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Words of Wisdom from Fellow Authors

7/10/2024

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If stacks of books have always been a part of your life, you'll understand when I tell you that I ran across a book on the shelves in my office that I haven't perused in decades. I believe I bought it before I seriously began to write for publication. The book is titled "Good Advice on Writing." It is a compilation of remarks by writers through the ages.

I must admit I was inspired to see that many of their comments echoed my own sentiments. I'd like to share some of them with you. Maybe they will resonate with you as well.

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Robert Frost:  No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.

This was the first one I saw when I flipped the book open. I've always felt that if I tear up at certain points in my writings, even after reading those words a million times, then I have succeeded in expressing my personal emotions. 
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Robert Penn Warren: This involves the question of who tells the story. We may make four basic distinctions: (1) a character may tell his own story in the first person; (2) a character may tell, in the first person, a story which he has observed; (3) the author may tell what happens in the purely objective sense–deeds, words, gestures–without going into the minds of the characters and without giving his own comment; (4) the author may tell what happens with full liberty to go into the minds of characters and to give his own comment. These four types of narration may be called: (1) first person, (2) first person observer, (3) author-observer, and (4) omniscient author. Combinations of these methods are, of course, possible.
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I appreciate the clarity of their observations. For my own understanding as a writer, I am in total agreement with the last sentence.

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Cervantes: Do but take care to express yourself in a plain, easy manner, in well-chosen, significant and decent terms, and to give a harmonious and pleasing turn to your periods: study to explain your thoughts, and set them in the truest light, laboring as much as possible, not to leave them dark nor intricate, but clear and intelligible.

I must admit that only the first part of this was in the book, but I was intrigued and searched for the full quote. This resonates with the writer in me who strives to express my understanding of spiritual psychology so perhaps others can benefit from my own experiences.

One of my pet peeves when I was working in the corporate world was the plethora of buzz words used when writing product manuals or instructional booklets for the consumer. My question was always: How do you expect a layman to understand your message when you may as well be speaking in a foreign tongue?

When I first became involved in the study of spiritual psychology, I noticed the same pattern. People were throwing around terms in their teachings with no attempt to explain them. This is how Metaphysical Minute came into existence in 2002. When I taught technical analysis of commodities to account executives, the most popular take-away was "The Technician's Lingo" I created for them.
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People appreciate "clear and intelligible," whether it's nonfiction or fiction.

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​Laurence Stern: I write the first sentence and trust in God for the next.
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One of the most mind-blowing experiences I experienced when I first sat down to write was that I seemed to move into an alternate dimension. With novels I felt I was a happy passenger on a trip with an unknown destination. With articles, I would often finish them and not really remember the process of writing them. This still holds true today. This trust in one's own ability to co-create with God is magical. Plus, it also serves as a warning that you are not in the right space when the struggle is too difficult. When this happens, I walk away and come back later. 

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​Passing on wisdom gained from your own experiences, whether it's writing or some other area, is a wonderful thing to do. Often people are reluctant to ask for help or just never looked at things the way you do. Thoughtful advice is a wonderful offering that has great value and costs you nothing. It may not help everyone, but somewhere it may change one person's life. 

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The Wonder of Writing

6/12/2024

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This is why writing is so important, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. As a writer, you want to take your readers into a new world, a new experience, a new way of looking at the world. Writers are so important to the growth and understanding of the humans on this planet.
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What Approach Should I Take?

5/8/2024

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Lately I have seen so many comments from writers in various groups asking for direction on how to approach their writing. The responses have been many, and rarely do they agree with each other. 

The lesson I see in this supports my own approach to writing. Write what you want to read. Trust your heart. Take your time when you write. Don't let contests urging you to pour out words make you a "fast food" writer. This is your creation. Honor it. Don't try to imitate someone else's method which they insist is the only way to write.

Have you ever noticed that the most well-known painters are those who blazed their own trail? They may fall into the same style of painting, such as impressionism, but they have their own creative style that is recognizable. As a writer I believe you must do the same if you want to express your uniqueness as a writer.

Some writers use a formula to write because their writing is more about making money, which is fine. However, if you are writing to express your creativity, I return to my original statement: Write what you want to read. Trust your heart.


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What Does Your Ripple Look Like?

