It’s a great day here at Writers Helping Writers, because Becca and I can finally write the words that we’ve been wanting to type out for over two years now: The Setting Thesaurus books are coming. In fact, they are almost here, and we couldn’t be happier. The sights, smells, tastes, sounds and textures for two hundred and twenty-five settings…and that’s just the start. Take a gander at these back jacket blurbs:

The Rural Setting Thesaurus:

Making the Story World Rich, Layered, and Unforgettable

Within the pages of a book exists a world drawn from a writer’s deepest imaginings, one that has the ability to pull readers in on a visceral level. But the audience’s fascination will only last if the writer can describe this vibrant realm and its inhabitants well. The setting achieves this by offering readers a unique sensory experience. So much more than stage dressing, the setting can build mood, convey meaning through symbolism, drive the plot by creating challenges that force the hero to fight for what he wants, and trigger his emotions to reveal his most intimate feelings, fears, and desires.

USE DESCRIPTION TO PLACE READERS AT THE HEART OF EVERY SCENE

Within this volume you will find:

• A list of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds for over 100 settings revolving around school, home, and nature
• Possible sources of conflict for each location to help you brainstorm ways to naturally complicate matters for your characters
• Advice on the many effective ways to build mood, helping you steer both the character’s and readers’ emotions in every scene
• Information on how the setting directly influences the plot by acting as a tuning fork for what a character needs most and by testing his dedication to his goals
• A tutorial on figurative language and how different descriptive techniques can bring settings alive for readers while conveying a symbolic message or deeper meaning
• A review of the challenges that arise when writing description, as well as special considerations that apply specifically to rural and personal settings

The Rural Setting Thesaurus takes “show-don’t-tell” to new heights. It offers writers a roadmap to creating fresh setting imagery that impacts the story on multiple levels and keeps readers engaged from the first page to the last.

The Urban Setting Thesaurus:

Drawing Readers in Through Emotion-Driven Imagery and Realism

Making readers care and feel like they’re part of the story should be the number one goal of all writers. Ironically, many storytellers fail to maximize one of fiction’s most powerful elements to achieve this: the setting. Rather than being a simple backdrop against which events unfold, every location has the potential to become a conduit for conveying emotion, characterizing the cast, providing opportunities for deep point of view, and revealing significant backstory.

MAKE YOUR DESCRIPTION WORK HARDER FOR YOUR STORY

• A list of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds for over 120 urban settings
• Possible sources of conflict for each location to help you brainstorm ways to naturally complicate matters for your characters
• Advice on how to make every piece of description count so you can maintain the right pace and keep readers engaged
• Tips on utilizing the five senses to encourage readers to more fully experience each moment by triggering their own emotional memories
• Information on how to use the setting to characterize a story’s cast through personalization and emotional values while using emotional triggers to steer their decisions
• A review of specific challenges that arise when choosing an urban location, along with common descriptive pitfalls that should be avoided

The Urban Setting Thesaurus helps you tailor each setting to your characters while creating a realistic, textured world your readers will long to return to, even after the book closes.

The Big Question: WHEN?

June 2016! We are shooting for the second week. We would like to give you a very specific launch date, but unfortunately our longtime formatter and designer has been struggling with health issues that have caused unavoidable delays, and while everyone is doing all they can to keep things on track, Becca and I can’t provide an exact date just yet.

Regardless, we do need to move forward with the planning of our launch event, and we sure could use some help. Becca and I have come up with something very fun this time around, an event we hope all our writer friends will greatly enjoy participating in.

Dear Readers, Will You Help Us During Launch Week?

To pull off this epic thesaurus celebration, we will need some supportive blogger friends who would be willing to donate a post to the visibility cause. This post can be scheduled in advance, go up any time during launch week that works for you, and as always, I am happy to create it!  Even if you don’t blog, it’s always nice to have people willing to share our posts online, too. 

In the past, we’ve hosted some pretty creative events, and this particular one I have had in the idea bank for years, waiting for the right time. So, if you are interested in possibly joining the Thesaurus Club to help with our SUPER SECRET LAUNCH EVENT, just fill out this FORM and I will email you about it. (This one is easy and fun, guaranteed!)

Becca and I are so pleased to bring you this set of books. The sensory detail within required a lot of travel, investigation, and time to collect. We hope these two volumes help you level up your sensory description to better pull readers into each moment, making your story and characters both compelling and memorable.

Want to sneak-a-peek at one of our entries? Just go here to see “Police Car.”

The post The Setting Thesaurus Books Are Releasing Soon…Will You Help Us? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

This is one of those posts that I hesitate to write, simply because there are a whole lot of “You should do X & must do Y” advice that, er, Becca and I do not do. Maybe this costs us sometimes, but it’s what works for us. So, I’m going to pull the curtain back a bit and offer some food for thought.

Before we move on…

There’s no judgements here on what other people do. This is about what Becca & I do. I will try to give my reasons for the choices we’ve made. Mileage may vary.

Monetizing Our Blog

You will notice there are no ads here, no requests for donations, no “tip jar” set up. Have people expressed a desire to tip? Yes. Could we make money with ads based on traffic? You bet. Have people offered to pay us for ad space? Many times. But honestly, Becca and I feel everyone gets enough BUY, BUY, BUY elsewhere, and we don’t want Writers Helping Writers to be bulked up with Google Ads and the like.

So, we’ve chosen not to monetize our blog beyond a few affiliate links to Amazon. If, down the road, we have a sidebar link to another site it’s because we believe in that site’s purpose, not because we’re being paid.

