Reflecting on Resources by Glynis M Belec

I love my dictionary, the big black book

It's always been my friend.

Thesaurus is the second one, on which I do depend. 

Rhyme-zone, Inscribe, Fellowscript 

Are handy things to read.

Websites, blogs and courses, too, all help me to succeed. 

But most of all when I feel lost

And my brain goes on a break,

Prayer is on my resource list, with that there's no mistake! 

God whispers words that make me smile

He tells me to be still

And then He pours the words right in as I try to do His will. 

A few of my favourites on my shelf!

I have to agree with many of the other writers who have preceded me. So many good resources out there these days. I love to read how other people 'write' and also I love picking up quick tips, so I use YouTube for inspiration and direction, especially if I need hands on help with my programs or the like. I am such a visual learner so this works so well for me. 

Here's four great books I love having in my arsenal of resources. 

#1. My CHILDREN'S WRITER'S WORD BOOK is one of my favourite resources for when I am writing for children. It helps a children's writer choose exactly the right word for a particular age group or grade level. This is the new, 2nd edition and it is really a great resource that I use often.






#2. This next book - THE NAME BOOK - is such a great resource for me. It's a book from the 80s but to me, it never gets old. It gives all sorts of ideas for character naming including the definition of names, meanings, spiritual connotations and supporting scripture. Love that.

#3.The INDIE AUTHOR GUIDE is described as a 'roadmap to success'. I can think of another Book that fits that description better, but this is a very good book for the indie author who needs direction with all sorts of information from organization to publishing to building an author platform and SO much more. 

#4. I like WRITING PICTURE BOOKS because it totally respects children's writers of all levels. There's plenty of instruction on creating characters, plotting, working out beginnings, middles and endings, hands on revision exercises, tips on researching markets, and plenty more.


  And then there is the Greatest Resource ever!

A few wise words for contemplation ... 

Proverbs 1:5

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

Proverbs 18:15 

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

Proverbs 9:9

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 1:7      

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Glynis lives, loves, laughs and does an awful lot of reading, writing, publishing and praying in her home office. 

        How thrilled Glynis is to be part of CHRISTMAS WITH HOT APPLE CIDER - an anthology filled with a wonderful assortment of Christmas short stories, memories, drama and poetry. 

                     www.glynismbelec.com 

Telling Lies - A Review by Tracy Krauss

I first heard about the book Telling Lies for Fun and Profit when it was mentioned by Rik Hall at the past fall conference. He mentioned it more than once, in fact, so I thought I better look into it. I discovered it was originally published 'way back' in the 80s, but has since been republished. I also discovered that it is just as relevant and insightful (and downright hilarious in spots) as it was back then! I can't believe I had never heard of it before! One thing to take note of for our purposes is that it is not a Christian book and the author, Lawrence Block, is not a Christian writer, but I believe the principles are sound and beneficial to all writers. Plus, its good for a few belly laughs. Just sayin'! Here is my review of the book:

What a gem! I literally laughed out loud at some points. The author has a very unique, albeit dry sense of humour that makes this book a pleasure to read. It’s a must for any author: successful, aspiring, or otherwise. In fact, after reading it through once, I wanted to go back and reread some chapters just for the enjoyment of it! Some chapters were more applicable to my current situation than others, but each one had at least one nugget of wisdom, from very practical writing ‘how-to’ kind of stuff, to more philosophical questions about writing as a calling versus a job. He includes plenty of personal anecdotes that serve to also show readers what ‘not to do’. I can’t believe I haven’t come across this book before. It’s timeless - as fresh and relevant now as it was when it was first published – despite the changes in the publishing industry. All I can really advise is, “Read it!”

Writing Outside the Box – by Ramona Heikel

Writing prompts, which are by their very nature “fresh” and different, help me to stay out of a writing rut.  The ones I like the best have variety built into them: different genres, subjects, formats, tones and approaches.  Some are intended to inspire new material for a current project, and others are tools for exploring a completely new piece.   

One of my favorite writing books is The Write Brain Workout, which has a new prompt on each page, and is full of large color images (I’ve included three here), which automatically rev up my creativity and sense of fun.

I haven’t always, but lately I’ve been forcing myself to do each writing prompt in order, whether it’s one that appeals to me or not.   

On a recent holiday / writing retreat, I ended up writing a piece that left the character no choice but to dredge up sad and difficult memories.  I guarantee that I would not have chosen to do that on my own!  I resisted at first, but felt it was necessary to write outside of the box, and I’m actually glad I did.

 

 Also on my holiday, I wrote pieces guided by the following prompts from two other favorite books, Creative Writing Activities and The Writer’s Book of Matches:

“Well, to be honest, I just threw it away.”

Write a make-believe conversation between you and something in nature.

“Why do you have ten jars of Easy Cheese in your cart?”

Who knows what these short starts will turn into?   

They may go nowhere.   

But they gave hours of enjoyment, made me think deeper than usual, and did a lot to shake the dust off my creativity!

 

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com

 

Recommendations and Inspirations - Tracy Krauss

I always find January to be a very inspiring month for me in terms of my writing stamina. Maybe its all the talk of 'goal setting' and 'resolutions'. Or maybe my batteries are recharged after Christmas break. In any case, I look forward to January each year and the sense of excitement I feel about what the year holds.

Last year, I told you about an excellent book called Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love  by Rachel Aaron. I read a lot of other good books on writing and marketing, but this one still stands out. One of the things I discovered after reading the book was Scrivener, a software to help you organize your manuscript. I used the trial version and subsequently bought it for $40. The best forty bucks I spent last year, I'm sure.

Another wonderful 'find' was the Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi. It is basically a list of emotions with various physical and psychological manifestations for each. (Like a thesaurus, as the name implies.) What a wonderful tool. I currently have an e-version, but I think I may invest in a hardcopy as well, so it can be right at my fingertips!

I had a very productive year last year in terms of writing, but I didn't actually get a lot published. One play called HOOK'S NEMESIS released just under the wire on Christmas day, as well as an anthology that I contributed to called TASTE AND SEE Volume 2. 

However, that means I can look forward to multiple releases in 2014. (I hope!) I have a devotional and a children's book waiting on US tax documents; two finished novels with my agent; and it looks like I will be writing several serials under contract - one contemporary stand alone series and one as a contributing author to a Sci-fi series. (I'm a huge Sci-fi nerd so I am especially excited about this one!)

It is all a bit scary but also quite exciting. Good thing I work well under pressure. *smile* With everything I have on the table at the moment, I think I really will be hibernating this winter...

Tracy Krauss is a teacher, artist, author and playwright living in Tumbler Ridge, BC. She currently has four novels and six plays in print. For more, visit her website at tracykrauss.com , her blog at tracykraussexpressionexpress.com , or sign up for her monthly newsletter.