MORNING WALKS

    Good morning! These are two of the pictures I have taken on my morning walks. You can see more on my Facebook page. After being diagnosed with breast cancer last year, I started taking a hormone blocker. One of the side effects from the medicine is osteoporosis. I asked the doctor how I could prevent or reduce the those chances. She recommended walking at least 30 minutes a day. 

    I started by walking 15 minutes from my home and back for the minimum of 30 minutes. I gradually increased my distance and now I am walking 4 miles a day. And I love it! I snap pictures of my encounters and share them on Facebook. 

Here are a few more.

 

 

It has been five years since I last posted. We have moved once again, hopefully for the last time. When we were moving in, we were welcomed by this family of four Sand Cranes. They come by every day usually in the early morning. They make a loud racket like a turkey, but much harsher. The adult Sand Cranes will run their babies off around the end of the year. They will be as big as their parents in just a few months. They will learn to forage for food, fly and how to avoid predators. We live in a park-like setting with dear, Ibis and Egrets. We enjoy the pontoon boat, bike riding the Withlacoochee Trail, walks, and kayaking. And to top it all off, I retired from my clinical scientist job of 43 years. I am learning to slow down and take it easy. I am reading and writing and have joined a fabulous online critique group. 

April 2019 Kidlitsoshpere Progressive Poem

This years Kidlitsosphere Progressive Poem is based off song lyrics.
I chose Pointer Sister's song, "We Are Family" because I just returned from my sisters trip. Think of it: Five sisters and this year we invited our two aunts. Needless to say it was a blast. We went to Edisto Beach, SC.

Endless summer; I can see for miles…
Fun, fun, fun – and the whole world smiles.
No time for school- just time to play,
we swim the laughin’ sea each and every day.

You had only to rise, lean from your window,
the curtain opens on a portrait of today.
Kodachrome greens, dazzling blue,
it’s the chance of a lifetime,

make it last forever–ready? Set? Let’s Go!
Come, we’ll take a walk, the sun is shining down
Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes
Tomorrow’s here. It’s called today.

Gonna get me a piece o’ the sky.
I wanna fly like an eagle, to the sea
and there’s a tiger in my veins Oh,
won’t you come with me waltzing the waves, diving the deep?

It’s not easy to know
less than one minute old
we’re closer now than light years to go
To the land where the honey runs

…we can be anyone we want to be…
There’s no stopping curiosity.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing
Looking for a sign of life

You’re simply the best
Hold my hand and we’ll be free

Have faith in you and the things you do




Up next,  our poem moves on to Liz @ Elizabeth Steinglass
Here is a list of line sources:

L1 The Who, 'I Can See for Miles'/The Beach Boys, 'Endless Summer'
L2 The Beach Boys, 'Fun, Fun, Fun'/Dean Martin, 'When You're Smiling'
L3 The Jamies, 'Summertime, Summertime'
L4 The Doors, Summer's Almost Gone'/Led Zeppelin 'Good Times, Bad Times'
L5 Ray Bradbury, "Dandelion Wine"
L6 Joni Mitchell, "Chelsea Morning"
L7 Paul Simon, "Kodachrome," "Dazzling Blue"
L8 Dan Fogelberg, "Run for the Roses"
L9 Spice Girls, "Wannabe"/Will Smith, "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"
L10 The Beatles, "Good Day Sunshine"
L11 The Carpenters, "Top of the World"
L12 Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Underneath the Lovely London Sky" from Mary Poppins Returns
L13 Carole King, "Hi-de-ho (That Old Sweet Roll)"
L14 Steve Miller, "Fly Like An Eagle"
L15 Don Felder, "Wild Life"L16 Nowleen Leeroy, "Song of the Sea" (lullaby)
L 16 Nowleen Leeroy, "Song of the Sea" (lullaby)
L17 Sara Bareilles, "She Used to Be Mine" from WAITRESS
L18 Stevie Wonder, "Isn't She Lovely"
L19 R.E.M., "Find the River"
L20 Carole King, "Way Over Yonder"
L21 Mint Juleps, "Groovin" by the Young Rascals
L22 Jack Johnson, "Upside Down"
L23 Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson) "Rainbow Connection" from the Muppet Movie
L24 The Foo Fighters, "Learning to Fly"
L25 Tina Turner, "The Best"
L26 The Partridge Family "Summer Days"
L27 The Pointer Sister's, "We Are Family"

2018 Siesta Key Crystal Classic

2018 Siesta Key Crystal Classic

International Sand Sculpting Festival

There were 8 teams of 2 and 8 solo sculptors.