4/24/2024

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Life can be full of surprises. You accomplish something of which you’re proud, or overcome a particularly difficult obstacle, or figure out a new way to do something. It’s always so satisfying to come out on top.

You wonder if someone else could benefit from your experience. Could your revelation initiate a ripple effect touching lives and guiding someone dealing with a similar situation? Would anyone be interested? In the back of your mind, an idea starts to germinate … Maybe I should write a book about that!

Who knows, your ripple may be just be what another person is seeking. But this brings up another question: What kind of book should you write?

Let’s say you’re a successful business executive who has climbed to the pinnacle of your profession in spite of very humble beginnings and wants to inspire others to never give up.

An autobiography gives you the opportunity to narrate the events and details of your life in a way that will entertain, educate, or inspire the readers. This first-hand account offers an insight into how your experiences shaped you and made you who you are today.

Perhaps you’ve battled cancer or a chronic disease. The rollercoaster ride of good results versus relapses taught you to never give up. You’re proud of yourself for maintaining a positive attitude and persevering through the uncertain courses of treatments.

A memoir documenting your journey from diagnosis to remission would benefit newly diagnosed people to understand the medications, side efforts, and emotional turmoil they will be facing. But more importantly, it will comfort the readers and reassure them that they are not alone.

Or maybe you want to tell the personal story of a lifelong quest searching for the identity of a long-lost relative whose picture you found during an exploration of your grandmother’s attic. Fiction may be a good path for this adventure. Depict yourself as an Indiana Jones type of character, or as a sleuth following the clues in a mystery, or a more historical approach may be appropriate if your relative is rather famous… or infamous.

There are many other niches you can choose such as how-to manuals or even photo journals. It’s up to you how you want to share your story. Choose whichever avenue accommodates your style, and then let your ripple flow around the world.

If you feel a passion for doing this but don’t want to do it alone, you should hire a professional ghostwriter. At Heart Song Ghostwriting, our passion is to help you behind the scenes to put your voice out there so you achieve your dream. Your dream is your heart song. It is the music that lifts you up, spurs you onward. It is our honor to help you give voice to your heart song.
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Why Would an Entrepreneur Want To Write A Book?

4/10/2024

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As an entrepreneur, why would you want to write a book? Marketing is the primary reason. Putting a book out there on your product or your service places you in the position of being a person with recognized knowledge about the topic. It gives you the opportunity to develop status in your domain. Finally, you can demonstrate your expertise through the content of your book.

The media are always looking for experts, and published books are the first place they go to find them. Promoting books and their authors is a staple of most talk shows. Those in charge of lectures and other speaking engagements also look for those business people who have raised their visibility through publishing.

People rarely talk about a business person or their product/service for very long unless they have a book which can be discussed or shared. If you create a book that has value for others, word of mouth will make it an incredible marketing tool.

Search engines, Amazon – people use these to find out about people like you. Once they find you on a search engine, where do they go from there? If they are trying to understand more about your products or your service, Wikipedia is not going to answer their questions. Your website may not go into enough depth either. What they need is a book filled with your expertise to help them determine if they can use your product or your service.
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A book is a multi-purpose marketing tool. Don’t overlook the possibilities.
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Writing and Marketing

3/13/2024

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I am always fascinated to see writers in the social networking groups spell out their frustrations and then watch the responses. This is when you really get to see the personalities show themselves. Many attitudes emerge, ranging from confident to know-it-all to self-assured to insecure to angry to helpful to loving—just to name a few.

The interesting thing to me is that the quality of the writing produced by the authors often has little to do with the attitudes they convey. Some brash know-it-alls produce poor quality work; whereas, some insecure personalities write beautifully. I learned early on that I couldn’t assume how good someone’s book would be by how confident they were about it and themselves and how good they were at marketing.


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Marketing is a skill that was not necessarily packaged with the skill of writing when you picked up your talents on your way into this life experience. In turn, writing skill was not necessarily packaged with the ability to market products. Bottom line is this: just because a writer is a good marketer does not necessarily mean he or she is a good writer.

If you’re a fellow writer, take the time to read your colleague’s book before marketing it yourself, or at the very least, follow the advice given below for a regular reader.

If you’re a reader, you should never choose a book based on the author’s marketing. If you’re buying books through Amazon, “look inside.” If you’re at the bookstore, read the first chapter. If a friend has read it, question them about it.

