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What Kind of Bookmarks Do You Use?

I am interested in what you use as a bookmark. I have a basic one from the library and I use it until it wears out. The bookmarks I use don’t have any special qualities or significance. They are simply functional.

I read one book at a time. Some of you read several books at once, so you will need a lot of markers. Do you use certain ones for specific purposes? Do you get them from the library or cheap ones from bookstores or do you actually go out and buy them?

Should be interesting to read your responses.

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2012 in Books, Reading

 

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The Informed Writer

The agony of the Male Novelist

Barbour sells Heartsong Inspirational Novels to Harlequin

How to use an outline while you write your first draft

Three Tips to Consistent Tone

The Geyser 5 Step Approach to Revision

How to Create a Plot Outline

How to sell 130,000 Books Without a Publisher

Five Practical Goals for Writers

Choosing between a big word or a little word

Can you edit too much?

Crafting characters

Resurrect Old Frank

Self-editing and modifiers

The importance of reader perception

Four books that show you how to write

What to expect from a book review

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2012 in Informed Writer, Writing

 

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Write a Memory

Our minds are amazing machines. Thanks to our senses, a scene, photo, scent or texture can stir up snippets of memory invoking pain or joy. What about this photograph? Does it speak to you?

I grew up in the country, so many vivid scenes appear before my eyes. I will share some of them and I hope you will, as well.

 

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Finding The Right Word…

“The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning” [Mark Twain].

 
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Posted by on January 24, 2012 in Editing, Quotes, Writing

 

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Used Book Stores – Where Treasure Hunters Play

 
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Posted by on January 23, 2012 in Books, Reading

 

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Writing Fiction is Easy and Very Difficult

Putting pen to paper and describing the scene in our head is easy. Stringing dialogue based on the way we speak is not challenging. However, forming everything together into a cohesive, compelling novel that publishers will consider publishing is quite a different matter, indeed.

Countless people aspire to write fiction and dream of accolades and glory. Friends and family read their offerings and praise their efforts. They start building houses in their head and plan the outfits they will wear to book signings.

Confident in their mastery, they send their masterpiece to someone knowledgeable about writing and hear that their manuscript is filled with mistakes and inconsistencies. They either become angry, crushed or ambivalent about the advice.

Why does this happen? Because writing fiction is easy and very difficult at the same time and the sooner we realize this, the better. Anyone can tell a story but doing so at the highest level takes an incredible amount of work.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2012 in Editing, Fiction, Writer, Writing

 

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There’s Nothing Like a Book

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2012 in Books, Reading, Video

 

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Let the Characters Breathe

“The writer must always leave room for the characters to grow and change. If you move your characters from plot point to plot point, like painting by the numbers, they often remain stick figures. They will never take on a life of their own. The most exciting thing is when you find a character doing something surprising or unplanned. Like a character saying to me: ‘Hey, Richard, you may think I work for you, but I don’t. I’m my own person.’” –Richard North Patterson

 
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Posted by on January 7, 2012 in Characters, Quotes, Writing

 

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Find Writing Time or…

…the world may pass us by! We all need to squeeze out the writing time from our very busy schedules. Difficult decisions will be worth it in the end. This applies to me as much as any of you. Be strong and persevere! Bylines will make missed time worthwhile.

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2012 in Writing

 

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Hate to be Edited?

“No author dislikes to be edited as much as he dislikes not to be published.” -Russell Lynes
 
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Posted by on January 5, 2012 in Editing, Writing

 

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