Stephanie Verni's Blog, page 45

Tips To Get You Started on Your Novel

When people ask me how to begin writing a novel, this is what I usually tell them, along with “believe in yourself” and “go for it.”

For an upcoming artist collaboration and exhibit scheduled at our university for this Thursday, I drafted a little infographic. This infographic includes tips about writing novels and some of the things that I’ve been taught over the years, along with what I’ve gained from the experience of writing three indie novels.

William Zinsser, in his famous book On Writing Well, says it best about writing:

“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”

However, that said, there are things we can do to make writing a little less taxing. The most important things you can do as a writer are to write every day, read a lot, and practice.

It’s like everything else in life: the more you do it, the better you become.

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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.

A Message in a Bottle (Or An Inbox)

Dedicated to all my fellow writers out there.

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You’re tired and worked to the bone, and you’re not sure what your next move will be when a bottle washes up on shore with a message in it. The message is for you.

Stay strong, the message reads. Keep doing what you’re doing. You are doing great.

(You realize that as I’m writing this, I’m hearing The Police singing Message in a Bottle in my head.)

We tend to get a lot of inspiration from others — from those we know to those we have never met — who encourage us to persevere, to continue, to not give up. We may evaluate and reassess and figure out a way to make things work. And these little messages that can be sent via a bottle, a letter, an email, a text message, a phone call, or through face-to-face interaction remind us to not give up on the things we are passionate about, because they are worth our time.

If you’re somebody who writes books and tells stories, either as your full-time job or your part-time job, it’s a heck of an investment of both your time and brain power. You pour your whole heart and soul into writing it. As someone who has done it three times and is heading for a fourth and fifth time, I have the highest admiration for my fellow writers I’m connected with on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook who dive in and get the job done. We do it because it’s a part of who we are, but we also do it because we are simply compelled to do it.

That’s why it’s so special when we hear someone comment on our writing and storytelling.

[image error]While my message didn’t come in a bottle (although, seriously, how cool would that be?), it came in my inbox on Tuesday. I was touched beyond belief, and the reader wrote to me about how she connected with my second book, Baseball Girl.

I loved writing that book so much. The story is centered around a woman who works for a professional baseball team, and was loosely based on my life working in the sport. I got to make up characters who were a combination of people I’d met in the world or sports; the setting, which was very similar to that of Baltimore and Camden Yards; scenarios that my friends or I had been through (disguising the names to protect the innocent, of course!); and a love triangle that may have had you rooting for the underdog…or big dog. All of it was fun for me.

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As for what that letter in the inbox said, it’s below, though I edited out the end of what she wrote because she discussed the resolution, and I don’t want to give anything away with regard to the plot and the outcome…

“I have always tried to find baseball books that follow girls who lo ve baseball, but could never really find one to relate to…I was so shocked at how much I could relate to Francesca’s story. My father also gave me my passion for baseball, so it was pretty touching how many things I had in common with Francesca. Overall, I just wanted to tell you that your novel was phenomenal. I enjoyed reading it so much! I thought every twist and turn of the book was so interesting and it kept me on my toes. So thank you for creating such an amazing book, one that is not very common!” 

Receiving this sweet message from this reader also made me realize that I need to reach out to authors more often when I enjoy their work. It’s important to let people know that what they write moves you or inspires you or makes you feel connected. Or you just outright enjoyed it and it was entertaining. While I have reached out to some writers over the years, and have heard back from a few, I certainly don’t do it enough, and I promise to do better. And I thank anyone who has reached out over the years.

It means more to me than you can even imagine.

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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.

 

Tell Your College Students to Pull Out the Old Pen and Paper, Studies Find

You may want to tell your college students to put their laptops away during class lectures. It appears the “old way” of taking handwritten notes in class trumps typing notes into your laptop. If you’d like to know why, a study by researchers Pam A. Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles, found that taking notes by hand wins out for several reasons.

Taking notes by hand offers you the opportunity to write key points as you listen, which engages active listening in students. Students are more selective and write down main ideas, and they highlight and circle things that seem to be the most important. The opposite was true with those taking notes on the laptops; they often wrote longer sentences, trying to capture every word that was spoken instead of listening for those key points and adding their own notes to it.

Students often referred back to their handwritten notes and were able to decipher why they wrote the key points and what made them important to know–often using their own shorthand and indicators as to why the information was important. On laptops, the same was not true, as more full sentence notes were taken. Taking handwritten notes also helps organize the material for students and give them a starting point for studying.

