Category: Writing

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Write About Your Passion

I suppose that is a goofy way to start this blog, but let’s talk about it in a literary sense.

One of the reasons I had difficulty writing when I was a kid was simple: I had to write about the topics teachers gave me. I wasn’t interested and my writing proved it. But with the help of my 7th-grade teacher, I developed an interest in history. Later, I got interested in several areas of science. Then, the Bible came alive to me in a way I never dreamed possible, and it became my foundation.

With the Bible, history, and science as my passions, the process of writing became not just meaningful, but fun! It was enjoyable because that same passion drove me to read more, and my well of knowledge began filling. Reading and writing became a major direction in my life, but it was the passion – the love of the Bible, history, and science – that motivated me.

However, I still had a difficult time writing what people wanted to read. I didn’t have their passions, and my writing was a little flat. Call it boring! So I decided to write about my own interests. My newspaper columns, my scientific endeavors, my teaching, and my preaching all revolved around the Bible, history, and science. And would you believe it? I had stumbled onto a very important principle, and people wanted more.

Bestselling author Jerry Jenkins said in his blog, The Secret to Compelling Writing, “Write the book you would read. Write it in a way that would keep your interest, and your book will find all the readers you want.”

So I encourage all of you, find your literary passion. Go with it, and …

Write Creatively

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Are You a Writer or Storyteller?

In a proverbial nutshell, there is a difference between a writer and a storyteller.

A writer uses words in various styles and techniques to communicate ideas. A writer’s prose and/or poetry can be so polished that by using imagery and metaphors the writer can enrapture people with their literary brilliance even without a well-defined plot. The emphasis is in the choice of words.

A storyteller is someone who communicates about events in images, and sounds. Excellent storytelling resurrects old worlds or creates new worlds. Storytellers enable us to watch the forces of Attila the Hun clash with the Roman Legions. They help us to walk through the distant past and watch the pterodactyls fly overhead. People are enabled to experience fear as they see and hear the battle between imaginary interstellar forces.

Storytelling is a social activity that draws the listener to a different dimension of time and space. The wording can be rough and crude, and that’s forgiven because the emphasis is in the plot.

But can a person be both a writer and a storyteller? The answer is a resounding YES.

I think it’s something we should all be striving for, because that would enhance the quality and the value of our work – and the number of sales of our books.

I want to be both a good writer and a good storyteller. I’ve got the verbal storytelling down okay; it’s the writing part that I’m still working on. So, yes, I’m still endeavoring to …

Write Creatively

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Set Your Imagination Free

On Monday morning, the teacher gave the economics class the assignment: “You have until Friday morning to write and hand in a three to five-page article about a dime.” Many of the kids thought it was a silly topic, but it shouldn’t be too hard. But one boy just couldn’t figure what in the world there would be to write about, and went to the teacher to protest.

“What’s there to write about? It’s just a thin, little old dime. How could I possibly get enough information for three pages?”

“Well, George, let me ask you a few questions.

  1. Why is it called a dime?
  2. What’s it made out of?
  3. What’s on the edge of the dime?
  4. Who’s image is on it, and why was he chosen?”

That was enough to get George started. But he ran into another problem, and three days later approached the teacher after class.

“Teacher, I might be in trouble. I thought about your questions and looked up a lot of info, but a whole lot of other ideas popped up that I had to include.”

“What’s the problem, George?

“You gave a limit of five pages. I tried in every way possible, but I just can’t cut the page count lower than ten.”

The teacher smiled because she had succeeded in helping another student learn how to use his imagination. “Well, don’t tell anyone in class, and I’ll let you get by this time.”

So, as you write, do not limit your thinking to what you know. Climb out of your self-imposed or culturally-imposed intellectual prison. Practice writing from various points of view. Practice replacing adjectives with verbs. Practice replacing narrative with action. Look up information about writing. Study various writing skills. But most importantly, be fully informed about your topic. Writing is complex, but it can be easy.

