Taking It To The Next Level

MBM: Intuitive Grammar – The Comma Dilemma by Julie L Casey

Today is the last day of MARCH BOOK MADNESS! (Full explanation and schedule here.) I can’t believe it’s the end of the month already. I hope you’ve learned as much as I have from this talented group of authors. (Huge thank you to all of them for sharing their knowledge with us!!!!!) If you’ve missed any posts, make sure to catch up (list below).

Our last author is my friend, Julie L. Casey, author of the Teenage Survivalist series. Because Julie writes dystopian, end-of-civilization stuff like I do, she and I get along great. :) In fact, if you’re interested, she posts lots of basic survival tips on Pinterest and her other social sites. Make sure to check out her books and her blog (below her bio). Not only is she talented and knowledgeable, she’s also super sweet and nice. Today she’s talking about my arch nemesis: the comma.

Here she is:

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Marching, Writing

MBM: Writing the Movie in Your Head by Gerald N. Lund

Welcome to the eleventh day of MARCH BOOK MADNESS! (Full explanation and schedule here.)

Today, my favorite author of all time is here. Gerald N. Lund is my favorite for many reasons, but foremost, because he’s my dad. :)

His books include fiction, non-fiction, dystopian, contemporary YA, and doctrinal discourses. He’s best known for his religious historical fiction including The Work and the Glory series (which have had a few movies made based on them). His current series, Fire and Steel, is set during WWI and WWII, and chronicles the lives of two families, one from Germany and one from rural Utah. He’s won several awards, sold millions of books, yet he’s just the nicest, sweetest, smartest man.

If you couldn’t tell, I love him to pieces. :)

1 Typewriter used to write first Lund novels given to Rebecca Belliston — My dad gave me the typewriter he wrote his first book with

SIDE NOTE: He also writes lyrics and I write music (like my mom), so the two of us recently worked on a choral song which was just published by Jackman Music. The song is called “Come and Be With Me,” based on Frederic Chopin’s Etude in E. It’s available in SATB with vocal solos coming soon.

Today my dad is here to talk about writing the movie in our mind.

Continue reading “MBM: Writing the Movie in Your Head by Gerald N. Lund” →

Marching, Writing

MBM: How to Energize Your Writing by @CharStastny

Welcome to the fourth day of MARCH BOOK MADNESS! (Full explanation and schedule here.)

My friend Charissa Stastny is here today to talk about some great ways to energize our writing and make it sing. Charissa write’s romantic suspense novels that will get your heart racing, so if you haven’t read her books, check them out (links below her bio).

Here she is:

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Marching, Writing

MBM:Playing Fair: Good Guys vs. Bad Guys by @RLBelliston

Welcome to the first day of MARCH BOOK MADNESS! (Full explanation and schedule here.)

I get to start off this month of writing tips and advice by talking about how authors can play fair with good guys vs. bad guys. Continue reading “MBM:Playing Fair: Good Guys vs. Bad Guys by @RLBelliston” →

Blogging, Editing, Writing

Writers Helping Writers:Mastering the Art of Cliffhangers

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Writing

How Do Your Characters Justify Their Actions?

How do Your Characters Justify

I’ve been pondering a word lately. I’ve pondered this word while working on my latest book, while reading, and even while listening to the evening news on the latest horrors around the world.

The word is JUSTIFICATION.

How do people justify their actions?

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Writing

Are You (s)Mothering Your Characters?

I just finished a scene for Liberty in my Citizens of Logan Pond trilogy. The scene ended with an emotional moment. I was tired and walked away before I’d completely polished it off, figuring I’d do that this morning. But this morning, I realized what I wanted to do and where I thought it needed polishing:

I wanted to go in and comfort my main character.

She just lost someone important to her, and she was hurting badly. I wanted to come up with something in that moment to ease her pain. Either a memory. A person. A sudden burst of hope for the future.

In short, I was mothering her. She was hurting. I wanted to swoop in and put a band-aid on it. As soon as I realized what I was about to do, I stopped. And then I realized how often I do this with my characters.

Here’s how it happens for me:

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Marching, Writing

MBM: Finding the Line Between Moral and Moralistic, by Braden Bell

Our last March Book Madness guest is my friend, Braden Bell, author of the Middle School Magic series.

My poor family has been down and out this week with the stomach flu this week. (Shoot me now.) But on the bright side, I was able to catch up on a bunch of reading. One of the novels I finished was Braden’s recent release, Luminescence. It was SO SO GOOD! His writing style (and trilogy) reminds me a lot of Rick Riordan, so check out the links below and get them.

I’ll be doing a full review of Luminescence as part of his blog tour next week, but I just had to give him a pre-shout out and say thanks for taking time to share his thoughts on finding that fine balance between being moral and moralistic in our writing.

Continue reading “MBM: Finding the Line Between Moral and Moralistic, by Braden Bell” →