Keli Gwyn's Blog, page 30

2012: A Year of Change

I've heard it said the only constant is change, a saying most often attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus.

The older I get, the more I agree with the saying.

The year 2012 holds significant changes for me.

I'm the mother of a full-fledged adult. Our one and only turned 21 on New Year's Day, and she now has all the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. I feel old mature.

Another change took place on January 1st. My agent, Rachelle Gardner, left WordServe Literary and moved to Books & Such Literary. I've chosen to follow her.

Making that decision was challenging. I made many wonderful friends while I was with WordServe. Not only that, but I have great respect for the president, Greg Johnson.

While leaving WordServe saddens me, I'm excited to be joining the Books & Such family. A number of clients at the agency are my friends. Plus Books & Such is in my home state of California less than three hours from where I live.

A third change, a rather exciting one for me, is that my debut novel will be published in 2012. I'll be receiving my edits this month and am looking forward to incorporating my editor's suggestions. My book appeared for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble this past week, too. It's really happening.

• • •

What changes are you anticipating this year?

Image from istockphoto.

Filed under: Agent-Author Team, Writing Journey Tagged: debut novel, Keli Gwyn

Christmas Wishes

Only four days until Christmas!

Only two days until our college daughter gets to come home.

Gwynly and I are excited that our gal gets December 23-25 off work and will be able to spend those three days with us. It doesn't feel like Christmas without her. She's one of those people so into Christmas she starts singing carols in November and wants the tree up with the gifts under it the weekend after Thanksgiving, which it was.

We wrap our gifts in drawstring bags made of colorful Christmas fabrics. Makes wrapping a clean-up a breeze.

One of our favorite traditions is putting out the German Christmas decorations we bought when we lived in Germany or made subsequent visits. I love the Holy Family figures, which we bought from the woodcarver in the town of Oberammergau where the famous Passion Play is held every ten years.

Some of our traditional German Christmas decorations.

Another tradition we look forward to is our candlelight Christmas Eve service. I love the hushed air of expectancy when the lights are extinguished, the glow of candles fills the sanctuary, and we sing Silent Night. That's what Christmas is all about. Remembering the best gift ever given, God's own Son come to earth to live among us in preparation for His incredible sacrifice on our behalf.

I'm looking forward to focusing on my family for a few days and am taking a blogging break. I'll resume my posts on January 2nd.

I wish you a blessed celebration of Christmas.

Filed under: Writing

My Real-life Romance

On this day twenty-four years ago I married my best friend.

Gwynly and I looked at each other recently and said words often spoken by couples who've been married as many years as we have, "I can't believe it's been that long."

To me that statement is a testimony to the great relationship Gwynly and I have.

Now that doesn't mean our two dozen years of togetherness have been all sweetness and light because they haven't. We've dealt with a miscarriage, job uncertainty, and the loss of his dearly loved parents, as well as some minor annoyances along they way.

But we've shared many wonderful experiences: living in Germany four years, welcoming our daughter to our family, buying our first house, watching our daughter grow into a fabulous young woman we respect and admire, to name but a few.

Gwynly truly is my best friend and, as I like to say, my better two-thirds.

Happy anniversary, Gwynly. I love you!

• • •

I'm curious how many of you are December brides like me.

Did any of you get an engagement ring as a Christmas present at some point?

Filed under: Family Tagged: Keli Gwyn

Life on the Ledge, or Leaning on the Lord?

Have you ever read a blog post that reached deep into your innermost being and begged for a comment, one that flew from your fingertips and ended up being a novella you were almost afraid to post because you didn't want to appear rude for taking up so much space?

That happened to me when I read "How Do I Achieve Success as a Writer?" by Beth Vogt on her awesome blog, in which she talked about writers and how the writing road is lined with ledges. I posted the comment anyhow because I know and love Beth and knew she'd graciously accept my wordiness.

Since I lived on the ledge for several months this past year and survived that tough time, I want to share my experience with you and pass on the lessons I learned. What follows is my comment from Beth's blog. (I told you it was l-o-n-g for a comment.)

I suffered a debilitating case of Second Book Syndrome earlier this year. I felt sure what I was writing was drivel or dreck or downright disgusting. My supportive hubby and awesome CPs held my hand as I teetered on the Ledge.

In time I realized there was no way to deal with Second Book Syndrome other than to trudge through it, so I wrote the story, such as it was, sure it was terrible. And I prayed, surrendering my efforts and the outcome to the God.

Guess what? He's faithful and omnipresent, coming alongside me in my down times. No surprise there, huh?

