Double the Love at WITS: Star Wars Edition
Since the beginning here at Writers in the Storm, we've been all about spreading the love. And every so often, we throw the doors open for some shameless self-promotion opportunities for our readers. Our only requirement for those glorious days (formerly called "Pimp & Promote") is that they double the love and promote someone else's work alongside their own.
Today's event (May the 4th Be With You!) will give us all the opportunity to share great resources and celebrate our own successes. Plus, it's almost summer, one of our favorite seasons for reading. So get ready to double the love!
How DO you "Double the Love?"
Here in the States, school is still going strong, athletic games abound, and it is prom season. In that same spirit, let's dance around and cheer for ourselves and other writers! Down in the comments section, we ask that you:
- Heap love on somebody else’s work—a favorite author, blogger, post or book you’ve read, a wonderful teacher or just someone who had profound influence on you as a writer or a person. Please limit your comments to one work.
AND - Promote one of your projects that you’re excited about—a hobby, a blog, a book, or a new direction your writing is taking you. You decide. Just tell us about it in the comments! (Please restrain your enthusiasm to just one of your WIPs.)
The rest of us will shake our writerly booties, and “ooooh and ahh” (with a side of rah-rah). Full disclosure: our to-be-read piles and our resource lists double in size on days like these, which is always a cause for both celebration and nail-biting.
We'll lead off the love fest with some of the WITS Team!
Lisa Norman
New Love:
If you've struggled at all with making your writing come to life, my favorite teacher is still Margie Lawson. When I'm working with a writer who needs to up their game, I send them to this series of lecture packets:
- Empowering Characters’ Emotions
- Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices, and More
- Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues
For those who want to listen instead of read, she's got bite-size webinars and online classes as well.
Self Love:
All of my energy has been going into building No Stress Writing Academy! We have a bunch of classes with more coming all the time. I offer a Marketing 101 class at no cost for those who want to explore the platform and see what we're up to.
Jenny Hansen
New Love:
Have you experienced any of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's "Thesaurus" books? If not, you're missing out!
They have a new one that released a few weeks ago: The Fear Thesaurus. Fear is so vital to character development. Here's how the duo describes their "why" for writing the book:
“No matter what genre you write or who your audience is, one thing is certain: Everyone experiences fear. This makes it a great tool for reader engagement, especially when we choose one that’s woven deep into the fabric of humanity.”
My copy just arrived and I'm excited to dig in!
Self Love:
Calling all business owners (which includes savvy authorpreneurs)! I'm teaching my favorite class on Wednesday, May 6th at Noon Eastern (US time):
Storyselling Deep Dive into the 5 Key Stories
In these 90 minutes, we explore the 5 story types every business needs to attract clients, build trust, and stand out. The point of this class is to make your value as a business unmistakable. By the end of our time together, you'll understand the five Key Stories, how to use them, and be well on your way to crafting your own. The Storyselling Deep Dive helps you master business storytelling, shorten the sales cycle, and attract the people who get you.
This 90-minute workshop is currently on sale for $30. Click here to enroll.
Jenn Windrow
New Love:
As a person who is pretty happy living in my own little bubble, I don't engage with others besides the people and creatures that live in my house that often. But there is one class I took on story structure, that not only shaped the stories that I write, but also have helped me in my editing career. Story Structure Safari by Lisa Miller.
Her easy approach to how a story should flow, what belongs where, and digging deep into character motivations has not only made me a better writer, but also an editor who not only knows how to find problems in a manuscript, and offer suggestions on how to fix them. I use what I learned from her every day.
Her amazing classes can be found at the No Stress Writing Academy
Self Love:
I've got so many cooks in the kitchen write now between my own writing, editing for clients, and illustration, that my days are filled with creative endeavors, just the way I like it. But I think the thing I am most excited about right now, is the reader themed sticker/bookmark/mug series I am creating. Each one is hand illustrated and designed by me, and they just make me happy when I look at them. Plus, I get to draw, which is something I had to put aside for years.
For me they are an extra revenue stream at author events, but they also attract readers to my table, allowing me to open up a conversation about my books.
Sarah (Sally) Hamer
New Love:
Why do we write? Because we can't NOT write. Well, at least that's the way it works for me. Anything to do with writing makes me happy, especially taking classes about writing, whether it's craft or philosophy.
So, even though she's on this blog, promoting her academy, I'm going to talk about it again.
Lisa Norman is not only an amazing person, she's also an amazing teacher. I've been taking her classes for over a decade and find them brimming with usable information and full of fun. She knows her stuff, knows how to teach it, and supports us as we work our way through it. I HIGHLY recommend the No Stress Writing Academy and anything that Lisa and her other instructors teach.
Self Love:
Which leads me to my self-love. I'm fortunate enough to teach for the No Stress Writing Academy. I taught for Margie Lawson's Academy for about fifteen years, loving every minute. You'll see some of my original classes and some new ones on No Stress, and more will be going up this year. Come have fun!
