If you know someone who has served honorably for freedom, leave a message including their first name, the war they served in, rank and a message you may want to share to thank or honor their courage.
Those who read this post, please pray for each family in the comment list. Invite others to join in the celebration of courage.
One word for you…Wasabi. That’s what this dish is covered with. If you’ve never had it before, Wasabi is green Japanese horse radish. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!!!
When my husband and I first met we were out with a group of friend’s at a Japanese steak house. Being green to the wasabi on my plate, my friends thought they’d have some fun. (No worries, I got even…it’s called lutefisk.)
I naively asked, so how much do I use? Oh, they reassured me that I should use a scoop about the size of a nickle. So, I went along and slathered it on top of a small piece of mushroom tempura.
YIKES!!! My tongue and throat were on fire. My sinuses cleared and my voice squeaked. There wasn’t enough water in the whole restaurant that night. My taste buds were destroyed for a week.
Wasabi is potent stuff usually only consumed in small bits less than the size of a dime. I didn’t know that then, but since my husband knew nothing of lutefisk, we are still happily married. Lol!
What does wasabi and the writing profession have in common?
Potency. Small things have a big ripple effect in a small pond. Likewise, a little bit of the wrong kind of spice ruins the flavor of your professional reputation.
Are you getting in the way of your own professional advancement?
What would have a negative wasabi type impact on your reputation in the publishing industry?
*Publicly Criticizing Experts In The Industry. Putting down an author, editor or agent smacks of an attitude of superiority. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. Recognize the strengths of others and be aware of your imperfections.
*Speaking Unprofessionally On Facebook, Blogs, or other internet venues. Really, do not say anything on line that you wouldn’t want to say in front of a crowd full of professional authors, or your own mother.
*Arguing With Negative Reviews. A year ago a writer responded defensively to a negative book review. Her poor choice of words and nasty attitude went viral in just 24 hours. She did enormous damage to her credibility as a writer in just a few hours.
*Having an Unteachable Spirit. If you argue with the voices of wisdom in your profession on a consistent basis, you will appear to be unteachable. No one wants to take on this type of writer because when it comes to the editing phase before publication you will be a nightmare to work with and kill your hopes of a publishing future.
*Unethical Behavior. A wide range of issues like plagerism, dishonesty, etc.
*Responding To A Rejection Letter With An Angry Reply. The agents and editors who read our manuscripts are the gate keepers of this industry. They do talk to each other.
You will notice that I didn’t mention some of the things that are mistakes new writers do, without realizing it. That is because you can fix that by changing your actions and apologizing if necessary.
Agents and editors as well as others in the industry do realize that every one is green in the beginning. So, if you’ve made a newbie mistake, don’t fret. Learn from your mistakes and move forward.
If you have done something that created a wasabi type reaction to your reputation:
*Apologize.
*Make it right.
*Don’t Make Excuses.
*Show Respect To Those You Have Wronged In A Public Manner.
*Change Your Behavior.
*Pray for guidance and move forward.
What other advice would you give to someone who has damaged their reputation? Or what food have you been tricked into eating?
Last Sunday as I dropped my youngest boy off for preschool class at church, he turned to me and said, “I love you mama.”
At that very moment he had my heart in his little hand. Yes, he is cute. Yes, he is my boy. But he grabbed me by the heartstrings with just the way he said, “Mama.” Even the Sunday School Teacher said, “Awe.”
Why? Yes being cute and mine had something to do with the Awe moment, but it was also the way he said the words.
In our novels we want readers to go, “Awe.” So yes, it needs to be a beautiful girl/handsome prince or some such relationship closeness in other genres, that person must be special to the one who hears it (including the reader) and then the last ingredient is the one that brings the ultimate reaction.
We do quite well with the first two parts of that formula, but we often forget the way we say or present the situation creates the awe.
Formula:
Relationship+Special To Hero/Heroine/Reader+Presentation=AWE
If you do your story well, the first two should be taken care of already, but the Presentation part of the Awe moment is what we will focus on here.
Think of the Movie, “Jerry McGuire.” When he came back at the end, they took the special words from the beginning of the movie that show the ultimate trust in him at that time and put them at the end to create the Awe. “You Had Me At Hello” was both at the beginning and end of the show.
When we think about the presentation of the AWE moment, it often helps to do or say something meaningful to the character’s relationship. My friend Rachel Hauck calls these book ends. That means you put a similar thing at the beginning of the novel and end of the novel, only the character reacts differently. Sometimes these book ends create an Awe moment.
Watch some of your favorite movies, or read your favorite books. Look for the awe moment and study it’s presentation. Before long you will be a pro.
What examples of ‘Awe Moments’ can you think of in a book or movie?
