A Step in the Write Direction--October 1

 

A Step in the Write Direction

 

October 1, 2012

 

Update:

 

It can't be October already! Seems like we just celebrated Christmas! This week hopefully won’t be as busy as last week’s was with doctor’s appointments and a funeral for our good friend. Just finishing a 416-page proofreading job on “Big Questions on the Bible.” Very interesting. Today I get another 240-page job on “Iran and Israel.” Very timely.

 

I don’t get into politics, but our pastor preached a good sermon yesterday on respecting and praying for our leaders. Even if and when we don’t agree with them, we need to be in prayer for them and for our country, especially with the election coming up.

 

If you check out my blog site at http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com you’ll notice I finally figured out how to put a profile and a photo on it (hope that doesn’t scare any of you away!). Now I just have to learn how to put a “follow” on it. If any of you know how to do this, email me @ dgood648@aol.com.

 

Thought for the Day:

 

“Don’t you know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lives in the eternal now, can enter that old painful memory and heal it so that it will no longer control you?” (Richard Foster, cited by Cynthia H. Bezek, “The Role of Inner-Healing Prayer in Spiritual Transformation.” conversationsjournal.com

 

 (Note: If you’re still trying to erase that old painful memory, perhaps my book The Freedom of Letting Go will help you. One of the chapters deals with Letting Go of the Hurts in Your Life.”)

Laugh for the Day:

 

When comedian Yakov Smirnoff first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk—you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice—you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, “What a country!"

 

Writing Hints: Organization

 

F.A. Rockwell defines an expert as “someone who knows no more than you do, but who has it better organized and uses slides.” Successful writing requires organization. For me that means at least one four-drawer file cabinet. I did put all my manuscripts—sold and unsold—on a CD, with a copy in a fireproof safe, and this emptied two drawers. For my posterity, however, I printed off copies of each one and put them in notebooks divided into nonfiction, fiction, devotionals, poetry, and so on. And I still keep paper submission records, even though I include that information on the CD with each manuscript.

 

Several writer friends subscribe to Carbonite, a software program that automatically and

securely backs up the contents of your computer for an annual fee. Even if your computer

is stolen, Carbonite has it all. (See www.carbonite.com/ for more information.)

 

I also keep idea folders. When I get more than one idea on the same subject, I give it a tentative title and a folder. Then when I find more material relating to that theme, or I have time to work on that particular manuscript, everything is in one place. You can also scan this information into a computer file.

 

And I keep files of quotations and articles. I read the newspapers with a pen and scissors, and as soon as I clip something, I immediately put the source and the date at the top. These clippings can also be scanned onto a CD or into a file, but I like the idea of going through the folders looking for a specific illustration. Whenever I do this, I always get ideas for other projects. Quotations or illustrations I find on the Internet, or that friends send me via e-mail, I download to a “Quotations” file….I also keep files related to different aspects of writing.

 

What organizational ideas would you like to pass on?

 

Christmas is coming. Below are some ideas for gifts for your friends:

 

NEW in 2012: Celebrating Christmas with...Memories, Poetry, and Good Food. 292 pages of Christian stories, poetry, and delicious recipes.

Price $20, plus $3 s&h

 

COMING IN OCTOBER: Grandmother, Mother, and Me: Stories, Poems, and Recipes. 250 pages. You'll enjoy these authors' reminiscences of times spent with their mothers and grandmothers, and the recipes they enjoyed sharing with them.

Price (tentative) $17, plus $3 s&h

 

ALSO COMING IN OCTOBER:

Preparing Your Heart for Christmas--31 devotionals to help you celebrate the Christmas season.

Price $10, plus $2 s&h

 

COMING NEXT SPRING:

Rhyme-Time Bible Stories for Little Ones--12 Bible stories in poetry that your little one will enjoy hearing read time after time after time. Price will be around $15.

 

Other books are listed on my Web site.

 

Donna Clark Goodrich

www.thewriterfriend.net