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Episode 124: Writing Your Way: Plotting vs. Pantsing – Revisited

Dear Christian Indies,

When the podcast was new, and the ladies and I were each in various stages of our writing journey, it was interesting to see how we approached each new writing question in a different way. One such topic was outlining; more specifically, we wondered about each of us – whether we would perform better as “plotters” or “pantsers.”

Jenifer decided to give plotting a try. Now, something I have since learned about Jenifer is that she never does anything half-way. I’ll never forget when she showed up at our writing retreats with a gigantic piece of cardboard – the kind of thing you see at a child’s science fair – marked off to represent the three main acts of her novel, and bedecked with post-it notes, each outlining a specific plot point in her novel.

[Read more…] about Episode 124: Writing Your Way: Plotting vs. Pantsing – Revisited

Episode 105: Preptober: How to Plan for National Novel Writing Month

Hey Christian Indies,

This episode reminds me of Christmas.

I know, I know, I’m rushing things; the leaves have barely started showing off in northern Michigan: but allow me to explain. 

 In our family, Christmas is a time to gather with family and share love and gifts. Unfortunately, there is so much to see and do (many families to visit) and we enjoy Christmas so much, our celebrations have spilled over into the day before. Now, we also have an enormous gathering on Christmas eve!

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, or, “NaNo” for short,) is a bit like this. However, it is more than the excitement of writing a novel in just thirty days that causes people to start thinking about this event an entire month in advance! No, dear Indie, the truth of the matter is far more consequential: you NEED a plan for NaNo! That is, of course, unless you are the hardiest of the die-hard pantsers and  like to open your cursor at midnight on November first and look at a blank screen and a flashing cursor! Zoikes!

Find more of our planning chats in Episode 85, 86 and 87.

Tune in this week and learn how to make the best of your October planning session for NaNoWriMo!

See you there,

Jamie

Episode 92: Art Imitates Life #3: Characterization

Hey Christian Indies,

Just recently, a woman caught my eye. She was walking down the sidewalk in a fifties get-up, complete with a poodle skirt, sweater,  and scarf around her neck. In moments, my mind created details of this woman’s life, based solely upon her outfit. I imagined her a sold-out member of a sock-hop reenactment group, who had assembled her outfit with painstaking attention to detail. She’d done a remarkable job; every piece appeared accurate, save for one bright white exception – her shoes, which were athletic sneakers.

I gestured toward the tote the woman carried and remarked to my husband, “I bet she has a cute little pair of patent leather mary janes to put on once she gets where she is going.” 

He responded, “maybe not,” and immediately, I could see the possibility that she might be a different sort of person altogether, someone too sensible to bother with shoes that would grow uncomfortable as the evening drew on, someone who’s smuggling Cool Ranch Doritos in that bag because she can’t trust anyone there to show up with a decent snack. In other words, someone a little more like me.

The fact that we can never know the truth about this woman’s motivations illustrates the point that human behavior is a response to human experience, which is not universal. Today on the podcast, we will discuss how these acts of human behavior which make us stand up and take notice can help us develop characters that come alive for the reader.

See you there,

Jamie

Episode 89: Readers of the Elusive ARC

I first fully grasped the concept of an acronym while learning to write a Mother’s Day acrostic poem in Kindergarten. I remember struggling with the exercise. I mean, how many “good” adjectives are there that start with “M”, anyway? And you have to come up wtih TWO for a proper “MOM” acrostic!

Little did I realize  how many acronyms I was going to encounter as an adult. I don’t even think the adults responsible for my care and upbringing were prepared to equip me, for the internet, with it’s LOL’s and SMH’s was still a long way in the future.

Thus, I was ill-prepared to face the barrage of confusing terms people throw around when they are talking about writing and launching a book. “It’s so hard to find a good BETA reader” they’d say. Or, “I’m having a bit of trouble recruiting for my ARC team!”

BETAs? ARCs?

Who can keep it all straight?! 

That’s why we at the Christian Indie Writer’s Podcast wanted to do this series on Launch and Review teams. We’ve already covered BETA readers, and now we’re going to sort the ALPHA’S from the BETA’s from the ARC’s, so you’ll be ready to commiserate with the “long time” writers next time you attend a meeting.

See you there,

Jamie

Episode 88: Better Call a Beta!

If you’ve been around the independent publishing world for any amount of time, you’ve heard writer’s speak (often, lovingly,) of their “Team.” Sometimes, they specifically mention a “beloved BETA reader,” or a treasured member of “my ARC team.”

If you’re anything like me, these acronyms become interchangeable in your conversation, because they seem to overlap so much in common usage that you are certain you are referring to the same group of people, but BETA readers and ARC readers serve very different functions.

This week on the podcast, we discuss what a BETA reader is, why you want one, and where you can find one. In future episodes, we’ll cover what you can do with an ARC team of your very own!

Still have no idea what BETA or ARC even means? Tune in to this week’s podcast and the mystery shall be revealed!

See you there,

Jamie

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