I recently discovered Michael Hauge’s story template. Michael is an author, screenwriter, and script consultant who has worked on projects for Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Kirsten Dunst, Charlize Theron, and Morgan Freeman. I thought some of you might find this tool helpful. Be sure to check out Michael’s website at: http://www.storymastery.com/. TITLE is a GENRE about HERO,… Continue Reading
I was Just Thinking… Do You Like Yourself?
This Valentine’s Day, I was thinking about love. When asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and… Continue Reading
7 Ways to Add Mystery to Your Plot
Shadowwriter: My problem is that toward the middle of the book, it gets dry and I need something to happen. I’m not sure what. The strength of a plot depends on how the writer reveals information to the reader. If you have nothing going on in the middle of your book, try some of these… Continue Reading
Making a Birthday Cake with Fondant
Every year I look forward to making birthday cakes for my kids. It’s always a lot of work, but it’s fun too. This year my daughter wanted a kitten party. I LOVE this about my daughter. While other girls her age are having a Justin Bieber party, Kaitlyn wants kittens. *contented sigh* So, Kaitlyn and… Continue Reading
Etymology: Did You Know…
Red herring is smoked herring. They turn red when cured. White herring is fresh herring. Red herring was supposedly used by fugitives to put bloodhounds off their scent, which is where the term “red herring” came to be used as a mystery term for something used to divert attention from the truth: false clues.
Stephanie Morrill’s Checklist for Editing Your Dialogue
Author Stephanie Morrill has an AWESOME blog for teen writers that you should check out. I loved her recent checklist for dialogue, and she was kind enough to let me share it with you all. Stephanie is passionate about sharing what she knows about writing with the next generation of writers. That’s what her blog… Continue Reading
To Do List Ruining Your Chance to Bless and Be Blessed?
I love the idea of blessing others with little things. The trouble is, I’m often so caught up in my To Do list that I miss the chance. For example, I was late to church last Sunday. When I got there, I remembered that I needed to talk with Greg, so I ran up to him and… Continue Reading
Tricky Words that are Often Misused: who’s/whose
Most words simply require an apostrophe s on the end of the word to make it possessive. Ex: The girl’s notebook. Mark’s scarf. The keyboard’s letters have worn off. But adding an apostrophe s doesn’t work for the word “who” because “who’s” is a contraction. WHO’S is the contraction of “who is” or “who has.” Ex: Who’s there? Who’s seen it? WHOSE is the possessive form… Continue Reading
Ten Adventures to Try in 2012
Since it’s the start of a new year—and since I usually fail to follow through on my New Year’s Resolutions—I decided to try something different for 2012. I thought up ten things I’d like to do that I haven’t ever done or that I haven’t done in a long time. I figure blogging about it… Continue Reading
Team Novel Teen Blog Tour: Replication- The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson
Today, Team Novel Teen is touring my book, Replication: The Jason Experiment! I’m pretty excited to see what the team had to say about my story. See the end of this post for links to the other reviewers. I’m not going to review my own book, because that would be… odd. Instead, I’m going to post… … Continue Reading
Jill Williamson’s Win an Amazon Kindle Contest winner is…
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A Chance to Win a Copy of Replication
I stopped in over at Amber Stockton’s and wrote a guest blog to post about meeting my readers. If you leave a comment in answer to one of my final questions, you will be entered to win a free copy of Replication. There are only three comments so far, so your chances are great! So… Continue Reading