You get the point. As you broaden your writing ability, you’ll deepen your message, and you’ll be able to …

Write Creatively

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Capture your Thoughts

Have you ever had an amazing thought, revelation, or inspiration, but it evaporated into oblivion? Yep, it happens to all of us. But if our mind is working like it’s supposed to, why can’t we remember a simple thought? Quite simply, it’s because so many other things are happening.

You might have heard that we have an average of 60,000-70,000 thoughts being processed through our brain every day, but the real number is probably closer to around 6,500. Nevertheless, at 6,500 thoughts in an 18-hour day, assuming we sleep 6 hours, that is around 360 thoughts an hour. Our mind gets crowded!

I’m not necessarily a creative person, but when an idea does bubble up out of the hidden recesses of my brain, I’ve learned to immediately reach for a pen & paper! Why? Far too many ideas have escaped from my mind and into the stratosphere simply because I didn’t capture them on paper. My dad said quite often, “Paper has a longer memory than you do, so write it down.”   

Please, do not assume that you’ll remember the idea later, because, as dad reasoned, more often than not you will forget. It’s understood that of all the thoughts that flit through your mind, you won’t write about all of them, but the ideas you keep can pay great benefits.

I have a folder in my computer labeled “IDEAS” and I visit it often. Ensconced within are Word files with one idea written in each file, and each file is identified with a word or phrase to remind me of what’s written inside. Having been a writer for several decades, writing about anything and everything, this process has served me well. A number of those ideas have patiently waited in the bowels of my computer for years before I resuscitated them, such as what I’m writing about at this moment.

So, let me encourage you once more: Capture your thoughts. Some will become encouragements to individuals, some will become blogs, and some will become books.

Capture your thoughts when they bubble up to the surface of your mind, and …

Write Creatively

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Is it Time to Write?

What are your passions? What flows through your mind every week, if not every day? What do you wish people knew? What would you tell others if you had an audience? By writing a book, you have an opportunity to impact hundreds . . . maybe thousands . . . of lives. Writing and publishing is your escalator to the world. But how do you even get started?

P&L Publishing & Literary Services was created in 2019 for four basic reasons.

  1. Definitive information about publishing is hard to get.
  2. Prices are too high.
  3. Many companies won’t communicate by phone, and it’s
    difficult to resolve some issues by email.
  4. Waiting many months to finish the job is too long.

Therefore, P&L was formed to give an excellent product at a lower price and is a lot faster than other companies. We also know that writers are more comfortable and feel more secure if they can talk with the people who publish their books. We are available by phone, text, and email. We explain the process and spell out the fees up front, and our clients enter the publishing agreement with most questions answered.

Allow us to join you on your journey of fulfilling your dream: publishing your story or message. We’re here to help.

Visit us at: https://plpubandlit.org/

Write Creatively

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 8

What have we discussed for the past 7 sessions?

Okay, so it hasn’t been a discussion; it’s been a monologue. But you know what I mean. What ideas have I mentioned and you’ve (hopefully) been considering?

  1. Choose a comfortable place to write.
  2. Develop a writing routine.
  3. Decide on a theme.
  4. Design your three basic sections.
  5. Define your characters.
  6. Draw on your imagination. (That is my favorite.)
  7. Grab your reader’s attention. (That was my most difficult.)
  8. …… Oh, we haven’t talk about his one yet. Well, let’s get to it.

The first book I wrote years ago was titled Charter of the Christian Faith. I worked hard at it. On one hand, friends and the publisher were pushing me to get it done! And, let’s be honest: I was hoping to sell a lot of them.

On the other hand, some relatives and the publisher were telling me that I was building in some fatal flaws. One interesting factor was that the publisher was on both sides – pushing me to get it done and strongly suggesting that I make major changes. Have you ever felt trapped? Yep, I felt trapped like a hungry coyote.

