Learning to Be a Writer

Recently, I was asked how I learned to write for publication.  The answer, so far, is by reading books. Here is a list of books I've read and recommend:

• Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.
• 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost
• Make Your Words Work by Gary Provost
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser
• The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Judy Delton
• Writer to Writer by Bodie & Brock Thoene
• Writing for the Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins
• Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan
• Handbook for Magazine Article Writing by Writer's Digest
• Creative NonFiction by Philip Gerard
• Sell & Resell Your Magazine Articles by Gordon Burgett
• The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Jack M. Bickham
• Fiction Writing Demystified by Thomas B. Sawyer
• Don't Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden
• You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts
• Writing Mysteries edited by Sue Grafton
• Writing the Modern Mystery by Barbara Norville
• The Way to Write for Children by Joan Aiken
• The Writer's Guide for Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb
• Guerrilla Marketing for Writers by Jay Conrad Levinson

Here are some books I am reading or going to read:

• Telling True Stories by Mark Kramer
• Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by Jon Franklin
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne
• Creating Fiction by Julie Checkoway
• Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
• Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
• Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain
• The Portable MFA in Creative Writing published by New York Writer's Workshop
• Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction by Gotham Writers' Workshop
• Fiction Writer's Workshop by Josip Novakovich
• Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story by Jordan E. Rosenfeld
• The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Technique by Donald Maass
• The Power of Point of View by Alicia Rasley
• Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood
• Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress
• Write Great Fiction - Dialogue by Gloria Kempton
• Description & Setting: Techniques and Exercises by Ron Rozelle
• The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure by Christopher E. Vogler
• Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises by James Scott Bell
• Elements of Writing Fiction - Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
• Elements of Fiction Writing - Plot by Ansen Dibell
• Picture Writing by Anastasia Suen
• Creating Characters Kids Will Love by Elaine Marie Alphin

What's next?

I've finished my college degree, finally; so now it's time to get to work! My immediate goal is to finish my new Web site, How To Homeschool Today. I hope to make this a helpful resource for homeschoolers all over the country.

Next, I'll continue to write educational products and magazine articles, as well as reviews of books, educational products and iPhone apps.

Eventually, I want to write a mystery. I'm looking into taking a fiction writing course to help me with this, as I have no idea how to write fiction. I'm sure I'll need a traditional publisher for this type of work. In preparation, I'm looking into online classes such as Christian Writer's Guild, Writer's Online Workshops, or Gotham. Anyone out there have any experience with any of these? I'd love to hear your experiences. Email me at cindy@me.com.

I'm also going to try to get involved in a writer's group. I'm a member of several, but haven't had time to really get involved. I'm looking forward to that.

In the meantime, I'm reading lots of books on writing. I'll add reviews here as I can.

Whatever is in store for me, I look forward to learning more about the writing profession and sharing what I learn.

Adobe InDesign CS4 Digital Classroom

I've been using Quark for my desktop publishing software, but have been wanting to move to Adobe InDesign. I just wasn't looking forward to the learning transition. This month, I received a review copy of Adobe InDesign CS4 Digital Classroom from Wiley Publishing and tried it out. It wasn't near as painful as I thought it would be!

Adobe InDesign CS4 Digital Classroom is better than a classroom. There's no waiting for others to catch up or missing a tip because I'm busy practicing something else. I can do the video on my time, in my home, at my pace. I love that!

The instruction is excellent - very clear and easy to understand. The book comes with a DVD (includes video training from Adobe Certified Experts) and lesson files. I can watch the video and work on the lesson files at the same time. The instruction is well organized enabling me to work through the lessons one by one in the order presented or select a specific topic, as needed. The graphics and sound quality is professional and positively enhances the learning experience.

In the lessons, you’ll learn all the essential skills you need to get started. The first lesson teaches you all about the tools. Although I had used InDesign a bit before, I learned a lot of nifty tricks from this lesson. For instance, how to set up my master pages so that they are horizontally rather than vertically aligned. This is important when you work on large documents like books.

