Category Archives: Writng Steps

A Promise Kept

B. J. Myrick
aka Bonnie Eaton

My dear friend and writing buddy of more than fifteen years, B. J. Myrick aka Bonnie Eaton, passed away of COVID on January 27, 2021.

Bonnie and I started our self-publishing careers with books on Lulu and Smashwords before settling on Amazon as our publishing home. We published two anthologies of dark fiction together: Dark Side of the Rainbow and Edge of Nowhere. These were our warmup books to our novels.

Conventions, Book Covers, and Book Shows

Cover photo shoot at Hutchinson, Kansas, during KAC convention
Our book table at an Atlanta, Kansas craft show
Book cover created by Bonnie for my novel, Cordelia’s Journey

Bonnie and I first met at a Kansas Writers Association meeting. Later, we also joined Kansas Authors Club. Both organizations helped us move from wannabe writers to published authors.

At a Kansas Authors Club Convention in Hutchinson, Kansas, we had a photo shoot for Bonnie’s novel, Angel of Mercy. Bonnie was the model for and the creator of her own book cover.

At another convention in Topeka, Kansas, we did a photo shoot for Cordelia’s Journey. Victoria Hermes-Bond was the girl walking away on the book cover. You’d never know from looking that the photo was taken in front of a hotel on a busy Topeka street. Bonnie, with her wonderful Photoshop skills, was able to take the girl out of the city and put her in a wooded country area. She made all of the book covers for my Pierce Family Saga series except the last one.

Without Bonnie, I would probably never have published a book, and now I have published ten novels. I called her my relentless friend because she would never let me give up.

In my last conversation with her, she tearfully asked, “What will happen to my book?” Bonnie had just completed a rough draft of her fourth novel, which she had been working on since the fall of 2017 and feared for its fate. I promised to edit and publish it. I finally made good on that promise in September, 2022. Summer Harvest is now available on Amazon.

Available on Amazon in eBook and paperback

I chose the category of Christian thriller because the main character and hero, Garrett Potmeyer, is a Christian, and a possible prophet shows up to help him save four billion people from being killed through a secret government program of climate manipulation.

Florida’s recent Hurricane Ian was, through one reported conspiracy account, caused by just such a deep state action. Bonnie loved conspiracies. I don’t know much about them, so I put my faith in her research.

I’m not sure what Bonnie would say about my chosen headline for the book description, but here it is:

This year’s Summer Harvest: A bumper crop of humans.

The final sentence in the book description:

With only his faith to guide him, can Garrett stop the final phase of Summer Harvest before half the Earth’s population is destroyed?

If you like reading about conspiracy theories and covert government actions, check out Bonnie’s last book.

And if you knew Bonnie and have a memory to share, please leave a comment.

Brainstorming Book Blurbs, II

Yesterday, I took a look at how writer friend Victoria Hermes-Bond (Vicki) and I brainstormed the book blurb for her upcoming novel, Long Highway Home. Today, I will continue the story with my own soon to be published book, a standalone serial killer novel I am currently calling The Hunt. I also thought of calling it He’s Back. Everything except the story itself is still in flux. Even so, I thought a possible book cover would make this page more interesting, so let me know what you think of this one.

Don’t strain your eyes to read the back cover. I’ve included the copy below.

Original rough draft

Before Vicki and I met for our brainstorming session, I wrote the following rough draft:

Every July from 1981 to 1989, someone was murdered in the small western Kansas town of Harvest. The last murder was the sheriff’s wife. Then the killings stopped. Sheriff Carter Lane lost both his job and his wife. People whispered that he was the killer.

For nineteen years there were no more murders. Then, as the twentieth anniversary of the killings neared, retired newspaper reporter Leora Keegan got a contract to write a book on the unsolved murders. Leora never believed Carter Lane was the killer, so not only does she interview him, but they decide to work together on solving the crimes. Only days into the investigation, they begin receiving threats to their lives and those of their loved ones.

Can they identify the killer before he strikes again?

Revision process

We started our discussion with the usual questions:
What’s in?
What’s out?
What order?
What’s the best word choice?
What’s the best sentence to capture a reader’s attention? (I’m still fretting about this one.)