Okay, now it's your turn! Double up heaping amounts of love in our comments section, please. We want to learn about some new resources, and buy some great new books!
Important Note: Be sure to enter your links with "website name" (dot) com formatting. (We have a setting on for the comments to strip links!)
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Thanks, Harvey! Did you remember to heap love on someone else too?
I'm switching the order.
Self Love: My debut novel, "The Wandering Place," a family saga about caring for aging parents with Alzheimer's, launches on Amazon tomorrow! ([Link deleted]From first draft to final story, I have worked on this book for 16 years. Much of that time was spent learning the craft of storytelling, then going back to the beginning and revising to match what I've learned.
New Love/Old Love: In my book, I've acknowledged the role of writing gurus like those at Writers in the Storm and Women's Fiction Writers Association. Without these two resources, my writing would have gone nowhere. Recent articles like Lighten Your Load (by Lisa Norman) and those on deep point of view and character tropes have made a world of difference in my writing life. Thank you!
Excellent news, Deb. And Alzheimer's is such a relevant topic in this day and age.
One thing: do please come back and put your stripped link in with website (dot) com formatting. (I forgot we have the setting on for the comments to strip links!)
New love: I've learned most of my writing craft from Off Campus Writers' Workshop. They used to be a local organization with some of the best teachers. Since lockdown, their sessions went online and their membership exploded due to the quality of instruction. ([Link deleted]
Self love:
I'm teaching a deep dive into setting (all the ways a writer can use setting beyond simply setting the scene--to show emotion, to show the POV character's background, etc.) at Regency Fiction Writers in November. ([Link deleted]
That class sounds amazing Llewella. And I've never heard of the Off Campus Writers' Workshop...I'll check them out.
One thing: do please come back and put your stripped link in with "website name" (dot) com formatting. (I forgot we have the setting on for the comments to strip links!)
New Love (actually a long-standing love): Lisa Norman is a Goddess among mortals. She has taught me so much about how to operate my author website that I am 98% self-sufficient, and when I do need help, she can talk me through anything! Thank you, Lisa! I also want to give a shoutout to Sally Hamer. I took a class with her a number of years ago, and she was soooo helpful in giving me feedback on the first chapter of my first book, even though it wasn't technically part of the class. That book, Devil in Our Hearts, has gone on to win multiple national awards for historical romance. Thank you, Sally!
Self Love: My most recent book, Passion's Duty, is the first in a series set during the Seven Years' War/French and Indian War, and a reader review said it reminded them of Last of the Mohicans and the last season of Outlander combined. Exactly what I was going for! It is also a national award-winning novel now. Thank you, Writers in the Storm, for being such a wonderful resource for us all. May the fourth be with you, always!
Awwwww, Lizzie, what a sweet comment. (We ALL think Lisa is amazeballs toooo. 🙂 )
And we sure to appreciate you!
I remember you, Lizzie! I'm SO proud of you!
Awwww Lizzie! Thank you so much. I was off dealing with the weasel invasion yesterday and missed this!
I write romance. Scottish historical and dragons are my favorite. At my age, with 45+ published books I now write for fun while sharing thoughts on my blog. Member of Triangle Assoc Freelancers, former RWA member.
How fun to just write for your own joy, Nancy! What a gift. 🙂
No published full books quite yet, but I am in some anthologies AND I have several stories you can read for free on my website, [Link deleted]
AND you should totally check out Valinora Troy's books, because they're always a lot of fun! 😁
May the 4the be with y'all!!
Thank you, Journey! And do please come back and put your stripped link in with "website name" (dot) com formatting. (Forgot we have the comments set to strip links!)
I love, love both new books by good friends of O.C. Writers/Lakeforest Roundtable: Viva! California! by Marilyn Carven (who is 88 & publishing her debut historical fiction!); Award-winning Life of Her by Elizabeth Conte.
Self-Love: Book 3, The Malgren's Mage, in my Keepers of Magic romantasy series is in the hands of my beta readers! Yay! Book 2, The Keeper's Code, has won awards and recently became a finalist in the Holt Medallion contest.
Book 1 is the award-winning The Witch Whisperer, all published by The Wild Rose Press.
Great share, Barb!
I didn't realize Elizabeth Conte had a new one out. I'll go take a peek. And Marilyn Carven pubbing at 88...what a rockstar.
And you are on Book 3! Sooooo proud of you, my friend.
My favorite novel from the last year, and one that other books haven't yet dethroned, is a women's historical novel by Megan Chance, Glamorous Notions. Intrigue, the mob, old Hollywood, fashion, and romance. What a read, and totally different from the other two books that I've read by her, Bone River and Splendid Ruin, both excellent.