Are we leaving money on the table? Probably. But to us, your shares, referrals and word of mouth about our books, the Writers Helping Writers site, and now our One Stop For Writers library too…these are all the thanks we need.

If you want to support us and what we do, tell a writing friend about us and our work. That helps so much. 

Thanking Everyone Who Tweets & Shares

Okay, here the thing. Would I love to do this? Yes. And do I absolutely appreciate the time that everyone takes when they tweet me or share a link? Holy heck, yes! But the reality is that I get so many re-tweets now that to respond to them all I would literally be doing nothing each day but thanking people in tweets.

I know you guys love good writing content, and I try to find it, build it, and share it. I am betting that if asked, you’d say you’d rather me be doing that (and, you know, write more books) than spend that time thanking you for each tweet.

So, I made a judgement call and stick to an occasional “thank you all for the tweets” post. I respond to all conversation though, and always will. I hope you’re all okay with this and understand where I’m at, because I love you guys!

Use Free Incentives for Newsletter Sign Ups

It’s practically the Golden Rule: give something away for free to encourage people to sign up for a newsletter. And…it’s a rule I break, with good reason.

To me a newsletter should be personal, fun, entertaining or have high value. People should want to read it. You can give the best freebie in the world away, but if you don’t follow through with a newsletter that keeps their interest, not only will they unsubscribe right away anyway, their disappointment will probably cause them to hesitate when you do have a book or product for sale.

The other reason is because I see people misuse freebies all the time. Even the big marketing gurus who offer free courses or webinars can go too far with the hard sell. I’ve attended more than a few webinars on how to market better, increase newsletter sign ups, build a sales funnel, etc. only to see the same manipulative techniques they teach being deployed in their follow up emails, all in hopes of “up-selling” a coaching service they provide.

Look, I get marketing. After all, girl gotta eat. Becca and I & our collective families? Yep, we gotta eat. Coaching Gurus, well, they gotta eat too.

But when marketing follow up is done poorly, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t want anyone to feel that way because of something I do. I’d rather be transparent and just point you right to our Tools For Writers page, which is brimming with free, rather than make you do something to get free things.

(Really, visit and grab what you need. Becca and I like to share this stuff because we believe we should all grow and succeed together.)

When it comes to newsletter, I admit I have a lot to learn. I’m working hard to create ones that give my readers what the need and want. But I’d rather spend time growing my skills and focus on the content than try and entice people to sign up with the lure of “free.”

And here’s the thing…even without freebies, I average about 100 or so new sign ups between newsletters. So I really think it’s about the content, not the sign up freebie. So if you want to offer the free item on sign up, go for it. But make sure your focus is KEE{ING subscribers, not just getting them to sign up.

By the way, I love every one of my subscribers and their willingness to follow my lunatic ravings er, rambles!

That’s my three. What rules do you break and why? Let me know in the comments!

Image 1: Mdgrafik0 @ Pixabay

Image2: Ryan McGuire @Pixabay

Image3: Model4you @ Pixabay

The post Blogging, Marketing & Social Media: Three Rules I Break & Why appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Becca and I love you guys. We want to see you break barriers, build careers, and enjoy success after writing success. Supporting you is what we’re about and what we do. We enjoy helping however possible, encouraging each of you to grow and be awesome as only you can.

To do this well, sometimes we have to nudge. Push a little, even. But our hearts are in the right place, because there’s no point candy coating the work it takes to be a successful writer. It will require every drop of strength and persistence you have to keep moving forward in the face of obstacles, rejection and doubt. You will have to grow thick skin, thicker than you ever thought possible. You will have to wear the hat of a learner, because you will never know it all or reach a point of ‘good enough’ when it comes to writing. There will always be more craft to absorb, more skills to hone, more marketing and business challenges to overcome, more work needed to expand your career, year after year.

So in our tough-love yet encouraging fashion, Becca and I are starting the year with a challenge for you: steer your own ship. Make a plan. Treat your writing like the business it is.

And this isn’t hot air, I promise–we live what we preach. Since organizing ourselves and adopting a yearly business plan in 2012, we have accelerated our careers. Not only have we built multiple businesses, published books in 5 languages, created a one-of-a-kind writing library and grown Writers Helping Writers into a learning hub with a loyal following, we teach and speak professionally as writing coaches. It didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen easily, but it happened.

And guess what? Neither one of us is special. We don’t have a magic 8-ball, or pet hamsters that shoot lasers out of their eyes while predicting the future. We’re just Angela and Becca, two writers who met in an online critique group.

What’s I’m saying is…if we can do this, you can too. So let’s get started.

Organize The Chaos

Most say writers write, but I think writers actually juggle. Yes, they do write, edit, and learn. But they also research the industry and their audience, build a brand, create a platform, handle marketing, promote, and run a business. And that, my friend, is juggling.

Trying to master all these aspects of a writing career is chaotic. There are countless books and articles to read on various subjects of writing, publishing and marketing, experts to heed, social media platforms to navigate, people to connect to and opportunities to take advantage of. And often what happens is the writer is pulled into so many directions at once, no real headway is made on bigger goals. Instead writing time is spent on a million mini tasks that seem valid at the time, but may not be.

In 2012, Becca and I found our time was being eaten by all the little things that come with running a larger site like Writers Helping Writers. Our days were spent neck deep in email, social networking, blog comments, and guest posting. And guess what wasn’t getting done? Writing. And well, that’s sort of the point, wouldn’t you say?