A few days ago on my blog we had a goofy phrase contest and I titled this article after the winning quote by Pat Trainum. I absolutely loved the phrase crazy as a lizard, because it illustrates the richness of individual communities’ dialogue.
In Minnesota we would never say the phrase, “Crazy As A Road Lizard,” because its too cold for road lizards here. You might hear us say, “Crazy As A Loon.” The loon is our state bird.
In real life communities there are local phrases, jokes and centers of action like the local cafe. There is a style and rhythm to life that makes communities unique.
For example, if you are from a tourist town the locals may call themselves, ‘townies.’ They may all eat at a local cafe where the gossip mill keeps everyone up on the latest news. You may have a local crazy person, or house that people say is creepy. These are all flavors of a community.
My favorite community in a novel is Sanctuary, Oregon in Shattered Justice by Karen Ball. The town is full of local fun, right down to the population sign that includes 1/2 for the puppy everyone thinks is so tiny. We get a slice of the local cafe, where the owner makes everyone drink their milk. And the tone of mischief by local teens is blowing up outhouses.
There are several flavors to a community. Here are a few to include in your novel:
*Local Dialogue. There are always local phrases that communities say that are unique to an area.
*Relationship Ties. In small towns everyone knows everyone else and the rumor mill works overtime. In a bigger town the rich and the poor maybe divided by railroad tracks and they don’t mix.
*Local Smells. The bakery donuts, or the smell of the sea will create a specific memory for a reader. Then when you deviate from this, it’s impression will be greater.
*Visual Flavor. The best way to describe this is to compare Cracker Barrel to Ponderosa. The first has a flare of down home with rustic decor and a large hearth at the center. Ponderosa has western type decor with cattle flare. Find the visual flavor of your town and bring it to life.
*Heart Of The Community. What is the center of the community? Fishing industry, church, a common cause, etc. Show how the community will bond together by the heart.
*Local Sounds. The sound of a fog horn, sea gulls, traffic, night life, etc. This speaks of the life of the town.
*Local Legend. In Minnesota we have big foot and snipe hunting. There are sometimes local crazies or sport legends. Or even the occasional town pet.
What other flavors do you think are part of a community? Tell us a few of your local flavors.
As a young girl I remember wanting to be all grown up. Right. Now. Until of course it was chore time, then I wanted to be too little with all of my heart.
This picture of my sister and I was taken when I was six years old. The one in the yellow dress is me. Boy, does time change things, except of course when it is chore time. Somehow I still want to be too little about then.
The little girl who loved climbing trees and playing school in the playhouse in our backyard has her feet firmly planted on the ground. No more tree climbing. No more mud pies. Well, occasionally mud pies with my kids.
The things I do now show my journey from being a girl to an adult. I didn’t get there overnight. There were plenty of scrapes and bruises and a few broken hearts, but I have grown up.
Has your character grown up yet?
Sometimes I’m amazed at the lack of transformation in a character from the beginning to the end of a story. Or, the character goes from 5 to 50 years old in 300 pages. When this happens the reader misses the impact of our character’s journey.
Here’s five tips to show you how to make the character’s transformation a journey:
*Give Your Character A Lie They Believe or Something They Need To Change Inside. Establish this before you even start writing. Yes, even you pantsers. Give your character something they need to change about themselves.
For example, in the book Submerged by Dani Pettrey we see the character at the beginning feels unworthy to be loved. Throughout the story she has an opportunity to grow to the understanding that she is indeed worthy to be loved.
More tips on the lie journey can be found at My Book Therapy.
*Show That Your Character Needs To Change Early In The Novel. Through some action or event the need to change is made evident to the reader, but the character either can’t see it, or doesn’t want to see it.
For example, in the book Baby It’s Cold Outside by Susan May Warren we as the reader see that the heroine needs to change, to let go of bitterness and chose to live. She doesn’t want to acknowledge it herself.
*Grow In Baby Steps. Allow your character to change little bits at a time. They can’t take a giant leap from beginning to end and satisfy the reader. It must come one step at a time.
*Avoid Spiritual Truth Dumping Scenes. As a pastor’s daughter I can tell you that a lot of times the truth is realized through the lives of other believers sharing their life experiences with us, the truth they’ve learned. A sermon can be a powerful introduction to truth, but it takes more than a sermon in your novel to show a character is going to accept the truth.
*Pick Voices of Truth That Are Believable. The person who shares the truth with your character that brings them to a point of change, should be someone your character would listen too. Sometimes an enemy can even speak the truth.
One of my favorite truth speakers is Karen Ball’s Shattered Justice. An elderly woman who sat on a bench near the town action arguing with her best friend. The unexpectedness of the truth caught the hero by surprise.
