“A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge, just as you yourself will emerge, and when this happens you will find it increasingly easy to break through the barriers that separate you from other minds, other hearts – which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward.”
~ excerpt from The Elements of StylebyStrunk &White
*Image courtesy of Gregory Szarkiewicz at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Do you agree with this quote?
What is the difference between writing style and writing voice?
Recently, I discovered and started following Write with Kelly – “writing and publishing advice you can really use.”
Kelly Abell is an author, blogger, and graphic artist whose blog is a wealth of tips for those of us aiming to improve our writing craft. In her own words:
My aim for you is to utilize this blog to help you improve your writing skills, and to educate you on the publishing business. If you need help with writing, want to self-publish a book and need advice, or just want to kick a story idea around to see what works best, that’s what I’m here for. As I gain knowledge from editors and publishers, I will share that knowledge with you.”
Check out this post where Kelly features a fellow author’s knowledgeable views on a genre near and dear to my heart:
Okay. Now that we’ve gotten that out of our systems, let’s move on, shall we?
It’s a brand new year and a time when many of us who blog like to reflect on what we’ve achieved over the past twelve months, and where we are now headed.
I won’t bore you with all the statistical details, but I do want to mention the top two posts from Jennifer’s Journal in 2015 just in case you missed them or wish to take another peek. Out of 76 blog entries for the year, these are the posts that received the most comments and visits:
And as I have been each year, I am ever so grateful for my most active 2015 blogger commenters. My sincere appreciation goes out to all who follow my blog.
I noticed a couple of my blogger friends have come up with a special word to inspire and to keep them focused in the year ahead. I think it’s such a fine idea, I am offering a word of my own:
Accomplishment
By the spring of 2016, my first book will be published. The release of Calmer Girls, a Young Adult novel, is an accomplishment I have long dreamed of. I’m hoping my special word will give me the extra little push to finish its sequel well before the end of spring. This way it can be ready for my editor when the first one is released.
In between promoting Calmer Girls and editing the sequel, I hope to find time for photography, poetry, and the gathering of research for a third work. This new novel will be a total departure from the first two with new characters, an entirely new setting, and possibly a different genre. I expect it might be my most challenging writing project yet.
What accomplishments or progress have you made since last January? What are your creative goals for 2016? Share your thoughts below!
Still need a little more New Year celebrating? Haven’t had your fill of fireworks?
Greetings and meows, dear peeps and pets! Maisie here, guest hosting on Jennifer’s blog today.
Townie Cats
I thought it was high time I shared a little “cat tale” with you from five years back.
It was the Fall of 2010 and my sister Vivian and I, both three years old, had recently moved around the bay to Newtown with Jennifer and Paul. Up until then, we’d been raised as indoor city cats who rarely went outside unless it was in the backyard under vigilant watch by our owners.
backyard fun
While our soon-to-be permanent home on Perry’s Point was undergoing restoration and renovations, our little family had to bide our time in Mike Perry’s summer-house over near Barbour Tickle. As the weeks passed and our owners grew eager and impatient to move to the Point, they told us that once we got there, we would have the freedom to roam the area and come and go as we wished. Could such an incredible dream actually come true for a couple of city-dwelling felines like us?
hanging out at Mike’s
One sunny afternoon, Jennifer and Paul let us outside in Mike’s garden to stretch our legs. They stayed with us as we explored the bank of the Tickle and were pleased that we didn’t try to wander away. So the next day they let us out again. This time however, they didn’t keep such a close eye on us and that’s where the trouble started.
When they decided to let us back inside, lo and behold, they only found one cat: yours truly. My sister Vivian had disappeared. I watched through the window as they called and called to my wayward sibling, but to no avail. As the day passed into evening, their worry grew more and more palpable.
Jennifer and Paul went off to search the neighbourhood. They found no sign of her. When she still hadn’t returned by the next morning, they became frantic, and took off to search for her again, singing out Vivian’s name until their voices grew hoarse. Later, to Jennifer’s horror, Paul found a ragged strip of fur on the bank of the Tickle that looked a lot like Vivian’s striped tail. Now it appeared that foul play might be involved. Had a dog attacked her? Or a rabid mink? Terror and grief filled our hearts at the possibility.
Jennifer was devastated. I heard her say they were stupid to let us outside, that she hated Newtown, and she wished we had never moved at all. I did what I could to console her and Paul, but even though I stepped up the affection it didn’t seem to help. I missed Vivian too and roamed from room to room, mewing my tiny mew. This was also the time I started the practice of sitting up in a kitchen chair and resting my chin on the table. In this pose I would gaze with sadness at my grieving owners, wishing there was something I could do.
