Memorial Day Tribute

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen. ~ 1928 Book of Common Prayer

Rejected? You’re in Good Company

All of us face rejection from time to time. Often, we feel that we are experiencing something unique, but the most successful people are usually rejected more often than those who are less successful.

Entrepreneurs who build great companies may have failed at several previous endeavors. Politicians who go on to high office generally lose many races before they are elected. And, of course, most writers are rejected over and over again before they are published.

The Web site Online Colleges has published a list of 50 Iconic Writers Who Were Repeatedly Rejected. Realizing that Dr. Seuss, Louisa May Alcott, Agatha Christie, and the authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul were rejected over and over again should give us all hope!

So, if you’ve been rejected, pat yourself on the back for being in such good company.

Still, it’s not easy to deal with rejection when it happens. Maybe these posts about how to handle rejection will help:

• Every “No” Is Just One Step Closer to a “Yes”
• Rejection: Keep Looking for the Right Address
• Rejection: Your baby is ugly!
• What I Learned from Rejection

photo credit: B Rosen

Thanks to April 2010 Commenters

Thank you to the 120 commenters who left 172 comments in April. Your comments extended the conversation and added value and interest, and I enjoyed replying to every one of them.Every month when I post thanks to commenters, I get questions about how I compile this list. I have explained my system in detail in Compiling Thanks to Commenters.
Top Contributor (12 comments)
Miriam Ruff	Bumbershoot Writing, Inc.
Major Contributors (5-6 comments)
Bluestocking	The Bluestocking Guide
Aggie Villanueva	Visual Arts Junction
Andrew	Good Honest Dollar
Outstanding Contributors (4 comments)
Angie	Hire a  Writer Online
Craig	Drive NZ
Karen Swim	Words for Hire
Ron	Smart Trading
Significant Contributors (2-3 comments)
Jeanne Dininni	Writers Notes
Mundu	EXZOrders
Ben	Terracyclic
Darmawan	2012 Doomsday Predictions: Real or Fake?
Dominique	4 Walls and a View
Jen	Forexbot
Jill	Instyler Central
Jim	Gamers-Sanctuary
Norman	Living in France
Paul	Haran Photography
Ronnica	Ignorant Historian
Roy	Lady Beetle
Tammy Hensel	Dedicated Writer
TylerW	Bio Solutions Arizona
Important Contributors
Al	Give a Song
Amie	National Association of Professional Women
Andrew	National Institute of Sports Professionals
Ann	Ashley Stewart
Ann McGill	Midwife of Consciousness
Anna	n/a
Annie	Bowflex Reviews
Baz	Gadgets Free4U
Beth	n/a
Billy	Cleaning Services
Brad	Peregrine General Pest Control
Brian	Budget City Movers
Charleen Larson	JCEarrings
Charles	Rome Hotels Near
Chris	Small World Media
Curtis	Reverselookup-411
Cynde L. Hammond	Cynde’s Got the Write Stuff
Dale	My Payday Loan
Dava	SmilingTreeWriting
Dave	Best Man App
David	Vacation Packages
David Gregory	David Gregory
Dawn Colclasure	Dawn Colclasure Blog
Deb	Tummy Tuck Orlando
Deb S	Media by Sistrunk
Dennis	Akon Industrial Curtain Tracks
Ed	Matthew Proman
Elton	Your Net Biz Exposed
Emily	Sarasota Vacation Packages
Eric Erenfort	Ontario Tax Sales
Erline Herman	2BabyBlog
Feran Price	Zestah.com
Francis	SES Advisors
Gaye Sougstad	Sculptrx
Gene	New York Glassworks Company
Genesis	At Home Mom Blog
George	PubMatch
Helen	Straight from Hel
Jack	First Serve Media
Jake	Hitches Direct
Jane	Omaha HVAC
Jean	Basic Bookkeeping Courses
Jen	Print Visor
Jeremy E	East Coast Health Insurance
jet	Purple Handbag
Joanna Paterson	Confident Writing
Kai	Pink Nail Polish
Karen Swim	Karen Swim, Writer, Marketer, Woman of Purpose
Kate Gutscheinnummer	gutscheinrausch
Kathy	Fakie Sports
kimkay	Kreative Freelance Writing
Laura	Zcars Driving School
Lisa	Yoga Thailand
Lulu	Foreclosure.com
Marc	Cheap iPhone
Maria	Stress Management/Handle Stress
Mary	Sault Ste Marie Mortgages
Matt Keegan	Matt’s Musings
Matt Keegan	Word Journey
Matthew	Squidoo: Housebreaking a Dog Advice
Matthew Proman	Spoke: Matthew Proman
Matthew Robert Payne	Personal Prophecy Free
Max	Anima+
Mekhi Pratt	Max Coaching Academy
Mel	Limousine of Chicago
Michaela	Involve Mobile
Mort	Mort’s Musings
Nancy	Video Converter for Mac
Nick	First Choice Loans
Nicole	Tribute Books
Nicusor	Nikoo Shore
noclegi	Oborkmorza
Pat	Wiki City Guides
Paul	iPad Book Download
Peter	CAN Training Class
Phil	Poems and Love Poems
Raymond	CP Painting
Renae Brumbaugh	Renae Brumbaugh
Robert	New Forest Guides
Rommel	LimogesFactory.com
Ron	Man and Van Richmond
Sam	Sheriff Costume
samgibby	Blair.com
Samuel	Buy Cheap Domain Names
Sara	JD-MD
Sarah	QuizTube
Sarah	Solar Panels For Your Home
Sergio	IT Blog
Sharon Hurley Hall	Get Paid to Write Online
shilpy	Innovative Passive Income
Si	Leadership Expert
Stas	Buy Vitamins and Supplements Online
Steve	Lift Chair Guide
Susie	Squidoo: Penny Stock Fortunes
Todd	Watch NFL Live
Tom Taylor	CAD Courses
Victor Travison	The Book Lightwatcher Files
Yo Prinzel	All Freelance Writing

