What are YOU Reading? 11 Secrets Reveals Much!

I read non-fiction from time to time; Bible Studies, devotions, teacher editions and writing manuals.  Seldom do I actually read any of these books from cover to cover.  I leave that enjoyment to my accountant hubby who only discovered an enjoyment of fiction when the kids were young and he read the Little House books aloud to them.  Until then, his leisure reading included computer manuals and all of Chuck Swindoll's and Max Lucado's books.

Anyway, I broke with tradition last weekend when I came across the new nook book from Mary DeMuth, 11 Secrets of Getting Published.  Not only was the book informative, but it was terribly challenging.  Her chapters addressed  some of the most overwhelming areas to a novice writer, such as crafting the story, understanding what goes into publishing and marketing, and navigating writers' conferences.

I'm in the early steps of, what I hope to be, a publishing path, so I expected to focus mainly on the first few secrets, convinced that the last ones wouldn't really apply to me. Boy, was I wrong! The info and advice in this book just got juicier as I went along, and I confess, I didn't just read it. After every section I was pulling out my note pad and making lists of the next things I needed to do. In fact, after reading her first secret, I went through my novel for a 5th and 6th revision, going through every stinkin' sentence to check for her list of things I should avoid.

She designed her book in an article format, using postings she developed over a number of years on her retired blog, WannabePublished, and it's easy to see why that blog was so popular.  Filled with plain-speaking, direct advise, 11 Secrets would be beneficial to anyone hoping to pursue publication of any sort.

This e-book is available for only $2.99, but the 182 pages worth of expert advice is worth much more.  It can be downloaded for Kindle at Amazon at this link or you can get it for the Nook and other readers at Barnes and Noble at this link. Watch for it to come out in print!

What was the last non-fiction book you read?  Did you finish it?

This Week's top Posts

Even though I know I need to take part of the weekend off, I hate skipping a day on my blog! Especially while I have the time to work on it. Once Volleyball season starts, all bets are off!

So this week as I browsed various blogs - and BOY do I browse - I linked a few onto this post.  These were my favorite posts for the week. I started to do a top ten, but it would be just too tough to choose between some of these!

  Sacred Cow-Tipping–Why Writers Blogging About Writing is Bad
Posted by Author Kristen Lamb in Blogging, Social Media Platform on June 7, 2011 from WarriorWriters.wordpress.com

  How to Build an Online Platform That Will Last
Posted by Author, Jody Hedlund on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

  Preslaysa Williams’ Thin Place: Cutting
Posted by Author, Mary DeMuth on Thursday, June 9, 2011

  Notes from the Beach
Posted by Agent, Rachelle Gardner on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

  E-xcited?
Posted by Jess Lourey at Inkspot on Friday, June 3, 2011

  Frivolous Friday: Quirky Is The New Normal
Posted by Jessica R. Patch on Friday, June 10, 2011

  5 Tips for Staying Encouraged During Querying
Posted by Author, Elizabeth Spann Craig on Friday, June 10, 2011

Writers - Where Does This Take You?

A couple of weeks ago, I took my girls out to a special event at Hawaiian Falls in The Colony.  They had a sopping wet blast, and I enjoyed some great reading and people-watching.

Going along with my regular weekly post about settings, though, I couldn't resist this picture of one of the play areas in the park.  This particular area was for little kids only; all of my girls were too big.  But my inner child was just the right size and I could imagine the sorts of trouble and pranks that she could play in this wild, wet castle. 

I was particularly intrigued by the top-most area of the playground.  It's a little hard to see in the picture, but the bird sits on a pipe that pours a steady stream of water into the bucket.  When part of the bucket fills, it dumps the water out, sending it down the blue slanting roof and showering the steps beneath it. 

I can't hide that I'm a mystery buff at heart, so as I gazed at this area, it wasn't hard for me to picture the ultra-dramatic body rolling out of the bucket and down the blue roof to the stairs below.  A book that started that way would be catnip, to me. Yum!

The girls and some buddies at the park.