I gave in to the pressure and had it published – flaws and all. But I rewrote it some years later and republished it under the title, Truth not meant to be Hidden. Same basic info but I took out the unnecessary stuff, had it edited, and now the meat of the book can be found, eaten, and digested. (You can find the book at https://www.amazon.com/Truth-not-meant-Hidden-Becoming/dp/B0BRYWHZDS.)

Step 8 that I missed in that list above is simply, Give Yourself Time to Write.

Unless you’re a professional writer with deadlines to make while earning large bonuses, do not crowd your calendar. Yes, you may have a deadline, and you may need to put your pen to the paper…or fingers to the keyboard…but plan accordingly. You have a lot of other responsibilities in addition to writing, so give yourself time to relax. Allow yourself to efficiently and effectively meet your deadline without getting stressed out. If you remember to develop your writing routine, and stick with it, you will surprise yourself in how much progress you can make.

You might have already figured out that pressure can put the lid on creativity. It does for me. So develop your writing routine. Make your list of characters and let your imagination tell you what they’re doing…or going to do. And if you are writing well, your characters will grab the readers’ attention.

There are a great many other ideas on the internet. Take a class on creative writing. Join a writer’s club. Ask questions. Interacting with other writers can be a great source of inspiration and encouragement.

This 8-step series is completed, but come back Monday. And while you’re waiting for Monday, check out our web site at: https://wordpress.com/view/plpubandlit.org.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Write Creatively.

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 6

It’s been a busy weekend but we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday with listing and naming the people in your story. You’ll probably name the more important animals, too, because animals sometimes play a major role in a story.

In a book about ancient history I’m writing, I started by making a list of about 86 names. As I wrote a page of information about each character (step 5), I added the meaning of each name, and that gave me a little more understanding of the integrity of each person in the book. Now, let’s go to the next step.

Step 6 is a very a important concept: Draw on your Imagination.

One dictionary says imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something; to image it, or to mentally see it.

Randy Ingermanson, bestselling author of numerous books, once said, “I like to start stories because I want to see how they turn out.” Guess what? It’s obvious that the “turning out” of Randy’s stories comes from his own mind, and that’s because he has a tremendous imagination.

Now don’t tell me you don’t have a good imagination because it wouldn’t be true. I tell folks that I don’t have a good imagination when it comes to art and a few other concepts, but I am quite creative – imaginative – related to many other aspects of life.

Your imagination is limitless and it’s easy to develop, but it takes time. Develop it by reading, analyzing, discussing concepts with people.

Here’s a simple example of the process of analysis. Imagine the scene and action as you read it.

If I throw a rock at a window, what will be the result? The rock is harder than glass, so the window will break. The structure of the glass could make it shatter into hundreds or thousands of pieces. The owner of the window will be angry, and want me to pay for damages, including window replacement and cleanup. I’ll lose a lot of money because of a childish, irresponsible act. The owner might tell people what I did, and my reputation will be damaged. Some people will not trust a man who throws rocks at windows, and my business would suffer, my income would diminish, and I might even be arrested. Therefore, because of that, and many other reasons, I will not throw rocks at windows.

Now, admittedly, that’s quite an elementary rationalization, but it shows the process of using imagination. Although that would not make it into my ancient history story, it could be part of a children’s book.

Now that you mention it, David, the shepherd, hurled a rock at a giant. Some of you could write a book about that. Use your imagination to fill out the story.

Keep your imagination active when developing and writing your stories. Even while writing a historical event, write it well with exciting, descriptive narrative.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Write Creatively

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 5

This step is where you start getting serious about your story. Why? You found a writing location and you have the basic idea and theme for the story. But this is where you begin to choose and Define your Characters.

After you’ve decided on a theme for the book, consider which type of characters would be best suited for the story. Write a list of their names. Write a page about each one: who they are, what they are, and their importance to the story. Identify their strengths and weaknesses. What do they look like? Any scars? Handicaps? What’s their emotional and mental temperament? What are their likes and dislikes? Write anything else about them that you can think of. Even if some details do not make it into the story, it will help you to know them better.