We knew we needed to organize ourselves and prioritize better. We wanted a way to measure each opportunity that came our way and make better decisions with our time. Luckily, my husband is a business management consultant, and he led us through the process of creating a business plan. The start was to assess where we were at, and define where we still needed to grow.

Ask Yourself The Tough Questions

In the business world, assessments are common. People are brought in to examine departments and processes, do risk assessments, and conduct 360° reviews on employees. A company needs to be efficient and functional to prosper, and a writer’s career is no different. So take a step back and look at where you are at. What areas did you focus on this past year, and what was your progress toward big goals? If you could do it all over, would you do it the same way, or organize your time differently?

Taking stock of where you are, and where you want to go is a great way to hone in on what to focus on in the coming year. If you can be honest about areas you are weaker in and what you must strengthen to position yourself better, you’ll save yourself heartache. For example, if your writing is really strong, you have a book you feel is marketable but you have no online presence whatsoever, spending more energy honing your craft isn’t the best use of your time. Instead, you might want to make getting yourself online, learning how to network and find ways to build relationships with your potential audience a primary focus. Yes, this might seem scary, but pushing out of your comfort zone will help you grow.

Likewise, if you are a Social Media queen but your writing skills are less-than-adequate, start boning up on your writing craft. Read, take classes and practice technique. A great platform will not sell a poorly written book.

Be a Planner, Not a Pantser

Lots of writers like to “pants” it. A little, a lot, maybe the whole book is written on the fly, a joy ride from start to finish. What will the main character do? Where will he go? How will the book end? Who knows—that’s all part of the fun.

And pantsing might work great…in fiction. But in business, pantsing will hurt you, or perhaps better said, will hurt your potential. Because while you’re flying along, researching weather patterns for a new story idea you have here, increasing your twitter following there, and flirting with a group promotion or two when invites roll in…you are missing the forest for the trees. Rather than take confident strides toward achieving specific goals to help you leap forward, you’re taking half-steps in too many directions and hardly getting anywhere.

Like Becca and I did, you might need some structure. A road map, a way to determine what areas are the most important to work on, what goals should be the focus, and the timeline needed for each. You won’t believe how well this will help keep you on track, and just how much more you’ll get done in a year.

I realize for many, the words, “business plan” probably sounds intimidating, but it really is so simple—7 steps will get you there. In fact, I wrote a post about the process at Jane Friedman’s blog, so please, check it out. Everything you need is there—the steps, a template, and even an example of one of our old business plans. (Take advantage of some free professional business consulting!)

You love what you do, and you work hard every day, I know it. You are capable of so much, so challenge yourself! Make 2016 your year.

Happy writing and business-planning,

Angela

Image1: geralt @ Pixabay

Image2:McLac2000 @ Pixabay

Image3: JosephKah @pixabay

Image4: Alexas_fotos@pixabay

The post Is 2016 Your Year? Make A Writing Plan And Take Out The Guesswork appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

What Is Your Animal Personality?

Which climate would you rather live in? a) Hot and humid. b) Hot and dry. c) Wet and warm. d) Cold and snowy.

What would you rather eat? a) Bamboo. b) Leaves and grass. c) Fruit. d) Fish.

Pick which one you would rather have: a) thick fur coat. b) tusks. c) a big mouth to suck food in. d) wings.

Which unique trait would you rather have? a) The ability to climb great heights. b) Amazing hearing.  c) Webbed toes. d) Slick feathers for swimming.

What kind of family life would you prefer? a) Solitary, or all by yourself. b) Close, life-long relationships.  c) A small family. d) A huge family.

Pick a place you would love to visit. a) China. b) West Africa. c) East Africa. d) The Arctic.

Which type of animal would be your enemy? a) Snow leopard. b) Lion. c) Crocodile. d) Leopard seal.

What size animal would you rather be? a) Medium. b) Extremely large. c) Large. d) Small.

How fast would you like to be able to run or swim? a) 1-2 miles per hour. b) 10 miles per hour. c) 20 miles per hour. d) 7-9 miles per hour.

Which would you rather look like? a) A raccoon. b) A dinosaur. c) A rhino. d) A bird.

If you picked mostly A’s, you are a panda!
You are a furry, lovable creature! Warm climates with lots of bamboo shoots are the best for you and you’d love to relax and eat bamboo for hours a day! You are calm and rational. Alone time is quality time for you because you like having your own space! You are adorable and rare like the panda.

If you picked mostly B’s, you are an elephant!
You are the bold and striking elephant! You love to stick with your herd and you are a great listener! You like to tell stories, too, because you have a great memory. You love elephants because they are curious and friendly animals – just like you! The elephant is beloved for its beautiful tusks and intelligent behavior.

If you picked mostly C’s, you are a hippopotamus!
You are adventurous and brave just like the hippo! You love your vegetables and fruit and like to stick with a small group of people. You are a territorial animal, which means you like to defend your loved ones if they need you to! You are known for being at the top of the pack and staying true to yourself.

If you picked mostly D’s, you are a penguin!
You are a formal kind of animal just like the penguin! You like to dress up, just like penguins with their tuxedo-look! You prefer to be with large groups of friends and family and you would rather not spend time alone! You love to swim and slip and slide through water. You are an adventurous and loving animal just like your favorite, the penguin!

Megan, STACKS Intern

New Year’s Eve Would You Rather

Today is the last day of 2015, and we want to know how you guys are celebrating! Usually I just hunker down with family, make some yummy dips and desserts to eat, and watch the ball drop on TV. What about you guys? Let’s start the countdown to 2016 with some Would You Rather New Year’s Eve questions!

