Joyce Shor Johnson's Blog, page 5
April 25, 2012
Under and Over the Snow by Kate Messner
Listen!
Listen!
Listen!
To understand the beauty of this book written by Kate Messner with art by Christopher Silas Neal, you need to hold it in your hands and read.
What is your favorite picture book with an outdoor theme?
Listen!
Listen!
To understand the beauty of this book written by Kate Messner with art by Christopher Silas Neal, you need to hold it in your hands and read.
What is your favorite picture book with an outdoor theme?
T is for Training
Training yourself to do anything takes time. You have to train to break bad habits and to build new ones. Writing daily is a habit, but you can form this habit by writing daily.
Recently, (okay, last week) I started training for the C25K. The first day was horrible. I could only make it through 6, 60 second runs. But the second day, I made it through 8. The third day, I did all 9.
I thought that if it gets easier and easier the more you do it, why don't I put this same concept into practice for my writing? So yesterday, I wrote for 20 minutes. Today, I wrote for 23 minutes. I do have a job and still want to run, but if I manage my time, I can do a little of everything on a regular basis.
How to Make Writing a Habit
Do this three times a week.
Brisk five-minute free write warmup. Write about anything: grocery list, character traits, setting.Then alternate 60 seconds of writing and 90 seconds of reviewing, do this 8 times for a total of 20 minutes. Before you know it, you aren't stopping to review what you've written, instead you are writing for 20 minutes.
Recently, (okay, last week) I started training for the C25K. The first day was horrible. I could only make it through 6, 60 second runs. But the second day, I made it through 8. The third day, I did all 9.
I thought that if it gets easier and easier the more you do it, why don't I put this same concept into practice for my writing? So yesterday, I wrote for 20 minutes. Today, I wrote for 23 minutes. I do have a job and still want to run, but if I manage my time, I can do a little of everything on a regular basis.
How to Make Writing a Habit
Do this three times a week.
Brisk five-minute free write warmup. Write about anything: grocery list, character traits, setting.Then alternate 60 seconds of writing and 90 seconds of reviewing, do this 8 times for a total of 20 minutes. Before you know it, you aren't stopping to review what you've written, instead you are writing for 20 minutes.
April 23, 2012
Stop The Presses!
I've wanted to shout this since I was kid!
Just saying!
Just saying!
R is for Retro
Want to go retro? Thinking about the past? Need a fix from your childhood?
GO RETRO!
GO RETRO!
Quality Books
Quality Books! That's what Pugalicious Press is all about. My "Partner-in-Publishing," Jen Carson and I, have been so impressed with the many wonderful manuscripts we have received for consideration.we are amazed at the amount of talent out there. And you are a talented bunch of writers!
You can review the guidelines here.
But think long and hard about whether your manuscript is polished draft. Because most often, we reject because they aren't. The ones we accept are.
So if you want to be let into the Doghouse, send us your very best.
You can review the guidelines here.
But think long and hard about whether your manuscript is polished draft. Because most often, we reject because they aren't. The ones we accept are.
So if you want to be let into the Doghouse, send us your very best.
P is for Pasta
I LOVE Pasta!
What is your favorite Pasta dish? Post your recipe below and you have a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card.
What is your favorite Pasta dish? Post your recipe below and you have a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card.
O is for Owl
I love owls. I'm not sure why. It's not because they move their heads around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist.
That's just creepy!
It's more about how unique they are.
And, how there are so many different types of owls
They are creatures of the night. They eat their prey whole and regurgitate the bones. All these things are cool yet scary.
That's just creepy!
It's more about how unique they are.
And, how there are so many different types of owls
They are creatures of the night. They eat their prey whole and regurgitate the bones. All these things are cool yet scary.
NESCBWI - No Place Like Home
It was a great weekend and I hated to see it end, but it was nice to be home.
I sat with my husband at the kitchen table and between bites of salad I explained why it felt to so good to be at a conference.
My conference peeps aren't just colleagues, they are friends. They are genuinely happy to see me, make feel loved and appreciated, and inspire me to more than I would settle for.
He smiled. He understood.
To every single person who attended this year’s NESCBWI Conference in Springfield, MA, Thank you. You made this past weekend one I will never forget.
I sat with my husband at the kitchen table and between bites of salad I explained why it felt to so good to be at a conference.
My conference peeps aren't just colleagues, they are friends. They are genuinely happy to see me, make feel loved and appreciated, and inspire me to more than I would settle for.
He smiled. He understood.
To every single person who attended this year’s NESCBWI Conference in Springfield, MA, Thank you. You made this past weekend one I will never forget.
April 19, 2012
Marketing your book – 3 Ways to Promote Your Books
We all want our books to sell. So how do we make this happen?
Join in on Twitter Chats. I like #MGlit, #YAlit, #indiechat, #bookbloggers. Lots of love for those trying to get the word out. Read and review the books of other authors, and they will read and review yours. It's called sharing the love.
Post book discussion questions on your blog or website, along with a press kit. This can go a long way.
Join a Book Blog Tour. Really, this increases your books visibility.Do You have more marketing ideas that have worked for you? You could win a Hardcover edition of The Casting. Please add your successful marketing idea to the comments below. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.
Want more chances to win? Tweet and Facebook this post. Include the URL in the comments section for additional chances to win.
this post, and and and you could win a Hardcover edition of The Casting.
April 14, 2012
Labels
Labels help identify things.
Putting like things together helps your organize.
It can help make the right choice.
It can make finding an item fast and easy.
Putting like items together keeps life neat and organized!
Don't label people.
Everyone is unique.
Putting like things together helps your organize.
It can help make the right choice.
It can make finding an item fast and easy.
Putting like items together keeps life neat and organized!
Don't label people.
Everyone is unique.
