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Writing Tips from Susan Mathis

July 31, 2023 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

What is your favorite craft book?

Plot and Structure – James Scott Bell

Which do you think is the most underrated craft book? Why?

Writing the Breakout Novel – Donald Maass   It’s a practical, empowering classic craft book.

What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?

ACFW-CS Write in the Springs. On April 19-20, 2024, Misty Beller will present “Writing for Success: From story concept to published author” at Glen Eyrie Conference Center’s Great Hall! This conference is limited to eighty people, so it’s personal, relational, and inspiring.

What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?

It may sound silly, but the online Thesaurus because I can pop on there and find just the right word when I get stuck. Smiles.

Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?

Melanie Dobson. I’ve enjoyed watching her grow and love love love her writing. She inspires me to grow and try new things, too.

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received? Why was it bad?

After a career as a journalist, the editorial director at Focus on the Family, and a published author of fifteen non-fiction books and hundreds of articles, an agent said I couldn’t/shouldn’t write fiction. WRONG! I’ve written eleven award-winning stories to date. If God inspires you to write, then you should write.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Be a lifelong learner. Never, ever think you know it all. Keep on learning.

What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?

Study the craft. Read craft books. Watch videos. Join a writers group. Go to writers conferences.

What is your best self-editing tip or advice?

Your brain works in two different realms…the creative and the logical/editing. Don’t mix your creative writing with your self-editing. Do each at different times. For me, when I’m writing, I have a hot cup of tea and scented candle to set my creative mood. When I’m editing, it’s cold tea, a hard chair, and an all-business mood. And I do them on different days. It works!

Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.

Never give up. If God’s called you to write, keep writing, even if it’s a random scene every day.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Thanks for having me on your blog, Karin. LOVE your stories!


Tell us about your newest release/upcoming release.

A Summer at Thousand Island House

She came to work with the children, not fall in love.

Part-nanny, part entertainer, Addison Bell has always had an enduring love for children. So what better way to spend her creative energy than to spend the summer nannying at the renowned Thousand Island House on Staple’s Island? As Addi thrives in her work, she attracts the attention of the recreation pavilion’s manager, Liam Donovan, as well as the handsome Navy Officer Lt. Worthington, a lighthouse inspector, hotel patron, and single father of mischievous little Jimmy.

But when Jimmy goes missing, Addi finds both her job and her reputation in danger. How can she calm the churning waters of Liam, Lt. Worthington, and the President, clear her name, and avoid becoming the scorn of the Thousand Islands community?


Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than twenty-five times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has ten in her fiction line including, The Fabric of Hope, Christmas Charity, Katelyn’s Choice, Devyn’s Dilemma, Peyton’s Promise, Sara’s Surprise, Reagan’s Reward, Colleen’s Confession, Rachel’s Reunion, Mary’s Moment andA Summer at Thousand Island House.

Her book awards include two Illumination Book Awards, three American Fiction Awards, two Indie Excellence Book Awards, and four Literary Titan Book Awards. Reagan’s Reward is a Selah Awards finalist. Susan is also a published author of two premarital books, two children’s picture books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. Susan makes her home in Colorado Springs and enjoys traveling around the world but returns each summer to enjoy the Thousand Islands. Visit www.SusanGMathis.com/fiction for more.

Where can people find you online?

Buy links: Amazon | Barnes&Nobles | Wild Heart Books

Book trailer: A Summer at Thousand Island House book trailer

Social media links: Website |Author Central |  Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Blog | Goodreads l Instagram| Book Bub| 

Filed Under: best practices Tagged With: author interview, editing tips, fiction writing, historical fiction, self-editing, writing fiction, writing tips, writing tools

Writing Tips from Rhonda Dragomir

June 19, 2023 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Welcome back for another round of writing advice and inspiration from people like you–writers who understand the struggle of writing a publishing books!

Today, author Rhonda Dragomir shares her writing best practices with us. Welcome, Rhonda!

What is your favorite craft book?

I greatly appreciate The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. I also own and use other books in their thesaurus series.

Which do you think is the most underrated craft book? Why?

