I'm in a mood right now.  Have you ever been there?  Of course, you have.  I'm in the mood to write. 

Every writer has benefitted from and been harmed by writing moods.  Sometimes I find that a mood takes me to places I've never been before in my writing.  Other times, writing in the midst of a mood can be disastrous.

Image by Ethan Hein, flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethanhein/3004519550/

Moods Curse Me

Often times a mood will generate an idea or a desire to express itself.  These moods seem to sweep me away.  I sit down to write, and what comes out?  Anger, bitterness, depression, hate, sadness. 

I thought that mood would spur me on to greatness, to touch the world with my keyboard.  Instead, all I found was my internals on display.  We all have read a poem that shocks us with the reality of disdain for life, and while we appreciate the candor, the author's moodiness is projected onto us, making our hearts heavy and our shoulders droopy.

Beware of the mood that drives you to write.  You may hurt your readers by transferring your negativity onto friends, family, or a Web stranger caught unawares.

Moods Bless Me

Other times a mood will motivate me to pour out my heart and mind in ways previously unimaginable.  The right mood has the power to take my writing to a place it has never been before.  Shades of sorrow or glimmers of gladness are sometimes just the right ingredients to spice up an article.

Like spices, moods can be sprinkled onto an already great idea, enhancing the flavor and benefitting the presentation of the meal.  Or a mood can carry the main course, and bring full satisfaction to the reader.

The write mood, expressed in the write way, at the write time will change the world - or at least one person who needs a special touch.  We all have read an unique article that expresses the perfect tone with a heavenly voice.

Watch for moods that will enable you to pioneer the publishing frontier.

Image by Intgr, Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Mood_dice.svg

Discerning the Mood

As writers we need to discern our moods to know whether or not to follow the mood to the keyboard.  Here are a few guidelines:

• Can others relate to what I am feeling?
• Am I in control of my feelings as I write?
• Is the focus of this piece myself or my audience, or both?
• Can this emotion be expressed in words meaningful to another person?
• Do I want to help or harm someone with these words that are driven by this mood?

Writing makes writers feel better as we share a piece of ourselves.  We ought to make sure that we edit well if we think a particular mood has heavily influenced one of our pieces.  The mood may be mightier than the pen.

Image by diCkIE 2D, flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/dickie2d/2307866733/

The more we examine our moods the better writers we will become.  I would appreciate your feedback on this article, as I was feeling a bit moody when I wrote it.  Was this mood a blessing or a curse? 

You the reader will decide.  My mood is my mood.  Did it become your mood?  Did it benefit you?  Or did I write selfishly for myself?  Yes, you the reader will be blessed by my mood or you the reader will be cursed by my mood. 

The choice to write is mine but the reaction and responses are yours.

As a teen reader myself, I can say that many Christian authors follow the same storyline, format and style and that it is hard to find a new Christian novel that is different from the rest. If you want to try your hand at writing a Christian teen novel, then here are a few tips from a reader of Christian teen fiction:

1: Keep it real. If you do a modern setting for your novel make sure that it is keeping with the many problems that teens face today, such as drugs, teen pregnancy and homosexuality. If you make it seem as if a real teen wrote this story then you will attract more readers.

2: DO NOT PREACH! It is great to make the storyline center around a moral that you want to promote, but if it seems as though the whole story is just about that moral then teens will think that you are preaching to them. That will make your novel seem as though their parents wrote it to teach a lesson, not for the teen to enjoy. Remember when you were a teen and hated to be told what to do? That is how we begin to feel when you start seeming to shove this moral or message down our throats instead of just making it a PART of the story and not just half the book.

3: Add a new twist to an old story. I can not tell you how many Christian teen novels there are about a modern day girl or guy who has to deal with teen dramas in her/his life. I know that many teens enjoy that type of story, but after while people begin to yearn for something new. You do not have to do anything to big. Try a new genre. Maybe a historical novel set back in Roman times or a fantasy story that is set in the future on Mars. You could also just try a new type of the same old story. I have an idea for a story about a girl who gets pregnant before she is a Christian and then after she is saved she has to deal with being a teen mother and all the drama that she now has to deal with, not only as a teen mother but as a Christian who knows that getting pregnant was a great sin. Same setting, but it is taking a normal teen drama and twisting it around a little bit. Or you could try and just make the story a little bit like a Christian adult story or maybe even a little like a normal bestseller, but with a Christian twist. The possibilities are endless. You just have to snatch them up and write.

