writing – Page 3 – Jean's Writing

Who knew there were so many ways to describe eyebrows?

Published on March 27, 2019March 28, 2019 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Writers, that’s who.In case you missed the post about 700 eyebrows…

700+ Ways to Describe Eyebrows: A Word List for Writers

Get any tips for describing this?

What did you come up with?

How would you describe this guy’s eyes?

Here is my try…

His overgrown eyebrows diminished his dark eyes. He would’ve benefited more from a bit of tweezing than the silver piercing lodged amid his bushy brow.

Now your turn. Leave your description in the comments section. Have fun.

To check out Kathy Steinemann’s Writer’s Lexicon, on her author page at Amazon.com

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Do you read the fine print in a contract?

Published on March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

Publishing contracts are like all contracts in one specific way. A publishing contract also has fine print. And what is not in the contract can be as important as what is.

For instance, did you know…

Unless stated otherwise, a contract can stay in force for 70 years after your death?

Make sure you understand what you are signing. Pull out those reading glasses and read each, and every, line. And don’t be shy about asking questions. Information is empowering. So garner all the info you can before signing on the dotted line.

Fingers crossed that one day I’ll have this problem. Ha Ha.

Anyhow, back to the subject at hand.

I’ve stumbled across a very informative article and wanted to share. So head over to Read Between the Lines by Stevie Turner in Blogs.

Remember…

Did you know about the 70-year thing?

Have you signed a publishing contract yet? What was your experience?

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How to prevent your well from running dry

Published on March 6, 2019 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

And keep new and fresh ideas bubbling to the surface.

So many times, more than I like to admit, my well of ideas dries up like a desert. But, then when I least expect it, BLAM, a new one hits me upside the head.

For instance, at dinner the other night a friend shared how much her grandson loved my book, A Reluctant Little Prince. She explained which character he loved the most and why. As I lay in bed that night, savoring her wonderful compliments, BAM, a new children’s book clobbered me.

But we can’t always wait for divine inspiration. There are way too many dry spells in between.

So, how do we keep the ideas flowing?

Thanks goes to Now Novel for a few terrific suggestions on how to keep the well of ideas overflowing…

Book ideas: 12 inspiring sources

Here’s the cliff note of what I learned…

Look to the Gods. Not praying and waiting, but check out various myths and superstitions are good fodder for a story. Have a favorite myth? Try rewriting it in the current day.
Historical events. Use for backstory. Rewrite events into your story.
Documentaries. Use a documentary to broaden your knowledge. Turn it into fiction by asking the “What if” question.
Journaling. Now I’m not good at keeping a daily journal, but I do keep an idea journal.
Central Idea section of Now Novel. Can’t wait to try this.
Search Archives. Historical and ancestry archives can be a treasure trove. Now Novel gives a couple of links to get us started. I can get lost in Ancestry stuff.
Inspiration from your favorite author. Again, ask “What if” and see how an idea can grow.
Find a new experience. Hmm, this one I’m going to think about a bit.
Short stories. Write or read a short story and try to develop it into a novel.
What if. We all know about this question. But try asking it about movies, as well as stories and see if a new idea comes.
Music. Not for me. I find music distracting instead of inspiring.
Creative constraints. This is used in short stories and flash fiction with word counts. But try writing about a character with constraints of some sort. Again, this one will take a bit of thinking for me.

As always, the article above gives us a lot more information about finding story ideas. I hope you’ll click on the link and read all about her 12 idea suggestions. Plus there are a few great links to check out.