Author of Purple Pencil Adventures Shares Writing Prompts

Yes, I did it! I conned Debra Eckerling,  the author of the new book of writing prompts and inspiration called Purple Pencil Adventures, to share some brand new writing prompts not seen in her book with my SharingwithWriters blog readers!  You know, a kind of bonus. A little taste of what's to come when you buy her book--for yourself or your own students.  Here it is direct from Debra:

 

Writing Adventures from Debra Eckerling's Purple Pencil

By Debra Eckerling

Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages is filled with writing exercises, designed to inspire joy, creativity, and a love of the written word. Want to get writing? Here are some bonus prompts to get you started.

New Person Adventure – Since it’s the beginning of the school year, chances are you’ve met someone new recently. What did you think about him or her before you spoke? What did you think after having a conversation? Were you right on target or way off-base? Write about the differences and similarities of your views on this person. It’s amazing how first impressions are usually totally right or wildly wrong.

Food Adventure – What is your favorite food? Why? Do you like sweet treats or meals? Snacks or desserts? All of the above. Pick a food and use all of your senses to describe it: taste, smell, touch. And if it makes noise when you eat it, include that too. Bonus points if, after you describe that food, you can’t resist and have to eat it immediately!

Writing Adventure – Everyone has their own method of how they create. Take a few moments, think about yours, and write about it. What is your favorite way to write? Via computer or with pen and paper? Where’s your favorite place to write? Inside at a desk or on the couch? Or outside at a bench or under a tree? Describe your favorite place and method in a way that those who are reading your story want to try writing that way too!

Purple Pencil Adventures is aimed at kids, but all ages will enjoy it. They’re even more fun when families work on them at the same time and share their stories.

For more writing exercises, check out Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages. Like Purple Pencil Adventures on Facebook, follow @PurplePencilAdv on Twitter, and explore the website.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

An Anthology for a Cause: The Process

Dawn Colclasure graciously accepted my invitation to write a little on the process of putting together an anthology to fill in a bit while I take some time off. I believe her story is a good example of how we can make our efforts do good in the world and how important it is for us to remain flexible.

 

An Anthology for a Cause

 

By Dawn Colclasure

 

The first time I put together an anthology, it was a semi-anthology: A book that contained five essays from writing parents on how they find balance between writing and parenting mixed in with interviews I did with several other writing parents throughout the world. My latest book is pretty much the same thing, except that the writing I did for it is not interviews and my royalties will be donated to a charity.

But this particular book did not start out as an anthology. It was actually based on a blog series I ran in 2009 for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I had wanted to do a “charity book” for a long time–-a book in which proceeds from sales went to charity. When my publisher, Gypsy Shadow Publishing, started publishing such books, I jumped on that opportunity to finally make a “charity book” happen. But my book was still not yet an anthology.

 

It didn’t turn into an anthology until much later in the process. A friend and fellow writer wrote a story that had a character who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She knew I was working on a breast cancer book for charity, so she asked if I’d like to include her story. That was when I realized that perhaps this book was indeed an anthology. After all, other writers such as Carolyn Howard-Johnson had contributed to this project back when it was a blog series, and health professionals had taken the time to contribute press releases and assorted material related to breast cancer. Sure, I interviewed some people for this book, and some contributors had a contribution in the form of quotes, but it definitely seemed like this book was turning into an anthology after all.

 

Word of mouth is the one thing that transformed my book, Onthe Wings of Pink Angels: Triumph, Struggle and Courage Against Breast Cancer, into the anthology that was published in late October. I used Facebook and Twitter to let people know I welcomed their submissions related to breast cancer, and when I used Help A Reporter Out (often known by reporters and other writers who use it as HARO) for the Race for the Cure section of the book, I let everyone know this book is for charity. Many people loved the idea and were happy to be a part of something that would benefit grieving children. It was also a good chance for several people, breast cancer survivors, and people affected by breast cancer, to share their stories.

 

That’s the best part about putting together an anthology: Allowing people to share their stories, get their voices heard, and write touching tributes to those who lost their battle against breast cancer. This book was the chance for so many people to come together to spread awareness about the disease and give hope to those still trying to find their way.

 

My book did not turn out to be the way it originally started, but thanks to everyone who took the time to be involved in it, it has turned into something much better and even more inspiring that we can all offer to the world.

 

Author Biography:

 

Dawn Colclasure is a writer who lives in Oregon. Her articles, essays, poems and short stories have appeared in several newspapers, anthologies, magazines and E-zines. She is the author of nine books, among them Burning the Midnight Oil: How We Survive as Writing Parents (http://www.booklocker.com/books/1743.html ); 365 Tips for Writers: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity (http://filbertpublishing.com/our-titles/our-books/365-tips-for-writers/ ); Love is Like a Rainbow: Poems of Love and Devotion (http://www.gypsyshadow.com/DawnColclasure.html#LoveRainbow ); On the Wings of Pink Angels: Triumph, Struggle and Courage Against Breast Cancer (http://www.gypsyshadow.com/DawnColclasure.html#PinkAngels ); and the children’s book The Yellow Rose (http://www.gypsyshadow.com/DawnColclasure.html#YellowRose).

