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Episode 43: Writing the Blurb

Proverbs 15:22 New International Version (NIV) 

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. ~ Proverbs 15:22 

I spent quite a while working on the blurb for my upcoming release, Avoiding Esther, the second book in my Love in Lansing series. But, no matter how many tweaks I made on it, I just wasn’t happy. There was something off, yet I couldn’t put my finger on the problem. Fortunately, I have the ladies of the Christian Indie Writers’ Podcast to turn to. 

In this week’s episode, not only do you get to hear the ladies critique, and ultimately improve, my book synopsis, you get a sneak peek into what our Postcast looks like. You can watch on YouTube or listen on iTunes. If you like what you see and would like to see more Postcasts, as well as support our ministry for as little as $2 a month, you can become a patron of our Patreon page. We would be so grateful for your support. 

One final note…next week’s podcast will air LIVE on Monday (rather than our usual Thursday.) All four of the ladies will be together podcasting from Blondies, a coffee shop in Lapeer, Michigan, the inspiration town for our upcoming Christmas project we are working on. If you are in the area, come by and say hello. It’s sure to be a lot of laughs! 

May you have a blessed week, 

Jen 

 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7AqxuXGPEE 

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/christian-indie-writers-podcast/id1434482933 

Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/christianindiewriters 

 

Episode 40: Collaboration

Hi Christian Indie Writers,  

In today’s podcast we are discussing collaborations. We here at the Christian Indie Writers Podcast recently decided to do a collaboration and thought we would let you all in on the process we went through to get that rolling. You’ll want to tune in for a special announcement regarding that very thing, as well as a chance to chime in on it.
As usual we will catch you up with what’s going on in our lives; check in to the accountability corner; and do a writing exercise. It was wonderful to have Jenifer back with us after her softball injury kept her off the air last week. We thank the Lord for her swift healing.  

If you’d like to participate in the writing exercise just set a timer for fifteen minutes. No cheating by trying to think of an idea before you start the timer. Then write a story using the words twilight, council, polite, embox, and constraint. We would love it if you shared what you wrote with us on social media.  

We would like to invite you to check out our Patreon page. We always post our podcast there for anyone to watch, including links to our writing exercises for you to read and see that we aren’t worrying much about punctuation, capitalization, and spelling in that 15 minutes.  

For just $2 dollars a month you can be our Patron and watch our postcast, which is our writing group meeting. We each submit something we want critiqued or need feedback on. This is where we move from simple encouragement like we do in the podcast and actually give it to each other straight.  

Until next time; 

Christina 

Episode 39: Short Story Guidelines

This 100 word story (aka a “Drabble”) was written in honor of today’s episode. We started out sending out thoughts and prayers to Jen, who was absent due to an incident on the ball field.
(Way to put your heart, and face, into the game, Jen!) Honestly, though, we missed her and hope she is feeling better. We then discussed the benefits of writing short stories. Finally, we
listened to 8 pieces of short story writing advice from Kurt Vonnegut. If you’d like to take a stab at writing your own Drabble using our prompts, we’d love to read it!
–
Jamie

Episode 35: The First Page

I’ve never struggled to write a newsletter. Not once. Until today…and the irony of the situation is not lost on me. This week’s episode of the Christian Indie Writers’ Podcast is titled The First Page. 

We’ve all been there. We have our idea. We know what we want our story to be. We can’t wait to get started. Getting started should be easy, but it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes we find ourselves staring at a blank screen, the blinking cursor mocking us relentlessly. I can attest to this…because it’s what I experienced this today! 

But, my friend, don’t be discouraged! We’ve all been there, and I promise you, if I can break through that first page barrier and write this newsletter, you can conquer your first page as well. 

In this week’s episode, the ladies and I discuss exactly that and share some tips and suggestions that have worked for us. Check out our YouTube channel to watch, and while you’re there, don’t forget to like the video and subscribe to our channel. We really appreciate your support! 

Blessings, 

Jen 

Episode 31: Reading in Your Genre

When I was about 12 years old, my grandmother bought me my first Janette Oke book. I devoured it, and she bought me another. And another. I didn’t know it at the time, but my grandmother was not only influencing my taste in literature, she was influencing my spiritual life by exposing me to stories of love that were greatly influenced by faith in God and His hand in these characters’ lives. And, incidentally, she was also preparing me for my future as a Christian romance author.

It’s really no surprise to learn that most writers are avid readers. However, the types of books we choose to read varies greatly. Some, like me, seldom stray from their favorite genre. Others, like Tina, read across many genres. It should come as no surprise, I suppose, that I only write romance, yet Tina writes across multiple genres.

In today’s episode, the ladies and I have a chat about reading within (and outside of) our chosen genres. So, grab a cup of coffee, put on your fuzzy slippers and give a listen to our discussion. And let us know your thoughts! We really want to hear what you think about reading and genre writing in the comments of our YouTube webcast HERE or on the iTunes podcast episode HERE.

Until next week, keep writing the stories God has given you!

For Him alone,

Jen

Episode 32: The Art of Research

The other day, my son asked me why Friday the thirteenth was considered an unlucky day. Finding the answer was as simple as sitting down at my computer and clickety-clacking on the keyboard.

Amazing.

I don’t know about you, but I’m old enough to remember life before the internet. I remember, upon being assigned to write a report, pedaling my bike up to the library to do the necessary research. In those days, asking the librarian to help you locate a book was tantamount to asking for a particularly long and exasperated lecture on how to use the card catalogue for yourself. There was no efficient clickety-clack of keys to provide almost instantaneous book location information, much less today’s rows of multiple terminals which allow patrons to find the information for themselves. So, those of us on a quest for information would head straight to the card catalogue, pull open its tiny drawers, and thumb through yellowing pieces of cardboard to get a hint on where in the library we might find information on pilgrims, potatoes, General Eisenhower, etc. Armed with a location code as long and as potentially confusing as modern-day GPS coordinates, it was off to the indicated shelves.

Kids today will never know the feeling of hopeful anticipation we (ahem) older folks had as we found the right row of shelves and started down it, glancing at the numbers on the book spines as we endeavored to locate the section where our book would, hopefully, be found. Then the real hunt began. All the books in the same subject matter were grouped together, and often had numbers very similar to one another. Though they were supposed to be standing on the shelves in number order, they were often plucked from their correct locations, browsed, then shoved back into a random spot on the shelf, resulting in much squinting and chin tapping as one tried to locate a particular title. Then it was possible that after all your effort, the book you wanted had already been checked out by another patron.

Today on the podcast, we talk about research in these modern times. With the advent of the internet, we have a world of information available at our fingertips. With so much false information mixed in with the good stuff, how does a writer find reliable sources of information online? Or, is it perhaps wiser to eschew online sources in favor of good old fashioned paper – reference books or county records or journals? What are some strategies or preferred methodologies to follow when doing research for writing? What are some “tools of the trade?” Come join the conversation as we answer these questions and more.

See you there,

-Jamie

 

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