I was able to meet Peter Vogelaar (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) and Delayne Corbett (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) and take a picture of them with their work of art.

There were also sculptures of BOOKS!

Here is Alice in Wonderland.

I like what Delayne said about his ability to sculpt. He had mentors that encouraged him and he honed his skills by attending workshops  and participating in competitions.

Writers are not that much different. We too must "hone" our craft and there are many workshops we can attend either in person or online and also many contests!

What are you doing to hone your craft?

Market Research

Have you ever written a story and sent it off either to a magazine or agent only to hear something like, "I'm sorry, but we have a work like that already?"

Market research is one of my least favorite things to do, but a necessary task that should be done if you are writing to be published.


Some of the ways that I have been able to research the market is to check with the library. What are some of the new releases?


I receive an email newsletter from the Sarasota County library that posts new arrivals. I can choose from several filters.
Another tool used frequently is the library online search for books. I can log in from home and search for books by subject. If the book is not at my home library I can request a hold and they will send it to my home library for easy pickup.


Horn Book Review, Kirkus review, Publisher's Weekly are a few that offer best books for the year and you can filter to children's books.




Of course we all know Amazon is a great tool for researching subjects and can also read excerpts  of the book to give you an idea of the slant the author has taken.


Another helpful tool to use is Renaissance Readers, this site tells you published date, number of pages and much more.




But why do a market research?
You don't want to spend volumes of time and effort on a topic that has been recently published unless you can slant it differently. You will need to be able to show how your book is different and why it should be published.
In my recent market research I have been looking at picture book biographies. I'm amazed at how focused they are, but still contain other information not known before or not highlighted before.




Some things to note in your Market research:
Title
Target age group
Publisher
Fiction or Nonfiction
Total pages
Chapters: How many pages to a chapter?
Who is the main character?
What POV is used?
Prose or Poetry?




What are some of you market research techniques?

I'm Back!

I'm Back! Where have I been you ask? Well, let me tell you a story.
I took a two year hiatus while I worked on my MBA. Yep that's right. I now have my Master of Business Administration. I learned so much and wrote so many papers I thought my fingers would never straighten out. Many early mornings and late nights. I still snuck in some reading though. Audio books on the way to work and back and reading a page or two to wind down before I closed my eyes for the night. Graduation will be December 15th, 2018. I am looking forward to meeting the women that were in our group project. We were scattered across the south and different time zones but we worked like a well oiled machine.


Some things I learned about myself was that I still loved to learn and could learn. I can do research and write exceptional research papers. I can get in the habit of getting up early to study or write and stay up late if needed.
I can and will set aside time to write, research and edit.

Some other things that happened to me in the past two years was that I moved to Venice, FL and work at Sarasota. We have a swimming pool! and a place on the water.


But most important, I have a new granddaughter, my first grandchild, so I'm definitely over the moon.

I have updated and cleaned up my blog page and will post more often.


I have also signed up for another ICL Class and will be blogging about my experience with this. If you're looking for a good online writing class I highly recommend them.

Congratulations to the Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of the August Book giveaway:
Rick Starkey has the After-Room by Maile Meloy and Jennifer Williamsfield has won the book Writer With a Day job.
Please send me the addresses you would the book mailed to.
Due to my day job and going back for my MBA I will not blogging regularly. I will try to squeeze in some blogs when I can because I still have lots of books to giveaway.


I'm thinking about asking for volunteers to review the books I have and they keep them for themselves.
Leave a comment with your thoughts on this.


Thank you so much for following my blogs and hope to back soon!


Stay tuned:
Sheila

Interview with Doraine Bennett

Doraine, it was so good to meet you and talk to you about how you got started writing nonfiction. Please tell us a bit about what you write.

I have written a lot of nonfiction. I think because I like the research part of writing more than because I love nonfiction. I know that sounds a bit strange, but I do like taking complicated ideas and writing them in an understandable way. I worked as editor for a military magazine for eight years and one of the challenges was to make all that complicated strategy stuff accessible to an average reader. It was a fun challenge, at least on the days I didn’t want to pull my hair out. 

I’ve tried some picture books, but haven’t quite found the knack of getting a story into 700 words or less. And I’ve written one novel which will probably remain in a bottom drawer from now on. 

I love writing poetry. I like forms and I like free verse. I especially enjoy the Poetry Friday community in the Kidslitosphere and all the poetry sharing each week. 

How long have you been writing?

