Sunday, January 24, 2010

Win a Rosetta Stone Language Product

For my home educating friends, Rosetta Stone, Heart of the Matter, and Fusefly have partnered to offer an incredible foreign language/foreign land opportunity for homeschoolers:

Surround your family with language. By taking them there!
 
Travel to Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona with homeschoolers from all over the United States. Join Rosetta Stone Homeschool, Heart of the Matter and Fusefly on the inaugural Homeschool Language Learning and Networking Trip August 2-11, 2010. Become immersed in new lands, explore history, culture, art and community. And truly speak to the world.  For more details visit www.RosettaStone.com/Homeschool/LanguageLearningTrip.

Hurry, registration for the trip ends February 15, 2010.

For your chance to win a Rosetta Stone language product, please visit Heart of the Matter. Entries are being accepted until February 1st.

Monday, January 11, 2010

The Little Things Matter

Comma, colon, semicolon, space, parenthesis, period.

Quotation mark, apostrophe, em dash, question mark.

Writers love to loathe the little things; editors loathe to leave them out. Proper punctuation clarifies communication. If writers want their readers to comprehend their messages, it is imperative to proof drafts.

Which of the following sentences is easier to read?
  • Johnny Mr. Home Improvement tripped over the warped floorboard the bargain plank he got at the salvage yard and tumbled headlong down the rickety winding staircase.
-OR-
  • Johnny—Mr. Home Improvement—tripped over the warped floorboard, the bargain plank he got at the salvage yard, and tumbled headlong down the rickety, winding staircase.
The first sentence is exhausting. It took me two tries to read it through aloud without tripping over one or more words. The second sentence contains em dashes and commas to break the flow and guide the reader through the text. When I read it aloud, I paused at the em dashes before continuing, with a brief hesitation at each comma. We utilize these techniques subconsciously when speaking but in writing they must be shown by utilizing punctuation marks.

I read post after post after post from literary agents, editors, and others in the industry who all agree on one thing: quality writing gets published. Why, just two days ago, agent Chip MacGregor blogged about that very topic. He said, “So the single best thing you can do in order to improve your chance of getting published is to become a great writer.” He also said in his January 3, 2010, blog post, “I'm usually looking for great writing with a strong voice,” and said an author can get his attention “by showing me a big idea, expressed through great writing, supported by a strong platform.” I have to agree with him, “Do anything you can to improve your writing...and you'll find you stand a much better chance of getting published.” (Emphasis mine.)

Literary agent Rachelle Gardner often gives similar advice. In a January 2008 blog post, she said, “One of the most common reasons for agent rejections is that the writer simply isn't ready: they haven't spent quite enough time mastering the craft of writing.” In August 2009, she suggests that writers who have more than one completed manuscript send “the one in which your writing shines the brightest.” This entire post from May 19, 2009, is dedicated to learning the craft of writing.

When it comes to producing quality writing, the little things do matter. Read instructional books. Read books in your genre to learn from those who’ve already been published. Join a critique group. Attend writers’ conferences. Sharpen those skills and apply proper techniques and your novel idea may just become a best-selling novel.

In accordance with FTC Rule 16 CFR, Part 255, I am disclosing that I received no compensation for writing this post. What is this? See Michael Hyatt’s blog (for whose mention I received no compensation).

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Confessions

  • I don't make New Year's resolutions. It wouldn't do any good because...
  • I'm terribly unorganized. I have good intentions but...
  • I keep stacks of work in strategic locations around my desk and around my house. This is why...
  • I work from a laptop not a desktop. To maintain structure...
  • I pray Psalm 90:12, "Teach [me] to number [my] days aright, that [I] may gain a heart of wisdom." It helps that...
  • I'm a slow writer. That seems to contradict how...
  • I sometimes rush through a piece and end too abruptly. I think it's because...
  • I worry I'll forget my point if I don't hurry up and write it down. Let me explain that...
  • I usually write late at night when the kids are asleep and the house is quiet. But I believe Psalm 37:5-6, which tells me...
  • If I commit my way to the Lord and trust in Him, He will do this: He will make my righteousness shine like the dawn. And that enlightens me so...
  • I enjoy researching terms in my concordances. It's fodder for good dreams that make me say...
  • "It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep" ("Fireflies" by Owl City). Sometimes when I awaken from sleep...
  • I record my dreams in a journal. Recently...
  • I dreamed about giant stalks of celery growing up from a shallow river, all guarded by crocodiles that jumped and played like dogs. Perhaps it's preparation as...
  • I hope "...that our God may count [me] worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of [mine] and every act prompted by [my] faith" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Because...
  • I believe my writing and editing passions are gifts given by the Lord. And...
  • I desire to bring glory to His name with the work that I do. So...
  • I don't make lists of things I'm incapable of achieving. Because...
  • I know I am not the keeper of my schedule. After all...
  • "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).

Friday, January 1, 2010

Compensation Disclosure

Effective January 1, 2010, unless otherwise specified per blog post, in accordance with FTC Rule 16 CFR, Part 255, I am disclosing that I received no compensation for writing these entries. What is this? See Michael Hyatt’s blog (for whose mention I received no compensation).

This sums it up ;)

This sums it up ;)