4: And finally, try to make this story seem approachable by not only Christian teens but non-Christian teens as well. It is great to have an audience of Christian teens but to be able to reach out to other teen readers and help not only boost your sales but spread God's love is great, too. If a non-Christian teen sees your story and thinks that it does not seem too preachy, and maybe even cool, they might pick it up, read it and perhaps by seeing what Christianity is like, they may come to Christ. I think that is what all Christians want in their lives, to be able to use their work, whatever it is, to bring at least one person to Christ.

I hope that if you try your hand at writing for the hard and unusual audience of Christian teens that you will succeed and I hope to see your novel in bookstores and catalogs soon.

Poe was born on January 19th, 1809. Poe's parents were actors, and had their most success in Boston, Poe's birth town, yet, few places else. After Poe's mother's death and Poe's father took his leave, Poe was adopted by john Allen, a wealthy merchant. Although Poe received more love from Mrs. Allen, Mr. Allen wanted only the best education for Poe and sent him abroad to study. But soon, Poe developed a problem. First off, Poe began heavy drinking which some say would lead to his demise. Also, Poe began to gamble way too much. In a mere 8 months, Poe ran a debt of over $2000, an insane amount of money at that time. After John refused to pay this debt, Poe left for the army and rose to the highest non-commissioned rank: sergeant major. But Poe got tired of this life and purposely got himself kicked out of the army. In the May of 1830, Poe revisited john Allen but left due to another quarrel.

This is the point in Poe's under lived life that he began his writing career. He wrote and published Al Araaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems by Edgar Allen Poe, all at his own expense.

Along with his new writing career, Poe is constantly looking for employment. First Poe gets a job at the Southern Literary Messenger. Soon after he published The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. After, Poe went to work for Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. During this period of his life, Poe wrote some of his most famous stories, Like The Fall of the House of Usher and Grotesques and Arabesques which included some of his most Horrifying stories.

Some where now, Poe married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia. The wedding was on May 16, 1836.

In 1841, Poe left for the literary editorship of Graham Magazine. He left that in 1842 for excessive drinking and not being able to get along with his co-workers. After that he wrote Murders In the Rue Morgue and The Man That Was Used Up. In 1844, Poe got himself a job at the New York Mirror.

Some time now, (between 1841 and 1844) Virginia started to die. To relive himself, Poe drank his brains out.

In 1845, Poe left for the editorship position at the Broadway Journal. He also published The Raven in 1844. Poe's next job was with Godey's Lady's book. But this lead to a large loss of money due to plagiarism charges and libel suits.

Poe now nearly out of money is having serious problems. In the winter of 1846, Poe and Virginia and her mother almost starved to death. The next Year in 1847, January 30th, Virginia died. As much as this was a punch into the gut of Poe's life, Poe strived to succeed. He wrote Eureka soon after.

It was time to move on. In 1849, Poe was to marry Mrs. Shelton. Of course Poe's mother-in-law was to attend the wedding so Poe set off to bring her to the wedding. On the way there, Poe died. No one is quite sure how. Some say it was his drinking, others, he was mobbed. Either way, Poe ended up in the hospital and died four days later on October 7th, 1849.

This genius mind was only alive for 40 years to share his works of art with us. But now, with your questions answered, I leave you with all of the knowledge I can spare, on the illustrious, Edgar Allen Poe.

Every writer has times when the words don’t flow as easily as they should, or everything they send to editors and publishers comes bouncing back. Faced with a mountain of rejection letters, it’s very easy to stop trying. I know many very talented writers who will never get their books published because they have simply stopped sending their manuscripts out to publishers. They gave up.

I have come very close to this myself, and not just once, but now I’ve learned my lesson. That great story that was turned down three times might sell to the fourth person I send it to, but it won’t see unless I keep sending it out. I have sold stories at the sixth attempt, sometimes literally years after first writing them. If I think the idea is good, I will keep trying until I either succeed or run out of places to send the story.

Talent on its own is no guarantee of success.

Many talented authors wrote books that were turned down dozens of times before they found a publisher. Catch 22, Watership Down, even Harry Potter. None of those books sold easily. The authors could easily have given up, but they didn’t.

So if you want to earn money as a writer. If you want to be successful, there’s  one thing you really need, and that’s persistence.

I breathe a breath of fresh air when I read comments left for my own works.  I come away encouraged, hopeful, and wanting to write more.