As a college professor, I can tell you from experience that I see students take notes in class by hand and on laptops. I can also tell you that students on laptops are also checking their email, texting, and surfing the internet simultaneously in class. These students can miss key points and information regarding assignments and tests. They also lack eye contact and engagement with the professor. Students who take handwritten notes — and students who are good at taking handwritten notes — are often more engaged in class, ask more questions, are better prepared, do better on tests and assignments, and contribute during discussions of course material.

As our spring semester is about to begin, I would urge students who have sat back and not taken notes because professors post their Powerpoints on Blackboard, or who rely strongly on note taking on their laptops, to give the old-fashioned way of note taking a try. It may be worth it to see what happens this term. When I was a freshman in college, my psychology teacher had written a book on study skills, and he taught us the proper way to take notes to do well on tests. I am forever grateful to the late Dr. James Furukawa of Towson University for helping me be a better prepared student and lifelong learner.

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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.

Getting Artsy in NYC

[image error][image error]This past weekend, our family took one of our yearly trips to New York City. We go up at least 2-3 times a year as my husband’s sister, her husband, and our nephew live on the Upper East Side. We stay in hotel not too far from them, and were excited to see the Downton Abbey Exhibition that is featured in Midtown. As the weather was a balmy 6 degrees (yikes), we also planned to visit the Michelangelo Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which also showcased the Rodin Exhibition that ended on Martin Luther King day. So, we were getting pretty artsy.

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[image error][image error]If you love Downton Abbey and watched every episode as we did, you will love this Exhibition. It’s part Universal Studios meets museum; there is a lot of interaction with video screens, so you’ll enjoy seeing the characters come to life. The ground floor represents Downton’s servants quarters and kitchen, and Ms. Patmore’s kitchen is on display, as is the dining room where Thomas, Mrs. Hughes, Daisy, and Carson all ate meals together. As you move up to the second floor, you’ll love the interactive video screens that make up Downton’s main rooms…it’s fun! Then, you’ll tour around and see artifacts, costumes, and memorabilia from the show, in addition to Mary’s room that was the set. Finally, on the third floor, you will see a wonderful assortment of costumes from the show. Honestly, the Exhibition was even better than I thought it would be.

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Seeing Michelangelo’s drawings and several of his sculptures was a real treat, as well. I sometimes marvel that his work is in such great shape–that it has lasted all of these years, especially the drawings and sketches he put on paper. There are 300 drawings of his you can see and learn about; additionally, the museum projects an image of The Sistine Chapel on the ceiling in one area in color, and surrounded by that on the floor are the sketches that he drew prior to painting each of those segments of the art on the ceiling of the chapel. This was incredible to see. My husband and I have been to Italy and seen many of Michelangelo’s works, including The David, The Sistine Chapel, The Pietà, and many, many more. It takes my breath away, and I’m in awe of just how versatile and productive he was during his lifetime. There are so many incredible, gorgeous pieces of art.

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Rodin’s exhibit featured many creative works he created over the years. The Thinker is featured along with many of his bronze sculptures from The Gates of Hell. Several busts and other sculptures are showcased, along with art created by other artists who were connected in some way to Rodin.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is so vast, it could take years to stroll through that particular museum and see all you want to see. Their collections are amazing, and I encourage anyone visiting New York to get a little artsy and visit The Met.

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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.

Book Marketing & An Infographic

One of the things we independent authors have to continually do is market ourselves, our books, and what we are working on presently.

THIS IS THE HARDEST PART OF THIS PROCESS — TRUST ME.

I am no pro at it, believe me, but I strive each day to work on it and learn something new. Therefore, this morning I told myself I would design a marketing piece—take a new tactic—and that piece is the infographic below that showcases each of my fiction novels with a brief description of what they are about. I’m posting it below for feedback and to hear from other indie authors about what you do. What have been your most successful PR and marketing tools for book sales?

I’d love to hear from you.

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Old Postcards & My Book Resolution

[image error]I’m knee deep today in organizing for the spring semester, but I wanted to take a quick coffee break to show you these two gems I came across in my collection today.

I love old postcards, and as I’m getting back to the simpler things in life, and am much happier for doing so, letter writing and postcard writing are such a great way to bring back taking time to put your feelings on paper.

I loved the idea that I read that inspired a blog post a couple of years ago—every time you go on vacation, mail home a postcard to yourself (or postcards, depending on how long you’re away) and put it in your collection. You’ll be forced to write down the most important thing(s) or takeaway(s) from your trip. What people do with these collections of postcards vary. Check out a previous post I wrote for some inspiration.

[image error]Little coffee break…

Additionally, one of my New Year’s Resolutions (besides cranking on my new novel idea, something I recently began) is to read even more than I already do. Sometimes, when I am knee deep in the semester, it’s tough for me to read and enjoy a book. However, I’m not going to let that stop me this semester. No excuses. It’s January 10, and I’ve already read two books and am into my third. I plan to take in a whole lot of good reads this year, and am hoping you will share with me some of your favorites so that I can add them to my reading list.