I wrote, but I wasn't alone. The Lord plopped Himself beside me on the Ledge, ready to stay the course, and imbued me with renewed enthusiasm, energy, and ideas.

Gradually my confidence returned–in baby steps, mind–and when I looked up one day I discovered I was no longer languishing at the edge of the Ledge. It loomed in the distance, but as I kept my focus on the story I'd been transported to a new place, a better place.

Did I still feel the fears at times? Yup. But I wrote anyway, and the Lord honored my efforts. I finished the story, performed my self-edits, and will be sending it to my CPs soon.

When I delved into the finished story, sure it stank and eager to seek ways to improve it, I had a pleasant surprise. It was better than I'd thought.

Oh, I could claim creative brilliance, but that would be a laugh. I know the real reasons.

One is that my talent didn't leave me; only my confidence did.

The other more important reason is that I tapped into the Source of my creativity and inspiration. I invited the Lord to be my partner on my writing journey at the outset some six years ago, and He's been there for me all along.

With God beside me I can do this–even face the Ledge–because He's there with me, upholding and uplifting me and blowing my mind with His goodness, guidance, generosity, and abundant love.

• • •

Have you lived on the Ledge? How did you respond? What lessons did you learn?

Filed under: Encouragement Tagged: Keli Gwyn, Second Book Syndrome

Book Covers Count!

One of the milestones for a debut author is the arrival of the book's cover.

Last week I experienced that exciting event!

While a cover can undergo numerous changes before it's considered final, there's nothing quite like the first glimpse. More than any step in the process so far, seeing what my publisher has planned for my book's front cover has made things seem "real."

My publisher gave me a green light to share the cover comp they'd sent, so I posted a sneak peek for those who've "liked" my Facebook page: Keli Gwyn Readers Group.

I knew having a cover would make a difference, but I didn't know just how big. No sooner had I shared the link than email notifications of comments left on the page poured in.

The following report from Facebook is proof that nothing generates as much interest as a cover, which is why publishers put so much effort into making them the best they can be.

I have a number of online friends. Sure, some of my 1,800+ Facebook "friends" could more accurately be called acquaintances, but we've formed a passing connection. Because of that I wasn't too surprised when a smattering of my friends liked my page.

An interesting phenomenon took place when I posted the news about my cover, though. The number of likes jumped, as did the number of visits and comments. That didn't surprise me. What did was the fact that some of the people who added my page to their list of likes aren't my Facebook friends.

My reach is moving beyond my immediate circle of influence, which is amazing to me. After all, my book won't hit the shelves for another seven months.

What has enlarged my reach?

I believe the best answer is that I have a cover. It's attracting interest and drawing friends old and new who are eager to take a look, proving that covers count.

• • •

How much does a cover affect your book-buying decisions?

What do you think are the most important elements of a cover?

Filed under: Writing Journey Tagged: Cover comps, Keli Gwyn

Two Notes on Names

In this segment of Copyediting with Keli I'm exploring two uses of character names in a work of fiction.

When we introduce a character in a story, especially a main character, it's customary to give the person's full name.

Why?

A character's first appearance is our opportunity to present both names so the reader becomes familiar with them. After that we can use either the character's first name or the title and surname, and the reader will picture the correct person.

For example, author Jody Hedlund introduced the heroine of her second historical novel, The Doctor's Lady, using her first and last names. Here are the opening lines of the story.

"Indians!"

The sharp call from the back of the sanctuary jolted Priscilla White. She sucked in a breath and twisted in the pew.

From this point on the reader knows that either Priscilla or Miss White refer to the same person.

The second tip is to limit the use of proper names in dialogue.

Why is that?

When we speak with someone in real life, we rarely call one another by name. However, we writers can be guilty of having our characters overuse names, as is the case in the following example of a passage from The Doctor's Lady that I've altered in order to illustrate this point.

"Eli Ernest, you're exasperating me."

"I've been told that's one of my best qualities, Doctor Baldwin."

"You mean worst, don't you, Eli?"

"That too, Doctor."

My alterations to the passage were obviously exaggerated, but they show how overuse of proper names in dialogue can become distracting—and downright annoying at times.

The general guideline is to have a character use another character's name once per scene. This means we must come up with other ways of identifying the speakers or the people being addressed. Doing keeps our stories from sounding stilted.

In the actual passage from The Doctor's Lady, Jody made use of action beats to avoid the overuse of proper names, as can be seen in the example.

Dr. Baldwin pushed himself out of his chair. "Eli Ernest, you're exasperating me."

He grinned. "I've been told that's one of my best qualities."

"You mean worst."

"That too."

Armed with this information, you'll be able to introduce your characters so your readers are aware of their full names and to be on the lookout for unnecessary repetition of character names in dialogue.

