Tag: Writers

Hacker face

One last time, one more warning to avoid getting caught

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell14 Comments

And hopefully, we can avoid all the weird crooks in cyberspace.

I’m adding one more, and fingers crossed the last warning about fraudsters. Of course, someone, somewhere will find a new angle to try and part us from our hard earned money. And often the target is a writer. Sigh.

It’s a nasty business that requires us to stay vigilant against people who wish to make a buck by crushing our dreams. Don’t let them succeed. scammer and your money

Writers everywhere, this one included, are setting New Year’s resolutions to publish a book in 2019. However, there are people out there who wish to impede your success. Yes, you heard right. Scammers are rehashing, reworking and launching new attacks with old tricks. Stay alert. There are fraudsters who prey on your desire to publish.

Don’t become another statistic.

A grateful shout out goes to for an important article filled with information about scams.

Remember…

  • Amazon does not allow paid reviews. Anyone offering this service is a fraud.
  • Offers to publish for a fee – don’t! It’s a scam.
  • Guarantees to make your book a bestseller, for a fee of course. Alert, run away!
  • Regarding unsolicited email, DMs, and cold-calls from strangers, watch for tale-tale signs such as bad grammar, thick accent, and weird names. Delete or hang up!
  • Advertising is expensive, no way around that, so don’t be fooled when offered massive ads to rocket your book to outer space for a small fee.
  • Watch out for bogus literary agents. They are a dime a dozen.

These are just a few bits of info I gleaned from Anne. Click on the link below to her post and read a lot more about these nefarious crooks. Writer beware!

New Writing Scams to Look Out for in 2019 By 

Safety covered, now time to get on with writing

But, keep your ears to the ground— let us know when you hear hoofbeats.

PLEASE TAKE ANOTHER MINUTE AND LOOK ME UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW.
AND STOP BY JEAN’S WRITING ANYTIME, I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON. 

Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Pinterest, Stumbleupon 

How to tell if your female character is strong

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell4 Comments

Crafting a strong female character, without her coming across as a shrew or a cartoon character, is not as easy as it sounds.I loved an article I found over at JoanneWritesBooks. Her tips were very helpful for my current, female-driven, work in progress. After reading her post, I began to think about all the strong women in my family and how they managed. Thanks, Joanne for the reminder and tips on writing strength in my characters.

What I learned about writing a strong female character…

  • Everyone has a weakness, even strong characters.
  • A strong female can have a girly side, she doesn’t have to emulate a man to be strong.
  • Like weakness, everyone struggles with something in life. Make sure you give your character something to wrestle with.
  • A woman’s quiet strength is what sustains her.
  • Don’t try for perfection. Let her fail and get back up, make mistakes and bad decisions. But also let her persevere.

There is a lot to learn, so head, click on the link from Joanne Writes Books and read the entire article. Then tell me what you think.

How to craft a strong female Character

Do you have a tip on crafting a strong female character? Do share.

Did you glean anything new from the article? Or a good reminder?

Do you think writing a strong female easy or hard? 

 

PLEASE TAKE ANOTHER MINUTE AND LOOK ME UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW.
AND STOP BY JEAN’S WRITING ANYTIME, I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON. 

Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Pinterest, Stumbleupon 

 

 

 

How do you kill a dream?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

Dreams rarely die in a single moment.

No, most dreams die slowly, until like smoke, they drift away.

I do not have a green thumb. My house is where plants come to die. I forget to water, feed or give them the correct amount of sunlight. In other words, I fail to give a plant the attention it needs to thrive.

Lack of attention will kill a dream

That’s how a story dies too. The holidays sidelined my writing. I set aside my WIP to cook, clean and get ready for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving passed and so did another week. Now Christmas is upon us and next will be New Years.

A couple of days will soon turn into a couple of months. And here I sit. My muse is still whispering in my ear and my characters haunting my sleep. So, no excuse except I dropped my habit of writing every day. More fun to shop for gifts, eat, binge watch holiday movies or curl up with a good book in front of a roaring fire. Sigh…

Quite, reading a good book

Habits are hard to start but easy to break.

Life gets in our way and we stop writing. How to avoid the holidays sidelining your dream of finishing that novel?

  • Steal a few minutes to write just 50 words.
  • Do a quick brain dump of ideas. (I like to use colored sticky notes.)
  • Organize those ideas.
  • Write. Write every day.  If you’re like me, those 50 words will turn into 100 and then 1000 words. Soon you’re writing habit will return.

Sometimes a break from writing is unavoidable and necessary. No one wants to experience burn out. But as with all things in life, moderation is the key.

Don’t let your writing break kill your dream of becoming an author. 

Keep writing.

Want to read more inspiration on getting back in the writing? Click and read the links below.

Does your writing get sidelined by the holidays?

How do you keep your writing momentum?

Do you write every day, even throughout the holidays?

How often and for how long do you take a break from writing?

 

How to Keep Writing Day After Day Without Quitting (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It) By Ayodeji Awosika

 This is What Happens When You Take a Break from Writing By Lindsey Lazarte

Taking a Break from Writing By Jennifer Ellis

3 Reasons You Should Take a Break From Your Writing by Emily Wenstrom

PLEASE TAKE ANOTHER MINUTE AND LOOK ME UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW.
AND STOP BY JEAN’S WRITING ANYTIME, I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON. 

Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Pinterest, Stumbleupon 

 

Do you want to write interesting dialog?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell7 Comments

Even when your characters are a bit long-winded?

Well, thanks to Lisa Hall Wilson, I’ve got a few good tips that might help.

Adding beats to your dialog keeps the pace moving. Below are some of her suggestions to get the beats right and keep your reader engaged.

Make every beat count in a story.

  • Show what the character is doing as they speak.
    • Rocking
    • Walking
    • Picking at a thread, twirling hair…
  • Use tone.
    • Soft, loud, hateful…
  • Show how the character is feeling about what is being said.
    • Sad, thoughtful, tense…
  • Show the actions of other characters and ambient noises
    • A minor character walking away, clinching fists…
    • Strangers in the area
    • dishes clinking
    • People singing, arguing…
  • Internal dialogue
    • But, word of caution- don’t overuse or the action will slow down.
  • Avoid too much stage direction with dialogue
    • You don’t want the reader simply observing the scene taking place, like someone in a movie theatre.

Above all –

write beats that move the story forward and engage the reader.

Read more of Lisa’s suggestions for writing great dialogue at this link.

How To Use Beats To Keep Long Dialogue Passages Interesting Even If There’s No Action by 

Writers, what do you think?

Do you write a lot of beats in dialogue?

Get any good ideas for your current work in progress?

PLEASE TAKE ANOTHER MINUTE AND LOOK ME UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW.
AND STOP BY JEAN’S WRITING ANYTIME, I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON. 

Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Pinterest, Stumbleupon