Thanks for letting me take a little time out from crafting syllabi. I hope you’re having a great day.

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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.

Why Are There So Many of Us?

I don’t write poetry like I used to, but yesterday morning, this poem came out of me quite unexpectedly.

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WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF US

Why are there so many of us?

Those of us with dreams in our souls and whispers at our fingertips?

Those of us whose curiosity flows like a river after rain?

Those of us with mountains of information piled high on desks with expectations?

We collect stories–but not before we’ve swallowed them and they’ve become part of us.

Who we are.

Fragments and pieces stored up that we will let simmer, rearrange and nurture.

Why are there so many of us?

The wisdom seekers and the revelation enlighteners?

The crafty ones who don’t want others to feel alone?

We write the words others need to hear.

We tell the tales long stored in boxes and photographs; in etchings and journals; between the walls of homes and in the silent prayers of places of worship.

Why are we the ones to be fearless?

To give it all we’ve got?

To imagine the pain and horror and sadness?

The euphoria, the bliss, and the passion?

There is no other way, you see.

We are the ones.

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copyright Stephanie Verni 2018

[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.

Two Books Down So Far in 2018; Letters to Write

The other day, I blogged my post-Christmas letter, which really wasn’t too much of a Christmas letter at all, replete with all the “what our family has been up to;” in fact, it was more of a review and a what-I-got-out-of the book The Man Who Invented Christmas letter. That was the first book I completed in the New Year.

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I can now check another book off my 2018 READING LIST: Marisa de los Santos’s wonderfully cheeky and heartwarming first book, Love Walked In. The book was my choice for tonight’s book club meeting, as I’ve wanted to read it for years, ever since my mother stuffed it into my hands one day when I was visiting her. If you love your mother like I love mine, you’ll love Love Walked In–it’s about mothers and daughters and unconditional love; it’s about new love and old love; it’s about being as kind as someone can possibly be; it’s about loving people without judgement or conditions or stipulations. I highly recommend this book if you want to be swept into the lives of Clare, Cornelia, Martin, Linny, Teo, Ellie, Viviana, and so many more who will warm your heart. I love reading a book that takes me away from the nightly news, sad stories, and even the daily chores and work I have to accomplish. Sometimes, I just want to morph into the book and see what it’s like to be another character.

As I’ve done in the past—and you’re not unfamiliar with my tendency to do it as I’ve blogged about it time and time again—I have stepped away from Facebook. No longer do I spend my time scrolling through endless feeds to see what everyone else is up to. I decided in late 2017 that I was going to be up to something, and that something was that I was going to be up to is to take my life back and live it. Remember that great prophecy that you have heard? You know the one. The one that says that when you are on your deathbed, the likelihood of you uttering, “I wish I spent more time at work,” will probably not cross your lips? Likewise, I, too, have decided that I don’t want to be on my deathbed and say, “I wish I spent more time on Facebook.” With the reports coming out about Facebook’s intention to make its product addictive, I have decided that I’m not too keen on that. So, I’m out for now. I won’t say I’ll never go back to it, but my priorities have changed, and I’m taking steps to work on the things I want to work on and not waste my time scrolling. And scrolling.

That said, a video I had my class watch at the end of last semester has been something that has stayed with me—again. Every time I watch it, I get inspired. It’s a Ted Talk by Hannah Brencher called LOVE LETTERS TO STRANGERS (see below). It’s incredibly moving, and if you have five minutes, I would urge you to watch it, as 1,963,574 million other people have. While Hannah wrote to strangers, I think it’s also important to write to those we love. I saw Fixer Upper host Joanna Gaines’s post on Instagram the other day: she had created a box for each of her children and inside each box she put keepsakes from their days as babies and wrote each of them a love letter.

[image error]Letters packaged like this are gorgeous. For more, visit gypsypurplehome.tumblr.com.

Both of these things have made me one thing in particular: I-N-S-P-I-R-E-D.

I am now in the process of doing the same.

Letter writing — receiving a heartfelt letter — is a gift of an amazing keepsake. It takes time to sit and craft something meaningful, but the payoff is that of a tremendous keepsake that one can read again and again, over and over, to his or her heart’s content.

So you can see, with working, taking care of my kids, making meals, entertaining, teaching, working, writing, and reading, I really don’t have too much time left over for Facebook scrolling.

At least not right now.

 

Filed under: On Life Tagged: books, facebook, hannah brencher, Joanna Gaines, letter writing, letters, letters to children, Love letters, love letters to strangers, marisa de los santos, reading, reading books, Ted Talk, wasting time

A Post-Christmas Letter

Dear Readers,

It’s January 2, and I haven’t blogged since Christmas. I hope you had a great holiday season and that your New Year is off to a tremendous start.