After a lengthy discussion, we came up with the following:

Revised blurb

What happened to the 4T Killer? Did he retire, die, go to jail, or find a new hunting ground?

These are the questions on ex-newspaper reporter Leora Keegan’s mind as she researches the yearly July killings that began in 1981, in the small town of Harvest in western Kansas. Then, in 1989, the killings abruptly stopped.

Now it is 2008, and Leora has signed a contract to write a book about the unsolved murders. During her research, she interviews the ex-sheriff, Carter Lane, and they join forces to solve the cold case. Their investigation stirs the killer to action. He sends notes threatening them and their loved ones, and signs them with his signature name, 4T: Track, Trap, Torture, Terminate.

I admit

Okay, the words on the back cover of my sample are not identical to the revised version above. While I was working on this post, I thought of a phrase I thought worked better, so I made a change. Isn’t that what writing is all about: working through first thoughts and refining them until they shine?

Your thoughts

As I said at the beginning, everything, including the title, is a work in progress.
Which title do you like best: The Hunt or He’s Back or something else?
Is there something in the blurb that could be improved?
My plan is to publish the book by October 31, 2022, but If you have any suggestions before then, please leave a comment.

Brainstorming Book Blurbs

I don’t know about other writers, but one of the most challenging pieces of writing I do is the back cover book blurb or Amazon sales page book description. Friday, some of the pain was taken out of the task when writer friend, Victoria Hermes-Bond, (Vicki) visited, and we spent the morning brainstorming blurbs for our upcoming novels.

The first book in Vicki’s Women of Reflection Parkway series is Rolling the Dice, a contemporary novel about a group of friends who support each other through life’s challenges.

Book 1of the series is available on Amazon

Vicki is currently preparing the second book in the series, Long Highway Home, for publication later this year. But, of course, before a book can be published, a cover with a book blurb on the back is needed. Since I am also preparing a new novel for publication at the end of October, it made sense for us to get together and brainstorm.

When we met at my place, we each had general ideas of what we wanted to say. What both of our descriptions lacked was a headline that would grab our readers’ attention and indicate what each book was about.

We tackled Vicki’s description first. Long Highway Home centers on two of the women who lived on Reflection Parkway and became good friends at regular neighborhood Bunco games. Life has changed drastically for these women since the first book. Below is the description without the headline.

Original description minus minor tweaks

Alex Webster wrestles with empty nest syndrome after her youngest daughter heads to college. Her husband, Jim, a successful corporate lawyer, dismisses her plight, so Alex goes on sabbatical. Only she forgot to clue her husband in. What she hoped to be an opportunity for personal growth has created changes she never envisioned.  And then there’s Sam, an old-fashioned truck driver, who apparently has become her new confidant.

Also, her dear friend Lydia Parker, a recent widow, travels to Italy as a foreign exchange student and meets Lorenzo, the faculty chef. A romance blossoms until Lydia discovers he seems to be hiding something. If there’s one thing she can’t tolerate in a relationship, it’s secrets. Her now deceased husband, Cole, harbored a huge secret that almost destroyed her.

Surrounded by the love and support of the other Bunco Queens, Kara, Patti-Anne, and Sharon Kay, these women navigate the messiness of their lives. After all, friendships are the glue that hold us all together.

Searching for that single sentence that tells what the book is about

Vicki and I began batting around ideas about what common problem these two women shared. Here is what we came up with:

Can two women whose marriages have gone sideways resolve their trust issues to embrace a happier, more fulfilling future?

Still tweaking

The problem with being an editor is that I am always asking “What if?” In this case, what if the headline was a statement instead of a question? Which is more effective? Let’s see:

Two women whose marriages have gone sideways work to resolve their trust issues and embrace a happier, more fulfilling future.

What do you think?

We’d love to have you weigh in. That’s what brainstorming is all about: sifting through lots of ideas to come up with the best statement possible. Do you think the question or the statement is more effective? Do you have a totally different suggestion? Please comment.

Note: I had originally intended to include the brainstormed version of my book blurb for The Hunt, my new serial killer novel, but this post is longer than I anticipated, so I will save my blurb for the next post.