Take time to read books that aren’t in your face all the time. I have been reading books lately by authors I’ve never heard about before, and I have discovered, to my delight, that there are so many excellent indie writers out there whose books I’ve never seen on Facebook.

I admit that I am not a good marketer of my own “stuff” so it warms my heart when I can share above average books I’ve read that aren’t big sellers with others. If everyone made the effort to expose little-known writers who write well,  it could make a big difference for a lot of writers and the industry as a whole.


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Inspiration Strikes at the Worst of Times

2/7/2024

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   This is an article I wrote for Indies Unlimited. It was published on 03-22-2012.
 
For the last week, I have been sitting at my computer, wracking my brain, trying to finish a short story. After seven days of madly typing away, only four paragraphs appear on the screen in front of me. The countless hours working on this one story, and that is all I have to show for it? The right words elude me. I have deleted more material than I have saved. Where is my inspiration? Why won’t the words come to me? Have I lost my ability to write?

Desperation has set in. All I can think about is the stupid story. I need a distraction, maybe some housework. No, too close to the computer. How about yard work? Nope, I still look at my office window, and the siren song from my laptop lures me back inside.

Ah ha, an escape. I have a doctor’s appointment. I hate going to the doctor’s office, but the nervousness and dread offer something new to occupy my battered mind - a couple of hours away from the pull of my computer, just what I need.

While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, inspiration strikes. The words I have been desperately searching for come to me. That’s it, that’s perfect, but I don’t have access to my computer, not even a tape recorder or notepad. I’ve got to get these thoughts down before I lose them. Why now? Why here?

The other folks sitting next to me are staring; did I say something out loud? I don’t care what they think. I have to write this down before I forget it.

I run up to the receptionist and blurt out, “I need paper and a pen…oh, and can I borrow your clipboard?” I don’t want to say too much, or the words in my head might escape from my one-track mind. I nervously pace back and forth, muttering to myself while I wait.

Finally, after years…er minutes of waiting, she calmly hands over the requested materials to my shaking hands. Somehow, I made it back to my seat, still muttering to myself while scribbling down the words that had been repeating over and over in my brain.

All eyes are upon me. Have I grown a second head or something? Hasn’t anyone else ever had a flash of inspiration before, or are the giggles accompanying my writing too much for everyone to bear?

I hear voices coming from the office; two men carrying an oversized white jacket approach me. Distractions, not now. Can’t these people understand I am having an epiphany, a moment of sheer genius?

“I’m not crazy, I’m an author…just a few more sentences …” are my last words before being taken to a padded cell. At least they let me keep my notes. Now, how do I get a computer in here?

 

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The Efficacious Comma Is Often Overused

1/24/2024

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The comma is a signal to the reader that the words or phrases associated with the comma are being set off for a reason. Although you may find when reading aloud that you do indeed pause for a breath where commas appear in text, this is not its purpose. There has to be an acceptable reason for using a comma.

A comma provides clarity. It signals the reader when to slow or pause in anticipation of new information. It sets off elements in a sentence that provide contrast, separates a series of items, identifies nonessential elements, and introduces or completes a quotation. Incredibly, these are only some of the ways in which the efficacious comma is used.  

Unfortunately, there seems to be an unwritten rule about the comma that results in its being overused. This unwritten rule is when in doubt, use a comma.
  • Many writers chop up their sentences with so many commas that it would have been better just to leave the commas out altogether.
  • When commas take the place of the period, it results in a comma splice. Running sentences together, loosely connected with commas, is lazy writing.

Assuming that most of us know the correct way to use a comma with lists, quotations, and compound sentences, my suggestion for all other occasions is to use this other unwritten rule: when in doubt, leave the comma out. Another solution for your doubt is to rework your sentence so that the questionable structure no longer exists. Of course, if you are one of those running sentences together with commas as a matter of course, then the comma is the least of your worries as a writer.
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Faulty use of a comma can often be determined by simply reading and focusing on one sentence at a time. Follow the cues you have in place with your commas. Is the message clear? Honor the comma in your work by using it only when it fulfills its purpose of creating understanding for the reader as he travels from the beginning of a sentence to the end.

