Tag Archives: author

Writers-Get & Stay Inspired!

July 27, 2016Inspirational, resources, writing helps, Writing Tipsauthor, author tools, brainstorming, christina mercer, creative writing, creativity, Writing, writing tipschristinamercerbuzz

book-Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net (image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

WRITERS: GET & STAY INSPIRED!

Writers write, obviously, and most of the time we do it with passion, excitement, and a love for our craft. But there are times when we need a little extra inspiration . . .

Useful ways writers can accomplish this:

JOURNALING. Journaling our thoughts and feelings is a great way to cleanse the mind and give our ideas a clearer “space” to flow. Aside from personal topics, we can journal specifically about our writing, what we’re struggling with in our manuscripts, what we’re researching, ideas we have but aren’t sure about, any fears we have about our writing (maybe we’re questioning the topics we’ve chosen or our craft skills), certain obstacles we believe might be slowing our progress, things in our lives or writing careers we’d like to see changed, and on and on . . . Journaling is a great method to clear our heads, ease our hearts, and allow for new paths of clarity to show up, so that our focus becomes fine-tuned once again.

ENGAGE IN OTHER TYPES OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. Drawing, painting, sculpting, scrap-booking—really anything that engages our creativity in a visual way—helps awaken our muses. Some may want to create art inspired by something they are writing about specifically, such as a character or setting. Some may want total freedom to create whatever comes to mind. Either way is fine, as is any style of artistic expression. Even doodling works wonders to keep our fingers moving while our minds are allowed to relax and find new inspiration.

TALK IT OUT. Bantering, brainstorming, talking out our story ideas in a free-style way with a writing buddy or two can lead us to solutions we might not otherwise have found. The trick is not to get too serious (at first), letting anything/everything flow freely, so that we can eventually arrive at the real “heart” of our projects with a new/deeper outlook. As an alternative to working with a buddy, writers can also go solo by using voice recorders (voice recorder apps work great) to talk things out on their own until those golden ideas click into place. I do this while taking a walk or driving (nowadays nobody ever thinks you’re talking to yourself).

WATCH A MOVIE. Structure-wise, movies and books share many of the same rules. For extra insight, watch a movie in the same genre in which you write. Pay attention to when and how the story-structure points occur (inciting incident, first plot point, midpoint, climax, etc.), observe the settings shown, the focus of the camera on particular objects, listen carefully to dialogue between characters for uniqueness or interesting styles of banter. Writers can learn a lot from cinematic art, and it’s definitely a fun way to get inspired.

READ. Perhaps the most effective way to re-charge ourselves as writers is to read. Read books in the genres you love—the ones that get you excited—no matter if they match the genres you write in or not. The point is to inspire and re-ignite your passion for the written word. Reading helps us stay in the world of “story” while also helping us to relax. It allows us writers to stop focusing so hard on our own manuscripts, and at the same time, fills us with motivation that we can take back to our writing. Whenever anyone asks me what one thing I would suggest for writer’s block, my answer is always: READ!

Want more tips? Check out my board over on Pinterest with tons of articles, quotes, pictures, etc. to help Writers-Get & Stay Inspired!

Christina Mercer is an award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults. She is also a once-upon-a-time CPA and the author of Bean Counting for Authors. Christina enjoys life in the foothills of Northern California with her husband and sons, a pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. WebSite | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Use your Interjections!

April 6, 2016resources, Uncategorized, writing helps, Writing Tipsauthor, author tools, books, cassidy jones adventures, creative writing, elise stokes, fiction, interjections, Middle grade, parts of speech, writer, Writing, writing tips, young adultelisestokes

If you’re an American Gen X-er who’d been a zealous viewer of Saturday morning cartoons, most likely when you hear the word “Interjection” you will spontaneously break into song: “When Reginald was home with the flu, uh-huh-huh, The doctor knew just what to do-hoo…” (and experience a powerful hankering for Ovaltine. What’s up with that???).

Back in the day (the phrase my kids use when referring to that fuzzy period of my life Pre-Them), “Interjections” were an earworm that haunted me day and night. Who would’ve thunk they were actually useful in writing? Interjections convey strong emotion in cute, little, power-packed morsels. Ooh, pff, gah, bah, argh, hmph, mwahaha — awwwww, huh?

So be fashionably pithy. Use your Interjections! (Yes, I also picture a wagging finger here.)

And, Gen Z-ers, if you hear your mother make a phlegmy noise that sorta sounds like “ahem,” it’s time to look up from whatever electronic device you’re using and pay attention. It’ll just get ugly from that point on.

Below are two great lists of Interjections. Tuck them away. They will come in handy.

100 Mostly Small But Expressive Interjections

Dictionary of Interjections

For those who must satisfy “The Earworm” I’ve awakened or who are looking for a new non-Taylor Swift ditty that will endlessly loop through your head >>> School House Rock! Interjections (Warning: No Auto-tune)

Elise Stokes lives with her husband and four children. She was an elementary school teacher before becoming a full-time mom. With a daughter in middle school and two in high school, Elise’s understanding of the challenges facing girls in that age range inspired her to create a series that will motivate girls to value individualism, courage, integrity, and intelligence. The stories in Cassidy Jones Adventures are fun and relatable, and a bit edgy without taking the reader uncomfortably out of bounds. Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula, Cassidy Jones and Vulcan’s Gift, Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant, and Cassidy Jones and the Luminous are the first four books in the series.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | Goodreads

When Authors Mean Business!

