Peter Lopez Jr.'s Blog: Xulon Press Blog , page 21

Writing Books Designed for Writers

The challenge of writing is what I love the most. No writer is ever perfect. No book is ever perfect. And no matter how seasoned you are as a writer, there is always something new to learn about writing. There are hundreds of books to help writers grow and expand in their craft. Choosing the right book can be a daunting task in itself, so we’ve compiled a list of recommendations for faith-based, nonfiction, and fiction writing help books.

Writing Reference Books for Faith-Based Genre

The Art of Spiritual Writing: The most common advice I give new spiritual writers is that what they might need to work out in their spirit is not always what’s best to put on paper for readers. This book is a great resource for writers who want to share aspects of their spiritual life. It focuses on the best way to share faith experiences in a way that readers gain something from the book.
Walking on Water : Whether you view yourself as an artist or not, writers are in fact artists. And this book answers the questions: What does it mean to be a Christian artist? And What is the relationship between faith and art? On top of that, it also explores the most important tasks of an artist.

Writing Reference Books for Fiction

DIY MFA: Being a writer isn’t a separate silo from your day to day life. In fact, allowing the different parts of your life to come together under one roof, so to speak, is the best way to stay inspired. DIY MFA stands for Do-It-Yourself Master in Fine Arts (the upper-level degree you would want to get if you wanted a master’s degree in writing). This book helps readers build an active creative life. It focuses on reading, writing, and building a community—all aspects of an MFA program.
The Complete Handbook of Novel  Writing : The title of this book says it all. Within the pages of this amazing fiction writers’ resource, you will find help for any and every aspect of writing fiction, including plot, developing character points of view, creating unique tones for each character, idea generation, finding an agent, and more.
Plot and Structure : Chances are, if you’re writing your first fiction manuscript, you’re struggling with the plot and overall structure of your story. This book is great because it is micro-focused on those two important pieces of writing fiction. 

Writing Reference Books for Nonfiction

Handling the Truth- On Writing a Memoir : If you are writing any sort of autobiographical book, you are most likely dealing with the cumbersome task of battling true facts about specific moments in your life and what your mind has attached to those moments as you’ve gotten older. The way autobiographical writers handle the truth in their books is the absolute most important part of that project. Before your brain dumps 20 years of your life on paper, learn how to construct your life into meaningful chapters that provide a true benefit to readers. Understand what your rights are as an autobiographical writer, and find tips on how to present information in a tactful way.
Writing  Hard Stories : There is a special level of care and attention needed when writing stories about traumatic life events. It can stir up painful memories and affect the writer’s current emotional state during the writing process. It can resurface past anger, which can spill into writing as rants and hatred toward others. Stories about trauma can also quickly get off track and become too heavily focused on the healing the writer needs and pull away from offering readers what they need—guidance to walk through their own dark valleys. This book is a must if you are writing about any sort of traumatic event from your life because it helps you remain focused on the truth and guides you in telling your story from a place of healing.

Looking for more books on writing? Here are 5 Books Worth Reading for Writers.

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Using a Planner For Your Writing Schedule

Do you ever notice that you push off tasks simply because you didn’t add them to your to-do list? A lot of us put writing out of sight, which means it’s out of mind. Then, after a month goes by and we haven’t grown the word count on our writing project, we make up all sorts of excuses as to why we’re no closer to our goals.

Sometimes, the key to having more time to write is to be more organized with our time. That’s where a good old-fashioned paper planner comes in handy. Grab a calendar with monthly and weekly pages, as well as a pencil.

The month view will help you visualize how much time you’ve given yourself to complete the first draft of your manuscript. At a month view, you’ll be able to see exactly how many writing days you’ve given yourself, the word count numbers you’ve achieved each writing session, and any writing milestones you’ve hit during the month.

If you use bullet journaling, use that system to set up the same items below. Are you an iCal lover? You can apply the same process to your digital calendar as you would paper.

Let’s jump into the items you can add to your planner to plot out your entire writing schedule.

Setting Up Your Planner
Determine your word count.

Before you add anything to your planner, you’ll need to set the total word count for the first draft of your manuscript. Here’s a word count cheat sheet to help you figure it out by your genre. Add this total word count to the current month in your planner. At the start of a new month, subtract how many words you wrote the previous month from your total word count goal. Write that new number down.