Officially in the children’s world, since about 2002. Before that I wrote newsletters. I’ve pretty much always kept a journal since my mother gave me a five-year-diary when I was eight. I was totally absorbed in what I ate for breakfast and what I made on spelling tests. 

You have written for a series of nonfiction books: America, My Country American Heroes. Please tell us how you found out about this series.

I worked as a sales rep for Delaney Educational Enterprises for nine years, selling books from about 150 publishers into schools. We met for presentations from publishers on their new books for spring and fall every year and I crossed paths with editors from several of those educational publishers. The editor from State Standards Publishing was one of those editors. She was a small publisher targeting state history standards. I wrote a number of series for her. America My Country was one of them. The educational market is a bit of a different animal from traditional trade publishers. Few of them are looking for stand-alone books. They want a series. It means more sales. It was a doorway into the publishing world for me. 

How did you break into writing nonfiction.

It was simply what the publisher wanted at the time, although I’ve always loved history. I would have written most anything, but she needed Georgia history standards. So that’s what I wrote. Second grade reading level for Georgia. Tell this life story in 200 words or less using no contractions, no introductory phrases and no words that register higher than a third grade reading level. It was a bit like putting together a puzzle. 

What tips can you give writers wanting to break into nonfiction?

You have to love the research. You can’t be afraid to talk to experts. You must keep exact records of where you got every tidbit of information. And when you spit it all back out, it has to sound like a story. 

Did you have to supply the photos/images? What tips can you share for this?

I have never been asked to supply the photos for any of my books, although when I came across one that I thought especially good, I might include the url for the editor to check. Interesting, when the proofs came back with photos included, we often had to make revisions to the text based on which photos she chose.

What are you working on now?

I began working on a couple of poetry projects this year. I think I needed a break from the educational world. Right now I’m working on a historical novel in verse. It’s a big project and I’m only about half way through. 

I recently read Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle. Here is an excerpt that has me pondering my work in progress:

I believe that each work of art, whether it is a work of great genius, or something very small, comes to the artist and says, “Here I am. Enflesh me. Give birth to me. And the artist either says, “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” and willingly becomes the bearer of the work, or refuses; but the obedient response is not necessarily a conscious one, and not everyone has the humble, courageous obedience of Mary…then the job of the artist, great or small, is to serve. The amount of the artist’s talent is not what it’s about.

I’m asking myself how I serve this work. We’ll see what happens.

Thanks!

Doraine Bennett
www.dorainebennett.com
www.dorireads.blogspot.com
bennett.doraine@gmail.com

Please leave a comment or enter through rafflecoptor to win The After-Room by Maile Meloy or Writer with a Day Job by Aine Greaney

Writer with a Day Job by Aine Greaney

August book giveaway by Aine Greaney


Let's face it not all of us can afford to quit our day job and write full time. My day job has benefits that I just can't afford to lose at this time in my life. But that doesn't mean I can't have a writing career too.
Sometimes I do struggle to find the time or have difficulty looking for the right word, finding the right market to tap, or just having time to research!
If you are working full time and want to write too, then this is the book for you.


At 233 pages, Aine Greaney gives you lots of resources and encouragement to keep doing what you love. It is divided into five sections:
Section 1: Getting Started
Section 2: Let's Go - Start the habit of daily writing
Section 3:Integrating Writing into your work day
Section 4:Making Your Writing Better: Reviewing and Revising
Section 5: Twenty Author Interviews
It also includes an index.


Writer Beware tips are scattered throughout  the text, lists of free resources with links are posted and thoughts on rising early or writing after work.


I love the section on integrating writing in your work day. The titles of the chapters in this section are:
Chapter 8: Drive Time: thinking out loud on the Road
Tutorial 3: Creating memorable characters
Chapter 9: All Aboard! Turn your train ride or bus ride into writing time.
Tutorial 4: Writing Great Setting
Chapter 10: Before, During and After Work: Grab your writing time when you can
Chapter 11: Writers, Take Back Your Lunch Hour ( I don't have an hour)
Tutorial 5: Writing Dialogue
Chapter 12: Truth and Fiction: Writing About Other People- Including Your Colleagues.


If you would like to win this book please leave a comment or enter through  the Rafflecoptor.


See you next week!

The After-Room by Maile Meloy

The After-Room by Maile Meloy is the third and last book in the Apothecary trilogy. If you haven't read these books, then you have a surprise waiting for you! These books are a mixture of science-fiction and magic. The Apothecary is a long established society of herbalists who use plants to do all sorts of things from turning yourself into a bird so you can fly to stopping a nuclear bomb.