Her Web site is at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/.

About On the Wings of Pink Angels:

"You have cancer." These are words people dread hearing. But when worse comes to worst, push comes to shove, something wonderful happens. More people come together for support and encouragement. More people participate in "Race for the Cure" events, and more people discover an inner strength within themselves that they never knew they had before. On the Wings of Pink Angels offers a gentle hand through this difficult time, sharing stories that inspire hope, strength, gratitude and courage during a time when someone must fight for his or her life against breast cancer.

Learn more about this e-book.

 

Note that 100% of the author's royalties from sales of this ebook will be donated to the charity Courageous Kids (http://www.courageouskidsoregon.org/ ), a nonprofit organization devoted to helping children cope with the loss of a loved one.


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Itty Bitty Advice for Writers

It's Book Expo America time.  Thanks to Mindy Philips Lawrence for this inpsiration in my time of need and for her unbelieveable dedication to editing my Sharing with Writers newsletter and providing Itty Bitty columns (all of them sooo different depending on her mood!) for that same letter!

An Itty-Bitty Column on Writing

You Can’t Back Up
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By Mindy Phillips Lawrence

“Keep moving forward. That is probably the best advice I can give you as you continue toward your writing goals, whatever they may be. Just keep moving forward.” ~  Chuck Sambuchino, Editor of Guide to Literary Agents

Life doesn’t have a beep, beep, beep alarm that allows you to back up and do something over again. You MUST go forward. The good old days weren’t. They are a concept in someone’s mind and different for every person. Going back to the old publishing model and the old way of writing won’t work anymore. Traditional publishing isn’t dead, but it must be shaped into a different mold if it wants to survive.

Think about the airplane. The one that everyone said wouldn’t get off the ground. Have you been looking up lately? They’re overhead every hour of the day. Cars were never supposed to take the place of a horse and buggy. Now self-driving cars may soon be licensed in Colorado. They aren’t supposed to make it either but don’t bet currency on it.

You have to learn NEW. When you start looking backward instead of forward, you miss the present and are clueless to the future. When you write, don’t just write what you used to. Branch out. Go a different direction and see where it takes you. You’ll find some dead ends but keep trying. You’ll discover that you can do much more than you ever dreamed by looking forward instead of backward.

 Links for you to explore:

Writer Lost: Carlos Fuentes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Fuentes

Writer Unboxed
http://writerunboxed.com/

Keep Moving Forward

http://www.inspiredwebworks.com/inspiration-and-dreaming-big/5-winning-strategies-to-keep-moving-forward.html

Working Through the Writing Process
http://www.csun.edu/~hflrc006/coaching_student.html

Forward Thinking

http://www.arts.qld.gov.au/blog/index.php/think-forward-think-big/

Journalism’s Future

http://www.therisetothetop.com/davids-blog/journalisms-future-writing-web-adwords-business-pundits-drea-knufken/

~ Mindy Phillips Lawrence, www.freewebs.com/mplcreative, is the author of the poetry collections One Blue Star and Above and Below. She is co-author of The Complete Writer, an editor and a publicist. She is in the process of putting together an e-book and paperback based on her Itty-Bitty Column for Sharing with Writers. Blogging at:http://mplcreative.blogspot.com/. Her specialty is helping writers with their media releases. She also writes The Itty Bitty column for Sharing with Writers.  Reach her at mplcreative1@aol.com.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second ediction of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Sybil Baker Shares First Novel Advice

Today's guest blogger Sybil Baker talks about novel writing. Her advice? Read more...

By Sybil Baker author of The Life Plan

With old drafts of a novel or two languishing in desk drawers, another one I’m revising, and another one published, the most important thing I’ve learned about novel writing is that I have a lot more to learn. We can all find examples of some lucky or extraordinarily talented writers whose first novel was published to much fanfare and acclaim. Most times, though, you’ll read about how a famous author had to write a terrible novel or two before they wrote the good one. Of course this is the last thing anyone toiling over their manuscript wants to think.

But like it or not, you can’t learn to ride a bike, play the piano, or play golf by reading how-to books and dreaming of success. You have to get out and do it, even if you fall the first few times.

That said, there are some things that I learned the hard way—by doing—that I can share with you to save you some time while you are working on your novel.

1. Commit to finishing the first draft, no matter how horrible it is. This is probably the most important advice I can give. I’ve seen many talented writers who couldn’t get their novel finished because they were unable to continue until they had those first few chapters “perfect” in their mind. Here’s the thing: you’ll probably be massively revising those first few chapters anyway, and you won’t know how you’re going to revise them until you finish that first draft. Trust me.

2. Use an outline. An outline will actually free you up because you don’t have to worry about basic plot points and you can explore characters and scenes. Remember, your outline is there to serve you—you can always revise your outline or veer from it, but refer to it when you feel you’ve lost the plot or have strayed too far from the novel’s story.