Would You Rather . . .

1. Stay up until midnight OR be cozy and asleep in your bed by 10?
2. Celebrate in Sydney, Australia OR Los Angeles, California? (Sydney is one of the first cities to get to midnight, and Los Angeles is one of the last!)
3. Blow party horns OR bang pots and pans?
4. At midnight, have to kiss a slimy octopus OR a crazy squirrel?
5. Be at the New York City ball drop in person OR watch it on TV?
6. Have a snowy, blizzardy New Year’s OR tropical island New Year’s?
7. Make a New Year’s Resolution to clean your room every day OR eat broccoli every day?

Let us know YOUR answers (and your New Year’s plans!) in the Comments below!

-Ratha, STACKS Writer

Becca and I love the holiday season–everything is colorful and cheery, the house is filled with cinnamon and ginger as we flex up our baking muscles, and we get to take time to tell you just what you mean to us. Seriously, you guys are the very best readers out there! We are so lucky to have you in our world.

Another terrific thing about this season is that we can celebrate the things we love, and around here, that’s all things writerly. This year with the launch of One Stop For Writers, our mantra is “Elevate your Storytelling.” So Becca, Lee & I sat down and listed out the top three books we feel have elevated our own craft beyond measure.

Why? So we can give them away to you!

Of course, this exercise caused some issues. Choosing ONLY 3 books? So hard! Plus, several of our “top 3” book choices were the same. And I don’t want to point fingers, but certain individuals *coughBeccacoughLeecough* STOLE some of my choices.

But no worries, there are so many amazing books out there that have helped us become stronger writers that we were able to sort it out.

With that, I bring you the 9 Wonders of the Writing Reference World:

1. On Writing  2. First Five Pages  3. Self-Editing For Fiction Writers  4. Writing Screenplays That Sell  5. Description  6. Save the Cat  7. 21st Century Fiction  8. Stein on Writing  9. Structuring Your Novel

Want to elevate your storytelling and win a kindle copy of one of these “best of the best” craft books? Of course you do!

To Enter:

Grow your craft with One Stop’s powerful library. Certificates never expire.

1) Post in the comment section with your TOP 4 book choices. (This will be by random draw, and first come first serve.)

2) Tell us what book has elevated your storytelling. We would love to hear what has given your writing a boost!

3) Pay-it-forward by naming a writer friend (first name is fine if you prefer) who has helped you. If you win, we will send them a 1 month Gift Certificate for One Stop For Writers for their own stocking.

Must be 18, no purchase necessary, open to all unless prohibited by law. For the full legal rules and disclaimers, go here.

As always, social sharing is appreciated, but never a condition of our giveaways. Winners will be drawn and announced on Saturday, December 12th!

The post Win, Win, Win! Stuff Your Stocking With Writerly Goodies appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Every December, this is my favorite post to write. I look forward to it all year long, and it is only because of you and your support of me and Becca that I am able to write it.

As many of you know, each year Writers Helping Writers makes a charitable donation to a specific organization. Because you guys are so lovely and buy our books for yourselves and as gifts for others, over the years, Becca and I have been able to give several thousand dollars to different charities. You have fought the war against poverty, helped victims escape the sex trade and so much more.

Each January we pick a “charity of the year” to support. This year we chose Farm Sanctuary, an organization that rescues mistreated farm animals from abusive and hoarding situations, and seeks to educate developing countries regarding humane treatment. While Becca and I not vegetarians, we still feel animals deserve to be treated as humanely as possible. And the reality is that our world is not always a kind one and some animals really need our help.

However, as we prepare our donation to Farm Sanctuary, we can’t ignore the very raw and painful situation occurring right now on the world stage. I’m talking about Syria, and the horror that is occurring that is causing so many to flee their homes, facing untold peril to do so. As we sit safe in our homes in North America, it seems wrong to not do something when we can.

So, Becca and I are bringing on board a second charity this year.

After watching this video of an 18 month old child being saved by Turkish fisherman, we knew we wanted to support an organization that rescues those in peril.

So, we’ve chosen MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) which sends out patrol boats to help refugees lost at sea. This is one of the lesser-known yet vitally important charities working to help Syrians.

As always, deepest and most heartfelt thanks for all your support. When you buy our books, you not only allow Becca and I to do what we love, you also are paying-it-forward and helping others in many different ways.

Both charities will receive a $500 donation on behalf of Writers Helping Writers™. Look for our post in January when we choose our next charity-of-the-year!

The post Writers Helping Writers Thanks YOU for Helping US appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Welcome Julie to the 2015-16 Scholastic Kids Council!

I’d like to introduce you to Julie who will be one of the special contributors to the STACKS this year.

Look for more to come from Julie this year!

Welcome Leah to the 2015-16 Scholastic Kids Council!

My name is Leah and I am a 7th grader in New Jersey. I put my collage on a boogie board to represent how I love to go boogie boarding at the beach with my cousins. I have a basketball, a soccer ball, rollerblades, and a hockey stick on my collage because these are three of the sports I really love. I also have Stephen Curry, my favorite basketball player.

Beyond sports, I love to draw, hang out with my friends, and play with my stuffed animals. I have a Minion because when I went to Universal Studios in Florida over the summer, I got to ride the Minion ride, which was my favorite. I have pictures of Sponge Bob and Stitch because they are two of my favorite characters. Lastly, I have Snowball, my hamster, because I love to play with her, and I also love animals.

Leah, Scholastic Kids Council

Welcome Cynthia to the 2015-16 Scholastic Kids Council!