In this third book, Benjamin is desperately trying to communicate with his dead father. Or is he really dead? Is he able to free his father from the After-Room as Benjamin calls it? His friend Janie Scott is worried about Benjamin. What if he goes to the After-room and is unable to come back?


Then on the other side of the world Jin Lo with the help of Ned Maddox, is trying to stop a madman from blowing up China.


Add to all this historical fiction! This is an unbeatable combination.


If you would like a chance to win this third book in the series, please leave a comment, tweet or enter using the Rafflecoptor.


Also, I am waiting on Alana White to claim her prize A Hitch at the Fairmont by Jim Averbeck.


See you next week when I talk about the book Writer with a Day Job by Aine Greaney.

Congratulations to July Winners Alana White and Nancy K Allen

Congratulations to Nancy K. Allen for winning the book Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and to Alana White for winning A Hitch at the Fairmont by Jim Averbeck.


Please send me the addresses you would like the books shipped to. My e-mail is Sheila_renfro@cox.net.


Thank you for visiting my blog.
For those that didn't win this don't despair! Here are the title for August:

Writer with a Day Job by Aine Greaney and After Room by Maile Meloy.


More about these books next week, but you can enter to win by leaving a comment or entering through the rafflecoptor.


See you next week!
Sheila 

Critques are not for Cowards

Irene Latham on left and Patricia Weaver on right. Writing buddies

We've all heard the phrase: "Parenting is not for Cowards." Well neither is critiquing.
Here are some tips whether you're giving or receiving.

For the Giver:
Give your reaction to the story not YOUR opinion.
Avoid saying things like this was weak. Instead give some constructive feedback like:
I'm having a hard time picturing this.
I'm confused by...
Also give some positive comments on what you thought the writer did really well.


For the receiver:
Find a group with like interests. Where do you find them? I suggest writing conferences or local writing groups. If there isn't one in your area, start one. SCBWI is a great organizations that puts writers and illustrators together.

Ask yourself if you are ready for this? You have written what you hope is a perfect story or article.
First put on your helmet and a shield wouldn't hurt either unless you have a thick skin.

What you need to remember when getting feedback is "Did I get my message across?" Listen for the responses.
Did your character show the expected reaction in this scene?
Was the character's action predictable or out of character? There can be a fine line here. You don't want to be too predictable.
Did it make sense?
What expectations did you want the reader to have? Did you accomplish this?
At what point did the reader lose interest?

Did you feel the urge to explain why the character did what he did when getting feedback? Don't say anything just make a note of it and revisit it later. If your not sure of some of the comments ask them to clarify.

For example I am taking Allyson Levitt's online picture book class, and in lesson two our assignment was to write a question and answer for our manuscript. If you have someone that can read your story, ask them what they think the question and answer is. Mine did not answer the question I was asking. Taking the feedback I was able to focus my story more where it needed to go.

So that leads me to the next tip: Be flexible. Perhaps your story is many layered, and you could break it down into more than one story. Yippee! Now you have another project to look forward too.

This was excerpted from the article by Steven James in the Writer's Digest September 2016 issue.

Tomorrow is the last day to enter for the July book giveaways. Leave a comment or use the Rafflecoptor to enter.

Next week the winners and August books will be announced. If you know of a good craft book, let me know. I do know that Janice Hardy has some coming out that I'm looking forward to reviewing soon.

See you next week!

Writing Contests!

Here's a sampler of writing contests I have found and participated in:





The Creative Writing Institute has a themed contest which opened July 15 through September 15. Click on the link for more information. there is a $5 entry fee. It must have this sentence in the story "Explain how that happened."


1500-2000 words.
I have taken several of their writing classes too and  I believe this is a good one to enter.




WOW Women on Writing This one is open now and closes August 31st. Open prompt 250 -750 words. They also offer writing classes and I believe you will recognize some of the instructors. You can also pay a little extra for a critique of your story. The entry fee is $10 and limited to 300 entrants.


I have taken some of their writing courses and they are very good too.


Writers Weekly 24 hour Fall contest is September 17 . Entry fee $5. This is a fun contest. On September 17 you will be given the theme and word count. You will have 24 hours to write and submit your story.


There are 89 prizes and this too is limited to 500 entrants. I have entered this before and have come up with some interesting new stories.


However, if you are a resident of Colorado, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Tennessee. Your state may prohibit your participation in skills-based contests that have an entry fee. If your state prohibits these types of contests, please do not enter. If you wish to participate anyway, your $5 fee will be considered a participation fee but, unfortunately, you will not be eligible to win a prize.


