The LAST Word

    Everywhere you look, people are told to embrace technology to make our lives more efficient, help with marketing and automate mundane tasks. While I agree that writers do need to embrace technology, there should be caution. Here are some pitfalls that technology can cause. E-mail Marketing -- Due to changes in policy at Google and Yahoo, e-mail marketing software companies are having to change their system to be in line with Google and Yahoo's rules. Unfortunately, writers , such as myself, do not know how to update their websites or e-mail addresses to add in the special coding that is required to authenticate my website domain. When I added coding to where I thought it was supposed to go, I no longer can send simple e-mails from Thunderbird. I use Thunderbird because I have many e-mail accounts that I need to track. Thunderbird puts them all in one place. It's annoying that I can't use louise@lastresearchandediting.com to send via Thunderbird because of changes I ma

  Happy new year, fellow writers. I am often told by new authors that they think writing a book is too much work or too daunting a task, yet they always tell me that they think they should write a book. To start the new year, I thought it would be good to give some tips on reducing your stress over writing fiction. 1. Set Goals -- January is the perfect time to set goals for the year. This applies to all writers and business owners. You want the goals to be realistic. For example, "I will write every day." Set a date for when you want it completed. Set another date for editing and marketing . 2. Break Down the Project -- Before you start your work, break down the big project (a completed book) into smaller parts: outline, 10 pages a day or one chapter a week, first draft completed, edited draft, completed manuscript and published. This helps to make it not so daunting a task. Remember, a book is either 6x9 or 8.5x5.5, which means those 10 pages are really half

    I am going to have some fun with my blog today. Here are things I want this Christmas. I put it in the 12 days of Christmas song. On the first day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: a contract for editing On the second day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: two press releases On the third day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: three blogs to write On the fourth day of Christmas, my sports stars gave to me: four #Eagles wins On the fifth day of Christmas, my company gave to me: five thousand dollars On the sixth day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: six ways to market On the seventh day of Christmas, my customers gave to me: seven times the pay On the eighth day of Christmas, my dentist gave to me: no more procedures On the ninth day of Christmas, my family gave to me: nine days of laughter On the 10th day of Christmas, my customers gave to me: 10 book reviews On the 11th day of Christmas, my family gave to me: 11 hugs and kisses On the 12th day of Christmas, my

 I wrote a series of posts for a writers' group. I am rehashing some of them here. Fantasy Plotting There are tips to be gained about plotting. This month, we focus on fantasy genre. Here are some rules to keep in mind when writing fantasy. 1. Medieval Times -- Even though you create a new world or a fantasy world attached to our current world as in Harry Potter books, you usually set it in medieval times. That means clothes and weapons of that era. If you choose to use modern day, you can add medieval elements. 2. Swords, Wands, Magic -- Most fantasy novels involve sword play, wands and some magic. How much you use these things is up to you. Some books are full of them. Others put in a little here or there. 3. Relatable World -- Make sure the world you create is relatable to your audience and is understandable. If you create a language, make sure you define words. If you create laws and rules, make sure you tell the reader what those are. In every book, magic has cert

    In June, rainbows are used for ugly references to people who do things they shouldn't. Instead of using rainbows as symbols for that, try using rainbows for inspiration for your writing. 1. Beautiful Colors -- If you have ever seen rainbows after a storm in the sky, the colors are vivid against a dark stormy sky . These can make you think of colorful descriptions for your settings. Everyone knows the seven colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and indigo). However, the colors of the sky can range from a bluish gray to a deep charcoal when a rainbow appears. Those bright colors against the deep charcoal can be impactful.  2. Resilience -- They also can represent resilience of your characters. When a rainbow appears, it is usually after much destruction has happened. In your stories , the characters might have had to endure something similar and came through the problem with stronger life. They are shown to be resilient. In addition to fiction, rainbows

  I love spring . It has beautiful colors, lots of sunlight and warmer weather. Earth Day is part of spring too. Throughout my journalism career , I studied and wrote writing about the environment. Because Earth Day is coming, I thought I would share some of the myths associated with saving the environment. While I am in favor of saving our natural resources , I save the environment with balance, prayer and patience . You might not agree with me. That is fine. This country was founded on the principle that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Here are some environmental myths. 1. Go Solar -- While it is a good idea to get solar for your home and generate renewable energy, solar power is not as simple as everyone thinks. Adding solar to your home could cost you $15,000 to $50,000 up front. There are tax credits and rebates available from the states and federal government, but those programs almost always require you to shell out the money and then get reimbursed. Also

  Easter is just a few weeks away. Instead of writing about marketing or editing tips, I thought I would highlight some Christian books that you could buy for gifts. The Thief, the Harlot and the Healer tells a fictional story of strength and courage in 33 A.D. of a woman who had no rights. The main character by Mike E Clements was abducted as a young woman and forced into prostitution. She has the courage to leave the brothel and is looking for salvation, but she doesn't believe her life is worth saving despite what people tell her. The story leads the reader to Rachel kneeling before the cross and understanding how much God loves her. Words in Red: Witness for the Prosecution thinks about the people around Jesus and what they did for a living. The main character is a scribe for a leader in the Jewish religion who is trying to get evidence he can use to prosecute Jesus to death. The writer follows Jesus throughout his life and listens to His teachings. Colin Rank captures how