After a Long Absence

In November, I was notified that my blog had been hacked. I would need to make some changes in order to have access to post again. Because I am technologically challenged, I procrastinated making those changes for a very long time. Today, following my New Year’s resolution to do the hard thing first, I began my day by following the instructions I was given, and here I am.

Now that I can post again, I will be adding information about my fiction to these pages, as well as posts on writing to fit various occasions. Thank you for your patience

To Sell Local, Buy Local

Small Business Saturday was occurring as I was editing this week’s video interview with Marcia Lawrence, owner of Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia, Kansas. As I listened to the local radio station advertising all the terrific, locally-owned businesses, I thought of the nutrition store where I once worked that closed its natural foods lunch counter for lack of customers. Two and three years after the closure, someone would come in and ask what had happened to that “wonderful lunch buffet.” When they expressed disappointment, I wondered how disappointed they could be. After all, they were just finding out after years had passed that the lunch in our store was no longer available.

Admiration won’t keep your favorite stores in business; only paying customers will. If you love your local bookstore, wherever it may be, show your love with your purchases and send your friends its way as well.

That leads me to today’s interview in which Marcia reveals her favorite sections at Ellen Plumb’s: new books, the classics, and travel books. Her enthusiasm is obvious as she points to new books on current issues, including White Trash and America and Its Guns.  Next, she strokes the covers of “pettable” classics, and, finally, takes us to the growing travel book section. In the final minute, she says it’s not too late to special order books for Christmas. If there is a favorite book you think a friend would enjoy, get in touch with your local bookstore, wherever it may be, and share your love of books.

If you have a favorite local bookstore in your town, please leave a comment about it.

Photo of Hazel Hart

Prewriting Steps 3 and 4: Connection and Purpose

How are connection and purpose related to each other?

When you write non-fiction–essays, articles, blog posts, and even research papers–readers will want to know your background in the subject. What qualifies you to be giving information or advice on your chosen topic? Blogs have “About me” pages to let readers know why you are blogging about raising children, finding jobs, repairing old cars, or selecting vacation spots, among the thousands of possible topics you might have picked. Have you experienced being a parent, looking for a job, restoring antique cars, or traveling to tourist areas? Have you taken classes in your subject area? Did your parents teach you? Did you learn your information as an employee or business owner? Your connection to a topic gives you credibility with the reader. It also helps you to form a purpose for your essay, article, or post.

Three writing purposes: Inform, entertain, and persuade

When asked what the purpose of their essay is, students sometimes say, “To get a good grade.” True, that is what students want their essay to do for them, but the question about purpose is what the essay will do for their readers.

If you are the parent of four teenagers and have given each a birthday party every year, you may write about how to give a successful birthday party (inform), how a birthday party went terribly wrong (entertain), or how small family parties are preferable to elaborate parties with thirty or more guests (persuade).

If you have spent time looking for a job, you might write about what you did to find a good job (inform), the worst interview you ever had (entertain), or how attitude matters in the job hunt (persuade).

What if you are assigned a topic and have no connection to it?

Perhaps your instructor wants you to write about alternative energy sources. Find someone who does have a connection. Perhaps a friend works in a field related to your assigned topic. If you do not have such a friend, look for someone who belongs to a related organization and set up an interview. While you may not be passionate about the assigned topic, many people are. Find one. The excitement the interviewee brings to the topic may inspire you as well as your readers.

 

Photo of Hazel Hart

Prewriting Step 2: Audience Analysis

Once you have a topic in mind for an essay or article, it’s time to start thinking about audience.

Even with all my experience writing, I freeze up when someone asks, “Who is your audience?” I want to reply the same way my former students often did: “Everybody.”

Everybody!

Really?

Why doesn’t “everybody” work as an audience? Let’s take a look at who is included in the category of everybody:

  • Newborn babies
  • The world’s oldest living person
  • All the people in between
  • People who do not speak or read the language you write in
  • People who can’t read any language or don’t want to
  • People who don’t care about your topic

With the above list in mind, let’s consider a topic college women often write about: weddings. Look at the list above, and you will see there are a number of groups you can cross off as not a part of your possible audience.

Let’s assume children under the age of twelve won’t be interested. But wait. If the essay or article is written about a child being part of a wedding, perhaps as a ring bearer or flower girl, and the language is appropriate to the age level, you might have found an audience.

