denise Leora madre

Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Today is Good Friday, the day Christians remember the death of Christ. We remember this essential act of humility, his seminal sacrifice. We remember the deep love and commitment which held him to the cross and the life-changing affect it has on us today. We remember and we celebrate. What does that have to do with writing? Everything. The modern writer has so much to think about she might forget she’s a writer. For she is also an editor, a blogger, a self-critic, a publicist. She is a seeker of structure, an avoider of clichés, a stickler for grammar. But beneath it all, informing and fueling it all, is a simple truth. She is a woman with words within.

Image Courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…. a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” -           Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b That phrase interests me—“keep silence.” Not “silent” the adjective but “silence” the noun, an object to be grasped and coveted. A tangible gift. And a gift it is, this gift of silence. Recent technical difficulties rendered me unable to check my email on my phone for a few days. From my laptop, I finally logged into the first account and was dismayed by the congestion in my Inbox. Of the twenty-some-odd messages, less than a handful were person-to-person and most of the rest were undesired. “Why am I getting updates from randomwebsiteIvisitedonce.com? How did this happen?”

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net So I have started a blog. (You know that. You're reading it now...)  And though I am excited and proud of myself for adding my voice to the blogosphere chorus, a small yet insistent part of me wonders, “What on earth have I written myself into?” You see, blogging is no longer—if it ever was—a cute little way to indulge your interest in or ire toward a subject. Blogging, for the writer especially, is critical for a successful career. It provides a platform for your perspective, gives your readers insight to your slant on life, and proves your marketability beyond the opinions of your mom, best friend, and collection of house plants. And here I thought I was blogging for fun.

A terrific and essential pre-publishing to-do list for any writer. Hang it on your fridge, tape it to your bathroom mirror, and bookmark it to your browser's favorites so you always know where it is. Happy Thursday, all! http://selfpublishingteam.com/book-marketing-before-book-published/

As some of you know, I am an avid reader and writer of Twilight fanfiction . And the reader in me is delighted to announce a new story by dear friend and fellow Twiwriter Cassandra Lowery entitled Only by Moonlight : "Due to some serious roommate problems, Bella Swan has to find new student housing mid-semester and fortunately finds a room to rent in a lovely Victorian home near the University of Chicago campus. But a set of mysterious circumstances set Bella on edge, challenging her beliefs about the afterlife...and love." I am doubly excited about this story not only as a fan-- "Evening Star" was the first Twilight fanfiction I ever read on Fanfiction.net --but because I have been blessed with the task of pre-reading her story, giving me the inside scoop and the privilege of previewing. Whoo-hoo! I have loved everything Cassandra has written since Evening Star , and I know you will too. So check out her blog post then boogie on over to her page for so...

In a recent blog post, “7 Things Confident Writers Don’t Do ,” Kristen Lamb first advises             “Find your own voice and tell your own story.” As we would be wise to do anything Kristen says, allow me to explore this first suggestion a bit more. Find your voice...stand out from the crowd. Image Courtesy of tigger11th / FreeDigitalPhotos.net With the need to divide your time between actual writing and the business of Facebooking, tweeting, and blogging, the notion of finding your voice might like one more task for which you hardly have the time. And more to the point, how do you know when you’ve found your own voice? Is it a matter of diction or genre? Is it what comes naturally or an elusive something requiring countless hours and several drafts to unearth?