I’ve found a fantastic publishing contest for anyone who has ever dreamt of writing a children’s book. Southwest Human Development, a lovely nonprofit based in Arizona that focuses on e…
Source: Publishing Contest: First Edition Children’s Book Contest, $1000 Advance and Publication
Hey, writers for children! Here is a great opportunity!
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Happy to see this new article, Into the World, in Missions Mosaic. |
It has been a whirlwind summer!
Selling our home, moving into an RV, fixing the RV set-up, sorting belongings, giving away stuff, acclimatizing the kitties to living in said RV, learning how to cook in an RV, . . .
The list is much longer, but just that much lets you know why I have been lost in cyberspace.
On to fall. The dust is settling, and in just a few more days, we will have only 1 home to care for.
Writing is back on the menu, boys! (Can you name that movie reference? Comment below!)
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Into the World |
Here is something I’m happy to see, rewards from past labors. I love this magazine, Missions Mosaic, and am honored to write for Woman’s Missionary Union in several different areas.
You might want to check them out here.
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Missions Mosaic |
Happy reading!
Back to the chaos.
Source: The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books of 2016
This is an interesting list! I’ve only read one of these titles and it was truly unconventional yet wonderful.
by Karlin Gray What do I know about writing nonfiction picture books? After my book NADIA: THE GIRL WHO COULDN’T SIT STILL was published, someone said to me, “Great timing with the 40th…
Source: Non-Fiction of Olympic Proportions (plus a prize!)
I can’t wait to read this book! I was one of those girls who loved Nadia and watched her on TV during the Olympics. Thanks for the great NF strategies for writing.
Three case histories Sometimes I have what I think is a great idea for a story. I plot it out, polish the text, start thumbnailing scenes and begin working on character design. And then I hit a wal…
Source: Does Your Story Need a Heart Transplant? by @BonnieAdamson and #GIVEAWAY
These case histories give very good examples and tips of how to fix stories. Thanks, Bonnie!
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Safe and gorgeous |
By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
I harvested 8 pumpkins this morning.
It’s August.
Harvesting pumpkins in August just does not sound right. Especially when it will be around 90 later this afternoon.
Not right at all.
Extenuating circumstances encouraged me to wade deep in the bristly pumpkin patch and knee high grass to grasp my favorite orange fall buddies. Er, I mean, signs of the season. Sure, I talk to my pumpkins. And those dratted slugs and squash bugs. I do admit to speaking kindly to my pumpkin pals. Not so much with the vermin.
Doesn’t everyone talk to their plants and garden inhabitants? No? Hmmm.
Slugs. They were eating HOLES in my pumpkins! I rolled one large pumpkin over and a huge spotted slug, probably 3-4 inches long when stretched out, was coiled comfortably in the blossom end hollow. UGH. Tiny little slime booger slugs were creeping all over as well.
Odd. Spring. Weather. We had the weirdest spring. That is all I can blame on the extremely early crops. It was very warm, very hot, and then very cold. Plants in my area don’t know what to do. Except grow.
Squash bugs. I’ve been so busy packing up the house, I missed recognizing the sign of yellowed leaves that indicated I had extra special garden pest visitors. Why, those hungry little insects have moved right in!
Orange. These pumpkin babies were colorful and ready to visit my porch.
Snip, snip, tug, and off we went away from hungry mouths to the safety of shade and protection.
Fall (in August) here we come!
How is your garden growing this year?
“She’s gonna listen to her heart It’s gonna tell her what to do.” — Tom Petty And it’s going to tell you, the writer, what to do. Listening to your main character’s heart—is going to te…
Source: Listening to Your Characters by @mimicross and #GIVEAWAY
Listening to your characters will allow you to give them heart. That’s what I forget to do! LISTEN. Thanks, Mimi.
Before I became a children’s book author, I wrote newspaper and magazine articles. I looked forward to feedback from editors that would help my stories shine. But one day, I received a note that ma…
Source: Writing with Heart and Soul by Kelly Starling Lyons
Thanks for sharing these tips, Kelly!
Creating a character with real heart is hard. It isn’t like slapping a wristwatch into a Tin Man and telling him he suddenly has one. Writing a character who possesses true heart requires the same …
Source: From Paper to Pulse: Character with Heart by @TerraMcVoy
How to create a character with heart – by Terra McVoy. Thanks, Terra!
Perhaps my greatest pleasure is making people laugh. Which is why pretty much everything I write is anchored in humor. It keeps my readers engaged. It allows for higher highs and lower lows. But ho…
Yet another fantastic post about how to add humor to your writing. Just by looking at the meme, one knows these 2 know their stuff.
Love, Laughter, and Life 