For example, you decide to start writing an 80,000-word manuscript in August. So you would write 80,000 on the month-spread for August. If you were able to write 10,000 words during the month of August, you would subtract that number from your total word count. Then, on the month-spread for September, you would write 70,000. Do the same thing each month. This will help you keep a visual on the remainder of your writing goal.

Time yourself.

You’re going to need to compile some additional numbers to chart out your writing schedule. First, do a free-writing exercise that focuses on what your book will be about. Set a timer for thirty minutes for this exercise. When the timer goes off, check your word count. That’s how many words you can free-write in half an hour. Multiply that number by two and it’s a good gauge of how many words you can write in one hour.

Schedule your writing blocks.

Take your total word count and divide it by the number of words you can write an hour. For example, if you are aiming for an 80,000-word manuscript and you can write 800 words an hour, at the bare minimum you need 100 hours to write the first draft. That means, if you only write 800 words a day, you need more than three months to write your first draft. So, taking all those numbers into consideration, start penciling writing blocks into your schedule. Pay attention to how far out on the calendar you need to go to give yourself enough time to write your draft.

Rest days are important, too.

If you have a family, a full-time job, an active social life, or other responsibilities that take up time each week, don’t overwhelm yourself by adding in seven writing days on top of everything else you’re doing. Give yourself rest days to recharge and don’t sacrifice other aspects of your life to meet your goal. It’s all about moderation and balance.

Set aside separate times for research.

To avoid major distractions when you should be writing, create separate times in your schedule for research and compiling notes. Let yourself go down rabbit holes during these research time blocks so you can stay focused on writing when the time comes. Anticipate your writing needs. If you know you are going to need information about how a chef would cook a particular meal for a specific chapter, make sure you’ve done your cooking research before it’s time to write that chapter.

Mark your due date.

Now that you have a good grasp on how long it’s going to take you to reach your writing goal, make an achievable draft due date on your calendar. This gives you a date to work toward.

Write down your word count as you go.

One of the best ways to promote self-motivation as a writer is to keep track of your growing word count at the end of each writing session. For each writing block on your calendar, go back, and add how many new words you wrote. This not only helps you track your overall progress, but it will also show you if you’ve been able to increase the number of words you can write just from practice and having a writing routine.

Note and celebrate milestones.

Make sure to highlight or notate in some way any writing milestones you reach and find ways to celebrate. For instance, when you hit 5,000 words in your first draft, note on your calendar the day you reached that milestone. Do the same for 10,000 words and every 10,000 words after that. Be sure to schedule small treats for yourself at these milestones, too. It’s never a bad idea to bribe yourself.

Don’t let your social life slip.

We can all put our blinders on and become too focused on our goals sometimes, causing other areas of our lives to fall by the wayside. Be sure to keep up social engagements and spend time talking with friends and family. You never know where inspiration will come from next.

Be realistic.

The most important aspect of setting a writing due date and incorporating it into your already busy life is to make sure you are realistic about your due date. If you make your writing timeline too short, you’re only going to stress yourself out and that can have negative effects on your writing. If you push your draft due date out too far, you might never finish your first draft. Find a happy balance between the two.

Want to speak with one of our publishing consultants about establishing a publishing timeline for your book? Call 1-866-381-2665.

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Tips For Writing a Book (and finishing it).

As you may have experienced by now, once you start writing a book (or go back to finish one) you will come across self-doubt, indecision, and many more obstacles. Realizing this ahead of time and planning for those hurdles will help warrant you won’t quit on your writing project when they surface. We’ve compiled a list of tips to help keep you on track to finish that book. 

1. Hold yourself accountable.

If you want to finish this book you have to start by holding yourself accountable. Know that the finishing of writing a book falls on nobody but yourself. Think of the current circumstances or obstacles impeding your progress and plan ahead to overcome them.

2. Give yourself deadlines.

First, you will need to establish your main deadline: when you’d like your manuscript finished. You will need to set a monthly, weekly, and daily goal. To keep things objective, I would suggest a word count goal, but you can also use chapters. The next step is just doing simple math: determine an estimate of your total word count and divide that by the months in between you and the manuscript deadline. That will be your monthly word-count goal. Divide your monthly word-count by the number of weeks in the month and then divide that by the days you’ll write per week—that will be your daily writing goal. Setting goals is very important; hitting those deadlines will act as the foundation of accountability and will ensure you are on staying on track. 