Pockets Annual Fiction writing contest is open until August 15. there is no theme and no entry fee! Word count is 750-1000. Click on the link for more information.


This just in from Charles Suddeth: Green River Writers  contest is open until September 30th.I am a Midsouth member & also  the Contest Chairman for Green River Writers of Louisville. For 2016 we have about $1600 total in prizes in 2 grand prizes and 14 prose & poetry prizes. I sponsored the only category dedicated to children's writing, but virtually all of the categories are open to children.  This has a low entry fee.


Hope you enjoy and will try some of these out. Let me know if you have participated in any of these and your thoughts on them. Also please feel free to add any other contests that you think are good for writers or illustrators.
Don't forget to leave a comment or enter through rafflecoptor for a chance to win: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg or A Hitch at the Fairmont by Jim Averbeck.


See you next week!
Sheila

Jim Averbeck presents A Hitch at the Fairmont

Jim Averbeck is an illustrator as well as a children's author. I was fortunate enough to attend a SCBWI workshop in Orlando this summer where he presented how he wrote this book. The research he went into not only for the Fairmont Hotel but also about Alfred Hitchcock was inspiring.


Averbeck shows us  the details about how Hitchcock uses storyboards to direct the audience attention to where he wants it go.


He also brings to life how an artists creates: There was that thrilling moment when pencil caught paper and dragging it across was like striking a match. And like fire the pencil burned the paper with black lines and curves. Small bits of lead popped and leapt behind as it tracked along with a satisfying scratch.


The story is about a boy who goes to live with his aunt in the Fairmont Hotel after his mother drives off a cliff and kills herself. Alfred Hitchcock just happens to be staying there too.
When Jack's aunt is kidnapped, he ropes Mr. Hitchcock into helping him find and rescue her.


Well that's all I'm going to tell you about that because this has more twists and turns than a roller coaster and I don't want to spoil the ending for you.


For a chance to win this book in this month's giveaway, please leave a comment or enter through the rafflecoptor.


See you next week!

Book Giveaway-Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

Writing Down the Bones- Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg is a classic and a good book for beginners and seasoned writers.
This book has sold millions of copies and translated to many languages. First released in 1986, it still holds true to writing for today.
This book is an excellent encourager and stimulates the creative process.
In the epilogue of her book she states: "The biggest struggle was not with the actual writing, but working out the fear of success, the fear of failure, ..."
I have heard many writers that have successful published book say pretty much the same thing every time about the their current work in progress.


I like the exercise she gives in the chapter: The Action of a Sentence.
Fold a paper in half long ways and write a noun, then on the other side think of occupations that go with the noun and write a verb. Open the page and see what new sentences can be made with the different combinations.
I love the "My blood buzzes like a hornet's nest"
If you feel your writing is getting stale with "he ran, she walked" this may be a good exercise to try.


If you would like a chance to win this book please leave a comment below or use the rafflecoptor.


See you next week!

Winners of Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Joyce Lansky on winning The Legend of Ghost Dog Island!
Please send me the address you want this book mailed to.



Congratulations to Angie Quantrel! You have won The Writing book. Please email your address.

Happy Fourth of July! Have a safe one and donate blood if you are able!




See you next week I unveil the July book giveaways!



The Writing Book by Kate Grenville This months Book Giveaway and Contest!

The Writing Book by Kate Grenville, is the other book I'm giving away this month along with The Legend of Ghost Dog Island by Rita Monette.


The Writing Book is a workbook for fiction writers. It is full of exercises to stimulate your creativity.
Each chapter except the last one has examples. The last chapter is all about submitting a manuscript. One of the things I like about this book is that it addresses organization. Yes, I want to know how other writers keep their work in progress organized.
I do mine by keeping a WIP folder on the desktop of my computer. Inside that folder is another folder for "obsolete" for the stuff that I cut, but not ready to discard just yet.
Chapter Two is about making piles, the advantages of piles and ways to sort piles.
There are chapters on POV, characters, description, voice, dialogue, revision, and design.


If you want to enter to win this book please leave a comment of how you organize your work in progress.


****Contest****


I just saw this contest in the Sub It Club Facebook page June 2016 Contest Roundup:
It the #PG70PIT contest. I've heard of first pages but this is the first time I've heard of submitting page #70. I don't know much about this contest, but it does look interesting so I thought I would pass it along. If you know anything about this contest (good or bad) please share in comments below.


See you next week when winners of the book giveaway will be announced.