National Missing Children’s Day

May 25th is National Missing Children’s Day, a day to raise awareness of missing children and to remind parents to teach child safety.

O LORD Jesus Christ, who dost embrace children with the arms of thy mercy, protect children from those who would  harm them, that the children may rejoice in the life that now is, and dwell with thee in the life that is to come; through thy merits, O merciful Saviour, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest one God, world without end. Amen.

Global Day of Prayer 2010

Today, Pentecost Sunday, is the Global Day of Prayer. Christians from around the globe are joining in prayer for the world.

We pray for salvation for unsaved people, for peace in the midst of strife and chaos, for those who are persecuted for their faith, for victims of natural disasters, for people around the world who are suffering in need and pain, for freedom for the oppressed, and for repentance and  salvation for the peoples and nations of the world.

Join in praying the Prayer for the World, your own prayer, or the prayer for the nations from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. 

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, guide, we beseech thee, the Nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dream or Destiny Video Trailer

Reviews and links to order the paperback or e-book of Dream or Destiny

Books We Love Summer Contest

I haven’t seen the new Kobo eReader from Borders, but what I’ve read online sounds good.

Now, Books We Loveis offering you a chance to win a Borders Kobo eReader. Books We Love features a collection of great authors—including me, she said modestly.  :-)  It’s worth visiting the site just to get acquainted with all the authors and see their latest books. The contests Books We Love sponsors are a bonus.

To enter the contest, simply visit five of the author pages displayed on the Web page index and sign the guest book of the authors you choose to visit.  Then fill out the entry form on the homepage and click submit.

PRIZES:

• Every week until July 31, 2010, BWL will draw one winner to receive their choice of an ebook from any one of the Books We love authors.  
• On May 31, June 30 and July 31, BWL will draw three winners who will each receive an autographed copy of one of the print books displayed on the homepage.
• GRAND PRIZE – Borders KOBO EREADER: On July 31, one lucky winner will receive a Kobo and their choice of any five Books We Love ebooks.

Enter now at Books We Love.

Added 5/25/10: A discussion has been going on in Comments about how the Kobo compares to the Kindle and the iPad or the Barnes & Noble Nook. Here’s a video about the Kobo that compares it to the Kindle and the Nook, with a brief mention of the iPad: http://thereadingedge.com/2010/05/22/tre-28-review-of-the-kobo-reader/

Author Interview: Dawn Colclasure

Today, I’m pleased to host Dawn Colclasure, author of 365 Tips For Writers, which I reviewed in my last post. I’ve been a fan of Dawn’s blog for a long time and am thrilled to have the opportunity to interview her.

Lillie: Welcome to A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye, Dawn. It’s a pleasure to have you here. You’re quite an eclectic writer. Tell us some of the things you have written.

Dawn:  Thank you, Lillie. I am very happy to be here. Some of the things I have written include poetry collections; essays; articles for various Web sites, magazines, and newspapers; as well as nonfiction books, short stories, and a novel.

Lillie: Of the different kinds of writing you’ve done, do you have a favorite?

Dawn: I love writing fiction. It’s a great opportunity to experience a whole different world and explore many types of human experiences through a variety of characters.

Lillie: How did you get started in writing about writing?

Dawn: I started writing when I was very young, so as a teen, a lot of people started to come up to me and ask questions about writing. How to write this, how to get published, and various other ideas associated with being a writer. After a while, when I was in my twenties with many experiences as a writer under my belt, I just started to write about what those experiences taught me and put together a bunch of articles. Later, I decided to put everything down onto paper. I started writing out bits and pieces of advice on sticky notes. At first, I thought I had enough material to create a calendar with these pieces of advice, but after researching possible markets to submit that calendar idea to, I thought maybe that might not work out as well. I contacted Beth Ann Erickson of Filbert Publishing to see if she thought this was a viable idea, and she said she was starting up a publishing company to publish books for writers, and maybe my idea would fit with her line of books. Meanwhile, I just kept writing. Pretty soon, I realized I had enough to make that book materialize. And ever since, I have continued to write about writing.

Lillie: 365 Tips for Writers was originally published in print several years ago but came out as an e-book a few months ago. How did that come about? Have you seen that you are reaching a new audience with the e-book?

Dawn:  I do think I am reaching a new readership with the e-book version of the Tips book. I saw how sales were higher for the e-book than the print and found out that there are readers who prefer electronic books over the print counterparts. So I think it’s safe to say the e-book has caught the eye of readers who might have passed on the print one. As to why the electronic version came out so late, Filbert Publishing was still new when they published the Tips book, and they weren’t publishing electronic versions just yet. They started slowly, taking it with one book at a time. They eventually got around to making the electronic version of the Tips book.

Lillie: I’m one of those people who prefer e-books to print books, so I understand there is a different market. I was impressed that Peter Bowerman wrote the Foreword to the book. How did you manage that?

Dawn: I was a subscriber to Peter’s newsletter for some time before I started writing the Tips book. I’d read his book, The Well-Fed Writer, and I was very impressed with his success. This put together with what I got out of reading his newsletter made me think that, as someone who accomplished his writing goals and ended up making a handsome living as a writer, Peter was the best candidate for a book meant to help writers achieve their writing goals, as well. So I talked with Beth about the idea, and she also agreed Peter would be the right person to write the Foreword. I emailed Peter with the idea and, thankfully, he agreed to take that on.

Lillie: What is the best way for writers to use this book?

Dawn: The book is meant to be read as one tip a day, so that readers have a chance to ponder that tip, digest it, and, hopefully, be inspired in their writing from it. However, readers are just as welcome to read right through the book or take a random tip and see where it leads them.

Lillie: The common wisdom in public speaking is “you tell them what you’re going to tell them; you tell them; then you tell them what you’ve told them.” Did you have that in mind when you gave the same advice in different forms in different tips scattered through the book? Are the ones that you repeated in different words the ones you consider the most important?

Dawn:  Yes, that’s exactly correct. Also, the same kind of advice was reslanted so as to apply to the different types of writers the book was written for.

Lillie: Do you mind if we talk about a few specific tips? I don’t want to give away your content, but I think hearing the kind of advice they will find in the book may entice writers to want to read all the tips.

Dawn: I agree! Go ahead.

Lillie: Tip #54 and tip #177 caught my attention because at first glance they appear to contradict each other. In the first, you tell writers to include everything they have learned about the subject so your readers feel “they are ‘right there’ in the story.” In the second, you say to “leave room for your readers’ imagination.” Will you elaborate a little on what you mean by these?

Dawn: I’m glad you brought this up, because it’s a perfect example of how the tips are for different kinds of writers. In this case, we are talking about writers of articles and writers of fiction. In fiction, you do want to leave things to a reader’s imagination, such as how a character’s voice sounds or what color the tablecloth is at a Christmas dinner. Unless it’s very important that a reader knows a character has a squeaky voice because it plays a role in the story later or that the tablecloth is white because a character is practically blinded by that whiteness, then don’t bring it up. Let your readers have a chance to visualize things, too. With nonfiction, it is just as important to make sure you tell readers what they need to know. What someone is wearing, how they act while they talk, what a building looks like, the kind of flowers in a vase. These define the characteristics and personalities of the people involved in a nonfiction piece, and these are important ingredients readers will want to see.

Lillie: Now for a couple of my favorite tips: #69—save everything and #270—save your revisions! I learned the value of that with my first novel. I originally had a prologue describing the heroine’s stroke but later removed it. When a publisher accepted the manuscript, the editor asked me to add a prologue describing the stroke. She was greatly impressed when I sent it back the same day—all because I had saved the prologue from an earlier revision. Obviously that’s one good reason for saving everything, but you mention several others. Can you give us some other reasons for saving material that you don’t use?

