so much to me.
Unfortunately, the article made it sound really easy. Have an understanding boss, type away whenever you have free time, and you too can write for Avon books.
I can hear you laughing at me.
It’s okay. With the gift of hindsight, I’m laughing too. Sort of. Apparently I’m a slow learner. And that’s where this story takes a detour - a thirty year detour.
But hang on. It has the requisite happy ending.
Along the way there were babies, graduate degrees, career changes (several of them), and even other interests.
But through them all, the seed that had been planted grew. Slowly - sort of like those evergreen trees that grow an inch every seven years. But it had deep roots that never let go. I snatched moments at dance class or in a coffee shop between work and picking up my daughters. I wrote freely and happily, ignorant of rules or conventions. I was in love with writing. Ordinary, mortal me was writing books!
There were some early successes (Golden Heart finals) and the amazing world of writers’ conferences where I met other women like me who also loved to write. We plotted over tea and scones while our children played. The rush and the joy were incredible.
But into every life a little rain must fall.
Rejections.
Ouch.
And then there was this thing called craft.
At writer’s conferences people were all talking about this mysterious thing called GMC. Everywhere I turned I was hearing Deb Dixon’s name.
I began to learn that writing wasn’t just fun. It took discipline, attention to craft, and (*heavy sigh*) it needed a structure.
I’ll spare you the following pain-filled years.
By now you might be asking yourself what any of this has to do with James Scott Bell.
Good question. I’m getting there.
But first…
A few years ago, as I was muddling through the land of unpubbed writers, I shared a post here about Jo Beverley and my light bulb moment hearing her speech at RWA about writers who write into the mist. That was so much nicer sounding than pantsers.
As more time went by, I had to acknowledge something. As much as I loved writing into the mist, it wasn’t working for me anymore.
The problem was I wasn’t just writing into the mist, I was getting totally lost in it. I was happy when I was writing, but I ended up with many, many hundreds of thousands of words on my computer and very few final, complete manuscripts.
Confession is supposed to be good for the soul, so I’m confessing. I was a mess. I was a messy writer, writing in a misty world, and I desperately needed a compass.
That’s where James Scott Bell comes in. I don’t know if he’s ever envisioned himself as a knight in shining armor, but he came to my rescue as surely as any hero on a white steed.
Confession #2. James Scott Bell has no clue about who I am. This rescue was rather anonymous. It happened when I saw a tweet mentioning his book Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story.
I downloaded a sample to my Kindle App and my life changed again.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
You see, in between the mist post and me discovering Super Structure, there was some happy news. I sold a book.
Unfortunately, that didn’t solve my messy writing problem. In fact, it added pressure to repeat the feat.
Enter Super Structure.
My Kindle App doesn’t give page numbers for this book, but at the 11% mark I ran across a paragraph that practically screamed my name. Bell quotes a post by John Vorhauson on Writer Unboxed about the huge, ragged mess he’s left with after writing his pantsed first draft.
It made me want to cry. The mess he is talking about is one I know too well.BUT, there was a ray of hope. Bell said he had a way to help pantsers become more efficient. Yes! My white knight!
The help he offers is a very simple but profound list of 14 signposts a writer can use to organize the story. The remainder of the book explains each signpost in great detail.
Why does this excite me so?
I’m a teacher. I know that children learn in different ways. So it makes sense that as adults we go about our work in different ways. Gather any group of writers together and you’ll see that we work in equally many ways. Pantsers are pansters (or misters) and plotters are plotters, and it’s really pretty futile trying to convince one that the other way is better.
The beauty of Super Structure is that it can work for each of us in our own way. Sort of like play dough, we get to mold it in a way that fits our style while keeping the same central backbone of structure. Plotters can use the signposts as they outline their novels. Mist writers like me can use the same signposts to make sense of the ragged mess of story we’re left with after speeding through that first draft. As Bell indicates, we’re not all that different really. The pantsers are simply writing that outline as a rather long, somewhat rough first draft.
In the book, Bell uses many examples from books and films to show how these signposts work to support great stories. He takes you through step-by-step explaining the role and location of each signpost. It’s amazing!
Why am I a fan?
Because for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel frustrated by my writing. I’ve tried plotting ahead. I can’t. My brain doesn’t work that way. The ideas that fill out my stories come to me as I’m writing them, as I’m getting inside my characters. I can’t force that ahead of time no matter how much I wish I could. But now, I have a way of wrangling all those ideas into a story with structure
So what do you do when your natural writing style is impeding progress and derailing your career?
You have two choices: give up or keep going.