Here are three tips on how to use the comments feature effectively.

Use the comments section to express yourself. 

Respond naturally to what you have read.  Be free and use natural expressions.  Writers want to know how their work is affecting their readers, so tell them.  Triond user Melody Arcamo Lagrimas is an expert in leaving meaningful, heartfelt remarks.

Use the comments section to inspire the author.

Writers write to inspire readers, but readers can also re-inspire the author.  I am encouraged at how Triond users go out of their way to leave positive comments to the author.  Liane Schmidt is among the best in re-inspiring an author.

Use the comments section to provide constructive criticism.

Criticism that is constructive will make the author a better writer while making the reader a better author.  Don't be afraid to offer gentle correction, a helpful tip, or a word of instruction.  Most authors can handle it and in the long run we will all be better off if we encourage one another constructively.  Nelson Doyle is someone I have observed who proffers constructive criticism.

One bonus tip:

Use the comments section to find like-minded new friends

I love finding new friends at the bottom of stranger's articles.  I suppose that most people make new Triond friends by reading their works, but for me it is reading the comments section.  Some comments ring true to my soul.  Other times I recognize a name over and over again making observations similar to mine.  I then look up the author's works and nine times out of ten, I like their works and add that author as a friend.

Conclusion

Okay people, use the comments section effectively by expressing yourself naturally and inspiring the authors who are sharing their souls.  Give relevant advice to help improve an author's writing.  And don't forget to look for new friends along the way as you read and leave comments.

One more item before you go.  Leave me a comment on my article!  Thank you beforehand.

1st Person

This is the style we'll be covering in this article. In this style the author is also the narrator, and they are writing about the adventure as though they were the character, not about their character.

2nd Person

Second person is probably the hardest of them. This is the author talking directly to the reader using terms such as "you." While the most popular of this style are RPG style books, there are books that feature this way of writing.

3rd Person

The most common way of writing. This is writing about the character using names, as well as "he" and "she." It is probably the easiest of the ways to write although there are varying types.

Some more detail about writing in first person

This way of writing is most certainly nothing like third person. You are not all-knowing, you can not say what other characters are thinking and you can only describe the world through that one character. Unless of course your main character is a telepathic mutant or God.

There are different ways of writing in first person. Dean Koontz writes as Odd Thomas who is writing a manuscript, while other authors don't chose to do this. They just write as the character. Various advice has been given about writing as a character but the most popular advice is not to be clever with your words. You are writing as a character now, so if they (the character) are a ten year old boy they most probably wouldn't use very difficult words. Darren Shan is a good example of how one would write.

The advantages and disadvantages

The advantages

You can get away with a lot while writing in the first person that wouldn't be possible in any other style. Mistakes are more acceptable, or variations of writing - especially if you were writing the diary of a young teen with dyslexia for example.

It is far easier to inject personality and emotion through the first person style, since you are writing as that person - unless you happen to be writing as an emotionless psychopath, which probably wouldn't be a good idea - not if you want anyone to empathise with them.

It is more acceptable to write the thoughts of your character since you are them. This can be harder to do in third person, it might even make your writing lose its flow. You can weave flashbacks and memories and thought waves into your writing, in a more natural way.

As such it can be easier to develop a character this way and really get to know them (more personal) - as opposed to third person writing where you can easily be more detached. This can be useful in long and short stories. Mentioning short stories, using the first person in one of these can give it a more emotional and intense burst than third person would.

As the narrator you not only can tell a story and reveal emotions and the like but you can also lie directly. This can work its way into an extremely interesting story line, and an exciting character. This can produce amazing effects, especially when the lie is ridiculously obvious - adding much colour to a story.

This style is an immediate one, giving us a first-hand experience of the events. We are lead to believe this events since we only have that person to base our understanding on, rather than a multitude of characters. This makes the story more focuses, since it is from one direct point of view.

The disadvantages

It is often perceived as harder to write in the first person than the third, and gives the perspecticive on one characters view of the world. As said before you are not all knowing and can't delve into other characters minds - that is unless you're writing as more than one person. This means there is little room to see another characters perspective. And this can lead to bias and an unreliable account.

One of the issues of writing in the first person is that "I" is used too much, and this lack of variation can make a piece feel over-bearing and dry and a picture not painted properly.

Due to the limited perspective the narrator is only able to say things they see, and hear. They can't know anything for certain except what they see first hand, so the character must take an active part in the story if they are to be a reliable narrator.

