It’s time to give a cheer for these awesome FaithWriters’ members and their writing accomplishments!

STEVE W. FITSCHEN had an op-ed piece published in the Washington Times. CONGRATULATIONS!

ANNIE KEYS had a story chosen for publication in Write Integrity Press’s upcoming book, “Lessons From The Heart.” WOOWOO!!

LAURIE GLASS was interviewed on The Christian Authors Show about her book, “Journey to Freedom from Eating Disorders.” SUPER!!

RACHEL BURKUM’s latest book, “Smatterings of an Analytical Loner” – a collection of short stories, poems, and devotional-style pieces, some of which began as Writing Challenge pieces, is now available. WONDERFUL!!

I so love hearing about your accomplishments. Would LOVE for you to share them with me so I can post them here. Either drop me an email at joannesher@faithwriters.net, or post it in the cheering section on the FaithWriters boards – otherwise, I may not find out!

If you missed them, be sure to stop by and read the interviews with winner Dee Yoder and other runner up Sydney Avey.

Ann Grover is a wonderful writer (one of my personal favorites at FaithWriters!). A Writing Challenge regular, she has received many ECs, and was 2010’s Best of the Best, as well as placing second and third in earlier years in that contest. And NOW, her novel, “Prairie” is highly commended in the 2011 Page Turner contest.

Read on, and get to know Ann a bit better.

JOANNE: When do you first remember developing a passion/love for writing?

ANN: When I was in Grade 3, my teacher had a little list of prompts on the blackboard for those students who’d finished their work early. Every day, I raced through my assigned work so I could “write a story.” (I still have a few of those stories, as well as the first “story” I ever wrote in Grade 1.) My Grade 3 teacher “promised” I’d be a writer one day.

JOANNE: Is writing a hobby or potential career for you?

ANN: I think, at this point, it’s a hobby, in that it’s relaxing and satisfying, exactly what a hobby should be, filling in spare time and leisurely hours. But like every other writer, I do dream of a day when my creations would develop into a lucrative career, and hopefully without losing its relaxing and satisfying aspects.

JOANNE: Congratulations on placing as a runner-up in the Page Turner contest. Tell us about your reaction when you found out.

ANN: I went online, with my morning coffee, to check my emails, and perhaps mosey over to FW for a look-see. Before I could get to FW, my inbox exploded with a barrage of messages, the first from Dee Yoder. I have to admit I was momentarily confused–I won what? Where?–even though I’d gone online purposely to check. Then I was “gobsmacked.” I love that word.

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Writing Suspense (part 1 of 2)

by Lillian Duncan

I love reading and writing suspense. No matter how hard I try to write something else, it always turns into a mystery or suspense. One agent suggested I write an Amish story since I live in Amish country but before the end of the first chapter, I had a dead body. What can I say?

First, let’s look at some definitions. These are my working definitions, and so you’re allowed to disagree.

MYSTERY is a story where the MCs are trying to discover who the murderer is. Somewhat slower paced than suspense but not by much (unless it’s a cozy mystery.)

SUSPENSE is a story where the MCs are trying to stop a murder. Often times the story starts with a murder, but it’s not necessary.

THRILLERS are a subgenre of suspense and usually include a conspiracy of some sort that will affect more than just the MCs. Political and Medical thrillers are common.

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE is a story where the romance between two MCs is as important as the mystery/suspense plot. Romantic suspense follows the same rules as romances, such as using the hero and heroine’s point of view.

There’s obviously a lot of overlap between these genres and sometimes it might be hard to figure out. One of my working definitions is when the main characters can keep their normal schedule as the story proceeds while they search for the killer, then it’s probably a mystery. When the main characters lives are interrupted because someone’s trying to kill them to stop them from exposing the truth throughout most of the story, it’s probably suspense.

My advice, don’t worry about it too much. Write your story then pick the genre you believe is closest. My stories are usually a mixture of mystery and suspense with a romantic subplot (different than romantic suspense.)

Now, let’s take a look at some of the elements of suspense writing.

PACING

Getting the right pacing in your suspense novel is crucial. Too slow and you’ll lose most of your readers. Too fast and you won’t get the depth and layering that makes for a better story.

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I’m sure most of us have more than one copy of the Bible in our home – many of us in more than one translation. It’s a common thing these days.

But in the scale of things, it wasn’t so long ago that this would have been impossible. That changed, at least partly, because of a man who died 443 years ago today. In 1535, Bible Translator Myles Coverdale produced the first complete printed Bible into English. The Coverdale Bible made use of other translations of portions of the His Word, including that of Tyndale. It was, however, the first English translation of the entire Bible.

As you likely know, people didn’t have copies of His Word in their homes at that time. Many had never seen His Word (can  you even imagine?). Henry VIII had a Coverdale Bible put into every English Church, chained to a bookstand, so that every citizen would have access to a Bible. Of course, there are still countries, and people, on earth who are not allowed to have God’s Word – and/or where having even one translation is not yet a reality. But we English speakers have Coverdale to thank.

Myles Coverdale died on January 20, 1569, at the age of 80. But his legacy lived on. Whenever you pull out your Bible to add a verse to the devotional you’re writing, for inspiration for your writing, or just to study and/or read, thank the Lord – and Myles Coverdale.

How much of a role does the Bible play in your writing? What if it had never been translated into English?

Check out Page Turner winner Dee Yoder’s interview here.