I am Cynthia, a girl that has a wonderful family. The first picture I’m going to tell you about is the one of my family and me at Cape Cod, a place we spend a lot of time. There is also another picture of my brother, Bobby and me when we were on a boat heading back from Nantucket Island. The last picture at the Cape is the picture of my cousin, Rose, me, and my brother when we climbed up the lifeguard chair after they left which we do all the time. Speaking of cousins, in the next picture I’m going to talk about, there are all of my cousins on my dad’s side of the family (Rose in on my mom’s side).

But my family doesn’t just consist of people. I have four animals including three cats named KC, Lady, and Snowflake. KC is my shy, little, gray kitty that goes into hiding every time someone comes over. Then there is Lady, my snuggle buddy. Every time I wake up in the morning, she is on my bed. But don’t be too quick to judge because Lady could rip you to shreds if she wanted to. After that comes my dear little Hurricane Sandy cat, Snowflake. She lived under our house for about a week before we got her to come inside. Every chance she gets, she runs outside again so she can eat grass. And last, but not least, Sadie, the friendliest dog you will ever meet. Since she is a middle-sized, crazy, black lab, most people think she’s going to kill them but all she wants to do is drown you in kisses.

I have a picture of a violin and a bass, and I also play the piano and drums, but I also like to read. The book I’m reading right now is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (for ages 12 and up). Although I like music and reading a lot, my absolute favorite thing to do is draw. As you can see, I drew a picture of two anime characters from a show I watched called Hakouki.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about me.

Cynthia, Scholastic Kids Council

Welcome Alex!

Hi! My name is Alex, and I was one of the lucky ones chosen for the 2015-16 Scholastic Kids Council! I made a display about things that represent me and here is why I chose some of those items.

I made everything around the boogie board because every summer, my family rents a beach house. I spend a lot of time in the ocean boogie boarding and surfing. I get to spend a lot of time with my family and I really enjoy it. I am a big baseball player and fan, so I put my baseball glove, bat, and trophy in the display. I also enjoy skateboarding, and I do that a lot in my free time with my friends and my older brother.

I absolutely LOVE Star Wars and LEGOs. I think Star Wars LEGOs are amazing! This is one of my favorite ships I have built so far. I included my saxophone and my headphones because I love music. I love to play saxophone, especially jazz and pop music. I also like listening to dubstep with my headphones while I play video games. I got the red bear for being on my school’s student council as Activity Director.  I named it Juan Pablo. I love to read and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one of my favorite books! I am looking forward to writing for the 2015-16 Scholastic Kid Council. Thanks for reading this!

Alex, Scholastic Kids Council

Welcome Kayla to the 2015-16 Scholastic Kids Council!

I’d like to introduce you to Kayla who will be one of the special contributors to the STACKS this year.

Look for more to come from Kayla this year!

Hello, STACKS readers!

We have a special Thanksgiving treat for you! Natalie Lloyd, the author of A Snicker of Magic, has a brand-new story set in Midnight Gulch—a magical town full of mystery and enchanted ice cream.

If you liked A Snicker of Magic, then you’ll love this “spindiddly” story featuring Jonah Pickett (a.k.a. the Beedle). If you haven’t read A Snicker of Magic, then you’ll still love this sweet, heartwarming story.

Start reading “Becoming the Beedle.”

Happy Thanksgiving and happy reading!

Best Books of Fall

It’s fall, and with chilly weather comes more time for reading indoors! Ah, to be snuggly and warm by an open fire with an excellent book—nothing compares. At the STACKS, we believe that sharing is caring, and we love to share our book recommendations. She here are the Best Books of Fall as voted by YOU!

The reigning book favorites Harry Potter and Percy Jackson definitely top the list this fall, but Warriors and Kingdom Keepers are gaining ground!

What books are you excited to dig into? What books do you think everyone needs to be reading RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT? Share your picks the Comments below!

Until next time,

En-Szu, STACKS Writer

5 Books To Make You Feel Thankful

Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November, and it’s my favorite holiday! I tend to get sentimental and weepy thinking about how lucky I am to have my family and friends. These books might make you cry, but they will also make you feel really thankful for the good things in your life . . . which is what Thanksgiving is all about!

See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles (5-tissue rating)
Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is busy being a teenager; and Holden fends off bullies at school. Fern is usually the one left to take care of three-year-old Charlie, who always gets his way. But then tragedy strikes and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. This book is DEFINITELY a tear-jerker!

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (4-tissue rating)
This is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her mother, who left the family. So she embarks on a cross-country road trip to see her again. The ending of this book made me cry!

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan (3-tissue rating)
When Naomi’s absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi doesn’t quite trust her or her mother’s new boyfriend. So, with her great grandmother and younger brother, Naomi runs away to Oaxaca, Mexico to find her missing father. The situation Naomi has to go through with her mother is truly sad, but Naomi is a strong person and love helps her come through in the end.

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (2-tissue rating)
Mo LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where she washed ashore as a tiny baby in a hurricane eleven years ago. Although Mo hopes someday to find her biological mother, she’s found a home with the Colonel and Miss Lana, who take care of her and love her. When a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known. This book is an exciting mystery, but it’s also a story about sticking up for your friends and family when they are in trouble.