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So Many Shattered Hearts

1/17/2024

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When I wrote Shattered Hearts, Book 2 in the Brita Madison Paranormal Mysteries series, I had been caregiving for my husband for eight years after his strokes. Needless to say, my own heart was certainly fractured, if not shattered. My emotions were being manipulated by every circumstance that presented itself, a lot like balls in a pinball machine, being flipped hither and yon. My writing has often served as a release valve at some level. It was only in retrospect I realized how often.

Shattered Hearts incorporates many of the emotions I was feeling then. Loss at slowly losing my husband to his health issues. Frustration at not being able to fix it. Rage at a few bullies in the medical profession. Joy for the small victories. These are only a few. Writing this novel not only served as an outlet for my pain and tears, but also restored my hope.

Surprises, Betrayals, and Unexpected Twists and Turns Await You

After Chasing Shadows, Brita Madison’s exploits lead her to a new experience in her life – women friends. Her abilities have always forced her to be a loner. Chief James Weston and Sam Jenkins in Book 1 of the series were her first real friends. After the Inside Edition segment, her newest editing client brings her four writer friends onboard as clients. Since they all write novels with paranormal twists, the Dabblers & Scribblers, as they call themselves, felt Brita would be a perfect editor! So does she when she discovers each of them has abilities as well.

A year after they became her clients, they decide to meet in Phoenix, Arizona, so Brita can join them. It proves to be a watershed moment in the relationships between all six women. A ghost boy appears to Brita in Phoenix igniting an adventure which drags everyone in her world into the dark underbelly of a pedophile ring. Trying to rescue the children puts all of them in the crosshairs, including her boyfriend Sam and her unofficial partner, James Weston. Many hearts will be shattered before this case is put to rest.

If you haven’t read book 1 in the series, Chasing Shadows, grab your copy and start the journey with Brita as the learning curve for her paranormal abilities begins. Then continue on with Shattered Hearts and then Unraveling Memories as her world enlarges in ways she never thought possible.  Book 4 of the Brita Madison Paranormal Mysteries series is in the hands of my muse at the moment. We’re hoping to have it for you by sometime in 2024..
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Available on Amazon.com
Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Hearts-Madison-Paranormal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01N7K0R2P
Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Hearts-Madison-Paranormal-Mystery/dp/1542366259
Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Dannye-Williamsen/e/B004KEAFE8
 

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Want to Add More Hours to Your Day?

1/3/2024

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Do you ever think about all the things you could accomplish if there were just more hours in the day? It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a multi-million dollar company or an entrepreneur trying to perfect a revolutionary idea or a parent trying to juggle work, home, and the kids.

If only I had a few more hours, I could finish this project. Sorry, no one can magically increase the number of hours in a day. But there are ways to make the hours allotted to you to be more productive.

Ask for some help. That’s all it takes. Delegate responsibilities. There are folks able to help if you ask them. The attitude that you alone can accomplish a certain task can be modified to Why don’t I hire someone whose only focus is this kind of project?
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If you’re working full-time in your business, you don’t always have time to take the plunge of marketing through books. If you are an entrepreneur having to wear lots of hats, you may not be able to block out the time to write that book that would boost your business.

Writing projects that are a vital part of your marketing efforts for your business require a professional ghostwriter. A professional ghostwriter knows how to interview and ask the right questions to bring out all the details necessary for the story. She can also write in your voice, your style, and give you credit as the author.

Confidence is important when it comes to hiring a ghostwriter. With something as important as a book that represents you and your business, you want to be confident she will follow through on your ideas and work with you to ensure it delivers your message.

Examples of nonfiction books you may be considering are listed below. Of course, these only represent a few possibilities.
  • informational manual for guests attending a seminar
  • how-to manual
  • book promoting your service or product
  • book targeted to a specific health-related field

If you have a project in mind, check out Heart Song Ghostwriting. We may be able to help you bring your story to life.  

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I will read forever because it lets me visit in my mind the worlds that I will never be able to see; it helps me put away the stresses of the day and relax into the rhythm of the story before me; it lets me bring to the surface and experience without regrets those feelings I hide away; it lets me re-experience the thrill of first love through someone else's eyes; it keeps my mind juiced so that it will never desert me; it is always there for me even when there's no one else. I will read forever no matter whether it is print or digital because the words will always call to me. ~ A Sassy Scribbler