One well-known writer said, “If I’m not personally familiar with all my characters, they don’t get into the book.”

These are the resource pages you will refer to as you write about them. So allow your characters to come to life on these pages for your benefit. If you do it correctly, your readers will receive the benefit later.

Writing the background for your characters will enable you to keep them straight in your own mind as you write the story.

Here’s why I emphasize this effort. In a movie I saw several years ago, a man appeared with his right leg in a cast. In a scene about 10 minutes later, his left leg was in the cast. Whoops! And in a movie I saw over a decade ago, the lawyer wore 3 different dresses in a 5-minute courtroom segment. Someone forgot to do their job. Whoops again!

Protect yourself and give your book a good foundation. Bring those people to life in your thoughts as you plan, and they will be alive when you write the story.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Write Creatively

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 4

Where are we? You’ve chosen a writing place, you’re probably still thinking about a writing routine, and a theme might be puzzling you. But that’s okay, you’ll get it.

Today let’s briefly discuss the idea of Designing Your Three Basic Sections.

In this blog, we’re not addressing front and back matter. They are what comes before and after the story the author wrote. All that comes later.

Why do many, if not most, people recommend three sections of the book? Why not 2 or 4 … or even 5 sections? Well, you can have 5 sections. Read Freytag Pyramid to learn more about it. But normally a novel has 3 sections: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution.

In the setup, you will create an idea for the beginning, middle, and end to the story. You want the beginning to give the reader background information related to the characters and the plot of the story. You introduce, through various means, the reader to the people in the book and to the dangers. And, of course, you add mystery that you do not explain. The intrigue needs to grab the reader’s curiosity so he won’t put the book down.

The middle, most of the book, will develop the main theme. This is where the tension grows, the bulk of the action takes place. The hero is almost overcome by the challenges and obstacles. It seems that disaster waits for him or her at every turn.

The third section will provide a resolution of the plot. Again, you might want to look at Freytag’s Pyramid or Matthew Luhn’s book, The Best Story Wins for helpful ideas.

What is considered the most important part of the book?

The most important part of a book can vary depending on the book itself, the author’s intent, and the reader’s perspective. However, generally speaking, the most important part of a book can be considered as … well, I suppose the most important is the story itself. Write it with excitement, adventure, intrigue.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Write Creatively

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For information about P&L Publishing and Literary Services, please check out our web site. https://plpubandlit.org/

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 3

You established your place to write, and are working on developing your writing routine. Today let’s talk about Deciding on a Theme.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “flying by the seat of his pants?” That refers to an airplane pilot who doesn’t file flight plans. He just flies his plane in the direction he thinks he needs to go, and expects to get there. But events outside his control such as inclement weather and physical problems with the plane can generate life-threatening situations. A flight plan can save his life, or at least get him back on track.

There are actually 2 parts of the flight plan: 1) where he wants to go, and 2) how he’s going to get there.

Some people “write by the seat of their pants.” Some of them thrive in it, but some writers flail in confusion because of it. They don’t have a direction, or a theme.

Now, to understand what a theme is, let’s look at that flight plan.

1) Where the pilot wants to go would be the theme (the underlying message the author is trying to convey to the reader), and 2) how he’s going to get there is the plot (the structure that the storyteller uses to show how the events are connected).

Let’s turn it around.

If someone asks you what’s your story about, and you say, “It’s a story about an angry man who robs banks, is arrested, but is befriended by the policeman who arrested him,” that’s the plot of the story. But if you say, “It’s about love overcoming hate,” that’s the theme.

The theme is the central message behind the story. It connects all the major ideas in the book together.

While the plot tells what happens in the story, the theme explains why it happens. It gives meaning to the story. Without a theme, your story is a recording of actions and events, but it doesn’t explain why these actions happen. Most likely you have a plot in mind, but deciding on a theme will help keep you on track.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Write Creatively