The days and nights dragged by, the temperatures turned colder, and our hopes grew dimmer. Halloween came and went. Someone said they saw a cat that matched Vivian’s description way out on the branch road. Hope flared that she was still alive, but searches proved fruitless. Jennifer kept going out for walks, calling Viv’s name, but these investigations usually ended in tears. That strip of fur was the evidence that maybe she wasreally dead gone over that rainbow bridge after all.
where Vivian played until she went missing
Nineteen days had passed. I have to admit at this point I gave up hope. What is a kitty to do?
It was November 12th. Jennifer and Paul were watching the evening news, when we all heard a distinct “meow” coming from outside the window. Jennifer bolted from the couch and ran to the front door. Paul said, “It can’t be Vivian!”
When Jennifer swung the door open, she told us later she was afraid of what she might see. A strange cat? Vivian with her tail missing?
But in waltzed Vivian, her white fur grey with dirt, her tail intact. She cried and cried, her feeble meows filling the house. I went over to smell her. She didn’t smell like my sister and I hissed at her as if she was a stranger. But our owners were overjoyed. Their missing kitty came back after almost three weeks!!
“We thought she was a goner, but the cat came back, she just couldn’t stay away!”
She’d lost weight, was hungry and thirsty, but otherwise fine. She stank of wood smoke, so we think she might have kept warm under someone’s shed with a wood stove or had been barred in. Paul gave her a sponge bath in the tub while she purred the entire time. She barely left his side for the next 24 hours. She was so weak, she could only eat small amounts of food until she regained her strength after many days.
Needless to say, we didn’t get to go outdoors anymore, not until we finally moved to Perry’s Point. By then it was winter, so we didn’t want to stay out at all because of the cold and the unfamiliar roar of the ocean and the howl of the wind. By the time Spring arrived, the nightmare of Vivian’s disappearance was a distant memory and we began our outside adventures that to this day have been pleasantly uneventful.
Happily, Jennifer went back to liking Newtown. I don’t think Vivian ever forgot her ordeal because she’s never dared to stray far from home again. We think as well that the terrible experience is what has made her a much needier cat than I.
As for that ragged strip of fur, well, to this day it remains a mystery.
Author Dylan Hearn at Suffolk Scribblings has written two books and is working on his third.
In his own words:
My name is Dylan Hearn and I am an author. It has taken me a while to admit this. I started this blog because I wanted to write, so I wrote about many different things, but over time the blog has become focused on the act of writing and self-publishing....I limit myself to spending only one hour on each post, plus a bit of extra time for editing, because I prefer to concentrate on writing my fiction. However, this does mean you may find the odd typo or grammatical error. I blame my fingers.”
The post I have chosen delivers great insight into the experience of writing a second novel.
Although the calendar tells me it is now officially fall, I am enchanted by these last few days of beautiful temperate weather we are enjoying in Newfoundland. Paul and I even had a chance to lie in the sun and read yesterday evening. It was so gorgeous on our deck that we didn’t want to go inside for supper until the sun sank low on the horizon.
As much as I love the summer temperatures, it’s nearly time to say good-bye.
Happily, I have a nostalgic affection for fall and everything it brings.
Here are a couple of pics I snapped of ripening apples
on our recent trip to Springdale in Green Bay:
The view beyond the apple trees:
We stayed overnight in nearby King’s Point.
Here is the view from our room the next morning:
King’s Point Pottery
Before leaving, I made sure to visit the pottery and craft store to browse and to buy a few things: If you ever get the opportunity to visit the area, do stop in here. You won’t be sorry.
One of the perks of my husband’s job is joining him on these road trips.
We love any opportunity to visit the many corners of our island.
***
Two evenings ago, I had to run for my camera again.
The sunset on Perry’s Point was so stunning,
I think Maisie and Vivian were even spellbound: After the sun disappeared, the sky took on a strikingly different quality:
Another good-bye…
That same evening, I received a call from my sister.
My beloved aunt in the U.S. had passed away suddenly.
I am inclined to let imagination take hold,
to fancy that as she went to join my dad (her brother),
she painted that sky as a farewell to her loved ones here at home.
My Young Adult novel is working through the various steps to reach the Release Date finish line.
The main edits are completed. The cover art is done and approved. My manuscript is now in the hands of Managing Editorial for copy-editing, layout, and proofing. After that it will head to typesetting. So much goes into the creation of a book!
In between the days I watch and wait for these steps and the days I work on edits to my second book of the series, I’ve been racking my brain, trying to come up with a title for the second book.