Matilda by Roald Dahl (1-tissue rating)
At age five-and-a-half Matilda can do double-digit multiplication problems and read adult books. But her parents are horrible and don’t realize how special she is. Also, her school principal is a bully who makes the students’ lives miserable. The best part of Matilda’s life is her teacher Miss Honey, who understands her and loves her for who she is. This book is too funny to really be a tear-jerker, but it made me cry a little because someone once told me I remind him of Miss Honey (which is, like, the best compliment ever!) If you have a “Miss Honey” in your life, you should tell her how thankful you are because it will make her feel so happy!

What books make YOU feel thankful? Tell us in the Comments!

Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Hey, I just noticed . . .

“Der Kitten office assistant” Flickr photo by snaxor

Hope you’re having a great day!

Sonja, STACKS Staffer

It is hard to believe, but One Stop For Writers is only a month away from release! As such, I thought I’d tackle the team aspect of getting a giant project off the ground, seeing as we had a great post recently on how authors can collaborate on writing a novel. Many of the same factors are at work, regardless of the project.

Understanding and respecting each person’s skill set, communication style and expertise is really critical for working together, because no one person can do it all when it comes to a big project. (Or if they can, quality and efficiency is sacrificed.) So for us, we needed to suss out who was good at what, and learn to trust judgement, let go of ownership, and support one another as we all took on different roles.

COMMUNICATION

Becca and I already work together well, which is a real blessing. But it also created some challenges, because we are used to communicating and doing things a certain way. When you add a third to the mix, some of these methods and styles don’t fit, and so a person has to be willing to adapt. Case in point: Becca and I communicate a lot, discussing everything upfront so we problem solve and make sure we’re on the same page. However, too much communication creates a lot of extra reading for Lee, who is task-focused. So we needed to learn how to be more economical so we didn’t drown him in email.

LEARNING FLEXIBILITY

Because Becca and I plan extensively, once we decide on a path, we usually stick to it. This has worked very well with our books and joint business planning, but with software, we quickly saw adaptability is just as important, especially when you are working with a creative-focused developer. Lee would come up with functionality ideas that would trigger more content ideas from us, and we would have to adjust the plan. This led to some great new implementations.

However it created the challenge of sticking to our timeline and core tasks. Eventually we had to turn off the idea tap and stick to what we had in the works, saving other ideas for later updates. As a result, we also had to push out our timeline (a good thing, as the first one was far too optimistic, and impossible to meet).

BATTLE PLANS: ASSIGNING GENERALS

Dividing and conquering became ultra important. Lee, naturally, took on everything technical, both from a software build perspective as well as a technical operations standpoint. He researched and set up our commerce system, interfaced with the site designer and set up the communication system within One Stop. He also is working with the beta testers to test and fix everything that comes up, another huge part of any software build. (And speaking of, thank you beta testers–we love you so much!)

Becca (bless her) took on the business end of things, namely getting all the paperwork in order to form a new company where the parties all lived in different countries (not easy!), working with a lawyer to create contracts and file for trademarks, she set up bank accounts, and handles our accounting. All this in addition to creating new entries, adapting and formatting old ones, and doing the final pass editing for the site (a HUGE job).

I focused on new content generation, building most of the tools and generators, helped to expand old content and write page content, create auto communications, and handled anything marketing and promotion that wasn’t technical in nature, including building and managing social media platforms, newsletters, launch planning and crowd sourcing.

WORKING TOGETHER ON A SCHEDULE

We filled in to help one another as well so we could meet individual deadlines or assist during busier times. Becca took on managing the explainer video we’re having built, and Lee is taking on the tutorial video, two very important pieces of the puzzle. And we all collaborated to get our branding in place.

One of the big challenges for our collaboration is time zones. Becca (in Florida USA), is two hours ahead of me (in Alberta, Canada) which isn’t too bad, but Lee (in Sydney, Australia) is a whopping sixteen hours ahead. When we needed to all discuss something using Skype, we only had a small window to do so. Sometimes decisions and feedback would suffer delays. Becca and I both tried to adjust our working hours a bit to include evenings so we could work though things in real time with Lee.

FINDING A HUB: HAVE YOU HEARD OF FREEDCAMP?

Luckily as well, Lee set us up with a site called Freedcamp, which became our hub for communication, file sharing and collaboration. It’s a great site for projects like these, allowing for you to set milestones and tasks with due dates assigned to specific people. I highly recommend it if you need a home base for group projects!

All in all, I am thrilled at how well we work together. Our personality traits seem to bring out the best in each other, and create a check and balance system. Once again, I feel like the universe seems to be on our side, and the synergy between Lee, Becca and I makes us all very excited for whatever the future holds.

If you have any questions about how to collaborate with your own team, I am happy to answer them!

Image #2: 742680 @ Pixabay

Image #3 Geralt @ Pixabay

The post One Stop Adventures: Learning To Collaborate As A Team appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

You know that twisty tightness deep in your core when your release day is approaching, or you’ve just sent your novel to an agent, or you’re submitting to a critique group for the first time? Every nerve feels electrified, you can’t eat and your brain skips backward and forward until it returns to those perennial writerly worries: Did I do good enough? Did I work hard enough? Will readers connect to my book, love it even?

Well, I sit here, chest tight and nerves singing with excitement and anxiety….let’s just say can I relate!

When we released our first book, The Emotion Thesaurus, in 2012, I had insomnia for weeks trying to set everything up to launch it in a way that gave it the best chance. A lot was at stake, and we had a huge task, releasing a self-published book in an area dominated by traditional publishing and highly visible writing experts who were often editors, agents and NYT bestselling authors. Becca and I believed we had something special, yet doubt clawed at us – who were we to challenge the status quo? Who were we to think we could play with the big kids, to change the way people thought about what a writing how-to book was? And yet now here we are with three more books, foreign translations, international speaking invitations…and blessed to have the trust of writers all over the world.