Possibly one of the most important disadvantages  of writing in first person is that it depends on the narrators/characters ability to speak and/or write.

Lastly because of the narrow view, and being unable to see other characters minds and reactions they can never find out how other people really view the narrator. They have only the narrators word and they could well be lying.

If you've enjoyed this article you may well enjoy reading

Sentence construction 101 and Writer's block

A Bucket-list, in case you didn't see the likewise named movie, is simply a list of things you want to do before you die.

It was actually a class project my senior-year of high school to list out the top ten things we wanted to accomplish. These were supposed to be very, very long-term goals.

Mine included a ton of random things varying from overcoming stage-fright to a few extreme sports challenges. In the middle of my list was to write a novel.

This is actually a fairly common goal. Everyone seems to have a story in their head, but only a handful sit down to actually write it out. Turns out I have around a dozen ideas floating around the ol' cerebellum at any given time. But it wasn't until three years ago that I sat down to actually pen out my first novel.

It took the inspiration and accountability of NaNoWriMo to get my butt in gear. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a "contest" of sorts that asks aspiring authors to gather around the warm inspirational light of a monitor every November and write a 50,000+ word work.

There are no guidelines as far as genre, plot, character development, etc. The only requirement is that your final product is to have 50,000 words on paper by the end of November.

I entered. I finished. I felt good.

That first step of putting the ink on a page is the hard part. I followed a series of tips listed on the NaNoWriMo website to keep myself on track. The most effective one being: PEER-PRESSURE.

I told everyone I possibly could and even created a Facebook.com group to keep everyone updated on my word count and process. For a college age guy, there is nothing more inspiring than a barrage of hot girls and annoying guys asking you how much you've written, what it's about, and when can they get a copy. You want to flaunt your success in front of friends and enemies alike.

Chances are they have the same desire somewhere in them, not to write the next great American novel, but to entertain with a flight of fancy. After my first year, three friends who had kept up with my process signed up to do it themselves the following November.

It's October now, if you want to know more about NaNoWriMo read No Plot? No Problem! By Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo and visit the official site.

Just step out there and do it. That'll be one more thing to check off of your Bucket-List..

I do have a master’s degree in Social Work but here in the Panhandle of Oklahoma many places will hire those who are less qualified because they are cheaper to hire. I have looked at trying to get a job at the University where my husband is employed and even they have said in the past that I am over-qualified for many of the jobs on campus and because it is so small there are no jobs available in any areas where I am qualified at all.

I have written several novels one of which I have self-published: Sunrises and Crossword Puzzles  that I hope sells through word of mouth and such. I will have other novels that I need to edit and get published as well. I do have a blog called: Marvelous One’s Mommy Mind Maze and have a writing profile at: Writing.com.

I really do love to write and educate others in regards to disabled people being like ‘normal’ people with a unique twist added on. I personally believe that everyone has a disability and thus I and others are no different. We were not made perfect, sorry to disappoint you who thought you were perfect.  

I am going to dedicate myself to become the author that I have always dreamed of become because I believe that I can achieve any goal I set for myself. I know this is not the popular way to do things but that is too bad. I have never done the popular thing just to make others happy.

I have written several times about self-publishing and every time someone strikes me down for my criticisms of the industry. Read closely, my criticisms of them relate to their marketing which uses false advertising, and the quality of their work. They cannot point to anyone who has actually made it to the big time from self publishing, but their marketing campaigns allude to such successes in their online advertisements.

These self publishing sites claim they cannot give out verifiable information due to customer privacy. The truth is they have no verifiable results, successful or otherwise. They do not know how many self published books are sold to the public. The publishing site only knows how many books it printed and sold to their customer. These sites have testimonies of success stories, but none of their testimonies give the title of a book and no testimonies claim monetary success that is verifiable. Yet the self publishing site touts their method as a way for you to make money.

If seeing your written words between the covers is your definition of success, I concede to your success if you self publish a book. If you put out a best seller through the self publishing method, you will be the first.

It is possible to make money from self publishing; I have always said that. It is very unlikely that you will make money and I strongly maintain that position. How much time do you have to promote your book? That is the key issue to success and success may be a very small profit, not a living that will support you. Around 97% of those who put their money into self publishing never recover the investment. You will most likely give away more books than you sell. Friends love free autographed books from writers, with an emphasis on the word “free”.

