Today the ladies and I discuss our Camp Nano goals and success and decide if we will do it again next spring.
Episode 33: Camp Nano…Should You Participate?
There were several title suggestions for today’s episode: Rhonda’s Inquisition, Three Tarts on the Spot, Convince Me…I could go on. The fitting title was “Convince Me” because I put them to the task today and they did convince me I should participate in Camp Nano for the first time.
If you’re on the fence about committing your valuable time to Nano for the second time in the last five months, watch our discussion and see if it will help you decide.
Episode 27: Tropes
This week our encouragement for writers focuses on one aspect of improving your writing craft. Tune in to the podcast each week for more encouragement for writers and self-publishing tips!
Imagine you are six years old. Papa has come in to your room to tell you a good-night story. He tells you, “this is a fairytale about a knight, a dragon, and a princess.”
You snuggle under your down-alternative comforter, prop your head on your copper-cooling memory foam pillow, and settle in for a good, old-fashioned fairytale, where the dragon is beastly, the princess is imperiled, and the brave and handsome knight rides to the rescue.
But, what if, in Papa’s tale, the Princess is a World War II fighter pilot, the dragon is a personal trainer with a penchant for self-help books, and Prince runs away to Kansas to open a combination coffee shop and 10 minute oil change?
Chances are, while you may learn to appreciate this “different” sort of story, you’d feel a bit confused, or maybe just a bit disappointed. That list of things you expected to happen in our imagined story are examples of genre Tropes. Whatever genre you write in, you want to make sure you are delivering what the reader expects, which means you need to be aware of the Tropes of that genre.
On today’s episode, we discuss tropes and their importance in your story. Let us know what you’ve discovered about your genre in the comments below. And, don’t forget to join our Patreon for even more fun and informative content.
Until next time,
Jamie
Episode 19: TGIO NaNoWriMo
Hop on the roller coaster that is this episode, the final wrap up for our 2018 NaNoWriMo.
Episode 14: Live NaNoWriMo Kick Off Party
Our very first ever online party to begin National Novel Writing Month in style! Do you like free things? We have them. Good friends? We’ve got that too. Plus, at the conclusion of the podcast, we will kickoff November with the month’s first writing sprint!
Are you a plotter…or a panster?
Good morning Christian Indies!
What a crazy month October is turning out to be! We’ve been so busy over here at the Christian Indie Writers’ Podcast, not only prepping our own stories for National Novel Writing Month (lovingly referred to as NaNoWriMo around the world), but we’ve been hard at work with our #Preptober series [Read more…] about Are you a plotter…or a panster?
Jenifer Carll-Tong is the best-selling author of historical Christian romances and co-host of the Christian Indie Writers’ Podcast.
Inspiration
Hi, Christian indies!
Jamie here, with a dose of weekly encouragement!
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. – Genesis 2:7
When I learned the topic for this week’s podcast was “inspiration”, I immediately thought I remembered learning once that the word had something to do with God’s breath, or God’s breathing. So, when I set to write this article, I just had to go and look it up.
From The Online Entomology Dictionary:
“c. 1300, “immediate influence of God or a god,” especially that under which the holy books were written …The sense evolution seems to be from “breathe into” to “infuse animation or influence,” thus “affect, rouse, guide or control,” especially by divine influence.”
How wonderful!
I’d like to believe that when I am seeking inspiration, I am literally asking for a breath of life from our heavenly Father, a sort of “spiritual resuscitation.” But, it feels rather presumptuous for me to then say “this story was brought to you by the Holy Spirit,” or some such thing, as that feels awkwardly close to comparing my own works to holy writ (All scripture is given by inspiration of God, – 2 Timothy 3:16a )
But, I do believe that it is appropriate to acknowledge that God created all things, even, ad perhaps, especially, the things that we look to for inspiration, as the word is commonly used. Also, the Great God and Our Creator was responsible for our formation – for our flesh and bones, and for the very gray matter inside of our skulls that churns out all these ideas. For these things, and for a great myriad of other reasons, He alone is worthy of our worship and praise.
Check out this week’s podcast to find out where, in God’s creation, we seek out inspiration for our writing.
