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...]
Journaling – the perfect sleeping potion
As a person who journals everyday I can see the benefits of doing morning pages every morning and journaling just before going to sleep. I've journaled both ways. Right now I journal in the morning. I decided to switch over from night journaling because once in a while I'd nod off while writing. You can only imagine what funny gibberish I found on my page the next morning as a result. Mari L. McCarthy, our WOW! Women on Writing blog tour guest today and author of Journaling Power, is an advocate of writing at night as a way to get a good night's sleep. By the way, she writes in the morning as well. Please welcome Mari to Choices. Sleep Tight Every Night By Mari L. McCarthy Do you have trouble getting off to sleep at night because your mind has gone into overdrive? Or do you drop off only to wake in the early hours with your head full of worries? I used to suffer with insomnia until I discovered a creative cure with absolutely no side-effects: writing therapy in the … [Read more...]
Why reading is important to writing
I'm thrilled to host Ava Louise while she tours her Intergalactic Matchmaking Services series with WOW! Women on Writing. She discusses one of my favorite topics - how very important it is for an author to read. I'm always reading something - lately books by Philip Roth and John Updike. I'm notorious for buying a new book or two before I've finished the to-be-read pile on my bedside table. Before I introduce you to Ava, please make sure you enter to win the Intergalactic Matchmaking Series by commenting here about your own reading list. Here's Ava: Thank you, Madeline, for having me as a guest. I feel safe in saying that for most authors, the road to writing is paved with books. As my bio says, I came to this writing life much later than many authors. While I joke that it took me over 40 years to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up, I've always known I needed books in my life. I don't recall a time when I wasn't an avid reader. Reading allowed me to escape … [Read more...]