What books changed you or what book do you think is a great example of the inner journey of a character?
Every parent can tell you the dreaded vacation question that pops up after five minutes into an eight hour drive.
“Are we there yet?”
Yes, I have answered that question a gazillion times in my life time. And I get annoyed sometimes, but how many times have I asked God that same question?
Are we there yet, God? When am I going to win a contest, get an agent, land a contract, making enough money to quit my day job?
There are a million questions us writers ask. As for patience, sometimes we are running a bit low. Waiting for a response from an editor, agent or contest can be nerve wracking to say the least.
So, how do we cope? Chocolate. Caffeine. Obsessive email checking. I see that sheepish grin. I cope that way too sometimes.
This shouldn’t be the time when we are all fidgety and wondering if our work was good enough. We did our part before hitting send. Now it is in God’s hands and here is what he has to say about it.
Psalm 46: 10 – 11 (NIV)
“Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations
I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty
is with us; the God of Jacob is our Fortress. Selah.”
You’ve heard this verse before, but did you know that the words ‘Be still’ in the Hebrew is raphah which means to be weak, or let drop? This verse is a contrast of our weakness and God’s strength.
So, essentially while we wait, we are to be weak or let go of our efforts to do something ourselves because then God will show his mighty power.
Drop everything you are waiting for and let God do the work. After all of the effort we put in to submit our work and learn the craft of writing, in the end it is still God that is exalted in our weakness because then His strength is known.
Today let’s drop our cares at God’s feet and let Him do the work in our lives. What verses or songs help you to remember that God is in control?
*There is a fabulous article on this in the Christian Courier if you would like to read more about it.
There are so many crazy, yet silly things we say all of the time. Sometimes I just want to ask, where do people come up with these things?
Okay, so maybe I say some crazy ones too, but its so much easier to recognize the crazy things that other people say. I’m not just talking about idioms, although we have to wonder about a few of those too, like:
Don’t Spill The Beans – Every parent in America knows that those beans from the pan are going to end up in all kinds of crazy spilled places just because they are green and healthy.
Don’t Let The Cat Out Of The Bag - Who puts a cat in a bag? Someone had definitely better call the Humane Society.
Yes, Idioms are silly, that’s kind of the nature of them. But what about those other things we say?
Here’s a few other goofy phrases that come to mind:
Good things come to those who wait- I suppose eventually something good will come along if you wait, but won’t it come along if you just go about your everyday life too? If this phrase were true, I’m going to have an amazing future!
A watch pot never boils- I just want to point out that this is not true. If you stand and stare at a pot of water that is sitting over a heat source, it will eventually boil.
Are we there yet? - If we were truly there, we would not still be riding in a moving vehicle. Just saying.
Have a heart- Humans do have a heart and even if they didn’t that can’t think one into existence.
Don’t make me come back there- Kids know that you really don’t want to go back there when you are driving on the freeway. And really, could they make you?
He’s two fruit short of a fruit salad- Okay, so there is a certain number of fruit required to make it a fruit salad?
Be careful- At least 80% of the time this is said by a mom right after a child hurts themselves. Like the advice is really going to help at that point.
It’s not you, it’s me- Duh! But if it weren’t for who ‘you’ is, than it wouldn’t be me.
We’re as happy as two peas in a pod- We have a vast new psychology study on the happiness of pod sharing peas? And can peas feel, if so I tortured some last night over dinner.
The elevator doesn’t go all the way up- Then why in the world do you have one? Oh, yes. It is to take you up the first three flights, so you can walk the last twelve.
Somewhere over the rainbow dreams come true- If this were really true, people would be walking around saying, “I quit my day job to chase rainbows. Figure to make a quick mil.” (Note to gullible: Rainbows are a get rich quick scheme.)
No, you may not hit your sister with a brick- I threw this one in there for you moms out there who have those cardboard bricks for kids to build with. Never talk on the phone during brick arguments.
If it was made to do that, then it would say so on the package- Everyone knows that they say what not to use a product for on the package. They don’t want us to limit ourselves. Have you ever seen Funniest Home Videos? Maybe they should put what it’s for on the package.
He’s one brick short of a full load- No one hauls bricks anymore and just how important can one brick be?
Does this make me look fat? - Just saying, there is absolutely no good way to answer this question.
Now its your turn. What are some of the goofiest phrases you’ve heard others say? (Whoever strikes my funny bone the most gets a free copy of a Chonda Pierce, Ken Davis, or Tim Hawkins Comedy DVD. So Start writing down those crazy lines.)
Waiting is something I loathe with all of my being. I’m like a little kid staring through the oven window at the batch of rising cookies asking, “Are they done yet?”