Other chapters include:

• How to format type
• How to create style sheets
• How to add and manipulate graphics
• How to design and edit a table
• How to use and manage colors
• How to create special effects such as drop shadows, feathering, emboss, and blend
• How to create a book, an index, and Table of Contents
• How to share documents in various formats
• How to use XML with InDesign
• How to create interactive documents using flash

For a novice like myself, this book and training DVD is just what I needed to get started. For Intermediate users, you will probably benefit by picking up some tricks to help you use InDesign more effectively.

Visit the www.digitalclassroombooks.com Web site for updated lesson files.

For more information, see the Wiley Web site.

Toastmasters

Toastmasters is a great way to learn to speak in front of the public. I joined a Toastmasters Group and enjoy it very much. The most important thing I am learning is to speak extemporaneously. That's always the hardest part for me.

You can find Toastmaster Clubs around the country. Try one out!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

If you are looking for good, old fashioned, high calorie yummy food that sticks to your ribs, you'll want to check out The Pioneer Woman Cooks. My friend, Liz Eubanks, sent me the link and it's my kind of food! You might even find some salads!

She also writes about gardening, her farm animals, homeschooling and more. A very interesting blog!

My Favorite Social Media Books

Now, that I'm getting very familiar with blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, I'm reading a lot of books about social media to see some other ways I can use them in my home business. 

Here's my favorites so far:

• Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business.
• Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time.
  
• Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day.
• ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

Here's some I've bought, but haven't read yet. Hopefully, this week!:

• Start Your Own Blogging Business (Startup).
• YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business.
• Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online.

A Good Tweet Article

Want to know more about Twittering? Here' s 10 Tips on being a good Twitterer. from Chris Pirillo.

Cindy's Double Tall Mocha

I LOVE Starbucks, and my favorite beverage is a double tall mocha. However, the fat and price of this treat is something I am trying to cut back on. So, I've created my own version - no fat and no sugar! 

Here's the recipe:

• Heat 1 cup skim milk in microwave
  
• Add 1/16 tsp. NuStevia  (a natural sweetener, not artificial)
• Mix in 1/2 tsp Folgers Instant Coffee (best flavor of instant)
• Mix in 1 tsp. Hershey's Cocoa, Natural Unsweetened  
• For fiber, add 1 tsp of Fiber-Sure.
• Mix well and then add 1/2 tsp vanilla

This is yummy and good for you - 105 calories, 0 fat, 5 mg. cholesterol, 5 grams fiber and it's really inexpensive! 

iPhone Tricks

For everyone out there with iPhones, here are some super tricks from ismashphone for the iPhone. I tried the ringtone maker and it works great! 

My son just moved to California, so I made this Surfin' USA ring tone for his calls: 

by audiko.net — ringtones.

You might also be interested in iPhone Fully Loaded for more ways to use your iPhone!

Beef Roast with Tomatoes, Onions and Peppers

This came from the book, Fix-It And Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes and it's yummy!!!

Brown:

•  3 lbs. boneless chuck roast 
  
•  1 garlic clove (minced) in 1 Tbs. oil.

Add:

• 2-3 onions, sliced
  
• 2-3 sweet green and red peppers sliced (I used stir fry green peppers)
  
• 16 oz. salsa 
  
• 1 can Mexican style tomatoes

Stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. 

Asian Beef Stew

This recipe was in the booklet that came with the cooker. My daughter works at an upscale restaurant and has very expensive food tastes. She loved it! 

Cut 3 lbs. of beef chuck into 1 inch cubes. Coat with a mixture of: 

• 1/4 flour
  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
  
• 1 tsp paprika
  
• 1/2 tsp chili powder 
  
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Brown meat on all sides in 2 Tbs. oil, then place into crock pot. 

Saute in the same oil and then add to the pot:

• 1 med. onion, sliced
  
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

Combine and add to pot:

• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
  
• 2 Tbs. hoisin sauce (mine had plum in it)
  
• 2 Tbs. ketchup
  
• 1 Tbs. honey

Stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. 

Stir in:

• 1/2 lb snow peas (I used frozen)
  
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts

Set on high, cover and cook for 20 more minutes. Serve with fried Chinese noodles.