Linda Gerber's Blog, page 8

LATE Winner Announcement

Oy. This was supposed to auto-post... and I was supposed to check and make sure it did!

The winners of last week's freebie are:

Ren

Deniz

Petite


Please send your mailing instructions to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get your books sent out to you!

For Writers - The Idea Fairy

One of the most frequently asked questions I get at school visits and in emails from young readers/writers is: Where do you get your ideas?

Well, there's ideas.com, the idea fairy, Bennie's Big Book of Ideas...

I think what most readers are asking is, what made you want to write about this? But what most budding writers (young and old) are asking is, where do you find the ideas? or, more to the point, how can I come up with original ideas for my own writing?

The answer is that ideas come from a...

FF - Women's Ski Jumping! Yeah!

I'll be away from my computer on Friday so I'm setting this on auto post and I really hope it works because...

It's time to celebrate!

Many of you who have followed this blog for a while know that I've long been frustrated with the IOC for not including women in the Nordic Ski Jumping competition at the Winter Games. I wasn't even aware that women weren't allowed to jump until I was researching for my SASS novel, THE FINNISH LINE. It boggled my mind when I found out. What age were we living in...

For Writers - Write, not Right with Maureen McGowan

This week's tip comes to us from author and all around fun person Maureen McGowan, who is celebrating two book releases - Cinderella: Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer. Maureen spent years following practical pursuits such as auditing, engineering, managing, and directing before giving in to the dark side and letting her creativity take over. When she's not writing, she can be seen in the throes of passion over music, art, film, fine handcrafts, and - naturally - shoes.

Here a...

Winner

I'm late!

My sincere apologies. It's been one of those weeks. Without further ado, the winner of this week's freebie is:

Jessy, who chose CRYER'S CROSS

Please send your mailing information to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get that sent out to you.

Everyone, no Freebie Friday tomorrow as I try to get on top of this latest wave, but I'll see you here Tuesday. Have a great weekend!

For Writers - Permission to Suck

This week's tip is a day early because I will be away from my computer tomorrow.

The tip is simple. Give yourself permission to suck.

Remember that you are not alone when you write that sucky first draft. Your words do not have to be perfect their first time out on the page, so don't get discouraged or give up because they aren't. Even the best of the best rewrite:

"If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word." — Margaret Atwood

"You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out wr...

Freebie Friday - Spring Break Edition

Before we talk about this week's freebie, I want to give a shout out to some of my writer friends along with some well-deserved congratulations:

To Sarah Bennett-Wealer: Her book RIVAL was listed in the April/May issue of Girl's Life magazine as a "must read". Yay, Sarah!

You can read about Sarah, her writing journey, process, characters, etc. on Sara Zarr's blog this week--and even enter to win a copy of RIVAL!--HERE.

To Lenore Appelhans: She just made her first sale!!! YAY!!! Her YA novel,...

For writers - Slaying Overused Words

Today's tip comes from my recent harrowing experience of combing through my WIP to catch my (many) overused words, adverbs, and passive verbs. I'm afraid I don't know who to credit for the original idea--it's something I jotted down in a notebook long ago, but this is the first time I put it to use.

By the time I'm working on a second (or third) draft, I find it hard to catch overused words because it's like my brain skips right over them, so here's a trick to highlight the culprits so that I ...

Lucky Leprechaun Winner

Thanks, everyone, for hopping by. It was nice to see some new pixels (and previous friend pixels as well).

The winner by random drawing is:

WriterWannabeAishah

Please send your mailing instructions to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get that sent out to you.

Everyone else, you are welcome to drop in anytime. Most Fridays are Freebie Fridays with author interviews and book giveaways, and Tuesdays are especially for writers with tips and links.

Have a great week!

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway

Welcome to the Lucky Leprechaun Hop! I'm happy to be participating in this cool idea, hosted by Books Complete Me & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

For this stop, for good luck, and as a nod to the main character in my upcoming MG series (CASSIDY ON CAMERA) , is a silver Italian corno charm. Leave a comment below to enter. This giveaway is International.

Click this link for a list of 266 (!) blogs participating in this giveaway hop. You can enter as many giveaways as you like. This hop will run...