Blog Archives

Proofing and Editing

9/29/2010

Today I wanted to address the hated job of proofing and editing. It usually brings a heavy sigh and rolled eyes. Why worry about it? Especially now that Word will find misspellings for you... Well, with a light-hearted reproach, I’ve found a few reasons why you should worry about it. These are from a collection of actual Church bulletin blunders.

1. Don't let worry kill you - let the church help.

2. Thursday night - Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.

3. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

4. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

5. The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.

6. This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.

7. Wednesday the ladies liturgy will meet. Mrs. Johnson will sing "Put me in my little bed" accompanied by the pastor.

8. Thursday at 5:00 PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be "Little Mothers" will meet with the Pastor in his study.

9. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

10. The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday.

11. A bean supper well be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

12. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

13. The Reverend Merriweather spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.

14. The eighth graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the church basement on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

15. During the absence of our pastor we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Scubbs supplied our pulpit.

16. The Senior Choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.

17. Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double door at the side entrance.

18. Next Sunday, Mrs. Vinson will be the soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."

19. The choir will meet at the Larsen home for fun and sinning.

20. A song fest was hell at the Methodist Church Wednesday.

21. The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."

22. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on Oct. 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in school days.

23. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say, "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.

24. The church is glad to have with us today as our guest minister the Rev. Green who has Mrs. Green with him. After the service we request that all remain in the sanctuary for the Hanging of the Greens.

25. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Happy proofing!

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Writer's Block

9/25/2010

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Have you ever experienced a writer’s block? You know, when you sit and stare at a blank screen or page for those that like to entertain their muse with the actual pen. Don’t know what to write? I’ve been there. (Though I admit, I have more trouble controlling my overactive muse. She’s one that has a hard time keeping on track to finish one idea before she’s bouncing off to the next one.)

But if you find yourself in a little quandary, not knowing what to write, here are a couple of suggestions to tickle your muse with.

Exercise 1. What if... Read a short story or article. Ask yourself ‘what if...’ This was exactly how my novel ‘The Secret of the Stones’ was created. I read a short story about Merlin and Vivienne and my muse reflected back to the movie ‘The Sword and the Stone.’ My kids just about wore that tape out... (yes, I said tape. It was a few years ago, grin.) Anyway, I remembered how Merlin changed him and Arthur into squirrels and fish and the fun adventures they had. I asked myself, ‘what if’ a kid today found something that had Merlin’s magic in it and changed into a squirrel. Off my muse ran and what started out as a short story, emerged as a full length novel, the first of a trilogy.

Your ‘what ifs’ can be related to a memory, what might be, instead of, or whatever you’d like. For example... what if Merlin had never met Vivienne; what if Merlin wasn’t killed by Vivienne, but sent to the future; what if Merlin had a twin brother and Vivienne trapped the wrong one... see what I mean. The muse can start rolling and never shut up.

Exercise 2. Take the word ‘Villiage’ and add something in front of it and create a short paragraph. I was challenged to do this in a class and it was fun to see what came up. For my lesson, I used the word ‘Reindeer.’ So ‘Reindeer Village’ emerged. It immediately brought to mind the herds of reindeer and the tribes of nomads that cared for them. And what helps them care for them. Dogs. My muse ran with this to create a chapter book of a young girl who finds a small husky puppy that no one wants because he is too small. Well, guess what, the puppy grows up to save the little girl, thus proving that size isn’t what makes one valuable.

Try it yourself. Add your own noun to the beginning of Village and let your muse run. She’ll leap and folic and you’ll find yourself with the beginnings of a great new story.

Hope you had fun with these ideas. Let go of the reins and let your muse race like a thundering thoroughbred.

C.K. Volnek

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20 Ways to Keep Your Writing Inspiration and Creativity High

9/21/2010

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Greetings. Welcome back to my blog. I came across this article and thought it had some great suggestions about how to keep your muse happy, healthy and cooperative. Hope you find it as useful as I did!

C.K. Volnek

20 Ways to Keep Your Writing Inspiration and Creativity High
By Catherine Franz

When stressed or blocked it is wise to make a change so that we don't stay in that place. Yet, many times we forget some of the simple things that we can do for ourselves, quickly and easily to bring our inspiration back and increase our creativity.

1. If you usually type your first drafts, hand write them. Nothing compares to the feeling the ink melting into the paper and the surge of that creative flow.

2. If you spend too much time at the computer, take a break every hour. Go for a walk or just sit outside in the sun. Even five minutes in a winter sun does wonders for a mood and creativity.

3. Flip through magazines or books. Their colors and ideas will give you sparks and switch your attitude. Blue and green can reduce your stress levels by 30% or more.