My gratitude, Becca’s gratitude…there really are no words. You guys did this–you helped us bring something to life that changed the way writers write! We can never say thank you enough.

And now, Becca, Lee and I are asking for your help again. Our One Stop For Writers™ brainstorming software will release October 7th, and we’re heading into more uncharted territory. It’s exciting to frame our content in a way that transcends books, because the world is changing, and we need to change with it, making sure our resources always align with what writers need. We want to provide you with the tools that will help you write efficiently and creatively, in the format you need, and we believe One Stop will do this best.

Here’s a secret from someone who has needed to step outside her comfort box many times on this crazy ride: those worries, those hooked and fanged doubts? They don’t go away. But with your help, maybe we can mute them and together launch this newest project as best we can.

If you are interested in joining us for yet another adventure, and are willing to help with visibility and discoverability as we launch in October, please fill out this very simple form so we can get in touch. And thank you for always being there for us!

Pic 1: Antranius @ Pixabay

The post Launching One Stop For Writers: Will You Help? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

We all know the struggle of naming a novel: trying to think of something catchy, something that aligns with current trends in our genre, but is also highly unique. A title that pops. Of course, our title should also convey the “feel” of our book, the theme that weaves through it, and give potential readers an idea of what the book is about…you know, in only a few words, or even just one, whichever the case may be.

Sounds…er, simple? Yeah, right. Naming a book is a lot like writing that query pitch: not at all easy, and a ton of pressure to hit a home run.

So, you can just imagine the jittery stress that cropped up when Becca, Lee and I knew we couldn’t keep calling our brainstorming software “the product.” We needed a name, and a good one. Something that stood out, was professional, and hinted at what the software will do. A name that conveys our desire to help writers in areas where they need it most so they feel empowered to write their amazing novels.

And so the agony began. Here’s a few of the original ideas:

• Writer’s Genie
• Creative Genie
• Descriptive Genie
• Word Wizard
• Descriptive Wizard
• Creative Wizard
• Imagination Box
• One Stop
• Writing Muse
• Muse for Writers

After much debate and research, we thought maybe it might be better to go with a single word, something punchy that represented inspiration. Because at the heart of One Stop, that’s what we’re doing–offering writers that spark, that brainstorming nudge, that sends their fingers tapping like mad across the keyboard. Our goal is to get writers actually writing, rather than spinning their wheels as they think about what to write. Of those, we came up with:

• Activate
• Flare
• Blaze
• Boost
• Spark
• Burst
• Inspire
• ESP

We all really connected with Spark. In fact we loved Spark. Spark for Writers. Cue singing, the glorious shaft of white light, all that. We imagined logos and letterheads. This was it, our name which would infuse us with purpose!

But of course, we needed to remember we weren’t in the land of book titles any more. This was software, a product/service. In any business, there’s the legal end of things, like copyright and trademark. Loving a name isn’t enough–you have to actually make sure you CAN use it, or risk a lawsuit. If someone has secured a trademark for the same name, or even if there is an existing company or product with a name that is very close in the same industry, a person is rolling the dice to also try and use it. We started researching writing software and related services and took the name to our IP (Intellectual Property) lawyer.

And…it turned out that Spark for Writers was too close to something else out there. So, we had to let this name go.

(You guys know when you love, love, love a book title and then boom, an agent or publisher tells you to change it? Yeah, that feeling.)

We flirted with a few others, like Boost, and ran into more trademark issues. Finally we circled back and asked ourselves, how could we instill a sense of place with our product name? Because that’s what we wanted–a destination, a home. Somewhere for writers to come and get help when they got stuck or needed a spark of inspiration.

We looked at One Stop For Writers again (Becca’s brainchild) and realized this gave us both a sense of place, and told people exactly what they would find: a wonderful array of resources to help them write compelling stories. We decided to go with it. While there were a few similar names out there, we found nothing for writing software or trademarked within that realm, so our IP lawyer deemed we could file for it ourselves. Whoo-hoo!

Of course, this brought us to needing a logo designed, and in doing so, the question of what people might assume our name means came up. Our designer asked, “What is One Stop For Writers? In addition to it being creative brainstorming software, does it help writers publish books? Understand platform building? Give them a place to type their story out? Something else?”

These were good questions, and made us realize we needed to be careful about how we market One Stop For Writers. Because while we see ourselves as a one-stop destination for creative tools and descriptive brainstorming that will allow writers be more efficient while improving their writing craft, we aren’t a one-stop for publishing or self-publishing help, we aren’t teaching platform or social media or marketing or any other aspects of being an author. We are only about the creative end of the writing process and getting the right words, ones that paint vivid imagery and create powerful fiction, on the page.

After discussion, we decided to add a tagline to our One Stop For Writers™ name: elevate your storytelling. This helps to clarify exactly who we are and what we do (empowering & helping writers to craft strong fiction) while also saying what we don’t do: anything not about creating powerful stories. We’re glad our designer asked us these questions because now we can infuse this sense of specific identity in all our marketing moving forward.

The takeaway? Little things are sometimes big things, so don’t be afraid to take the time to get it right. Our name is a big thing–it is who we are and what we do. While it took so much longer to find one than we expected, we are all so happy with how it all worked out.

We hope you like it too.

Did you know there’s a new One Stop Newsletter out with instructions on how to apply as a Beta Tester? You can read it here.