Because it’s so new on the market, most writers haven’t discovered the fabulous material in Exploring the Art of Character by DiAnn Mills, published in 2020 by Bold Vision Books. All of her craft books are terrific.

What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?

I look forward every year to attending the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?

Linda Goldfarb’s podcast, Your Best Writing Life is informative and entertaining.

Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?

I had the privilege of being mentored for a full year by DiAnn Mills. She doesn’t write in my genre, but her grasp of all aspects of writing excellent fiction is unparalleled. Her approach is thoughtful and methodical, both of which appeal to me.

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received? Why was it bad?

An industry pro once told me I couldn’t write a book featuring protagonists who were not members of my own race and culture. I’ve since learned this isn’t true. With the help of a sensitivity reader, my manuscript with African-American characters is authentic and meaningful.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

One hundred percent of the books you quit writing never get published. The admonition to keep writing despite discouragement and rejections is paramount to success.

What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?

Before you submit your manuscript, be certain to hire an editor. It’s sometimes expensive, but you should never submit a manuscript that’s not been vetted by someone besides your mom or your best friends.

What is your best self-editing tip or advice?

I run all my writing through an online program, AutoCrit. It’s little-known, but it helps me with pacing, word choice, repetition, and many other aspects of good self-editing.

Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.

When discouragement comes—and it does for all writers, no matter how talented—I step back for a look at the big picture. I keep a document on my desktop with my personal mission statement for writing. When I’m frustrated, I open it for reminders that I write because I’m called by God to write, not because of any certain measure of success. Success is obedience to my calling, not winning a particular award or contract.

Thank you, Rhonda!


Look for Rhonda’s Christmas stories in The Cat in the Christmas Tree by Callie Smith Grant and Christmas Spirit compiled by Terri Kalfas.

Rhonda Dragomir is a multimedia creative who treasures her fairy tale life in Central Kentucky, insisting her home is her castle, even if her prince refuses to dig a moat. She has published works in several anthologies and periodicals, and she is currently seeking publication for her finished novels and screenplays.

Rhonda has garnered numerous writing awards for both fiction and nonfiction, including her selection as 2019 Writer of the Year by Serious Writer, Inc. She was also a finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest in 2020 and 2022 in the Historical Romance category.

View Rhonda’s published works and read excerpts of her works in progress at www.rhondadragomir.com.

Filed Under: best practices, interview Tagged With: author interview, editing tips, fiction writing, writing fiction, writing tips, writing tools

Writing Tips from Pegg Thomas

March 27, 2023 by Karin Beery 1 Comment

Do you need some inspiration today? Are you frustrated with your writing?

Sit back and let award-winning author and editor Pegg Thomas encourage you (and maybe introduce you to some new writing resources!).

What is your favorite craft book?

My favorite is Writing Deep Viewpoint by Kathy Tyers.

Which do you think is the most underrated craft book? Why?

The dictionary. People seriously need to broaden their vocabularies so their books are less language redundant. There. See how many people have to look that up. 😉 Seriously, you don’t want to flummox the reader, but you don’t want the monotonous repetition of words, either.

What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?

Maranatha Christian Writers Conference near Muskegon, Michigan. Love it.

What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?

Podcasts

Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?

My granddad. That man could tell a STORY!

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received? Why was it bad?

Write what you know. Really? How about doing a little research, broadening your horizons, digging deep to know the characters, the setting, and what makes your conflict work? Much better than writing just your viewpoint of your little world.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

“That book ain’t gonna write itself.”

What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?

Go to an in-person writers’ conference. There really is nothing to compare with those for hands-on learning and elbow-rubbing with the professionals in your chosen field. Yes, it costs money, but most forms of education do. And without education, you don’t get very far.

What is your best self-editing tip or advice?

Look for the telling words: saw, felt, heard, thought, imaged, seemed, smelled, etc. and nix every one that you can. Sometimes you can’t—sometimes they are necessary—but most of the time they are just shallow writing.

Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.

The mightiest oak was once just a little nut that held its ground.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I’m happy to be one half of 2 Editors for 5 Minutes with my good friend, Karin Beery!