4. Add strong smells to the room. Light scented candles around you, visit the fruit isle at the grocery store, or go to a store that is heavily scented. Find an orange or strawberries and smell it. Both will change a mood or create inspiration. Smells awaken your creativity. Smells trigger memories and are a great method to rekindle stories from the past.

5. Go see or rent an inspirational movie. Relaxation time is important. You can even take your notebook and record inspirational phases. Afterwards free write that those phrases bring up from your subconscious.

6. Read a book that stirs you or sparks your creativity. If you prefer, read poetry.

7. Look at bold and bright colors for a few minutes. These change your mood.

8. Talk with a friend about your topic to flesh out ideas and creativity. Record the conversation, with their permission of course, and play it back to hear the little nuances that you might have missed.

9. Write an e-mail to a friend to tell him or her what you want to accomplish. If you are stuck, say so and ask for help.

10. Check in with your vibrational energy and do something to switch it into high gear. Take a shower. Go for a walk. Turn on some music and dance naked for a few minutes.

11. Hire a virtual assistant to do some typing so that you can stay focused on writing. You can fax your writing or dictate it into the computer and send her a voice file for transcription.

12. Go to church for the noon service or whisper a prayer or two. This reconnects your energy with the universe and replenishes what might be missing.

13. Complete an appreciation exercise. Pick something around you, like the telephone, lamp, or pen. Talk to it and tell it how much you appreciate having the electricity to turn it on, the opportunity to write with a tool that has the ink inside, not like a quill, or the softness of the paper you write on. Be grateful for that you have and not what you are missing. Or make a list of "count your blessing" items.

14. Write a personal note to friends or family and tell them how much you love them, appreciate their thoughtfulness, or kindness.

15. Authentic, flat-out, raw laughter frees the psyche and opens the creativity process.

16. Find a setting with lots of trees and flowers and feel nature. If the weather permits, take off your shoes and socks and feel the grass between your toes. Nature has a way of freeing our spirit and renewing our soul.

17. If guilt or a passed incident has captured your mind, write a "Dear Me" letter and ask yourself for forgiveness to loosen it's grip and expand your freedom.

18. Are you use to writing in a quiet place? Find a noisy place to write, like McDonald's or the mall. When your space is noisy you will have to focus harder in order to write with clarity.

19. Go for a quiet leisurely drive, listen to a favorite CD. You can sing out of tune and no one will notice (laughter aloud).

20. Do something nice for someone else that you wouldn't normally do and be a gracious receiver of a hug.

That was exciting, wasn't it? Post this list in a conspicuous place so that it is readily available when you need it, right next to your writing area is best. Do one or two of these daily and keep on writing. Your readers are waiting to read your words.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Franz

9 Comments

Never Give up!

9/19/2010

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“We should always remember – and never forget – that those who will commit to nothing,

who stand for nothing,

and who risk for nothing,

in the end, rarely accomplish anything.”

~Eric Ludy~
“The Bravehearted Gospel”

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The Mind\'s Eye - A writer\'s blog

9/18/2010

7 Comments

Why do we write?

Thanks for dropping by. My name is C.K. Volnek, Author and Story-teller. I write because my muse won’t let me not write. She’s a rather demanding snit. But I do love her. She’s taken me on many journeys, leading me to write stories mostly falling within the genre of Middle Grade and Young Adult. I do love these ages. Fun, adventurous, ready to imagine the impossible. May we never grow up!

I just read a very interesting blog on what Middle Grade readers want to read on the Mixed Up Files Blog. http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit/20007

What intriguing interviews. It was so fun to read, in their own words, what makes these kids want to pick up a book and then keep reading it.

Reading their words, I could hear my own son speaking out…though he’s now an adult. He wasn’t an avid reader. He actually hated it. He’d rather be playing video games or on the computer… or in the computer figuring out how it worked. I wanted him to read the classics, to read the books that had stolen my heart. But that wasn’t him. I could get him to read ghost stories or fast action books though. The Goosebumps series was his favorite. So I let him read as many as he wanted, and I read along…and am still reading along today. Why? Because Goosebumps knew their readers and knew how to keep them coming back. Besides writing, writing, writing, I’ve learned I also have to read, read read.

Today, me and my muse would like to thank the millions of kids out there who will pick up the written word, ready and willing to be transported to new worlds and exciting adventures, and thanks to the writers and publishers that are making the stories come alive.

There is more pleasure to building castles in the air than on the ground..~ Edward Gibbon

I hope you come back often as I celebrate writing by introducing readers, authors, publishers, books and writing tips for all ages.

7 Comments

Proofing and Editing

Writer's Block

20 Ways to Keep Your Writing Inspiration and Creativity High

Never Give up!

The Mind\'s Eye - A writer\'s blog

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