Focus on the Deck of Cards

Today I attended Karen Stiller's Continuing Class "Non Fiction Basics".  It was a real treat!  First of all, she gave us cookies -- I knew I'd picked the right class.  She drew a comparison between baking a tasty cookie using just the right ingredients and composing an excellent article, using just the right "ingredients".  By the way, the ginger sparklers were tasty.

Karen gave us each a black and white photograph.  More freebies!  The picture showed a deck of cards sitting on a table in the kitchen of a cottage.  While everything in the background was a bit blurry, the deck of cards was crystal clear.  When Karen took the photo, her point was to show the class that when we write an article, we need to focus on a specific angle, just as her photo focuses on the deck of cards.  When we brainstorm, we should think of ideas.  An idea is something like, a story on poverty in inner city Canada.  But the idea needs to be narrowed down to an angle.  The angle is how Jane and Finch in Toronto is stopping poverty in its tracks through art programs.

How do you choose a topic?  Most people say "Write what you know".  However, Karen says "Write what you don't know".  By that she means, pick a topic that you don't know much about.  And then find the experts on that subject and interview them.  With enough research, a unfamiliar topic becomes much more familiar.  Plus, as Karen suggested, when you write the article you can come at it from "the ignorance angle". You become the reader's stand in.  

Karen gave us a booklet full of magazine articles like "Farley Mowat, Last of a Tribe", a piece about the author who had just passed away,  and "The Real Cowboys of Pincher Creek", a piece about a rodeo in southern Alberta and "Childhood's End", the 2000's  answer to Benjamin Spock.  We were asked to do an "article autopsy" on each of them to determine what made them solid examples of journalism.

Karen said that if we were to remember one thing about her class it was that any good journalist needs an outline.  They don't just sit down and free write.  They interview and network.  They research both at the library and on the Internet.  And when they have more than enough information, they sit down at their desk, lay all of their information before them and start to organize it.  Finally, it's time to write.

Karen compared a well written article to a "beautiful symphony".  When all the instruments come together in a well organized manner, magic happens.  So too with a magazine or newspaper article.  So whether you're Mozart composing his symphony or Karen baking her cookies, aim for perfection.  The result will amaze your readers.

It's a Long Haul, Not a Quick Trip

Today at Write! Canada I took Sherry's Stahl's Continuing Class "Marketing Your Book for Optimum Exposure".  I was glad I did.  Sherry had lots of handouts. She was full of energy.   She was so positive!

Sherry told us about the pros and cons of royalty publishing versus self-publishing.  While royalty published books sell on average 2000 copies, self-published books sell only 250.  While royalty publishers allow very little control, self-publisher companies give you more autonomy.  While royalty covers tend to look professional, self-published covers look more amateurish.  While royalty publishers only give the author a small portion of the book profits, self published authors retain a large portion of the profits.

Sherry moved on to branding.  She reminded us that all of our advertising should look the same:  our logo, letterhead, website, promotional products, business cards, posters and taglines.  Any author worth his or her salt should dress professionally when doing book signings.  She said that book signings are not just a way to sell books, but to make the bookstore staff aware of your book.  Later, when a customer pays a visit, the staff will be able to point it out to him or her.

Authors cannot underestimate the importance of an online presence.  Whether it's Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest or Youtube, they should get our name and our book out there.

There are many other ways to raise awareness about your book.  Authors have the option of developping their own team of readers to post reviews on their book.  Sherry recommended Randy Elrod's "How to Write a Book Review" as a good benchmark for prospective reviewers.

Sherry showed us her marketing packet, a binder full of information about her book.  Authors can send out marketing packets to various groups like churches and retailers. They can promote their book in magazines and newspapers, on TV or radio.

Authors can also attend speaking engagements about their book.  Sherry said that authors at the very least, should request gas money and an honorarium for such events.  As authors become known, they can request a set fee.  And, for successful speakers, that fee gradually increases.

Listening to Sherry was inspirational.  The hard copy of her book, a Christian devotional, only came just over a year ago.  At her third book signing, she met Jayne Self, the director of Write! Canada.  Jayne asked her to present a continuing class at the conference and Sherry readily agreed.  In the meantime, she has sold 700 copies of her book, Water in the Desert, already exceeding the average for a self published author.  And she's not done yet.  She's just revving the engine.  As she says:  "It's a long haul, not a quick trip."  So, when you plan your first book launch, you'd better bring your Winnebago.

christianreading.com

Speak to These Dry Bones

It's that time of year again -- Write! Canada.  Today I was back in Guelph for the Christian Writer's Conference.  After dinner, we trickled out of the dining hall and headed to the chapel.  Our keynote speaker was Mark Buchanan.  Mark drew us in with this story:  a young girl struggled in school.  The teachers thought she was sick (these were the years before the term ADHD).  Her mother took her to the doctor. The girl waited in another room.  When the mother and the doctor emerged, the girl was dancing beautifully to music.  The doctor said:  "She's not sick, she's a dancer."  The young girl trained as a dancer.  

Years later she met Andrew Lloyd Webber.  She choreographed a little production called "Cats".  And the rest is history.  The young girl was not sick, she was a dancer.  

Mark turned to us and said:  "You're not sick, you're a writer."  He went on to say that people who are possessed by the Holy Spirit sometimes look drunk.  But they aren't drunk, they're full of the Holy Spirit.  He said that just as the more alcohol we drink, the more it slows down all of our senses:  sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell.  Eventually, with too much alcohol, the lights go out in our head.  However, the more we fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit, the more heightened our senses, and the more the lights go on.  

