Writing Whiplash

“Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work” —Carl Sandburg

My neck is beginning to feel like Linda Blair's in the Exorcist. I'm experiencing writing whiplash due to the electronic and internet impact of changes in publishing...and sometimes life in general.

The new words added to dictionaries reveal how life and times change. The Random House Webster’s College Dictionary was the first dictionary to include "Internet" and "World Wide Web". Only their dictionary includes these words:
B2B
Bazillion
Bleeding edge
Cross-post
Dot-commer
Hotlink
Hottie
Identity theft
Microbrowser
Mifeprex
Push poll

Words Entering English Since 1940

1940
A-bomb
Bikini
Cheeseburger
Fax
Quiz show
Tape recorder
TV

1950
Aerospace
Computerize
Desegregate
Doublespeak
Hash browns
Skydiving
Weirdo

1960
Cable television
Counterculture
Instant replay
Jet lag
Sitcom
Space shuttle
Sexism

1970
Chairperson
Detox
Diskette
Gas-guzzler
Infomercial
Punk rock
Video game
X-rated

1980
Automated teller machine (ATM)
Compact disc
Desktop publishing
Emoticon
Palmtop
Sandwich generation
Twelve Step
Virtual reality

1990
Bad hair day
Buffalo wing
Carjacking
Designated driver
Intranet
Personal trainer
Superchurch
V-chip
Web site

A Look Back…
The Merriam Webster Dictionary added these “new” words in 1806.
Advocate, verb: to defend, plead in favor of
Electrician, noun: one versed in electricity
Psychology, noun: the doctrines of spirit or mind
Census, noun: an enumeration of inhabitants, a register of people, etc.
Constitutionality, noun: the state of being agreeable to the constitution, or of affecting the constitution
Presidential, adjective: pertaining to a president
Unmarketable, adjective: not saleable or fit for the market
Americanize, verb: to render American
Checkers, noun pl.: a game
Immigrant, noun: one who removes into a country
Penmanship, noun: the act, art, or use of writing
Slang, noun: vulgar language, cant phrases [low]

How Hip Is Your Vocabulary?
How many of the new words added to the 2006 Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary do you use?
Mouse potato, noun, a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer
Ringtone, noun, the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call
Gastric bypass, noun, a surgical bypass operation that typically involves reducing the size of the stomach and reconnecting the smaller stomach to bypass the first portion of the small intestine so as to restrict food intake and reduce caloric absorption in cases of severe obesity
Soul patch, noun, a small growth of beard under a man's lower lip
Supersize, verb, to increase considerably the size, amount, or extent of
Drama queen, noun, a person given to often excessively emotional performances or reactions

I don't want to be a drama queen, so I'll keep rolling up my sleeves, spitting on my hands, and putting my fingers to the keyboard.

For Your Blogging Pleasure

I found out about a couple of new blogs and wanted to share them with you:
Writing News bills itself as book, author, and creative writing news. The stated goal of the blog is "to provide daily news updates for writers on all the topics they find interesting. We’ll report on writing, authors, contests, events, awards, markets, books, poetry, various genres, related websites, and anything else that seems relevant."
The most recent news post, dated March 30th, lists the Hugo nominees.

New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins has started a blog. Besides posting some photos of his adorable grandson, he mentioned the upcoming July 22nd release of his book Riven, from the lyric of Rock of Ages, referring to Christ's riven side. Jenkin's said this is "the novel I've always wanted to write. The story has been rattling in my brain for decades. It's about a present-day condemned man who chooses crucifixion as his method of execution."
Go here to see the cover.

The Struggle for Recognition

“You cannot make a difference in someone’s life if you do not have entrée in that life.”—George Barna

Name awareness facilitates potential book sales. That fact stresses wannabe and published authors. If you’re feeling like a nobody, consider the surprising results of a Barna Research survey.

Major Christian Authors Are Widely Unknown, Even Among Christians

Rick Warren’s New York Times bestseller and blockbuster, The Purpose Driven Life sold 25 million copies. However, three out of four adults (72%) have never heard of Warren, including two out of every three born again Christians (63%).

James Dobson has sold tens of millions of books. His radio program reaches the largest audience of any religious personality. However, almost six out of every ten adults (57%) have never heard of Dobson; in fact, nearly half of all born again Christians said they don’t know who he is.

Tim LaHaye, co-author of the best-selling fiction Left Behind series, has sold more than 70 million books during his career. Despite his writing success, he is unknown to three-fourths of adults.