So I am quite sure God was chuckling when he gave me the nudge to be a writer. What a better way to practice patience, than to wait on pins and needles for a one in thousand chance to get an agent or land a book contract.
There are days I’m ready to go running stark raving crazy through the house screaming at the top of my lungs and pulling at the roots of my hair. Don’t laugh, I know… you’ve been there too. If not as a writer, at least as a parent or someone waiting for the results of an interview.
Yes, I suppose this makes me all too human to admit it, but I don’t always have the victory over my impatience. I do my best to hide it well…most days.
Since I’ve been in this waiting game long enough to know that a person could really go crazy without a few strategies in place to keep them sane, I’ve developed a checklist of things to do to keep my sanity.
5 Tips To Keep Your Sanity While You Wait:
1. Keep yourself busy. If your mind is occupied with something else, it won’t have time to obsess over the thing you are waiting for. Staring at your box or telephone will not make it easier, you will simply go crazy. Go about your day as you always would, don’t cut short the meaning of each day while waiting for your dream to be realized. A dream is made up of many days of work. Remember this day will bring you one day closer to your dream.
2. Trust that God is in control. We often want to be in charge of our own destiny, but leaving it in God’s hands and trusting Him to look out for our best interests is faith. Choose faith over doubt.
3. Pray For God’s Will. The time spent praying often brings a peace that can only come from being in the presence of God. He knows the steps our lives should take and will be with us each step of the journey.
4. Find A Buddy To Keep You Sane. Sometimes it helps just to let off a bit of steam and share your woes with a friend. Keep it short and sweet, then ask them to help you focus on something else.
5. Lock down the chocolate and junk food. Sometimes when we are stressed we pile on the junk food without even realizing we are doing it. It is an unhealthy habit when you work in a career with a lifetime of waiting moments. Have the munchies? Find the healthiest munchies that you love and stock your cupboards for a time such as this.
What do you do while you are waiting to keep you sane?
If your house is anything like mine, socks are a nightmare. We have this basket of strays that always seems to grow taller, but no matches are found.
How is it that a sock can disappear so quickly? Is it the dryer monster that eats them or the washer monster, or could it be the whoops I dropped you on the way to the laundry room?
I have finally resorted to something that works. Money. A nickle for every matching pair the kids pull out of the basket. That may sound like a small number, but considering the number of socks in that basket, well I could be broke in five minutes.
Matching socks is harder than it should be, but so is matching our subplot and plot in our novels. How can we be sure we are doing it right?
Your Plot and Subplot Are Mismatched If:
*The subplot does not feed back into the story plot. If you have two plots going along side of each other without a tie in together at the end of the book and interwoven parts throughout, you have parallel plots. This is a sure sign that your plot and subplot are mismatched.
*If your subplot has more scenes than your plot. This is a very common problem for writers. We fall in love with the subplot and it takes over our plot.
*If your subplot does not add to the plot. Does it add depth to the spiritual journey? Or layers to the main story that make it richer? If not, you are mismatched.
*If you have a novel that is less than 60,000 words. In this case, most editors will tell you that you don’t have room to fully develop a subplot in this size of a manuscript.
*If your subplot starts at the beginning of the novel and not the other way around. Your subplot should usually start around the beginning of Act 2. If you start out with the POV scene of a subplot character, chances are you are mismatched.
What are some other signs that you use to determine if your plot and subplot are mismatched?
There are just some things we are not allowed to say in real life. Sometimes we want to tell someone just what we think of them, or what the real problem they are having is, but manners dictate we can’t.
That’s the beauty of the page. Our characters can say the things we have always wanted to say. Their words will stick with our readers long after they put the book down, and cause us to like the character.
So, how do we create memorable dialogue?
*Make it natural. If you listen to some of the conversations in a coffee shop, you will find that people don’t directly reply to every thing each other says. Avoid doing that in your dialogue, or it will sound wooden.
Example:
“Do you want to catch the game tonight with the gals?” Amy said.
“Yes. I’d love to go to the game.” Sam said.
BORING! Let’s mix it up. First of all you don’t want to say yes, if you already answer the question by your comments. Save yes for the times when you just answer with one word. Then, we need to spruce it up, make it more interesting. How are these girls really going to talk. Build their personality into their words.
Revision 1:
“Girls night out. What do you say?” Amy said.
“Rock on!” Sam said.
*Drop the speaker attributes and create meaningful action that shows personality and interaction with their surrounds. (It is especially helpful if you get more than facial expressions in the action beats.)
Revision 2:
“Girls night out. What do you say?” Amy draped an arm around Sam’s shoulders. She popped her gum.
“Rock on!” Sam slid her hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket. “Let’s Roll.”
These are a few things you could do with this section. Try your skills with dialogue, post a revision for the following :