3. Set a daily schedule to work on your book.

Try to write at the same time every day if you can. Consistency is key, plus it makes creativity easier. You need that daily deadline to do your writing — that’s the only way you’ll finish writing your book. If you need to understandably take a day off, schedule those days ahead of time. Your priority should be to never let a deadline pass. Take your writing seriously and don’t let yourself off the hook easily. This timely schedule will help your mind distinguish writing time and should get you in “the zone” much faster once you get in the habit.

4. Have a special writing space.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a desk or a kitchen table. It just needs to be different from where you do most of your other activities. Your writing space should be a special space so that when you enter it you’re ready to write. It should remind you of your commitment to finish this book. For tips on creating the perfect writing space check out this blog: Creating the Perfect Writing Space

5. Take frequent breaks.

 “There is one main reason why we procrastinate: It rewards us with temporary relief from stress.” – Niel Fiore, The Now Habit.

If you’re constantly stressed you’ll end up breaking your schedule. Plan for breaks ahead of time so your mind stays fresh. These can be minute breaks, hour breaks, or even multiple day breaks.

6. Embrace failure.

As you approach this writing project know that this will be a challenge. Failing is inevitable and not a reason to quit, so give yourself grace. What will sustain you is the determination to continue.

 

Need help establishing a publishing timeline? Give us a call at 1-866-381-2665 and one of our talented Publishing Consultants will help set one up with you!

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A Morning Routine for Successful Writers

If you’re like me, your morning routine includes you try to squeeze in your writing between sips of coffee in the morning, bites of your sandwich at lunch, and are always looking for extra spare moments to sit down and write when the house is quiet. 

Early risers, take your schedule further. Build it out to maximize your most productive hours of the day. You can push your own limits in the morning. You’re programmed to be at your peak level of energy during the earlier hours of the day.

Night owls, use this routine to simply get yourself up and charting the course for your day. You aren’t going to be super productive in the morning because it’s not in your nature to be, so don’t force it. Do the minimum and set yourself up for success later in the day.

Don’t hit “Snooze.”

The longer you lay in bed and hit snooze, the more likely you are to stay in bed. So, set your alarm once—with a realistic time—and stick to it. The more you get out of bed at the first alarm the easier it will become.

Drink a glass of water (add some lemon).

Coffee or tea can be a bit harsh on your stomach if you drink it as soon as you get up, and since most of us don’t drink nearly enough water each day as we should anyway, make your first drink of the day a glass of water.

Get dressed.

Staying in your pajamas can send a signal to your brain that you’re not ready to work yet. So, take a few minutes to change out of your pajamas to trigger your brain that it’s time to start your day. If you want to go for a walk in the morning, putting on your walking clothes is enough. If you’re going to work from home put on a different pair of lounge clothes or change into what you’re going to wear for the day.

Do something to wake up your brain.

If you like to get an exercise during the morning hours, now is a great time to go for a walk or do a workout at home. The workout will get your endorphins flowing, which will wake up your mind. If you’re like me and aren’t super excited about working out before 9 a.m., then use this time to listen to a podcast or read a chapter of a book. For this part of the morning routine, the focus is less on what you do to wake up your brain and is instead about just doing something.

Drink your morning beverage of choice.

Now that you’re up and moving around, take some time to sit down with your morning drink of choice and just be still. Don’t check your emails or your social media. Avoid the urge to reply to any text messages that may have come in. Put yourself in “time out” for a bit longer so you can enjoy the time you have to yourself.

Write something to help your future self.

Use the time you would have devoted to answering emails and checking on other things and put it toward writing something. You could journal, write a few paragraphs of your writing project, or you could work on your outline or scribble out random thoughts for a scene you want to include in your book. No matter what you write during this time, future you will appreciate the work you did.

The best part about this morning routine is you get to decide how much time you want to carve out for each step. I personally only allow about an hour in the mornings to work through my morning routine, and honestly, I find it easier to follow on the weekends because I don’t have to follow a set work schedule. But no matter what day of the week it is, I enjoy having a period of time to wake up and do a few things for myself before I move on to tasks.

Are you interested in more advice about working writing into your schedule? Read our post How to Eliminate Distractions When Writing.

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Get Moving: 5 Great Workouts for Writers

As a writer, there’s no way to avoid spending large amounts of time sitting at the computer. All that sitting, however, can lead to bad posture, tight muscles, body soreness, and a whole host of other issues. Exercise of any kind is great to combat all the desk sitting, but we’ve pulled together 5 great workouts especially great for writers.