What about men as an audience for your wedding article? Consider that most wedding magazines have “bride” in the title, and take that as a hint about the number of men who are interested in reading about weddings. That is not to say no man will ever be interested, but most will not. While men are a part of everybody, they are probably not part of your target audience.

So women make up the target audience. But which women? What is the age of the bride? Your essay will probably appeal to women of the same age. Are you writing about how to prepare for a church wedding? Those most interested will be potential brides with the money to invest in the wedding you describe. Are you writing about some disaster at your wedding that you laugh about now? Women often enjoy these stories long after they have been brides themselves. Each slant will have a different audience. Note: If you are writing your essay for a class, you may want a different topic because your instructor has probably received at least six wedding essays in the current group and may be tired of them.

What about topics college men write about?

If you are a man and you’ve gotten this far, you are probably getting tired of all the wedding talk. You may be thinking that this blog post is only for women writers. Not so, but you see how examples matter. Frequent topics of former male students included cars, hunting, and becoming a father.

For college men, a first car, from buying it to keeping it in running condition, along with the freedom the vehicle gave them, is a frequent topic for a narrative essay, one that tells a story. Buying your first car could have a broader audience than the wedding example I used above since women may also be interested in how to get the best deal. However, the mechanical aspects of do-it-yourself car repair will appeal mostly to men. But what men? All? No. Your audience might be young men with their first cars and not much money for repairs. They might be men fascinated by the mechanical workings of a vehicle. But some men will not be interested in spending time on cars. They may be men who are working full time and don’t want to spend their free time repairing and maintaining a vehicle. They would rather pay someone to do the work. Wait. Do you have any tips on finding a good mechanic? Make a list of likely readers before you start writing the rough draft of your essay. Note: I have yawned over five or six change-the-oil essays from one set of process assignments. If this essay is for a class, changing the oil is not a good topic. However, it might be an excellent topic for other circumstances.

Factors to Consider:

Age: Pick a topic common to all reading ages, such as training a dog. Go to your public library and look at books on your chosen topic in the child, young adult, and adult sections. Examine the differences in the way the subject matter is handled. Note such things as word choices, the length of sentences, and types of examples.

Experience level and interest of the reader: As you look at the books on your chosen topic, select several from the same age group and skim the table of contents and first chapter. Look for the perceived experience level. For the dog example, how does the writer perceive the reader? Is the likely reader someone with a new pet who needs to know how to train the dog to not jump on people and not chew up shoes? Is this a book for a dog trainer? Is this a book for people who want to breed dogs and sell them? Is this a book for people who want to show dogs in a competition?

To recap: Why Audience Matters

Whether you are writing for a class, a blog, a letter of application for a job or scholarship, or any other situation, knowing your audience will help you select the correct language level and examples for those readers.

Questions about audience:

If you have questions about audience, please ask them in a comment.

What’s next?

In the next post, I’ll be writing about your connection to a topic and defining the purpose of an essay or article.

Photo of Hazel Hart

Prewriting Step 1: The Blurt

When I began this post, I thought I knew what I was going to write. Then I opened Microsoft Word, typed the title, and stared at the blinking cursor. What now? If you are like most writers, you have had the same experience. What is the best way to get past it?

Blurt.

When you blurt, you say or write something without stopping to think. Blurting often reveals what you really think.

I realize you may have a negative reaction to blurting. After all, if you say something without thinking, it can get you into trouble. In fact, it probably has. But blurting can be good. You get your honest feelings out without stopping to worry about whether someone will be hurt by them or disagree or be bored.

You may be thinking “That sounds suspiciously like freewriting.”

I confess. The Blurt is freewriting. Calling it something else was my way of arousing your curiosity so you would give it your attention.

How to blurt

To blurt or freewrite, set a timer for ten, fifteen, or even twenty minutes and write without stopping. You can use blurting when you are searching for a topic or after you have a topic and are trying to find what you want to say about it. In April, I took a WordPress course, Writing 101. The first assignment was a twenty-minute freewriting. My effort is a good example of what freewriting (blurting) looks like, so take a look at my freewriting now. After reading it, come back to this post for more information on the blurting process.