Pic #2: Foundry @ Pixabay

Pic #3 Geralt @ Pixabay

The post One Stop Adventures: Choosing The Right Name appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Recently Becca and I announced we are bringing something new to WHW–the One Stop For Writers™ brainstorming software. While doing something not book-related is new territory for us, making the decision to create software was an easy choice, because we are passionate about helping writers, be it through books, our blog or something else.

As writers ourselves, we know that to be successful in this industry, we all must do more, be more, and juggle more. The problem isn’t that writers aren’t up to the challenge, it’s that tackling these things requires a shrinking commodity: time.  And while all of our books, tools and blog lists are geared towards giving you the information you need to brainstorm and create efficiently, they are stored in different places, and in different formats. This means a bit of a scavenger hunt at times. Hopefully our One Stop library will change this, and truly become a one-stop destination for anyone needing help with the process of story creation.

Now I did say the easiest part was deciding to drop the hammer, especially as our partner in crime, Lee Powell, is a talented developer who also works on Scrivener, is a writer himself, and fits in with Becca and I like the proverbial third pea in a pod. The harder part came after our euphoric decision…following through on all the many details.

Because of our books, Becca and I already share a company. It’s quite simple and straight-forward, all told. But creating a new one, from scratch, to house an entity like One Stop? Completely different animal. It took significant research (all Becca–she’s a superhero!) to find a way to set up a new company when all three partners live in different countries.

(And the business set up was just the beginning–there’s also the actual building of our One Stop framework, the content creation, formatting, account management set up, finding and testing a payment engine, dealing with trademarks, copyrights, logos, design, branding, deadlines…and so much more!)

Lee, Becca and I have had to really stretch ourselves to plan and set everything up. Most importantly, we had to come together as a team. And as we move forward with implementation, I can’t help but think of all we have learned so far. Becca and I have grown so much during this process, and gained new skill sets, so we thought maybe we could share some of what we’ve learned with you.

We know you haven’t seen One Stop yet, and it’s still a ways from being complete, but maybe some of our insights during this experience will be useful as you go forward and brand yourselves as authors, set up small businesses and even tackle similar challenges of your own. So, we’re going to blog about our journey a bit and hope you’ll stay tuned.

If you have any specific questions or areas you’d like us to cover, just ask!

Heads up: The One Stop library is slowly entering the Social Media sphere….find your favorite librarians on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook!

The post Our One Stop Adventure: Sharing Lessons Along The Way appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

The post Mastering Words: Ways to Evolve as a Writer appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Henry Danger follows the adventures of Henry Hart (played by Jace Norman from The Thundermans) who gets selected by superhero Captain Man to be his apprentice. After promising to keep his new identity a secret, Henry must navigate a double life balancing the challenges of eighth grade with the crazy adventures of a crime-fighting superhero sidekick.

Photo: Lisa Rose/Nickelodeon. ©2014 Viacom International, Inc.

What do you think of Henry Danger?  Are you a fan? Tell us in the Comments!

New IMAX Movie About Humpback Whales!

Humpback Whales is an extraordinary journey into the mysterious world of one of nature’s most awe-inspiring marine mammals. Set in the spectacular waters of Alaska, Hawaii, and the remote islands of Tonga, this ocean adventure gives an up-close look at how these whales sing, feed, play, and take care of their young. Humpbacks were nearly driven to extinction 50 years ago, but today are making a recovery. Join a team of researchers as they unlock the secrets of the humpback and find out why humpbacks are the most acrobatic of all whales, why they sing their haunting songs, and why these intelligent, 55-foot, 50-ton animals migrate up to 10,000 miles round-trip every year.

Watch this video for a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the movie!

• Humpback whales are found in all oceans on Earth. Populations migrate between summer feeding grounds in temperate polar waters and winter mating grounds in tropical waters. In a sense, the humpback connects all of the world’s oceans.
• Humpback whales are named for the arching motion they make with their backs in preparation for diving. Their scientific name Megaptera Novaeangliae means “great wing,” referring to their large flippers.
• Some of earth’s largest mammals, humpbacks can reach between 40 and 55 feet (about the length of a school bus) and weigh up to 50 tons (about the weight of 500 average-sized human beings). Their lungs alone are about the size of a compact car.
• Humpbacks are one of the few animal species in which females are larger than males.
• The humpback diet consists of krill and varieties of small schooling fish and they have been observed eating up to a ton of food a day when in feeding grounds.
• Humpback whales can swim in bursts up to 16 mph, but swim at slower speeds when feeding.
• A newborn humpback calf can be 10-15 feet long at birth and weigh up to a ton.
• Only the males sing. A humpback song can last as long as 20 minutes, and sometimes the same song will be repeated for hours.

Do YOU think we should do more to protect humpback whales? Join the Save the Planet Message Board to share your thoughts about these glorious animals!

Humpback Whales photos copyright © Brandon Cole

It’s Books of the Month Time!

I know I always get WAY too excited whenever this post comes around, but hey–it’s been a long winter and I’ve had a lot of free time, so I’m running out of books to read. I need your recommendations now more than ever!

Last month, we asked you what books you were reading and loving. I’ve put the results in a word cloud so we can see which titles reign supreme. Check it out:

Well, now! Harry Potter is experiencing a bit of a comeback! It looks like Dork Diaries is moving up in popularity, too! Let’s keep this going. What other books are you reading this winter? What books do you think everyone else absolutely, totally, MUST read, like, RIGHT AWAY? Share your picks in the Comments below!

I’m off to re-read Harry Potter now. See you around.

En-Szu, STACKS Writer