Happy Father's Day and Book Giveaway

Wiley (Eddie) Brazil on right

My father has been gone for more than a few years now, but I still think about him and the things he taught me.

Despite only having an eighth grade education, he didn't let that stop him from following his dreams. He was a hard worker and always provided for us six kids and mom.

Here he  is working at Cleveland Cap Screw in Ohio. He left this job and moved his family back to Alabama where he drove an eighteen wheeler. He wasn't afraid to try new things and he was always working on machines. There wasn't anything my dad couldn't fix!



Love you dad!

Now to tell you about another girl who loved her dad. Nikki Landry loved her Papa. He knew everything and was a great fisherman. One thing though, Nikki was tired of moving. Her papa would move their houseboat when the fishing got bad and they would move on to richer waters.

This time when they moved she resolved not to make any new friends because she would just have to leave them behind when her papa moved them again.

Their boat was anchored across from Ghost Dog Island. Nikki tells her papa about the howling she hears and asks him what it could be.  Papa tells Nikki the legend of Ghost Dog Island how some monster lures dogs there and then turns them into ghosts. Nikki doesn't believe in ghosts but when her dog comes up missing, she's determined to rescue him.

Nikki does make new friends despite her vow not to,  and with their help she solves the mystery of the howling and saves a woman too!

This is a great mystery by Rita Monette and she also did a great job with the illustrations! 

To enter to win this book or The Writing Book by Kate Grenville, use the Rafflecoptor or leave a comment.

Next week I'll tell you about The Writing book.

Writing Tips Gleaned from Florida SCBWI Summer Conference

Just got back from the Florida SCBWI Summer Conference and this is the first year I made it to the Silent Auction and Elixir Mixer.


Look what I won the auction! Thank you Tara Powers for donating this beautiful birdhouse.

Front

Back

I bought this for a special friend who will remain nameless. She will get it in July for birthday, but her birthday is in August.

Here are some things I will get to keep even though they are shared here.

From Tracey Adams of Adams Literary shared this about character:

Explore your character. Look online for character studies.

What is your character afraid of?

What does he daydream about?

Use Pinterest to choose  items that inspire you or remind you of your character.

Draw a picture of him/her.

Draw a map or legend of location. The setting could be a character.

How would your character finish these lines?

You need to know____

You can't know____

The truth is____

The first time____

I would die for ____

Jim Averbeck talked about mystery vs suspense.

His book Hitch is a historical fiction about a boy whose aunt is kidnapped and he teams up with Alfred Hitchcock to find her.

Mystery is more of an intellectual who dunit and suspense is more of an emotional process.

There is a difference between shocking/thrilling which last a few seconds to drawing out a scene to build tension. A few movie clips were shown to emphasize the meaning.

Four things needed to build suspense are:

1. Audience awareness. an example was giving of a man talking about baseball (boring) and a bomb exploded and obliterated everyone. But if you told (show) the audience the that there is a bomb and it was going off in five minutes then it builds the suspense.

2. Ticking bomb see above. you can increase by adding another ticking bomb.

3. Stakes- what are the stakes if the bomb goes off?

4. Disempower your protagonist. Put your character in a position where he can't do anything. This can be done by having a power shift between MC and another character, dwindling options, dramatic irony

Linda Sue Park gave several revision tips. She said she doesn't like books on how to write with the exception of authors who write about how they write. Don't worry, I'll still review and giveaway writing craft books here. She said the best way to learn to write is to read hundreds of books.

When you get stuck writing ask your self "What does he want in this scene?"

Tips:

1. Read story out loud in the voice your character would use.

2. Widows and orphans are when there is one word left on a line before a new paragraph starts. Try to eliminate a word in the paragraph to bring it up. No fair adding words!

3. Change the font and critique it. This helps to fool your mind and help you be more objective.

4. For Voice: Choose a sentence and rewrite it as many different ways you can.. You may be surprised with what you come up with.

5. Copy and paste a section and then delete. Rewrite it. Is it shorter? Only the important things will be left ( most of the time).

6. Start at the end of manuscript and work back. Look for nouns. If the noun isn't in the first 2/3 thirds of the book it needs to go or be added in first 2/3.

Hope this helps!

Don't forget to enter to win The Legend of Ghost Dog Island or The Writing Book.



The Winners of May Book Giveaways

The winner of Chapter after Chapter by Heather Sellers is Donna Volkenannt.

The winner of the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency No1 The Case of the Missing Moonstone is Renee Grandinetti.

If you didn't win, don't despair! Here are this months books: