A Step in the Write Direction--October 29

A Step in the Write Direction

October 29, 2012

Update:

Seven years ago when my husband was in the hospital for five weeks, a damaging storm hit our mobile home court. I was having trouble getting to sleep, and then these words came to me: “I will lay me down in peace and sleep.” I repeated them over and over, in time to my breathing, until I fell asleep. Later I found them in Psalm 4:8. I still say these words on nights when I can’t sleep.

I was disappointed in the World Series outcome, but after talking with a friend at church yesterday who lost her husband a month ago, and getting an email from a writer friend Saturday night whose husband had just died, how can I complain about baseball?

Busy week ahead. Typing a 192-page book for a publisher, have a manuscript to edit, then will be teaching two classes—How to Write and Sell Your Poetry and Writing Devotionals—at the two-day Arizona Christian Writers Conference this Friday and Saturday. Hope to see some of you there.

Thought for the Day:

Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim (Tyler Knott Gregson)

 

Laugh for the Day:

A minister had a ready Scripture for every occasion. While he was preaching, he swallowed a fly and quickly said, "He was a stranger and I took him in."

Book Recommendation:

If you’re looking for a gift for your children this Christmas, I highly recommend The First Christmas, retold by Janice D. Green. This book not only tells the story in easy-to-understand language of Joseph and Mary, but also of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the shepherds, and the wise men. Best of all, besides the delightful illustrations by Violet Vandor, the book includes questions at the end of the thirteen scenes that will lead to interesting family discussions. You can order it from Honeycomb Adventures Press, LLC.

Writing Hints:

In editing manuscripts I find that many authors do not know how to properly quote a citation. Following is a sample:

Author, name of book in italics, then in parentheses—city, state of publication, followed by colon, then name of publisher and copyright date), comma, then page number. If one page, then p. 1; if more than one page, then pp. 1-2. Actually, many publishers omit the p. and just put the page number. Example:

Goodrich, Donna. A Step in the Write Direction—the Complete How-to Book for Christian Writers (Enumclaw, WA: UpWrite Publishers, 2011), 15.

If that author and book has been cited previously in the same chapter, then you only need the last name, short title, and page number, i.e., Goodrich, A Step in the Write Direction, 15.

If author and book has been cited immediately preceding, then it's Ibid, 15.

Prayer:

I know you’re all praying for the upcoming election. But as someone wrote on Facebook, “No matter who’s president, Jesus is still King!”

Donna Goodrich

www.thewritersfriend.net
"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"