A Step in the Write Direction
September 23,
2013
Update: An enjoyable
week! Proofread a really good book for young single women, and began editing a
book for a mother who lost an eight-year-old daughter. Also had breakfast with
two writer friends and we critiqued manuscripts. I gave them a manuscript I
began many years ago on Isaiah 40:31: Pedestrian Grace—So We Can Walk and Not
Faint. At that time I thought I had a publisher, so I put out a call for
devotionals on that verse and selected about 50 to use. However, the publisher
went out of business, so I laid it aside—until last week. I’ve added enough to
it now to make 100 devotionals, so as soon as it’s finished, I’ll start looking
for a publisher again. That seems to be a favorite verse of many people….Had a
surprise phone call a few days ago from our daughter in Oklahoma. She and our
son-in-law and two granddaughters will be arriving Tuesday night for a week’s
visit!
Interview:
A local reporter wrote a nice article about me this last week. If you’d like to
read it, it’s attached. For those who don’t receive this via email, just email
me at: dgood648@aol.com.
(As far as I know, it’s not online yet.)
Thought for the Day: “I can’t
tell you how many times I would have given up on ministry if it were up to me
and my morale. Fortunately, I learned early on in ministry that the power of the
call always supersedes the days of doubt. If God went to all the trouble to seek
me out for a place of service, the least (and the most) I can do is trust the
call to carry me when I can’t see past the immediate” (Dave Clark, composer,
unpublished book).
Laugh for the Day: The husband was so cheap he hung 50 state
pennants on the wall instead of taking his wife on a vacation.
Writers’ Tips:
Question
1:
At
a new (to me) critique group, the leader said to use italics instead of
quotation marks; i.e., directionally challenged instead of "directionally
challenged." That was news to me. Is that what you
recommend?
Answer:
I’d rather use the quotation marks, if necessary, as I feel an overuse of
italics breaks the train of thought. However, rather than just disagree with
your leader, I’d ask him or her where they found the rule. It might be just
their own personal taste and not a rule.
Question
2:
What
happens if I contributes an article to an anthology, but sign no contract. Can
that contribution be reused elsewhere?
Answer:
The
guidelines should state the rights that the publisher/editor is buying. For the
three anthologies I’ve done, the original call-out stated that we were buying
One-Time Rights only. This meant 1) that the story could have been published
previously, and 2) that the author has the right to send out reprints. I myself
have signed contracts for anthologies I’ve contributed to, and may have authors
do that on my next one—whatever that may be!
Question
3:
In making scene, time, or POV shifts in a novel, how do you show the shift?
In making scene, time, or POV shifts in a novel, how do you show the shift?
Answer:
You
can do it one of several ways. Some authors do it only when they begin a new
chapter. Others simply leave an extra line space; however, to me that is
confusing as the space may come at the end of the page. If you do it within a
chapter, it’s best to center 3 asterisks at that point, or other symbols.
Have a good week spreading
the
gospel
through the printed page.
Donna
Clark Goodrich
dgood648@aol.com
www.thewritersfriend.net
"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete
How-to Guide for Christian Writers"
"The
Freedom of Letting Go"
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