It’s not that I didn’t want to blog, it’s just that I didn’t make time for it, if I’m being completely honest. I committed myself to the 2017 holiday season fully; I did almost everything I wanted to do, and most of it revolved around spending time with my family.

[image error]Minus the mad rush of finishing up teaching my college classes, scoring students, and reading endless amounts of papers and reflections (which is all great in itself, but it gets a little crazy when you’re pressed for time as the holidays are approaching), December 2017 was a great month. In the holiday spirit since Thanksgiving weekend, my husband and I snuck away to St. Michaels for a weekend and became part of the chaos and fun of Midnight Madness; my girlfriend, her daughter, my daughter and I shopped and ate in Annapolis for its Thursday night Midnight Madness event; I met my college roommate and dear friend for a Christmas lunch; we had a great Christmas supper club feast; our families celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas day together; we finally got to Lights on the Bay at Sandy Point State Park; we snuggled up and watched oodles of Christmas movies; and the Hallmark Channel was the staple on our Comcast lineup during the month of December.

It was, indeed, a wonderful month.

About mid-month, my husband, knowing I wanted to see The Man Who Invented Christmas, which was in theatres and was about Charles Dickens and his writing of A Christmas Carol about Ebenezer Scrooge, took me to a matinee while the kids were at work. If you didn’t get a chance to see the film while it was in theatres, trust me when I tell you that if you ADORE the tale of A Christmas Carol as much as I do (as Dickens is one of my two favorite authors of all time), you will L-O-V-E this movie. It stars Dan Stevens (of Downton Abbey and Beauty and The Beast fame) and Christopher Plummer. It’s a look at the six weeks leading up to the finished product of Dickens’s book, and the cast and sets create an alluring story that will keep you fascinated with Dickens as they bring him to life on the big screen.

Dan Stevens as Dickens. Photo credit: The Guardian.

I so loved Dan Stevens’s portrayal of Charles Dickens, as Dickens wrote my favorite story of all-time, that I ran to the library and checked out Les Standiford’s book of the same name. I devoured this book about Dickens, which is more of a retrospective of Dickens’s life leading up to writing A Christmas Carol and then the history that followed the publication of the book.

The first Victorian Chistmas Tree from Victoria magazine.

It is called The Man Who Invented Christmas for a reason: prior to 1843 England, there was not much in the way of Christmas celebrations. There was no gift-giving, no turkey dinners, feasts, Santas, Christmas trees, elves, and holly and ivy. Christmas, in those days, was barely celebrated; in fact, Easter was a bigger holiday. Dickens’s book brought the idea of charity, kindness, generosity, and being a good person to the forefront of the Victorian era and to the Christmas holiday. Also, thanks to Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert, Christmas trees became popularized, a tradition that came from Germany. Over the ensuing years, Christmas grew into the holiday it is today. But it was Dickens and his incredible tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, the three ghosts, and his dead partner, Marley, that helped bring the idea of goodwill to the industrial age and forever moving forward, and the tale continues to mesmerize new generations to this very day.

I think what’s so stunning about A Christmas Carol is its ability to evoke such emotion in all of us. It offers hope when there seems to be none. It reminds us all of the simplicity of life and what really matters most. When you boil it down, it makes you slow down and ask yourself if you’re doing all you can to be a good person.

This year it’s going to be more difficult to let go of the Christmas season for me. Normally, my Christmas decorations would be down on New Year’s Day. Twinkle lights would be back in their boxes stuffed into the garage shelves.

But not this year.

I’m still twinkling over here, because the truth is, people in general are just a bit kinder during the holidays than during the rest of the year. The Christmas season tends to bring out the best in people, and A Christmas Carol highlights that aspect.

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But in order to be more like our saved Scrooge, we can look to the second to last paragraph of the text in Stave Five that Dickens wrote himself:

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

—From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I hope you have the loveliest of holidays forthcoming, keep the Christmas spirit the whole year long, have a fabulous New Year, and feel much love as we march into 2018.

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Filed under: On Life Tagged: A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast, books, Charles Dickens, Christmas Season, Christopher Plummer, Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey, Ebenezer Scrooge, Merry Christmas!, movies, reading, The Man Who Invented Christmas

Merry Christmas from Steph’s Scribe

This year has been a bumpy one, with lots of twists and turns and surprises–both good and bad. But when it comes to Christmas, it’s a time for peace, love and a little understanding.

Wishing you and your family a happy Christmas season filled with blessings, joy, and laughter.

 

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Filed under: On Life