If you decide to keep going, you have to remember the famous advice attributed to Einstein. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Fortunately my sanity was saved when I saw that tweet and downloaded Super Structure.
Oh, one final note: once I summoned my courage, I decided to put Christmas in Hiding to the test. According to Bell, every great story has a moment exactly halfway through that is known as the “Mirror Moment”. It’s the moment he wrote an entire book about (Write Your Novel from the Middle) It is the moment halfway through the book when the “main character has to figuratively look at himself, as in the mirror. He is confronted with a disturbing truth: change or die.”
Nervously, I opened Christmas in Hiding to the middle, and WOOOHOOOOOO, there it was, just where it was supposed to be - my Mirror Moment.
Somehow, in my mad rush, my instincts (honed by 30 years of trying) had me do it right.
Now I just have to pull it off again.
And so do you.
Good luck!
So let’s chat.
I’d love to hear your thoughts - about your writing styles, how you organize your writing, whether any of you are as messy as I am. Have any of you read Super Structure?
Cate Nolan lives in New York City, but she escapes to the ocean any chance she gets. A devoted mom, wife and teacher, Cate loves to leave her real life behind and play with the characters in her imagination. She’s got that suspense writer gene that sees danger and a story in everyday occurrences. Cate particularly loves to write stories of faith enabling ordinary people to overcome extraordinary danger.
March 22, 2020
Regency Bingo!
Erica Here:
I am excited to bring you a fun reader event that I'm doing with my friends Michelle Griep and Julie Klassen.
To celebrate our latest releases, we're offering our friends and readers a chance to play Regency Bingo!
You might be wondering how to play Regency Bingo. It's not like traditional bingo, but hopefully, it will be just as fun!
Here's a video explaining how to play, deadlines, and what you can win!
I know the video goes by pretty fast, so here is the word list once more:
Email your choice of 16 of these words to RegencyBingoAuthors@gmail.com (Remember to include your first and last name as well!) before March 31st.
Three times per week, we'll post a video in the Regency Bingo 2020 Facebook group. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/225968175194967/
Watch the videos, check the drawn words against your list, and if you're the first one to get all sixteen of your words drawn, you have a bingo! You'll email RegencyBingoAuthors@gmail.com where my bright virtual assistant will check to see if you've won!
If you aren't the winner, don't despair. We're also playing Black Out Bingo, with a special bonus word, so watch all the videos and then email the bonus word to RegencyBingoAuthors@gmail.com (have I typed out that email address enough for one blog post?)
Six of those who email in the bonus word will be chosen at random to receive an autographed book from Michelle, Julie, and me.
If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments, and I'll try to answer them!
Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she is married to her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!
Pre-order the first two books in the Serendipity & Secrets Series now!
The Lost Lieutenant
The Gentleman Spy
I am excited to bring you a fun reader event that I'm doing with my friends Michelle Griep and Julie Klassen.
To celebrate our latest releases, we're offering our friends and readers a chance to play Regency Bingo!
You might be wondering how to play Regency Bingo. It's not like traditional bingo, but hopefully, it will be just as fun!
Here's a video explaining how to play, deadlines, and what you can win!
I know the video goes by pretty fast, so here is the word list once more:
Email your choice of 16 of these words to RegencyBingoAuthors@gmail.com (Remember to include your first and last name as well!) before March 31st.
Three times per week, we'll post a video in the Regency Bingo 2020 Facebook group. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/225968175194967/
Watch the videos, check the drawn words against your list, and if you're the first one to get all sixteen of your words drawn, you have a bingo! You'll email RegencyBingoAuthors@gmail.com where my bright virtual assistant will check to see if you've won!
If you aren't the winner, don't despair. We're also playing Black Out Bingo, with a special bonus word, so watch all the videos and then email the bonus word to RegencyBingoAuthors@gmail.com (have I typed out that email address enough for one blog post?)
Six of those who email in the bonus word will be chosen at random to receive an autographed book from Michelle, Julie, and me.
If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments, and I'll try to answer them!
Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she is married to her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!
Pre-order the first two books in the Serendipity & Secrets Series now!
The Lost Lieutenant
The Gentleman Spy
March 21, 2020
Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community throughout this Lenten season. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, please leave a request for prayer in the comment section below.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! May the Lord bless you and your families abundantly as we journey to Easter.
Please join us in praying for our country--and the world--during this coronavirus outbreak.
Dear Lord, protect us and keep usfree from COVID-19 infection. Help all who are working hard to contain the spread of this virus, especially those in the healthcare professions and those caring for the sick. Give clarity and right judgement to the WHO, CDC, NIH and federal, state and local agencies combating this outbreak.Guard our elderly and immunocompromised and bring healing and comfort to those who have the disease.God bless us, and God bless the United States of America.Amen.