No, Calmer Girls Two does not appeal. Either does Calmer Girls – the Sequel. I like a book title that has a double meaning – like Calmer Girls – or a title that borrows a phrase or a line from another work. That could even include inspiration from a line in a song, a poem, or a nursery rhyme. Think: Along Came a Spider, or Norwegian Wood. I also like titles that are taken from a line or quote inside the book, as many authors have done. Think: To Kill A Mockingbird, or The Silence of the Lambs.
There is advice out there now that suggests you should name your book while keeping in mind keywords, SEO, categories and literary genres, all a part of improving its visibility in the digital marketplace.
As much as I still prefer reading Print books as opposed to eBooks, I know I am writing for a largely younger group of readers who love their eReaders and almost exclusively read all their books that way. Keeping that in mind will be beneficial for the upcoming marketing stage as well.
In my research surfing, I happened upon a wonderful post by author Anne R. Allen that may help me find a title. If you’re a writer, you may find it helpful as well. Check it out below:
In the middle of the afternoon yesterday, I received a welcome and gratifying email. My editor sent me – minus a few finishing touches – the cover art for my upcoming YA novel, Calmer Girls.
I. LOVE. IT. Since then, to say I am getting more excited about my book’s upcoming release is an understatement. As one of the teenagers in my book might say: “this sh*t just got real!”
In keeping with what is now on my mind 24/7, I’m sharing one of the writer blogs I follow. Jane Friedman is a writing coach with a wealth of useful tips and advice on building an author platform and getting published. In the post below, she interviews Hannah Goodman, a proud advocate and author of the Young Adult genre.
When you look up at the stars, what do you see? Does the panorama of tiny infinite lights give you answers, or, as it does for many of us, raise infinite questions?
Every point of light in this sky is a star or an entire galaxy. Each galaxy holds billions of stars, with solar systems like ours orbiting each of them. Is it the Great Unknown or the Meaning of Life?Because we are born egocentric, the prospect of our personal insignificance, and thus no afterlife, is disturbing.
Fear of our own mortality creates a need to believe in something greater than we are and that our death is not the end. In addition, if there is life after death, there is the belief in reunion with those we loved, lost, and grieve for.But if you hold an atheistic view, you accept and may even appreciate the notion of your own insignificance. If this was your attitude, would it make you feel that everything you do is futile?
Or is it simply the freedom and beauty of seeing our world, and our lives, from an omniscient perspective? The universe was here in all its immensity before we arrived, and will be long after we’re gone. Doesn’t that make our time here on earth all the more exquisite?Are we forgetting the value of living in the moment, the desire to improve the world for others, and the joy and privilege of telling those we love how much they mean to us, because one day our time will be up?
Alas, this is just a blog post, not a lofty dissertation.
Tell me what you think of, when you look up at the stars.
*Photos in this post were taken by my husband’s cousin, Paul Sautter Jr., on his recent visit with us. His superior camera, lens, and photography skills allowed him to capture the night sky on Perry’s Point in a way that is “light years” beyond my ability. I have so much to learn!
My good friend Mark Bialczak reached out and tapped me this morning in the Allergic to the Letter E Challenge.
If I don’t write a paragraph without using my old friend ‘e’ I will be banished to the page of lame. Not one to shrink from a good challenge, I accepted.
Here are the Rules:
1) Write a whole paragraph without any words containing the letter “e” even once.
2) By reading this, you are already signed up.
3) Challenge at least five bloggers to do the challenge. They must do it within 24 hours or it is considered as failure.
4) If you fail or pass, suffer in the Page of Lame.
5) If you win, wallow in the Page of Fame.
Here goes nuthin’!
Mark thinks I can do this activity, so voila: I know, from my own long history and without a doubt, that most folks cling to similar actions, comforts and habits in this world. Many of you claim your own brand of total autonomy with such adamant conviction, but I don’t buy it. From following your many blogs, I can confirm that all humankind is bound by customs that show our wish to link, to join, to attach, to align, to hook up, to plug in, or to marry. “No man (or woman) is an island” is my motto. Can you find fault with this logic in my soliloquy? I think not!”
Done. Thanks, Mark. 😉
Here is my list of nominees (don’t hate me, just do it!):
If you ever get the opportunity to visit the area, do stop in here. You won’t be sorry.
After the sun disappeared, the sky took on a strikingly different quality:
When you look up at the stars, what do you see? Does the panorama of tiny infinite lights give you answers, or, as it does for many of us, raise infinite questions?
Because we are born egocentric, the prospect of our personal insignificance, and thus no afterlife, is disturbing.
But if you hold an atheistic view, you accept and may even appreciate the notion of your own insignificance. If this was your attitude, would it make you feel that everything you do is futile?
Jennifer's Journal 