Restorative Stretching

This type of stretching is all about holding poses for longer durations, so you can fully stretch out tight or sore muscles. Perfect to practice from the comfort of your own home. Restorative stretching includes poses to help stretch tight hip muscles, which is common for people who sit for long periods during the day—such as writers. There are also poses to help elongate the spine, which promotes good posture, as well as positions to help alleviate neck and shoulder pain. 

Walking

Not only do you get great cardiovascular benefits from walking, but if you choose a new path each time, you can stumble upon some great writing inspiration. Whether you crank out a 3-mile walk before 7 a.m. every morning or you squeeze in a few 15-minute walks each day, any amount of movement is great for your body and your mind. You can walk in silence or listen to an audiobook or podcast to pass the time. Stop to take photos along the way and enjoy the view.

Swimming

It’s summertime and it is hot in most places right now. So not only is swimming a great way to cool off but doing laps in the pool workout so many muscles in your body without putting any additional weight or stress on your joints. Let yourself glide through the water and push out all the thoughts of the day and open some space to allow your creativity to recharge.

Pilates

Pilates is considered a low impact workout because most of the moves can be done in reclined or seated positions. That doesn’t mean the workout skimps on what it has to offer though. Pilates works every muscle in your body and also offers stretching to soothe tension and loosen tight muscles in the body. It also helps you strengthen your core. A strong center, which includes your stomach and back, helps your core remain engaged longer and leads to better posture overall

Tennis

I know tennis seems a little out of the left-field, but this workout is known to increase players’ self-esteem and optimism. I think all of us writers could always use this when we sit down to write. Tennis is a great aerobic exercise and is considered a moderate level workout, which means it’s a fantastic activity for people who sit a lot. And, on top of the huge dose of endorphins you get from exercising, you also get some vitamin D (if you play outdoors), which is a known mood booster.

Even using the most ergonomic desk set up, your body will still accumulate tension and stress points simply due to the amount of time you spend sitting all day. In addition to the workouts above, you may want to try incorporating stretching into your daily morning or evening routine. Consider planking for 30 seconds a day to engage your core better.

Do you have an exercise you love to do after a long day of writing? Add it to the comment section below!

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Planning a Christmas Book Release? Here’s Why You Should Launch Early.

So what’s the big deal about books at Christmas? Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record: in any normal calendar year, Christmas is the biggest book-buying season of the year. 

Now, 2020 has attempted to put that to the test with record-shattering book sales every month since March, at one point skyrocketing to 777% higher sales than the same month a year prior. Frankly, in the midst of a year when at-home entertainment has proven so crucial, there’s no reason to think books will not remain one of the most popular gifts again this holiday season. 

For authors planning a new book release slated for fall, what does a publishing timeline look like? And how early is too early to start planning a holiday campaign? Answer: it’s never too early to plan a Christmas book launch, but it can definitely be too late—at least in terms of maximizing your book sales. 

Think of a book release as the exact opposite of a movie release. When a movie is headed to theaters, trailers play for months beforehand on TVs and in theaters across the country. Release week is a flurry of interviews with the starring actors on the morning talk show circuit. The movie makes its debut on a Friday night, and by Monday morning it’s dubbed a smashing success or a complete flop based solely on its opening weekend sales. Game over. 

Books, at least the vast majority of them, move more like a locomotive; it takes time to build up steam and speed. Yes, pre-launch campaigns are absolutely crucial for filling your preorder pipeline, and you’ll want a small army of friends, family, and contacts who have read advance copies and are waiting to submit reviews to online retailers the same day the book launches. 

Once your book debuts, however, the game is not over; the work is not done. In fact, it’s only just begun. That’s when you’ll want to ramp up your efforts of blogging, guest blogging, connecting with readers on social platforms like Facebook or Instagram, reaching out to local media and talking to local bookstores about scheduling signings. Your book has a much longer lifespan than a movie, and if you’re willing to put in the elbow grease you may find that with each new month you’ll sell more copies than the previous one. 

What does this have to do with Christmas? 

If you want to maximize book sales this Christmas season, you need to launch your new book (or ramp up efforts on your already-published book) as early in the fall as possible. Late summer is even better! Give yourself plenty of calendar space to recruit your launch army, to build a fanbase online that will spread the word about your book, and enough time for your marketing efforts to “snowball” into success (pun intended). 