I hope you enjoyed Dee’s interview last week (link above). Well, she was not the only person recognized in the 2011 Page Turner Fiction contest. Read below as you learn a bit more about one of two highly commended winners – Sydney Avey. And heeere’s Sydney!

JOANNE: When do you first remember developing a passion/love for writing?

SYDNEY: I began writing poetry in the third grade. My teacher sent my poems into the Palo Alto Times and several of them were published.

JOANNE: Is writing a hobby or potential career for you?

SYDNEY: My writing life has some of the qualities of a hobby. It entertains me, but it’s not what I do in my spare time. It has some qualities of a career. It requires knowledge, discipline and growth but it likely won’t support me in the financial sense. It is more like a monastic calling.

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Strategies for Effective Marketing

by Jennifer Slattery

Finally! After a decade of rewrites, you’ve signed your first contract. Now you can bask in your fame while large royalty checks roll in, right?

Perhaps in a Hollywood movie, but in today’s fight-or-die industry, selling your book to a publisher is only part of the battle. The real work comes long before your baby hits the stores because effective marketing begins and ends with you. Yet, with over 275,000 American titles released each year, what will make readers choose yours?

Obviously, you need a fabulous cover that targets readers of your particular genre and the back cover blurb has to grab them. But that’s not enough, especially in today’s economy. To generate sales, you need to create and sustain a buzz for you and your book. Ultimately, effective marketing increases your online presence and saturates the print media with relevant and well written articles.

Find Ways to Increase Your Name Recognition
According to marketing experts, name recognition increases credibility and helps the product or author to stand out among similar items. Politicians are aware of this. According to experts, voters often vote based on name recognition. This logic applies to consumers as well. If a reader’s never heard of you before, it’ll be more difficult to earn the sale. The converse is also true. If a reader recognizes your name, they’re more likely to give your novel a second glance.

Find Ways to Saturate the Internet
Increasing your online presence is a great way to introduce yourself to potential readers. There are numerous ways to do this, but blogging may be the most economical and effective.

Writers who are serious about their craft will start and maintain a personal blog long before their first novel goes to print. This accomplishes two things: it increases your name recognition and develops a loyal fan base. Terry Burns from Hartline Literary Agency says, “Don’t wait until you have a book out to build your website. By the time the book comes off the shelf, you’re behind the curve.”

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When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone?

No – not an email. Not jotted a couple words in a card. Sat down, with a pen and paper, and WROTE a letter?

That long, eh?

I’m guilty too – the art of letter-writing has diminished, if not disappeared, over the past years – and decades.

Well, this week (January 8-14) is Universal Letter Writing Week. People are encouraged to put down their electronic devices and hand write letters to folks.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE getting letters in the mail – especially if they’re handwritten. It makes me feel treasured that someone would take the time to do that, when an email or text would be much easier. You too?

Of course, it has been a LONG time since I actually hand-wrote a letter to anyone. But that is going to change. Before the next week is up, I plan to handwrite a letter to someone (who? I dunno. But watch your mailbox LOL). I’m a writer, after all.

How about you? Are you joining me?

I’m so excited to introduce my dear, dear friend, Dee Yoder, the winner of the 2011 Page Turner Contest. Read on to find out about her excitement about this win, what an amazing year 2011 was for her in the writing front, and her wonderful family.

JOANNE: When do you first remember developing a passion/love for writing?

DEE: As most writers will say, I was a child when I wrote my first “book.” I also drew many pictures to go along with my books. People seemed to be full of stories, simply by living their lives. The emotions from scenes and settings easily stuck in my mind. I had a habit, too, of putting animal characteristics to people. It was simple for me to see a duck, for instance, in someone’s unusual waddle. I had names for people: The Storks, The Turtles and so on. Yes. I was a weird kid.

JOANNE: Congratulations on your Page Turner win. Tell us about your reaction when you found out you’d taken first place.

DEE: I’d been awake all night; not able to sleep. Just before I turned my laptop off at 6 AM, I checked my emails and saw something from a friend. A congratulations for winning the Page Turner contest! I was dumb-founded! I actually thought it was a mistake and went to the Page Turner web page several times to read it carefully. As it finally sank in, I could hardly believe it. The bad thing was, I was SO groggy from lack of sleep, it became progressively painful to stay awake long enough to acknowledge my sweet friends’ good wishes. Oh my! I learned my lesson. No more all nighters when something important is scheduled the next day. But I was so sure I would not even come close to winning, I wasn’t even thinking about it. The competition was filled with fabulous writers…it was simply not on my radar to believe my manuscript could be chosen. Continue Reading…

PUTTING OUR BABIES ON A DIET:

or How To Cut The Fat Out Of Your WIP (Part 2 of 2)

By Gina Conroy

(CLICK HERE FOR PART 1)

Resist the Urge to Explain (RUE)

In an effort to make my character’s motivations clear, I often tried to explain them through internal dialogue, external dialogue or both. Then I started asking myself “Does the reader need to know this now?” If the answer was no, I cut it and looked for a shorter way to weave in the motivation later. I learned, most times it was unnecessary. I had packed the scene enough that I believe the reader understood without me telling them.

Pick Your Adverbs, Adjectives, and Conjunctions Carefully

Most times, if your writing is strong, you don’t need many adverbs and adjectives. Sometimes you do. I noticed my adjectives would sometimes come in pairs. That’s when I chose one over the other. When it comes to starting a sentence, I seem to favor AND and BUT. I’m not sure why, but now that I know, I can go back and keep the conjunctions that add to the story. And I’m not talking word count.

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