I have a dear friend who sends me wonderful and sometimes funny sayings, cartoons, and thoughts. The one that follows is especially good - serious with a little humor thrown in. After you've read it please share your own special thoughts or sayings in the Comments box below. And please enjoy this one. 1. Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue! 2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. 3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. 4. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker. 5. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. 6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. 7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. 8. Never buy a car you can't push. 9. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time because then you … [Read more...]
Our guest today is Mary Maurice. Welcome!
I'm happy to host Mary Maurice today, author of Burtrum Lee, a scientific mystery, during her WOW! Women on Writing blog tour. Also, Mary has shared her thoughts on "keeping readers engaged," especially for our Choices readers. Thanks so much, Mary, for your interesting ideas for engaging your readers. Keeping Readers Engaged by Mary Maurice First and foremost, I try to get the reader's attention with a good title, and then I reel them in with a semi-hypnotic rhythm, while making sure that there are no stump-words. (words that are complicated, making the reader stop and go over the sentence again, losing the momentum that you're trying to achieve). Speaking from experience, when I come upon a word I have to think about, most times I set the book down soon after, and sometimes never return to it. Simplicity is a key, as well as colorful and spicy words. I have a box of Crayola's on my desk which I use for descriptive detail, as well as fruit colors, and anything else to … [Read more...]