3. Structure your novel into three acts. Even the most apparently experimental novels use the three act structure for their novel with plot points and a mid point. Like an outline, a three act structure will actually free you up to focus on character development and keep the novel on course.

4. Think of your novel in terms of scenes, not chapters. Each scene needs its own purpose, with a beginning, middle, and end, and forward the action of the novel. Scenes build on each other and form your chapters.

5. Read novels in your genre (this includes literary genres) and outline them. Literature is a conversation, so it’s essential to know what other people have written or writing and how your novel fits in with the conversation. By analyzing the structure of those novels, you’ll get a better feel for how to structure your own novel.

Remember, after you write the draft of your novel you’ll have a much easier time writing your second or revising your first. Practice may not make perfect, but it will improve your game.

Find Sybil Baker http://www.sybilbaker.com. She blogs at http://sybilbaker.blogspot.com> Find The Life Plan book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RVu8VbHEbY&fmt=18
Buy it at: http://www.casperianbooks.com/catalog/1-934081-16-7.html
or an Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Life-Plan-Sybil-Baker/dp/1934081167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239574852&sr=8-1

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Linda Wisniewski Guest Blogs with "Tips for Writing Memoirs"

Writing the stories of our lives seems one of the most important topics for writers I can think of. It is my pleasure to introduce Linda Wisniewski and her story to Sharing with Writers readers. Please share a bit of your story, too--under the comments!By Linda C. Wisniewski, author of the memoir, Off Kilter: A Women's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage

Writing the stories of our lives is one of the most valuable things we can do. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Set aside a time and place, and write freely for half an hour a day.
• Use props to jog your memory: keepsakes, photos, even articles of clothing. Why do you keep it? What emotions does it bring forth in you?
• Make lists of historical events that happened in your lifetime, people you've loved, addresses where you've lived, places you've visited, hobbies or jobs you have held. Then write a page about each one.
• Make a chart of your life in decades. Under each decade, list the turning points or times of transition. Then write a brief story about each turning point.
• Use an index card for each important person in your life and write a few words on the card about what you want them to remember about you. Then write that person a letter about why these things are important to you.
• Write down the names of your favorite recipes. Who gave them to you? When do you make these foods?
• Stop writing and stare into space! After you have a rough draft, ask yourself: Why am I telling this story? What does this episode remind me of in my current life?

Try one of these tips with your own memoir writing. And send me your own ideas as well! I’ll post my favorites on my website with your name attached. Happy writing and reminiscing!

Email Linda: lindawis@comcast.net

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Linda C. Wisniewski is the author of Off Kilter: A Women's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage. She writes for the Bucks County Herald and teaches memoir classes for Bucks County Community College. A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, she holds a master's degree from Villanova University and a certificate of advanced study from Drexel University. She is regional representative of the International Women's Writing Guild and a board member of the Story Circle Network. Linda is a contributing editor for the Story Circle Journal and is co-editor of Story Circle Book Reviews. Find out more about Linda by visiting her website: http://www.lindawis.com

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal." Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.

My Heritage and my Writing By Shobhan Bantwal

I had trouble deciding whether Schobahn's essay should be included on this blog or my www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com for her blog tour. This blog won because I think we writers occasionally need a bit of inspiration thrown our way! Please leave a comment, maybe a small piece on your own story!

I was born and raised in a large, conservative Hindu family in a small town called Belgaum in Southwestern India. I was the black sheep of the family, the only tomboy and hellion in a family of five girls. My four sisters were angels—good little Brahmin girls with the perfect mix of academic achievement, modesty and deportment. Needless to say, I single-handedly gave my parents every gray hair they possessed, but they were wonderful parents and to a large degree I owe everything I am today to them. The most valuable things they gave me were an outstanding education and the love of reading.

An arranged marriage to a man who happened to live in the U.S. brought me to New Jersey several years ago.

My Indian heritage became the natural basis for my writing. As an Indian-American woman, I straddle two distinctly different cultures, both equally rich, both with their share of woes and quirks, yet both equally intriguing.

When I started to write, I decided to base my first story in India, and use my hometown as the backdrop. I gave it a fictitious name so as not to offend its denizens, but I had a perfect town with all its gossip and conservatism and color and sharp contrasts to draw upon for my stories. My characters are not based on any real people, but I could easily picture them living in my hometown, doing the things I did when I was growing. Even the convent, which my protagonist in my second book uses as a safe haven, is fashioned after the parochial school I attended as a young girl.

THE DOWRY BRIDE, my first book, was released by Kensington Publishing in September 2007. THE FORBIDDEN DAUGHTER, released in September 2008, is my second book and the one I am touring to promote at the moment. Information about my books and other writing is available on my website: www.shobhanbantwal.com

For more information about Shobhan Bantwal’s virtual tour, visit – http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/09/forbidden-daughter-by-shobhan-bantwal.html

The Forbidden Daughter can be ordered at: http://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Daughter-Shobhan-Bantwal/dp/0758220308

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal." Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.