* * *

To view more segments of Copyediting with Keli, you can visit my YouTube channel.

Filed under: Editing Tagged: Copyediting with Keli, Introducing Characters, Keli Gwyn,

Operation Motivation: How to Move Toward Our Goals

What gets you moving?

Deadlines work for me. I don't like letting others down and will do my utmost to fulfill my obligations, shoulder my responsibilities, and get the job done on time.

But what happens when no one's waiting for me to finish a project or task?

My motivation falters, and my productivity drops.

Five weeks ago I received my osteoporosis diagnosis. I knew I could no longer sit idly by as my bones became less dense. I needed to take action.

I did. I joined Curves and began working out three days a week and walking on the others.

It takes 21 days to form a habit, so I was motivated by the goal of not missing a single day of exercise for the first three weeks on my new regimen.

Day 22 arrived. I'd met my goal. Suddenly working out didn't seem quite as exciting. I walked into the gym, got into position on the first machine, and thought about going through the circuit week after week for the rest of my life. Suddenly something I'd been enjoying threatened to become drudgery.

Why?

I had an intermediate goal of showing improvement on the bone scan scheduled for November 2012, a long-term goal of arresting or even reversing my osteoporosis, and a somewhat nebulous goal of getting stronger. But I lacked a short-term goal.

I needed something to serve as motivation, and I found my answer in the Curves Smart program. What it entails is the use of a computer to monitor a member's progress on each of the machines on the circuit. Once a participant is programmed into the system, she gets ongoing feedback on each machine as she operates it, including range of motion and energy expended. Green lights appear when a goal is being met, and yellow when it's not. At the end of the workout, a member gets a report.

Upon learning of the program, I knew I'd found what I needed to spur me on. I signed up, got my cute little avatar, and set about working out.

I'd love to tell you that everything was wonderful from the outset, but I don't like to tell tales. Well, I do like to write stories, but you get my point.

The first workout after signing up for Curves Smart was brutal. I was tripping over my tongue after completing only half of the first of two trips around the circuit. In the past I'd been able to dance jigs on the recovery boards stationed between each machine. That day I struggled to walk in place.

But I had a goal. Each time I got into position on a new machine, I knew I'd see those green or yellow lights, and I wanted to see green. Actually I wanted to see blinking green lights, which is what appears when I've exceeded my goal.

Once again I have a short-term goal and am motivated.

My intermediate goals have become twofold. When I reach the step machine with its heart rate monitor I don't want to see red, which tells me I'm exceeding my target rate. At the end of my workout, when I go to the computer, I want all the dots on my cute little avatar lady (who looks as young as I feel =) to glow green, telling me I've met my goals for each muscle group indicated.

One week into Curves Smart I reached that milestone, and the entire room knew it because I let out a rather impressive squeal for a person my size. Now I go for green each time I workout. Having goals serves as motivation.

• • •

What motivates you?

Do you find that having goals gets you moving?

Are you a fan of setting short-, intermediate-, and long-term goals?

Filed under: Writing Tagged: Benefits of Curves Smart, Goal Setting, Keli Gwyn, Overcoming Osteoporosis

Meet Debut Novelist Camille Eide

I'm delighted to host my friend and agency mate Camille Eide. Her Christmas novella, Savanna's Gift, was released by White Rose Publishing on December 3. Set in the heart of Oregon's Cascades, it's a story sure to put you in the Christmas mood with the glow of twinkly lights, snow, cinnamon, evergreens, and an unexpected second chance at love.

Camille writes contemporary romance and romantic women's fiction. She lives in Oregon with her husband and is mom to three brilliant college-age kids. She's grateful for the amazing grace of God, and either in spite of or thanks to that grace, she has a Ph.D. in Learning Stuff the Hard Way. She's a church secretary, a bassist, and a passably devoted fan of classic rock, muscle cars, and Jane Austen.

Look for your chance to win a copy of Savanna's Gift at the end of the post.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's learn a little more about Camille . . .

I see that you're a fan of muscle cars. Do you own one? If so, please tell us about it. If not, which one(s) would you buy if money were no object?

I don't. I do own a Harley though, if that counts.

So many choices, but my favorite is the Mustang. New one or a classic, I'd take either. Or a '63 Corvette convertible. That was a very good year.

You're a bass guitarist, which is way cool, and are a classic rock fan. Who are your favorite artists, and which of their songs do you most enjoy playing?

Well, Keli, just between us, I'm more of a nostalgic fan of old school rock these days. Growing up, I was always a big-time fan of Southern Rock (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bad Company, Eagles, ZZ Top, etc,) plus the Beatles, Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, and of course Aerosmith, Kansas, & pretty much all the great 70s bands. But the truth is, it's more the guitars & musical style than the lyrics that do it for me.

So as a gentler (Spirit-conscious) old-timer, I've discovered a love of Third Day, Jars of Clay, Plumb, NeedToBreath & others in Christian music. And they let me play bass on the worship team, as long as I don't do anything crazy like slip in a little SRV walk-down when no one's looking.

You wrote a Christmas story complete with all the trimmings: decorations, sweets, and romance. What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

Since our kids were little (now 20, 24 & 26) we've always attended a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and then go driving around to look at Christmas lights. Baking Christmas goodies for my kids, our neighbors & friends is another long-time tradition, one I found out recently that I was not allowed to alter. Not one crumb.

Writing demands more of my time now and my kids aren't kids anymore, so last year I mentioned I would only bake one or two dozen cookies. No. That did not go over well. I found out that my young adult kids look forward to our special cookies every year. I didn't grow up with any traditions, so I didn't realize how important this tradition was to my kids. Or maybe it's just about the sugar and the chocolate dipped cookie dough balls. Either way, I decided the tears weren't worth it and have promised to keep the family in Christmas goodies again this year.

Your story takes place in a ski lodge amidst the breathtaking beauty of the Cascades. Did you use your writing as an excuse to take lots of trips to the slopes? If so, are you a bomb-downhill-at-breakneck-speeds skier, or do you prefer sipping hot chocolate in the lodge?

Umm…. No, I've actually never been skiing. The story is set at a fictionalized version of Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood (where some of The Shining was filmed!) and I live very near there. We've done some inner-tubing on the bunny hills there. Inner tubes and cocoa. Yeah, that's about my speed.

And one writerly question because I can't help myself. You're in Randy Ingermanson's Columbia River Christian Writers group. What's it like to hang out with him, and how has he influenced you and your writing?

Randy rocks. I still can't believe it's just a handful of us hanging out with the Snowflake Guy in a little Barnes & Noble coffee shop once a month. We take turns reading sample pages and commenting, but Randy is of course the Final Word, so when we've finished our comments, we all wait for Randy to speak, breath held.

Randy takes his time to respond—anyone who's spent time around him knows he's no blurter. When he finally speaks, he is very deliberate in what he has to say. He tells us what he liked and what worked in the scene, what doesn't work, and he explains why. Then he offers suggestions on how to fix it and often gets the group brainstorming for solutions. He is genuinely interested in each story, which still surprises me. The cool thing is we all benefit from hearing what he has to say about each sample. I keep telling Randy that he's going to have to bring some sample pages of his own. We secretly think he's afraid.

Randy has definitely influenced my writing in several ways, one of them by teaching me to pay particular attention to the structure, forward motion and overall viability of each scene. (As I'm writing a scene, I often hear Randy's pesky voice saying, "Camille, what changed in this scene?" Writers, you know what I'm talking about…and you non-writers, it's not as creepy as it sounds…).

On the larger scale, Randy's workshops, his Advanced Fiction Writing Blog, his books, and his lectures have all been extremely instrumental in my basic understanding of fiction writing and my development as a writer. I owe him an exploding helicopter for all that. Actually, I did make a small reference to an exploding helicopter in my latest full-length novel, as a small tribute.

Oh, and I have to give him credit for nudging me to seek agent representation after a shared flight home from my first conference. I'll never forget it. He offered to take a look at my writing on the plane to tell me what my chances were of ever being published. After a few pages, he put away his red pen, finished reading, handed it back and said, "Get an agent." Then he took a nap. I was tempted to shake him awake and ask him to repeat that, but I didn't. But If not for that encouragement, I probably wouldn't have thought about approaching an agent for a long, long time, if ever. (Artists can be SO insecure . . .)

Camille's Questions for You

Knowing how to use our God-given gifts can sometimes be confusing. But when we submit to the "Giver of Gifts," He guides us and helps us in using those gifts.

Do you have a hard time accepting that you have talents or gifts? Or have you recognized you have a certain knack for something, but don't know what to do with it? Or if you do recognize your God-given gifts, do you feel a responsibility to sharpen and develop them, and have you sought to find out how the Lord wants you to use them?

Learn about Savanna's Gift

Forced to return to the ski lodge where she once worked, Savanna Holt is reminded of one special Christmas and how ambition led her to make the worst mistake of her life: Leaving Luke Nelson.

Stunned to discover Luke never left, but worked his way up from lift operator to manager, Savanna sees the opportunity as a gift from God. She's determined to win Luke back. But Luke wants no reminders of his past hurt, or a relationship with the woman who put ambition before love.

Can Savanna convince Luke she's changed and her interest isn't because of his position? And when her dream job beckons, will she sacrifice her dream for a second chance at love?

Note: Savanna's Gift is on sale at Amazon for just 99¢ during the month of December, so if you don't win the drawing (below), you can get a copy of this digital release for yourself.

Win a Copy of Savanna's Gift

To enter the drawing, leave a comment by Thursday, December 8th. Be sure to leave your email address when prompted so I can contact you if you win.

I'll post the winner's name here and in a comment on November 9th.

Congratulations to Cindy R. Wilson, winner of the drawing!

No purchase necessary.

Offer void where prohibited.

Odds of winning vary due to number of entrants.

Filed under: Writer Wednesday Guests Tagged: Camille Eide, Savanna's Gift

Faltering Dialogue Punctuated

In this segment of Copyediting with Keli I'm discussing how to punctuate faltering speech when it's used in dialogue.

The ellipsis is used to indicate faltering or fragmented speech.

This punctuation mark is made of three spaced periods, or, if you want to be precise and impress your friends, suspension points.

According to the Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition), a space is generally used on either side of an ellipsis. This varies from publishing house to publishing house, though. Your editor can let you know your house's preference.

My house doesn't use a space before or after an ellipsis, so I'm not using them in my examples. My best advice is whatever you use—spaces or no spaces—be consistent.

Here's an example of faltering speech using the ellipsis:

"I. . .I regret to inform you. . . No, the company regrets to inform you that we're downsizing and your position's been eliminated."

Note: there's a space after the second ellipsis. This is because a new sentence was started.

If a character speaks a full line of dialogue—a complete sentence—but leaves that thought trailing off, a period would be used after the ellipsis.

Here's an example:

"I want to accept the new job offer, but there's so much to consider. . .."

Note that if a dialogue tag is had been used after the ellipsis indicating faltering speech, a comma would have followed the ellipsis.

Faltering speech can add to our stories, and now you know how to use the ellipsis to punctuate it.

Filed under: Editing, Writing Tagged: Copyediting with Keli, Faltering Dialogue Punctuated, Keli Gwyn

The #1 Tip for Successfully Establishing a New Habit

Are you one of those people who writes New Years Resolutions and dreams of making them all come to pass?

I was.

But I got older. Hopefully I'm a little wiser, too.

What I've learned is that New Year's Resolutions rarely work for me.

Why is that?

Basically it has to do with the letter "S."

Yes, you read that right.

Often we fail to follow through on our New Year's ResolutionS because, in our exuberance, we draw up such a lengthy list of goalS (plural) that not even the Energizer Bunny high on 5-hour Energy shots could hope to achieve all of them.

The best way to form a new habit or follow through on a New Year's resolution is to focus on one at a time.

Forget making lists that rival the final four Harry Potter tomes in length. Pick one new habit you want to acquire or one resolution you want to embrace, and give it your all.

Going singular increases your chances of success. Your efforts and energy are focused.

I was diagnosed with osteoporosis a month ago and given three treatment choices: hormone replacement therapy, Rx medications like the one Sally Fields advertises, or a supplements-exercise combo.

Even though I used to dread the Activity That Will Not Be Named–aka the e-word–I chose to go with the third option. I left the doctor's office, drove directly to Curves, and signed up. Three days a week I go there for circuit training. The other four days I walk for at least thirty minutes.

I've not missed a day since I embarked on my exercise regimen.

As I trekked up hill and down on a recent walk, I got to wondering why I'd succeeded in establishing my new routine this time when "get exercise daily" had been one of my New Year's resolutions for many years running.

I came to the conclusion that I'd been scattered before, attempting to form many new habits at one time, whereas this time all my efforts and energy are focused on a single goal. And that has made a remarkable difference. Other factors have increased my chances for success, but the primary factor is my single-mindedness.

Based upon what I've learned, I came up with a better way to approach resolutions. I'm going to write a list of habits I'd like to acquire and focus on them sequentially rather than simultaneously. If I were to resolve to form three new habits, I'd shift to a new one every four months. If I felt ambitious, I could double the number to six and transfer my efforts to a different habit every two months.

I'm excited about my new exercise regimen (although not quite as exuberant as the young woman pictured), but I'm even more excited about discovering a way of establishing a new habit that really works.

• • •

How do you go about establishing a new habit?

Do you have any "habit-forming" success stories?

Are you a New Year's Resolutions maker or breaker?

Filed under: Goal Setting Tagged: Establising a New Habit, Keli Gwyn