Cobalt Skies released on January 17—coincidently (or not) on my birthday! It’s the 2nd in my series, A More Perfect Union. A post-Civil War story that joins a Union cavalryman and a Southern widow, both with more baggage than the Union Pacific, and both on a journey to a new life in the West.

Pegg Thomas lives on a homestead farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. They raise chickens and keep a few barn cats, along with Murphy the spoiled rotten dog. When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls. https://PeggThomas.com

PeggThomas.com
https://www.subscribepage.com/PeggThomas (newsletter signup)
Facebook 
Goodreads
BookBub
Amazon

Filed Under: best practices, interview Tagged With: author interview, editing tips, fiction writing, how to write, self-editing, writing books, writing fiction, writing resources, writing tips, writing tools

Writing Tips from Cherrilynn Bisbano

January 30, 2023 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

What is your favorite craft book?

Writer to Writer by Cecil Murphy. Cecil gives tips and tools for everything from book proposals to grammar.

Which do you think is the most underrated craft book? Why?

Writer to Writer by Cecil Murphy. This book has bite size nuggets of writing advice. A writer can read for hours or just glean from one minute of scanning the book.

What is your favorite (or most anticipated) writers conference?

Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. It’s like writers heaven with worship, workshops, and great food. I have the honor of teaching book proposals this year.

What’s your favorite other source (YouTube, podcast, etc.) for writing tips/info?

I’m old fashioned and love to hear a person’s voice. I phone a friend. I’m blessed to know many writers who are best-selling authors and take the time to help others.

Who is your writing mentor/inspiration? Why?

Cecil Murphy. He’s honest about my writing, yet kind. He told me where my writing needed improvement and gave me the tools to improve. He helps many writers behind the scenes. I’m inspired to help others now.

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received? Why was it bad?

Only write what you know. Personally, I love to learn. I immerse myself in study, talk to the experts, and then write about the topic. If I stuck with just what I knew, my books would be boring, and I’d miss out on the adventure of learning.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare your writing to your previous stuff. If your improving, keep learning and never stop. No one is a perfect writer.

What would you say is the best writing tip for new authors?

Listen and learn. Go to as many writing conferences as you can. They are an investment in your writing.

What is your best self-editing tip or advice?

I know this seems lazy, but use Grammarly, Pro Writing Aid, or another document checker before you hit send, even if your manuscript was professionally edited.

Please share your most encouraging tip for frustrated/discouraged writers.

When I’m frustrated or discouraged, I walk, pray, or call a writing friend. Every writer gets frustrated and discouraged—it’s part of the job description.

I think of writers like Stephen King, Jerry Jenkins, and others who received many rejections, even after writing a best-selling book. Rejection is part of the writing process. Your book may be good, however, the publisher may have one like it, or it’s not the genre they are looking for at the time.

Thank you for the opportunity to share. My passion is helping writers achieve their goals. If I helped in any way, I am grateful.


Experience Immanuel Daily is a 30-day devotional that can be used as an Advent reader, personal, or group Bible study. It uses Bible characters to demonstrate how Immanuel manifests himself through trials, daily tasks, and emotional difficulties. The book will be out this year.

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer in both fiction and non-fiction. Her passion is helping other writers fulfill their dream of completing a book, article, or memoir through coaching, teaching on-line or at conferences. She loves Christ, chocolate, coffee, and cats. She is an avid sea glass hunter who loves spending time with friends and family. Cherrilynn’s husband of 24 years joins her in editing projects. Her 21 year old son is a musician and attends Ground 40 ministries.

www.cherrilynnbisbano.com
Facebook: Cherrilynn Bisbano Author
Instagram: Cherrilynn3
LinkedIn: Cherrilynn Bisbano
Twitter: @bisbanowrites

Filed Under: best practices, writing Tagged With: editing tips, fiction writing, self-editing, writing books, writing conferences, writing fiction, writing resources, writing tips, writing tools

An Independence Day Reminder

July 4, 2022 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

As we celebrate today with fireworks, parades, and hot dogs, please also take a moment to remember what and why we celebrate. To help, here’s our Declaration of Independence:

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Filed Under: best practices Tagged With: holidays

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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