R.J. Minnick's Blog, page 7
March 9, 2022
It’s “Read an Ebook Week”!
Shame on me for not posting sooner, but this is something readers need to know.
Smashwords.com is having their “Read an Ebook Week” sale right now. This week. It’s happening.
Many, many books are on discounted sale, including mine! Look for books by RJ Minnick to find my books; and check out all the other great bargains as well! This sale is only at Smashwords and will only last through March 12. Hurry! HURRY!
And, sorry if I made you late…..
Smashwords does not carry The Mayor’...
March 5, 2022
Not-so-Easy Does It
We all need encouragement and inspiration to write a story, but that kind of support is easy. We tell you how you have so much to say and you’ll say it so well. We remind you that you have a unique voice, and that we can’t wait to read your work. Then we ship you off to your study or desk with everything from a plate of beans and coffee to filet mignon and a glass of wine and wait for your golden manuscript to appear.
Okay, who said, ‘Yeah, right’?
All right, I get it. Writing isn’t that easy;...
February 25, 2022
TIP ~ INKAS ~ #3
Finally returning to our INKAS. Poetry is the next form of writing I want to discuss.
Working with multiple age levels in poetry can be tricky, something I learned early on in the years I coached Writer’s Club. Levels of understanding vary as much as levels of ability. On the other hand, nothing is more refreshing than to hear the original thinking that goes on in a new poet, especially when they are young. And, there is a form of poetry for everyone.
Poetry expresses our innermost thoughts ...
February 16, 2022
Another Group Effort
When our writing group, Off the Page, set up for its first year in existence, we chose to celebrate by creating an anthology. A few writers got together and created a world, then we all wrote our own short stories set in this world, using some core characters and a common premise. We added characters and plots of our choosing. Some of our meetings were dedicated to review the stories in progress so that we could coordinate characters’ traits and plot-lines to make a seamless book. That book, T...
February 13, 2022
TIPS Re-Boot
Along with starting up my blog again, I am revisiting the concept of blogging TIPS for new writers and others who find them useful. Eventually these TIPS will be collected and made available as a separate document.
The writing group I’m in accepts writers of all levels. This can include teenagers who’ve decide they want to be a poet or adults who have decided they have a story to tell to septuagenarians who either wish to leave their sage advice behind or write that racy love story/mystery/ ...
February 7, 2022
Once Upon a Time….
In what might be considered another life, I volunteered as a writing coach for elementary and middle school students at my children’s schools. For the younger students, I ran a Writing Club. We’d meet once a week and work on stories and writing exercises. They’d write their stories, and I’d act as editor to help them see how to make them better.
It was exposure to the ‘grown-up world’ where kids who liked to make up stories got to see what that could mean if you did it in real life. Some ye...
February 6, 2022
It’s been a Long, Long Time
It would be nice to blame my long absence on COVID-19. After all, everyone understands how it has disrupted lifetimes, styles, pursuits. The world is not what was at the time of my last post.
However, the hiatus has been a symptom of something more. Cultural and political change in this country (the US) have given many of us pause for thought. In fact, for a lot of thought. In times of peril we move to aid in fixing what has gone wrong. Crisis demands our attention and other, even lifelong, p...
June 27, 2019
Heads up! July is the 11th annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale …
All my books will be discounted either 25% or 50% for the entire month, beginning at one minute past midnight Pacific time on July 1. Catch them while you can!
Go to Smashwords.com — specifically my profile page – to find all my books. The discounts will be applied automatically when you add the book to your cart.
Shopping at Smashwords.com has the advantage of allowing you to select whatever e-format you use, and you can always find a link to it on my site, as well as links to other retail...
June 13, 2019
Local Author Showcase
via Local Author Showcase[image error]
Everyone should have a library this supportive. Local authors are invited to sell and sign their books and meet the public at the library. Donations are made to the Friends of the Library (the supportive organization) to help meet the library’s needs. If your library doesn’t have this, you should get them to try it. It’s a win/win/win for authors, the library, and the community of readers.
June 7, 2019
Tip ~ INKAS ~ #2
Moving on to the next group of INKAS, we’re going to look at Children’s Story and Children’s Story with Illustrations.
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It was kind of fun, if a little strange, discussing writing children’s stories with kids in grades 3 through 5. Generally, they took it under pretty solemn consideration. Even young writers thought it was serious business! Especially when it came to the idea listed under No. 6, that a children’s story can teach a lesson.
But, starting from the top, because I was working...