"Speak to these dry bones" God tells Ezekiel.  We need to let the Holy Spirit breathe life into us, to make us new. Our five senses will enhance our creativity.  We need to be attentive listeners (Give me ears to hear, Jesus).  We need to be vigilant watchers (Fix our eyes on Jesus).  We need to inhale deeply (The breath of God is in my nostrils).  We need to be discriminate tasters (Oh taste and see that the Lord is good).  We need to be aware of the power of touch (Behold, this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away). We need to look to the Greatest Creator of all for our inspiration.  

A Diligent Worker

There's a young man who comes to our gym every morning.  He dresses in blue jeans and a sweatshirt. Recently he's been wearing t-shirts.  When he arrives he takes a Fit for Less t-shirt out of his back pack and puts it on.  Then he gets to work.  First he takes a dry mop and mops the carpet where people stretch and jump rope.  Then he takes a pink duster and makes his way around the perimeter of the gym, dusting each machine thoroughly.  Back at the carpet area, he takes a wet cloth and wipes off the six massage black massage chairs which show every speck of dust.  When he is finished his work, he sometimes gets on the stair machine or the elliptical and exercises for a few minutes.

A couple of months ago, I wondered who this young man was so I approached him.  He's a co-op student working for Fit For Less.  I noticed that not many people if any talked to him so I made a point of greeting him each morning and telling him that he's doing a good job.  I found out that he's an athlete.  He likes to wrestle and he wins most of his matches.  I found out that he has a brother and a sister.  I found out that he lost his father when he was fairly young.  Oh, and there's one thing that I also found out.  He goes to W. Ross McDonald School.  He's legally blind.

Today was our co-op student's last day.  I will miss him.  May God bless you, Justin!

Equal Pay Act

"I am grateful to those Members of Congress who worked so diligently to guide the Equal Pay Act through.  It is a first step.  It affirms our determination that when women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelopes." (John F. Kennedy, June 10, 1963.)

They crammed into the Oval Office, two dozen strong, crowding around President Kennedy's desk.  They wore printed dresses and tailored suits, white gloves and fancy hats, holding purses on their arms.  It looked like a meeting of Aunt Bee's social club from the TV program "The Andy Griffith Show".  But these women weren't from the kitchens of Mayberry, North Carolina.  They were from the labour force.  Among them were Representative Florence Price Dwyer of New Jersey, Esther Peterson, the Director of the Young Women's Christian Association (YMCA), Senator Mauriene Neuberger of Oregon and Margaret Mealey, the head of the Women's Department of the United Auto Workers (UAW).  

They were there to witness the President's signing of the Equal Pay Act.  Back in 1963, one third of the American work force was female.  Twenty five million women worked in the United States.  Yet the average woman earned only 60% of the average man.  Women faced another dilemma that their male counterparts did not:  what to do with their children while they were at work.  One fifth of the women labourers had children under 3 years old at home.  Two-fifths had school age children.  Of the remaining two-fifths, many were married to men who made less than $5000 a year.  Women were thrilled to see the signing of the act, which was a "first step" towards resolving the injustice.  

It would take another generation or two before the situation was truly resolved.  I remember when I attended university in the latter half of the 1980's, the female professors were still paid less than the male ones. According to a study done by the Canadian Association of University Teachers, that gap still exists.  In 1986, the gap between male and female professors' salaries was about $10,000.  Ten years later, the gap had increased to about $13,000.  And in 2006, the gap was back at $10,000.  While the increase in salary has been more dramatic for female professors than for male in recent years, the male professors still earn more money.  

I wonder how much Aunt Bee earned in the kitchen in Mayberry?

The Editing Process

Now that my chapter book is complete, I have been editing it for the past week.  While I enjoy the research and writing process, I also enjoy the editing process.  I take delight in finding "le mot juste", a French expression which means "the appropriate word".  I enjoy double checking historical facts.  I tend to write in the passive voice.  Editing gives me the chance to turn passive verbs into active ones.  I look for opportunities to use the five senses to bring the reader into the scene.  Apparently smell, more than any other sense, jogs the memory.  I add dialogue to move the story forward or to show conflict.  I make sure that characters with accents sound consistent.  I double check each chapter to see if the central theme is evident. I make sure that I stay true to my point of view (in this case, the main character's).  I re-organize the paragraphs, often cutting one big paragraph into two smaller ones.  I look at sentence length, making sure I've included both long, medium and short ones.  Finally, with a sigh, I save my work and submit my document.  Happy Editing! 

 

lauramaylenewalter.com

Our Youth Praise Team

Tonight we attended the evening worship service at our church.  Thomas was playing with the youth praise team.  They have been together for a year and a half and they get better each month!  The piano playing is smooth.  The drum playing is strong and powerful.  The acoustic guitar is solid.  The singers are soulful.  And the electric guitarist, who had a couple of solos, is out of this world!  LOL.  

Out of all our praise teams, I believe the Youth one is the best.  I'm biased, of course.  But I wasn't the only one who complimented them tonight.  I heard at least three or four other people praising them as well. People lingered after the service to hear their last song which was followed by a small applause (not something you usually hear in the Christian Reformed Church).  The team's performance is getting better and better.  And they truly seem to be enjoying it (if Thomas' head bopping is any indication). In a day and age where so few youth attend church, it is heartwarming to see the youth leading the worship. It is heartwarming to see them using their God given talents to worship Him.  Thank you, Youth Praise Team!