As you can see from my freewriting example, I had no topic, only an assignment to write, so my thoughts were scattered. At the end of twenty minutes, I had touched on many possible topics including the act of freewriting and how I was spending free time in retirement. While writing about retirement, I touched on reading, walking, shopping at the farmer’s market, and marketing my books. I also mentioned a desire to travel.

What to do with a blurt once it is written

Review what you have written. Highlight those topics or sentences that say “Write about me.” I have chosen to write this post about how to blurt because writing is what this blog is all about. However, for my Seasoned Aspirer blog, I might have chosen to write about my desire to travel because that blog focuses on things I have always wanted to do and what I’m doing now to accomplish them.

When to blurt again

If your first blurt was not topic specific, then you may need to do a second one, this time focusing on your chosen subject. There are times when you may return to the process as you continue to narrow your topic. There will be more about that in a later post.

What should be included in a topic-specific blurt

Whether you have come to your topic through a series of general to specific blurts or have an assigned topic from an instructor or editor, when you arrive at the subject you know you will write about, you need to write about your connection to that topic. What qualifies you to write about the subject? Do you have personal experience with it? Have you taken a course on it? Watched television documentaries? Read news articles? Know what your Facebook friends think of it? In other words, what do you know about the subject and how did you come to know it?

As an example, I will choose my desire to travel as my topic. In my blurt, I might discuss my desired destinations and whether I should tour with a group or take my own car. I might write about costs, finding hotels, and the types of attractions I wanted to visit. My connections would include my past travel experiences, including one in which I was standing with a friend at a bus stop in downtown Denver at 1:00 a.m., having missed the last bus to her house and seeing a homeless person sleeping on a bench across the street and vowing to never again go anywhere without my car. My experience taught me that traveling by car is best for me.

What if I don’t know anything about the topic?

If you have been assigned a topic you don’t have direct knowledge of, say so. Then write about all the places you might find information without giving any thought to how you might actually do any of the things you write. If you start judging your options as you write them down, you might discard the very action that would be most valuable. Write first. Then think about how you might accomplish each task.  Is there anyone you might ask? Are there YouTube videos? Can you do an online search? Is there an expert in your town you can interview? Where else can you get information? In this instance, the blurting will help you develop a plan to get the details you need to complete your assignment.

What’s next?

Once you have blurted on a specific topic and highlighted useful material, you are ready to identify your audience and narrow your subject, steps I will cover in the next two posts. In the meantime, go do some blurting.

 

 

Writing 101: My Freewriting Assignment

I am taking Writing 101 from WordPress and the first assignment is to freewrite for twenty minutes without stopping. This is actually fitting well with what this blog is about. I have been trying to write a blog about freewriting for a week now and nothing is coming out the way I like. this will be a good example of freewriting for people to read. I think too often people find this process hard and stop to think. In fact, I am doing that now. I want to correct my typos I want to put in missed periods Oh my, this is  hard.

I stopped to breath so I changed paragraphs. It is difficult for me to let mistakes go I think that is probably true in my life as in my writing. I should have done is a favorite maybe frequent is a better word thought process.

Another breath. What now? I first thought I would write about retirement. I “retired” in january, a nicer term that quit my job. But I am 70. It’s time to retire, right? But I still need money, which was why I was still working. So i thought I would have time to promote my books and write more. Where does time go? Why do people think they will have time to do things when they retire? How can be people be bored and say there is nothing to do?

Anyway, another breath. What now? I am still messing around correcting my punctuation. Have to stop that. It is not freewriting if you are correcting stuff. I want better word choice, but there is no time for that. Have to stop using the backspace key. Anyway, taking a lot of classes and activities. Library book discussion. Took up a lot of time reading Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, almost 800 pages. Then didn’t make the discussion because it was cold and snowy the night of the discussion. There’s those repeated words. Once and English teacher, always an English teacher. Anyway, I like the book but reading almost 800 pages takes a lot of time. Then I did Blogging 101 and now this and I am signed up for other stuff, Like Walk Kansas. Must walk 150 minutes a week and eat 14 fruits and 21 vegetables a week. That means that there is lots of prepping to eat fruits and vegetalb.es. They take time.