Christ healing the blind, by Nicolas Colombel, 1682. [US-PD]
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”
So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
John 9 1:41
The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community throughout this Lenten season. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, please leave a request for prayer in the comment section below.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! May the Lord bless you and your families abundantly as we journey to Easter.
Please join us in praying for our country--and the world--during this coronavirus outbreak.
Dear Lord, protect us and keep usfree from COVID-19 infection. Help all who are working hard to contain the spread of this virus, especially those in the healthcare professions and those caring for the sick. Give clarity and right judgement to the WHO, CDC, NIH and federal, state and local agencies combating this outbreak.Guard our elderly and immunocompromised and bring healing and comfort to those who have the disease.God bless us, and God bless the United States of America.Amen.
Christ healing the blind, by Nicolas Colombel, 1682. [US-PD]
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”
So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
John 9 1:41
March 20, 2020
Weekend Edition
If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes. Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com
Monday: Jan Drexler gave us her first three tips to making the move from reader to writer. The winner of a copy of "The Roll of the Drums" is Anne L. Rightler!
Tuesday: Julie Lessman
Wednesday:USA TODAY Bestselling Author Debby Giusti talked about a manuscript's journey from first conception to publication and how a story weaves its way from the author's computer to the editor's desk, through the revision and editing processes and finally to publication. In addition to great information, Debby also gave away a copy of her April release, DANGEROUS AMISH INHERITANCE. The winner is Jackie Smith!
Friday: Winnie Griggs gave us some Tips on some things to look out for when entering writing contests. The winner of their choice of any of Winnie's books is Holly Ison!
Monday: Erica Vetsch All about Regency Bingo! How to play, where to play, and how to win!
Wednesday: Cate Nolan, fresh from her first week of teaching classes online, is here to talk about Growth Mindsets for Writers.
Thursday: Richard "Doc" Mabry joins us on Thursday with a post entitled "It's Not the Idea That Counts" and his sage advice (as always) that it's what we do with the idea as authors that takes that new thought all the way to becoming a book. Stop by for words of wisdom and a giveaway of Doc's latest medical suspense release "CRITICAL DECISION"!
Friday: Pam Hillman
GET ALL THREE WISHING BRIDGE STORIES FOR KINDLE FOR $7.97!!!!
Amazon is running a sale on the first two books "Welcome to Wishing Bridge" and "At Home in Wishing Bridge", for $1.99 EACH....
And then the just-released third book "Finding Peace in Wishing Bridge" is priced at $3.99, so ALL THREE BOOKS for $7.97!
LINK TO AMAZON FOR BOOK ONE!
Ruthy stopped by Carrie's blog AND Beth's blog this week - click the graphics below to head over and say howdy & enter the great GIVEAWAY!
The Maggie Award of Excellence 2020is open. Get your manuscripts ready for submission!
NEWS FLASH!!!Love Inspired Editor EMILY RODMELLwill attend Georgia Romance WritersMoonlight & Magnolias Conference 2020.Plan to attend and pitch your story to Emily! www.GeorgiaRomanceWriters.org
RELEASES APRIL 1ST!
Dangerous Amish InheritanceBy Debby Giusti“Move off the mountain. No one wants you here.”
Can this Amish widow survive her dangerous stalker?Someone wants Ruthie Eicher off Amish Mountain…enough to terrorize the widow and her boys. Now Ruthie must rely on her former sweetheart, Noah Schlabach—the secret father of her eldest son—as they figure out why. But Noah has turned his back on love and the Amish way of life. Can he shield Ruthie…without breaking her heart again?
Order HERE!
Fear and its Antecedents by Steve Laube
5 Questions About How to Balance Multiple POVs In Your Story by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors
Into the Mist...And Off the Cliff by Mary Gillgannon at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
Capture Your Creativity By Journaling by Catharine Bramkamp at Live Write Thrive
Making A Custom Stamp by LA Sartor at An Indie Adventure
Nine Ways to Write More Persuasive Marketing Copy by Brian Jud BookBaby Blog
Nine Reasons You SHOULDN'T Go To A Writer's Conference This Year by Jim Rubart at Learn How To Write A Novel
A Three-Step Plan For Returning to a Partially Finished Manuscript by Janice Hardy at Fiction University
Focus Your Writing Research by James R. Hannibal at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference
Biggest BookBub Ads Mistakes Authors & Marketers Are Making by Carlyn Robertson at BookBub
Book Launch Tips For Authors by Karen Whiting at The Write Conversation
A Prayer for Writers by Tammy Karasek at The Write Conversation
Digital Book Tours: A New Frontier by Jennifer Willcock at Word Alive Press
March 19, 2020
Contest Tips
Hello, Winnie Griggs here. Today I wanted to do a little "Back To Basics" post and talk about writing contests.All right, I’ll admit it. I’m a recovering contest junkie. In the long years before I made that first sale, I entered dozens and dozens of them. Now that I’m published, I’ve tried to repay not only the entrants but also all those wonderful, harried contest coordinators by volunteering to judge when I can.