Have questions? Now is the perfect time to reach out to your Publishing Consultant if you’re planning a launch, or your Marketing Specialist if you’ve already published your book. They can help you build a custom promotional based on your specific book!

The post Planning a Christmas Book Release? Here’s Why You Should Launch Early. appeared first on Xulon Press Blog, Christian Self-Publishing.

Open Versus Closed Writing Critique Groups

Open Critique Groups

Open writing critique groups are open to everyone who wishes to join with no restrictions in regards to age, writing genre, writing experience, group participation, meeting attendance, group size, or anything else in that matter. There are also typically little to no rules beyond common courtesy.

PROS

Flexibility: Attendance to meetings–whether virtual or in-person– isn’t mandatory. There’s also no pressure in sharing or participating which many writers that are new to critique groups will appreciate. 

Diversity: You’ll receive and observe feedback from a large variety of perspectives and writing styles.

Networking: If your goal is to expand your network, you’re guaranteed to meet the most people in this type of group.

CONS

Questionable Feedback: Because there’s no guarantee of who’s going to attend each session, there’s no guarantee about the quality of the critiques you’ll receive.

Fluctuating Numbers: There might be times where there will be too many people or not enough people to conduct a meeting or have a significant discussion.

Lack of Trust: Since the work, you present to a critique group will most likely still be developing, you may feel more secure sharing it with people you trust instead of an open group made of strangers.

Closed Critique Groups

Unlike open groups, where you may end up lost in the crowd, closed groups can become pretty close-knit. They usually maintain entrance requirements such as fees, writing samples, “invite-only” admittance, writing genre restrictions, among other things. It’s also common for them to have a limit on the number of members of the group.

PROS

Control: You can maintain certain standards that can improve the quality of the feedback. You can also handpick the members so that group dynamics work well.

Accountability: With smaller, private groups you can expect to gain more accountability on continually growing in your craft. 

CONS

Getting In: You may not be able to get into the group you want to join. You could, however, start your own group. 

Limited Point-Of-View: Sometimes the best feedback comes from people who don’t write in your genre, or who may be new to writing but are great readers. These are a few of the perspectives that closed groups may miss out on.

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Tips for Your First Book Signing Event

Your hard work of writing your manuscript and self-publishing has all led to this moment: releasing your book. Now, it’s time to plan a book signing event. It takes a lot of thought and effort to make a book signing event a success. To lighten the load, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you make the most out of it.

1. Research a venue.

Look for a practical location for the number of guests you expect will attend as well as for the atmosphere you wish to create. Some authors like the intimacy that local coffee shops can provide. Others prefer more spacious options like bookstores or rented spaces. If you’re worried about the health concerns of hosting a gathering consider doing a virtual book launch. In this case, your venue research could involve choosing which social media platforms to stream on (Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Youtube Live, etc.).

2. Everyone gets an invite.

Remember this is a special opportunity to introduce and sell your new book. So invite anyone and everyone you know. Sometimes it’s the last people you’d expect that show up to support and buy a book.

3. Optimize the power of social media.

Make a Facebook event for your book launch and send an invite to everyone on your friend’s list. Tweet and tag the location of your launch signing. Instagram a picture of the venue and your book. Make a quick video promoting your book signing and post it on YouTube. You should aim to post every day for at least two weeks prior to the event to remind your followers and build hype. These are just a few examples of how you can be engaging on social media to promote your book launch event.

4. Promote your book at the venue.

Have posters of your book along with images of you to display at the venue.

5. Bring enough books.

It’s better to overestimate the expected guest list and have books left over than the other way around. One of the biggest mistakes a new author could make is to not bring enough books to a launch event.

6. Provide refreshments.

If your venue doesn’t provide food or drinks, provide your own. Refreshments help keep the audience around longer, which can result in them buying more books.

7. Keep people engaged at the event.

Try to include short readings, music, and visuals for entertainment. A book trailer playing on a TV or a running slideshow with images and fun facts can serve to capture the attention of passersby who may want to know more about your book.

8. Gifts and giveaways.

Who doesn’t love them? Having raffles going throughout the event for a free book is a great way to continuously create excitement during an event. You can also gift things like bookmarks and posters with book purchases.

9. Practice your book signing.

You should come to your book launch prepared with signature note ideas in mind for the books you will sign. Remember to always ask for the spelling of a name before you sign the book for someone. 