What else is taking up time instead of writing. Well there is marketing which I know next to nothing about, so I am trying to figure that out. Everyone says you must be on Facebook and Twitter, but I don’t know what to do with them. I also signed up with Pinterest and LinkedIn. Lots of stuff to feel guilty about not doing.

Went to the farmer’s market for fresh vegetables on Saturday. Walked in to the hallways where vendors are lined up. It was packed. I was claustrophobic. Walked the length of the booths and saw some nice things, fresh greens, turnips, green onions, plus baked goods, crafts, fars of honey–thats jars folks. Anyway, I scurried back to the front door and out. Cannot make decisions when there are so many people. Maybe when they move outside next month.

Really, the timer has not gone off yet. I am not a fast typist but it feels like this is going on forever. Pity the poor reader. But my readers for the blog, the ones I  am telling to use freewriting, I call it the blurt because you are meant to do it without thinking, will at least have a good example of what it is and what may come oout.

What else? there must be something else happening. I wish the timer was beside me instead of in the other room I didn’t even look at the time I started, just punched the timer button. I am glad I tell people to do this for ten minutes instead of twenty. My wrists are wearing out.

When I was teaching, I had students who thought their freewriting would work for a final draft. Not so. But then before I told them about the writing process, freewriting was their rough draft and often the final one.

So what will i do with all these words that are disconnected. I do see possible topics for my other blog, Seasoned Aspirer. I want to travell. Did I mention that? I think not. When I was working I didn’t have time to go anywhere. Now I am not and I don’t have money to go anywhere. Life did not provide retirement plans and now I am studk. Where do I want to go. The rec center has some good trips coming up– South Dakota and Mount Rushmore and another to Nashville. I want to go. Aloways wanted to go to Elvis’s home–can’t remember the name this second so I have to keep moving. It will come later.

What time is it anyway. I am starting to stress.. Did I really punch the button that started the timer. I hope so. If not, when will I give up and stop. There it is! Yes!

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Writing: From Concept to Rough Draft–A Series Overview

Overcoming the Blank Screen

Whether you write with pen, typewriter, or computer, you will probably suffer a bout of writer’s block at some time during your writing life. To help my students get past the blank screen, I put together a prewriting guide.  In the next few blog posts, I will explain the various sections in the guide and the importance of each. Topics that will be covered in the series include freewriting on the subject, developing  the topic sentence or thesis statement, identifying an audience and purpose, and creating the working title and outline.

Write to Fit Project Planner

I discussed the Write to Fit Project Planner in a previous post. Once you have it filled out, it is time to move forward with the first stage of writing: gathering information. The Write to Fit Project Prewriting Guide outlined below is the perfect form to help with that task.

Write to Fit Project Prewriting Guide

This guide gets you started and gives you an organized direction, but your ideas are not written in stone. You may change any one or all of them as better ideas come to you. That is how the writing process works.

Freewriting: The Blurt

With the topic of your project in mind, set a timer and write for ten to fifteen minutes without stopping. One of the following questions may help you get started. What is your experience with the topic? What do you know or believe? How did you learn what you know? Why do you believe what you do? What people do you associate with the topic?

Connection

Explain your connection to the topic. Did someone you know teach you these things? Have you personally observed or experienced the examples given in the essay? Are you writing from experiences gained through a hobby, job, or course?

 Audience

Describe the people you feel will most enjoy or benefit from your essay or article. Consider age, gender, marital status, educational level, profession, and any other pertinent identifying factors.

Purpose

Do you want to inform, entertain, or persuade your audience?

Topic Sentence or Thesis Statement

What is the main point you want to make? If you are writing a single standalone paragraph, the main point will be given in the topic sentence. If you are writing an essay or longer work, your main point will be made in a thesis statement.

Working Outline

A working outline is a simple listing of the details that support your thesis in the order you think you will use them.

Concluding Sentence

Review the information in your previous answers and create a sentence that will bring your essay to an effective conclusion. As with all other answers in this guide, this sentence may be changed as better words and ideas come to you.

You may download a copy of the Write to Fit Project Prewriting Guide and use it to organize your writing projects. Come back to read in depth explanations on each of the components in the guide in upcoming posts.

 

© 2015 Hazel Hart