Since it is a kids' park, however, I cleaned up my imaginary situation.  In my second set-up, I pictured Megabadguy chasing Sweet-lil-innocent all up and down the stairs until, like Li'l Orphan Annie, Sweet begins to climb through the netting and onto the intricate weavings of pipes and rails.  Up to the top of play-place she climbs, becoming trapped with nothing around her but sky ... uh ... and that big parrot. Still, Megabadguy draws closer, but unfortunately finds himself on the wrong side of the bucket.  Oops.  He falls onto the sloping roof and rolls down it, like a kid on a grassy hill, only to splat into the pond beneath it.

Oh, I can SO see that happening!

So what type of story can you see here? A YA novel about summer love? A kids book about building courage? What about pirates? Oh, wait, that was the Smart Car thing, wasn't it? 

Share your idea, and while you're at it. Take a few minutes to put some words on paper and start your story!

Big Picture Thinking: The Far Side.

My brother has always been a great fan of "The Far Side" by Gary Larson.  For years, we got him big books of the comics as Christmas gifts.  This morning, his sweet wife, Karen, sent me an email of "The Biblical Far Side."

This cartoon makes me laugh out loud! (LOL just doesn't cut it!) But after I stopped laughing, I found myself poised with castenets right alongside the goofy man in the boat. 

I've started this writer's journey and I'm determined to follow the Lord's leading and ready to accept whatever comes.  (I say that, but I've only received 1 form rejection this time around.  We'll see how well I do when they all start pouring in!)

I remind myself of my dog; Captain, is a hoot.  He just wants to please us, running to get a stick so we can play or biting his toy just right because he knows we like to hear it squeak.  When we're walking, he is all over the place, running first one direction until he figures out that it is the wrong way, then jerking and jolting to change directions and take the lead again; all the while assuming that he knows where we're going.

In this journey, I can tell the times that I'm being a puppy; I know God is ultimately leading and at some point, I'll be able to look back and say, "Ohhhhh, that's where You were going, all along!"  Until then, I'm just racing back and forth; meeting people, making connections, assuming that ultimately God will make a way for me to become a real author and help support my family with something I love. 

This is where the Far Side comic comes in.  I THINK I've got this down, that I know what is being asked of me, that I understand where I'm headed. In truth, however, I must follow all the more closely, so I don't make a wrong turn (or any MORE wrong turns) and don't miss the big picture of what God is doing in my life and in my family. 

"Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long ... Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?  He will instruct him in the way chosen for him." Psalm 25:5,12

May I turn in my castenets for a fishing net, now?

Looking back, when did God lead you in an unexpected direction?  I want to hear your story!

Writers - Where Does This Take You?

Okay, I know that's a loaded question to ask about a car, but I'm thinking story settings here. Search for the title on my blog and you'll find a few of these articles. I use pictures of the places I go to stimulate fictional situations. 

Most of the time, I use interesting architecture, but this car just stands out. Is there anyway anyone would miss this car coming down the road or mistake it for another car? I confess, I'm not a car-watcher. (Well, the occasional 'Stang or Jag, but I digress.) Even I would have no trouble at all identifying this car. And I won't even touch the fact that the makers dubbed it "Smart."

This car could really mean trouble for someone in a story.  Imagine what would happen to it if a bear took a liking to it? No, strike that. No one would be so "smart" as to take this car to the woods. How about a train missing it by inches because it tucked in its booty. (Well, it looks like it tucked it in to me!) Speaking of booty, maybe it could double as a futuristic pirate's chest. Okay, I'm grasping at this point.

Still, I plan to have fun with this car - well, as you can see, I already have, but I intend to have a little more fun with it.  Maybe I'll have my main character find a body in it!  That sounds intriguing ...

Oh, and just in case you're curious--putting 2 and 2 together from yesterday's blog article--no, this is not my new car.  I'm claustrophobic, and me getting into this hot, tiny space felt like stuffing a teddy bear into a Hot Wheels!

So what would you do with this car that's called "Smart"?  I want to hear your idea, and then, why don't you go ahead and write up the story?