Dawn: One reason why it’s a good idea to save everything is because stories have a way of creeping up on writers. Your muse takes bits and pieces of things your mind has recorded, that you have dreamed about, and that you have written about, and puts all of those elements into one story. Also, you might see something you wrote in a new light or feel differently about it. An essay I scrapped from an essay collection is material I’m using to turn into a short story. Ditto with another essay I have not found a home for as of yet.

Lillie: Scattered throughout the book, you give innovative suggestions for beating writer’s block. How did you come up with the idea to include those sections as well as the tips themselves?

Dawn: What’s funny is that I had the idea “beat the block” before I even knew what to do with it! I tried to figure out what that could be. The only “block” I was interested in “beating” was writer’s block. I thought it might be helpful to include writing prompts in the book and also that the prompts might help a writer struggling with writer’s block. I put those ideas together and that’s how I got the writing prompts. As to how I came up with the tips, I worked on the belief that ideas for things to write about are “everywhere.” I watched TV shows, looked out my window, paid attention to news and events. They inspired several of those writing prompts.

Lillie: Where can readers learn more about you and your books?

Dawn: Readers are welcome to visit my Web site at dmcwriter as well as MySpace. I am also on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I am in the process of getting an author site put together. I also blog and have a page I use for poetry and prose at deviantART.   

Lillie: You should be easy enough to find. Is there anything I’ve failed to ask that you would like to share with my readers?

Dawn:  My newest poetry collection, Love is Like a Rainbow: Poems of Love and Devotion, will be available in print very soon. I have another nonfiction book, Spook City, coming out in October. My next writing book, WIP It! How to Revise Your Writing Like a Pro, will be out in spring of 2011. And, finally, watch for the spin-off book of 365 Tips for Writers!

Lillie: Wow! You’re a busy lady. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with us about your writing. Readers will probably have more questions for you. Will you check in during the day to respond to comments and answer questions?

Dawn: Of course, I will be happy to answer any and all questions from your readers. Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye. It has been a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed answering your questions.

 ===================
 
Bio: Dawn Colclasure is the author of six books, among them BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents and 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity. Her articles, essays, poems, book reviews, and short stories have been published in regional and national newspapers and magazines, as well as online. She lives and writes in Oregon with her husband and children. Her Web site is at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/.

Review: 365 Tips for Writers

365 Tips for Writers
Dawn Colclasure

Filbert Publishing
December 2004
Paperback, 154 pages
Also available in e-book format

Nonfiction

This acclaimed book has been out several years in paperback.  The e-book format was released this year.

No matter what kind of writer you are, you’ll find helpful tips in this short, but powerful, book.

If you’re an experienced writer, you will identify with many of the tips because you’ve learned the lessons the hard way. Even so, there are enough tips here that you’re bound to learn something—this time the easy way.

Not all of the tips will apply to all writers, but all writers will discover useful tips here. You may not agree with all of the advice, but the tips will make you think.

Although there is a enough advice here to overwhelm beginning writers, the tips format makes it easy to read in manageable increments. Reading one tip per day allows time to absorb each tip before moving on to the next.

The author, Dawn Colclasure, will visit A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye on Wednesday. Be sure to come back to read the interview and ask your own questions in comments.  

Disclosure: I received an electronic  copy of the book from the author. I have not accepted any compensation for this review and made no commitment to give a favorable review. The link to Amazon.com is an affiliate link.

Armed Forces Day 2010

Today is Armed Forces Day, observed every year since 1950 to honor the member of all branches of the Armed Services and thank them for their service.

The theme is this year’s observance is “United in Strength. We are so proud that the various branches within the Department of Defense are “United in Strength” to protect our freedoms.

Thank you to each and every person who is serving our country in the military or who has done so in the past.

If you want to show your support of our troops and thank them for their service, you have a variety of options.  Here are just a few:

• Adopt-a-Chaplain—”a Christ-centered ministry that is dedicated to supporting our troops through the ministries of chaplains.”
• AnySoldier.com—individual soldiers coordinate requests from troops in their units and donations by volunteers.
• Books for Soldiers—troops can request specific books, DVDs, and games, and volunteers send the requested items.
• Let’s Say Thanks—create and send online cards to troops.
• Operation EBook Drop: Free Books for Deployed Soldiers—authors donate free e-books to deployed soldiers.
• Soldiers’ Angels—”Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting our troops, we make a visible difference in the lives of our service members and their families.”

You can find an extensive list of many, many more organizations that support our troops at Support Our Troops. You’re bound to find the right one for you.

O LORD God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines of our country. Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Next Page »