Make-A-Story™ - Monday's Writing Prompt

Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.  It means writing what the publisher wants.  Can you do it?  In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements.  The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.   

A beach house
A starfish
A hurricane  

Write the Vision ~ Wednesday

Just some words of comfort today as you write...


Psalms 34:17 ~ The righteous cry , and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Romans 8:17 ~ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together 

Job 34: 28 ~ So that they caused the cry of the needy to come to Him, and He heard the voice of the poor



Mark 4:39 ~ And rising up, He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Peace, be still. And the wind ceased: and there was made a great calm.

Tactical Tuesday: Advice for Self Editing

I haven't blogged in a bit, and I'm so happy to have this opportunity to return as the blogger for Tactical Tuesday.

In preparing for this blog, I thought long and hard about what advice I could give with regard to self editing. Then it hit me: the best advice I can give to authors tweaking their manuscripts to make the greatest impact upon an editor. Punctuation, grammar, and spelling are important. Having a handle on the elements of story telling such as character, plot, conflict, and point of view are imperative. Still, there is something that must be done before any self editing can occur.

An author must put into concrete form their dreams, their ideas, the stories that burn in his soul, that ache to be born on paper. You can't edit the ideas in your head. You can change your mind. You can play what if and take the story in a different direction, but not until it is down on paper can you make it into the work of art all authors want their stories to become. Let's face it. Authors  write--on paper. Daydreamers dream--keeping the stories inside their heads.

So, today, I'm asking you to self edit yourself. Take time to put your daily routines on paper. Be honest. Do you pick up your phone or your iPad to play Angry Birds or Words with Friends? Are your posts on Facebook and Twitter part of your word count for the day?

Do you volunteer, give of your time to others? Do you critique? Are you a beta reader? How about volunteering for organizations that help mentor to writers? How about working for and having fellowship with members of your church? Helping others is never wrong. Most often when we give from our heart we get back ten-fold, especially when God is in the endeavor. The key to helping others and avoiding the feeling of being put upon, is to realize that to become a writer, to tell the stories that God has placed on your heart, you need to put aside time for the creation of story. Scheduling that time and preventing others from taking it from you (as much as is possible) establishes some boundaries for you as well as well-meaning family and friends who might encroach upon that time.

Really, it's fine to enjoy life outside our strange little writers' worlds, but if you find that five hours of your day are devoted to activities that fail to move your writing career forward, you may want to reconsider your priorities. Five hours of optimized usage of time can equate to quite a large word count.

The key to self-editing our schedules is to prioritize. Add blocks of time to your day to play those games that call to many of us, to visit the social networks, to mentor others, and to fellowship with family and friends. Review your daily routines. Discover when you write best (my best writing time is between 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. when I'm least needed by family and friends, but that isn't always practical). Also, remember to schedule time to exercise. Creativity seems to explode when the blood isn't rushing to the rear sitting in the chair and instead courses through our brain cells.

Each of us have demands on our lives. Some lucky folks, write full time. Some hold down a job and a myriad of family and other obligations. The key to self-editing ourselves and revising our schedule is to decide when and how much time can be devoted to writing. Even a hundred words a day can add up. Oh, and no! Posts to Facebook or Twitter don't count. I know. I polled my writing friends. None would allow me to get away with it. However, they did think me clever for coming up with the idea. But honesty won out in the end.

Happy editing.

We're Celebrating

Another year has past...can you believe it? October first marks our 3rd milestone. Come celebrate with us. Shop October 1st, 2nd and 3rd using code Anniversary2012 and receive 50% off every eBook in stock.

What a way to begin a blog post, right? Well, there are exciting things happening at PBG, and I'm, well...excited to share our many blessings. On this third anniversary of Pelican Ventures acquiring White Rose Publishing, we're getting ready to announce the winners of the Fall PreView giveaway, and this week our Fall books hit store shelves everywhere. DEVOTION by Marianne Evans and WISDOM TREE by Mary Manners are two must-reads! You may think I'm being biased in saying that, since I am editor-in-chief, and I do say it about many of our books...OK, all our books (I can't help it. I must be honest, and we publish some awesome authors.); but trust me, these books are keepers. Check them out.

What else is happening? What, two books in stores and 50% off all eBooks isn't enough for one week? :) Well, I'm itching to tell you about our Watershed Books launch titles, but I'm going to hold off on that for now. (Our YA line will debut on our next anniversay: Oct 2013). I don't want to ruin the surprise. For now, let's just celebrate the wonders of God and the beautiful blessings He's bestowed on us. 

Yesterday at church, we listened to a reading from Mark's gospel where Jesus says to the Twelve "There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us." (Mark 9:39-40) The Apostles were a little put out because "someone else" was baptising people in Jesus' name. While the meaning of this event and the surrounding Scripture, in context, have a vast and awesome meaning, something personal struck me with these words of Jesus: Being for Jesus is what PBG is all about. Our publishing deeds may not be mighty--or they might be, who knows?--but while all involved strive to promote the Gospel and to glorify God, we avoid "speaking ill" of Him--even if that "ill" is just a self-centered, depressed grumble. Our authors, from writing that first draft to polishing a final edit or rechecking a galley, are working for Jesus. Our editors, from evaluating a submission to editing a contracted manuscript--to composing a resubmission or rejection letter--are working for Jesus. Our readers, who may pick up one of our titles solely for entertainment purposes, are for a time, emersed in Jesus. And when we are with Him, when we are for Him, we are not against Him. This is what I love about this company. The business of books is, let's face it, in the short run, insignificant. But when we place that insignificant offering in His hands, for His purpose, it becomes infinitely...more.

When we are for Him, His blessings flow with abundance. Will there be hardship, opposition, failure, grief? Absolutely! Life is life. But the beauty of spending hours with Christ while we write, and edit, and read, is a gift beyond price, and yet still only a fraction of the beauty that awaits us.

As we celebrate another year of Christ's blessings on PBG, my hope for you is that you see Him today in all you do, in those with whom you interact, in the mundane and the fantastic. Be for Jesus today, because He is for us...and if God is with us, who can be against us?