And as you know, the same things that make a full length novel great, make for a great entry as well.
First, you want to show a clear understanding of the CRAFT of writingCheck, double-check and then triple check your grammar and spelling. Errors in this department may signal to the judge that you just don’t care. And yes I know you can probably point me to dozens of examples in published books that have these kinds of errors, but there are few judges who will give you a pass on this, especially if there are more than one or two errors and/or it’s one of the scoring items.Make it engaging. Your dialog should be conversational and immediate, your narrative on point and pertinent to your scene and your characters recognizable, necessary to the story, and distinct from each other. In addition the story stakes should be clear and something the reader will care about. The last thing you want is for the reader to shrug and think “so what?”.
Next, you want to make sure you follow the rules.
All contests have a set of guidelines the entrants are to follow. These are mostly designed to give the entries a uniform feel and to make the job easier for the over-worked, under-appreciate, VOLUNTEER contest coordinators. And it’s also good practice for when you want to submit to a publisher. So make sure you have thoroughly read and understand the contest rules and that you follow them to a T. Don’t expect the harried contest coordinator to make allowances for you.
And as a judge, I find nothing more heartbreaking than discovering a manuscript I absolutely love, yet have to score in the medium to low range because of the framework of the judging criteria. What makes this especially frustrating for me as a judge is that, in many cases, the entrant could have anticipated this problem and taken steps to mitigate it with just a little extra effort.
How, you ask? By taking the following two steps:
Obtain a copy of the scoresheet the judges will be using.
Depending on the contest, this task may vary from simple to nearly impossible. Some contests have the scoresheet included on their website and/or with their printed guidelines. If not, ask the contest coordinator for a copy. If all else fails, try to find someone who entered in a prior year to see if they will share a copy with you. (Though this is a bit iffier, since contests occasionally revise their scoresheets from one year to the next).
Once you get hold of the scoresheet, then what?
Pay close attention to the areas in which the manuscript will be judged, and the relative weight given to each. These will differ greatly from contest to contest. For example, if the relationship between the h/h is a large part of the score, and your h/h don’t meet within the pages of your entry, this may not be the contest for you.Take full advantage of the page count allotted to you.
If a contest has as its guidelines that your entry is to consist of ‘a first chapter, not to exceed 25 pages’, then take a close look at your first chapter. Again, use this in combination with the scoresheet. Let’s take our above example, where the h/h relationship is a strong scoring element. Now, maybe that relationship is not evident in your first chapter. But your first chapter is only 15 pages long. Suppose you changed that chapter break to a scene break and included the next 8-10 pages in your first chapter. Would it now contain the missing element to give the judge something to work with?
Ah, but suppose you need to pull in the next 12 pages to not only round out your scene but to also give you a really breathtaking ending hook? What now? Well, review those 27 pages closely. Are there scenes or even paragraphs whose purpose is to foreshadow or set up something that will happen later in the story, but can be lifted out and not be missed in the context of this entry? Then by all means, lift them out. It may surprise you how easy it is to whittle out the extra two pages when you view your opening in this narrower context.
CAUTION: Longer is not necessarily better. If the 15 pages of your first chapter hit all the points it needs to, than stop there. The contest judge will thank you for not taking up any more of her/his time than necessary.
And speaking of thanks, there’s one final point I want to make.
No matter if you agree with the feedback you received or not, you should always take a moment to write a gracious thank you note to your judges. No matter what score they awarded you, they took hours out of their own writing schedule to read your entry and give you their feedback. If the feedback was particularly scathing, you may want to take a day or two to deal with it emotionally, mentally thank them for thickening your skin and then write a note thanking them for their time.
There you have it. A few simple tips, but they can make all the difference in the score your entry receives.
Best of luck and above all, believe in yourself!
Do you have any other tips or thoughts on this subject? Leave a comment to be entered for your chance to receive your choice of any book from my backlist.
You can find a list of those titles HERE.