10. Practice your speech.

You don’t need to give a long speech, but your guests will be expecting to hear from you during the event. Give a shoutout to those who supported your book journey and also thank everyone for coming to support you that day. This is the perfect opportunity to share what this book means to you. Keep it light but make it memorable.

11. Mingle

You may not have enough time to speak to everyone that attends your launch, but you should definitely attempt to get everyone. Thank your guests for coming and ask them what they think of the book. This can be a great way to share a connection with your audience and make them feel valued.

12. Document everything.

If hiring a photographer isn’t an option you can ask a friend or family member to take pictures during the event. Make sure to get pictures of you signing books, talking to readers, giving your speech, and of attendees mingling. Also take a picture with anyone who contributed to the journey of your book launch. You can use these images to keep the excitement going online after the event ends.

13. Networking.

Make sure you gather a list of emails from the event attendees. After your launch event, send thank you emails and messages to everyone that contributed to your book launch event success. Building these good relationships with your networks now will make future marketing ventures smoother.

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How to Create a Visual Experience in Your Writing

When writing, it’s so easy to get bogged down with dialogue, plot lines, verb tense, and comma placement. We can get so caught up with that we can forget to push our creative boundaries. Becoming fixated on punctuation can cause our descriptions to go flat. Other times, we may avoid using symbolism in writing because it feels too advanced for the current writing level. It’s easy to stick to what you know.

If your manuscript is starting to feel like dialogue mixed in with a bunch of bland back story, give symbolism, description, and color a try. Here are our tips for each:

Symbolism

A literary device that allows writers to create double meanings for people, places, and objects. Essentially, symbolism is when a person, abstract idea, image, location, or object represents something beyond their literal meaning. For instance, have you wanted to purchase flowers for someone but wondered about the “message” those flowers would send to the other person? So, you looked up the meaning of some flowers? You may have discovered that red roses mean romance and yellow roses signify friendship.

The meanings behind flowers actually lend themselves to symbolism in writing. If your protagonist’s love interest sends her yellow roses, she’ll realize she’s been placed in the friendzone and may get upset. If, on the other hand, that same love interest were to send your protagonist red roses, she would know her crush liked her back.

Description

What builds the story around your dialogue and helps move your story forward. If your descriptions are bland, lack specificity, and don’t advance your story—well, they aren’t very good descriptions. To write great descriptions, you need to think granular. Instead of saying, “Josh accidentally spilled his slushy on Susie’s lap.” You can beef up the description to: “Josh bent across the bus aisle to catch a glimpse at Susie’s phone screen. Instead of being discreet, his dark purple slushy dumped into Susie’s lap, instantly creating a bad tie-dye effect on her white jeans.” While the second option uses more words, it’s important to note that it’s not too wordy, and it does a significantly better job of painting a mental picture for readers.

Color

A fantastic writing tool to boost your writing. Color can also create symbolism, which allows it to pack a one-two-punch. The color red can symbolize danger or passion. Blue represents peace and calm. White represents innocence, cleanliness, and life. And purple is used to denote royalty. Color symbolism can be easily found on the internet.

Adding more color is also the absolute best way to boost your description of a location. For example, if your book is set in Miami, you have to include all the colors of the city: the clear, turquoise blue of the water, the pastels of the art deco buildings, and the vibrant reds throughout Little Havana. If you leave these colorful descriptions out of a book set in Miami, it will actually come across to readers who have been to Miami that you didn’t do your research and have maybe never been there yourself. That’s definitely a situation you don’t want to put yourself in.

When it comes to adding more color to your book, simply get more granular with the item or location you are writing about. Where you could say, “Hannah ate an orange.” You could instead use: “Hannah bit into a bright orange tangerine, and she felt the sticky, sweet juice run down her chin.” Including color in your writing is that simple.

Writing Practice

If you’re wondering how to start incorporating these three elements into your own storytelling try our writing prompt as practice! Take the passage below and rewrite it to include symbolism, description, and color. Remember: It’s okay for your version to be significantly longer than the passage below.

Damien pulled his car up in front of Jessica’s house. He wanted to drop some flowers at her doorstep because she had missed school and he was worried about her.

We’d love to see your rewrites! Feel free to share your new version in the comment section. For more writing prompts click here.

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Should You Include The Pandemic COVID-19 In Your Next Book?

Xulon Press Blog, Christian Self-Publishing.