I depend on word mouth, so here are words (from my fingertips). I'm nearing publication of the fourth book (of seven) in my Kovenlore Chronicles series, which is otherworld historical fantasy. The first book in the series is Trust in the Forgotten.
I love women's fiction, so I'll check that Megan Chance book out.
And how amazing that you're halfway through the 7 book series. Good for you!
New Love:
Where do I begin? The value of writers of the multiple blogs and newsletters (including WITS!) to which I subscribe steadily builds my skills with words. But now, to a specific: I am reading an odd book by Veryln Klinkenborg called "Several short sentences about writing" (2013). It has a 2-page prologue, and the last 50 pages contain two sub-sections called "some prose and some questions" and "some practical problems." But the rest of it is one looooong chapter (150 pages) of nothing but (mostly) short sentences about writing, thinking, perception, noticing, revision, the structure and shape of prose, etc. No way could this book be either indexed or categorized, but every page has at least once instance of pithy, profound insight into wordsmithing. No doubt I will read this shelf-worthy book more than once.
Klinkenborg has written two books of pastoral "meditations" on the seasons and animals at and around his farm in upstate New York - "The Rural Life" and "More Scenes of the Rural Life." I greatly enjoyed the second and hope to come across the first soon. He has written at least three other books.
Self-Love:
I am in the middle of the third draft (of which at least one, maybe two, more will follow) of a historical novel about Nicodemus, from his POV. He was a member of the Jewish council that tried Jesus of Nazareth. I have always wondered what his "take" on the whole Jesus phenomenon was, for he was one of the few councilors who did not dismiss Jesus as one more blasphemous crack-pot. Work on this secular story continues to be great fun, as I romp through research into the period's clothing and customs, religious covenants and laws, flora and fauna, agriculture and economy, politics, geography, food, and relations between the Jews and the occupying Romans. (Am I allowed to have this much fun?)
Thank you for the tip on Veryln Klinkenborg's books. "Several short sentences about writing" sounds intriguing!
I love historical novels, and look forward to yours when it's ready to greet the world.
Love reading these comments!!!
New Love that is really an Old Love – Maris Soule, author of The Crows, was my first mentor—the only writer at that time when I joined a relatively new RWA chapter who took the time to work with me. She spent an extraordinary amount of time trying to help me. I’ve tried to help other writers since then as generously as she did. |
Self-Love: My new thriller that I’m writing. I am beyond the moon with excitement over the character and the story of BURIED TRASH: A Shelby Hale Thriller. It begins:
Had I known ahead of time that what I’d find in my trash can would put my life in danger, I would have done the smart thing: say nothing, not call the sheriff—my best friend and my first husband for all of about a month when we were 19—and let the garbage truck pick up the trash, as usual, letting the truck empty its contents into the country landfill.
Unfortunately, I’m not known for doing the smart thing. I react, not thinking things through well enough.
It’s how I ended up married three times.
I’m 37 and starting over.
Again.
I used to know a Maris Soule from RWA. She was just terrific. I'll bet we know the same Maris!!
And what a fantastic opener for your new thriller. I'd totally open that book. 🙂
Self Love: I'm loving how my new revision is going. I think I have the narrator's voice down now.
Shout out to my long-time critique group. We have no books yet, but I wouldn't be where I am without the ladies. And one if us is getting fantastic rejections these days (alas, no R and Rs.)
Congratulations on getting your narrator's voice dialed in, Debbie! And a great critique group is worth more than gold. 🙂
New Love:
Author/blogger/friend Bryn Donovan, MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS: GOLD EDITION, is a great reference and craft book. bryndonovan (dot) com
Self Love:
TO MARK THE OCCASION: BIRTHDAY TALES FOR JANE AUSTEN'S 250th
former # 1 Bestselling anthology, I wrote a story as Denise Stout (pen name, but also my maiden name)
[Link deleted](dot) amazon (dot) com/Mark-Occasion-Birthday-Tales-Austens-ebook/
Ooh! Thanks for the awesome shares, Denise.
Reference books are always appreciated. Congratulations on being part of such a popular anthology!
Yay, Denise! Great to see what you write!
New Love: Workshops sponsored by the Highlights Foundation, now Boyds Mill, has been an important source of enrichment and inspiration for me for a long time, and their faculty, especially author Nancy Werlin. Thanks to her encouragement and insights, I finally finished my historical fiction The Nightingale Kept Singing.
Old Love: With great relief and appreciation, I launched my latest book (see above), a story inspired by the actual experience of a family who survived the Siege of Leningrad. I am also grateful for the enthusiastic response of readers and for the Gold Winner award I received from Readers' Choice reviewers. http://www.teddiahrens.com
Thank you for sharing information on the Boyds Mill workshops. It's great to receive recommendations.
Congratulations on your book launch. That's so exciting! The folks at Readers' Choice do a fine job. Happy Gold Winner award!