March 9, 2016authors in business, writing helps, Writing Tipsaccounting, author, author business, author education, bean counting for authors, bookkeeping, christina mercer, tax tips, taxes, Writingchristinamercerbuzz

Authoring books is amazingly fun and creative and never, EVER dull . . . However, along with all that imaginative wonderment, Authors come closer to becoming mini-accountants than they realize. Why? Because once anyone becomes an official business owner, he/she crosses into the realm of accounting and taxes.

Oh, the horrors of it, right? But never fear!

When Authors Mean Business, they have propelled themselves from merely writing for “fun” to reaping well-earned monetary rewards. AND THAT IS A GOOD THING, RIGHT? Authors are not only wand-waving story weavers, but also real-world professionals running businesses that earn money. And, yes, along with that comes accounting and taxes. If that causes some of you Authors out there to squirm, just remind yourselves that it’s a sign of monetary success if your books are earning ENOUGH profits to generate said taxes. And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own!

In order to help fellow creatives with all of this business and accounting stuff, I offer a handy little guide with some important must-knows of accounting, taxation, budgeting, and planning for the future. Learn the differences between a hobby and a business; get a handle on different business structures; learn about proper bookkeeping, sales tax, common and complex tax deductions, retirement options and more!

BEAN COUNTING FOR AUTHORS-Helping Writers & Creative Business Owners Grasp Accounting & Taxes

NOW AVAILABLE!!

Counting each and every “Bean” earned may not be the idea of fun and adventure for most, but having lots of beans in the bank is a pretty great way for Authors to keep on doing what they do love most—WRITING BOOKS! And understanding some important business and financial basics is a big step toward making that happen.

Once-upon-a-time, Christina Mercer worked as a CPA. Though she retired that formal hat, you can still find numbers buzzing around her head. She is also an award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults. She currently resides in Northern California enjoying life with her husband, sons, pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. WebSite | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Writing Fight Scenes: Fast and Furious

April 22, 2015writing helpsaction scenes, author, cassidy jones, creative writing, elise stokes, fight scenes, Writing, writing tipselisestokes

I admit it. I’m a skimmer. Show me a bloated chunk of descriptive text and my eyes glaze over. I don’t care about every detail in a room, or each step that must be performed in making a sandwich. I have a decent enough imagination. Fling what’s relevant at me and I’ll sketch out the rest. If you bog me down, I swear I’ll skim! Might even leapfrog to the good stuff (Ahhhhh, dialogue…). My request especially applies to fight scenes. Have mercy. Please be brief.

Tips for writing an exciting fight scene from an author who has the attention span of a gnat (My next blog post: Cliches: Are they really so evil?):

1. Don’t Overload

Most readers aren’t using a piece of fiction as a step-by-step guide for learning kickass Kung fu moves (They’ve got Youtube for that). So don’t be tedious. Provide the skeleton for the scene and allow the reader to fill in the meat. They won’t visualize the blow-by-blow the way you do anyway. They’ll see it the way James Cameron does. 😉

2. “KA-POW” And Move On

Have you ever thrown a punch? A fist comes at you fast. There’s little time to compute before impact, if you even see the blow coming. This is the feel you want to create in your writing. Pulses will race, if you keep your sentences succinct. Write them like a wallop. Fast and furious. Choose powerful verbs and leave frilly adverbs be. They’ll only drag the action down.

3. It’s More Than A Fight

Battles need to amount to more than busted noses and kicked in teeth. The fight should reveal the inner workings of your characters— the good, the bad, and the ugly. For example, in the Cassidy Jones Adventure series, violence brings out “the beast” in my teenage mutant, Cassidy Jones. As she is pummeling her opponent, she is also fighting her feral side, trying not to cross the line. Sometimes she wins, sometimes the beast does, and sometimes Cassidy capitulates. Her “partner-in-crime,” Emery Phillips, displays no moral conflict in the midst of combat. A means-to-an-end sort of fella, he does what has to be done, calmly and efficiently. There are times I suspect ice runs through that boy’s veins. I want the reader to feel the same uncertainty.

4. Get Visceral

The whole smell-sound-taste-touch thing— yeah, do that. It doesn’t take much to awaken the senses. Cartilage snapping, knuckles cracking, blood rushing, heart pounding, sweat flying, the smell of BO, the taste of vomit— all good sensory stuff. First and foremost, make your readers care. Insert the reader into your character’s skin, or else they won’t give a hoot what you do to the poor bloke. So get visceral. Make your readers feel what your characters feel.

5. Learn From The Experts (And The Self-Proclaimed Ones)

If you aren’t an accomplished black belt like I am (in the art of donkey dust), Youtube can prove to be an invaluable resource. Watch fight matches, lots of them, and take notes. I even watch instructional videos so I can somewhat understand how to perform and counteract specific moves. I won’t bore readers with foot placement and whatnot, but it helps me to know execution in order to choreograph a “realistic” fight scene. Then I run my realistic fight scene by my sister who is an accomplished black belt. If I get a thumbs-up that the scene is plausible (in the implausible world of superheroes), then it’s a wrap.

I hope this has been helpful. It has been for me. The entire time writing this post I’ve been dying to read over the fight scene I finished last night. I suspect there’s an adverb or two that needs to be demolished. There always is!

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