The previous statement is not and indictment of friends who want a free book. One of my greatest thrills is giving my book to a friend, especially one who will actually read it. Even if every friend I have paid for one of my books at full cover price I would not recover my investment. I do not have that many friends who buy books. Perhaps I just need more friends?

One reader took exception to my last criticism of self publishing, stating that I did not present the fair and balanced alternative of print on demand (POD). Another person suggested that I take a look at lulu.com. Actually, I looked at lulu.com before my reader suggested it. If you go to their website you can calculate the cost of printing one book and that cost, especially when you add shipping hand handling is more than the retail value of one comparable book at Borders. POD is the newly packaged, newly named version of self publishing; another marketing campaign for the jobbers making money from your literary works.

I concede the argument that you can publish yourself through the POD method with very little investment. However, you will not have books on store shelves and the cost of one book when you want a printed copy far exceeds the retail price of a book. So, again, if you want to see your work between covers, you can definitely accomplish that with lulu.com, but all of the best selling authors have new releases on Borders bookshelves at far lower retail prices than the cost to print and ship your book.

Booksjustbooks.com is another site that self publishes. You can get 10,000 hardback mystery/romance novels for around $3.50 per copy. I can go down the street, about one mile from my office to Taylor Publishing and get 5,000 copies of my mystery/romance novel printed for $3.19 per copy. Taylor Publishing has been around for over thirty years and publishes a majority of the school yearbooks in America. They also have a division that publishes hardback and paperback books.

Taylor is the best. I have been to their facility, toured it, stood and watched them print and bind books, and talked to the people who run the company. I know they will not take my money and run. They are legitimate, totally above board in their dealings with me and I know the final product is going to be the best quality. The book Taylor produces will not fall apart the first time it is cracked open. No self publishing jobbers finished product can make claims of quality that compares to Taylor. The major bookstores such as Borders shy away from books that are shoddily bound. Books from lulu.com and booksjustbooks.com fall into the shoddily bound category. Major bookstores will not touch them for resale.

As good as Taylor Publishing is, here is one way they are just like the websites I mentioned, and they state this up front in their quote; when they finish printing my books, they will ship them wherever pay to have them shipped. I own all the books and have to spend my time and money distributing and promoting them.

Here is some honest math, no marketing hype involved:

• Sale of 2,300 copies (wholesale) of my mystery/romance novel $27,600
• Printing cost of 3,000 novels $ 9,570
• Cost of shipping 3,000 novels to retail outlets, including returns $ 3,490
• Promotion which consisted primarily of travel to book signings $ 9,600
• Profit over seven month period $ 4,940

As you see, I did not make a living but did not lose money either. In fact, I consider the venture a successful test for my marketing approach. If you look closely at the numbers I had 700 books left when I stopped traveling around, promoting and signing. Does anyone need a book?

Success with self publishing, depending on your definition of success, is doable; with a lot of work. Will I do it again? Yes, I have proved my marketing approach on a limited basis. With solid capital backing I will succeed beyond supplementing my income. I do not advise against self publishing, but be aware that more people lose investments than make money and it will require a substantial investment of time and money on your part.

As for print on demand, I do advise against it unless you just want to see your book in print. Printing one book each time you sell one book is a losing proposition. You can see your work between covers with that method, but it will cost more per copy than retail store prices and do not crack it open when you read it, or the pages will fall out. Find a quality printer if you self publish and stay away from the online jobbers who are working from a desk and chair in their living rooms. You can find the same printers they find. In fact, you can find one that uses state of the art equipment and produces a quality product.

These six factors all play a role in how long it will take to get your book written:

1. How much you know about the subject you are writing about.
2. How much time you have to invest in writing the book - Obviously, it will take longer if you have a full time job and 5 kids to take care of!
3. How big or difficult the book is. A 300 page text book on Nuclear Physics will take longer than a 100 page book on your journey to India.
4. Whether there are illustrations in the book as well as the number of illustrations. The more there are, the longer the book will be.
5. How much others are involved. When you have to send the book off to publishers, collaborate with co-authors, editors and illustrators it adds to the amount of time needed to complete the book.
6. The demands of your publisher. Some publishers may require many edits, re-writes and so on, which all add to the amount of time needed to complete the book.

There really isn't any deadline to meet, unless, of course you have to meet a publishers deadline. What's more important than how long it takes, is to actually get it done. The world is waiting to here what you have to say.