Joel Osteen, who just landed a multi-million dollar book contract and has sold millions of books, is unknown by two-thirds of the adult public (67%), and unknown to born again adults (57%).

George Barna pointed out, “One of the reasons that the Christian faith is struggling to retain a toehold in people’s lives is because even the highest-profile leaders of the faith community have limited resonance with the population.”

And My Point Is?

Don’t stress. Authors can be responsible to build their platforms, websites, blogs, blah, blah, blah. Ultimately, I believe that being published is in God’s hands, not mine. My responsibility is to write the passion He places in my heart.

Never Forget

1 Samuel 2:8 and Psalm 113:7–8 reminds us Who is in control of our destiny: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people and has them inherit a throne of honor.

Write Honestly

Our culture is full of needy people. Reject Christianspeak. Connect with timeless wisdom. Disconnect from those who want you to support their agendas. Avoid putting an unrealistic, super-spiritual face on faith. Confess your fears and struggles to trust God. Admit weaknesses. Allow your writing to resonate with real people struggling with real hurts, needs and issues.

Humility opens hearts. Honesty breeds trust. Hope changes hearts.

To Kindle or Not to Kindle, That is the Question

Amazon's Kindle: Are you for it or against it?

Maybe, like a friend of mine, you're asking what is a Kindle? Amazon calls it an wireless reading device. Call it a handheld electronic bookreader. No bindings. No front and back covers. No pages.

I was intrigued by the idea--and put off by the $399 price tag. Downloading books cost $9.99 per book. You can also subscribe to newspapers or magazines via your Kindle.

There are pro-Kindle folks and anti-Kindle folks. Some people--me included--like holding a book in their hands when their reading. They don't like the idea of reading off a screen. They think a Kindle will interfere with their reading pleasure, if you will. I think this might happen--but until I try a Kindle, I won't know for sure.

Author David Edelman says such talk is silly when you consider that a Kindle allows you to hold your entire library in your hand or download new books whenever you wish. Edlman goes so far as to suggest that the Kindle will lead to the death of the novel.

"... the written word is going electronic. Permanently. Soon. Once that happens, storytellers will have no need to shoehorn their stories into these 8x 12 hunks of pulped wood and ink. And once we’re not restricted to the medium of the novel, we’ll be leaving the form behind.
The death of the novel doesn’t mean the death of storytelling. It doesn’t mean that nobody’s ever going to put an Aristotelian structure of fiction into 120,000 words. On the contrary, it’s going to mean that storytelling will finally be unleashed. We’re going to see fiction strap on blue tights and a red cape and really soar.
Personally I think that’s going to be fun to see."

Hhhhhm. I see Edelman's point, but I'm not sure if I agree with it or not. And that's okay. I haven't seen a lot of people toting Kindles around yet. Maybe if the price drops that may change. I don't know.

To be honest, I've read novels that have jumped over the proverbial building in a single bound--and they were the old-fashioned kind. I don't think Kindle is the new superhero tool of novelists.

Top Ten Writing Prompts

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."—Gandhi

What do the top ten issues facing families today mean to writers? Your writing can change the lives of others. LifeWay, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, solicited the opinions of more than 2,000 people from around the country. Here are the Top Ten Issues Facing Families Today:

1. Anti-Christian Culture
2. Divorce
3. Busyness
4. Lack of Father Figure
5. Lack of Discipline
6. Financial Pressures
7. Lack of Communication
8. Negative Media Influences
9. Balance of Work and Family
10. Materialism

The Competitive Advantage
Okay, let’s say you do not have “brand equity,” which refers to a famous author who has a certain name, reputation, built-in audience, or media platform in the marketplace. If you want to write a book, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers offers hope, “…Competitive advantage…is something a new title must have in order to succeed in the marketplace. You can succeed without brand equity, but you cannot succeed without a competitive advantage—at least not for very long. No author can afford to ignore it and be consistently successful.” *

Are You The Next Great Voice?
How does that advice apply to a beginning or intermediate writer? Your book must have a natural advantage over other books written on these topics. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Can I narrow any one of these topics down to a specific concern that virtually no one else is addressing?
2. Do I have a unique perspective?
3. Do I look at the topic in a fresh and exciting way?
4. Am I willing to admit weaknesses and confess fears so readers naturally trust me?
5. Is my writing compelling—a can’t-put-it-down read?
6. Can I provide practical solutions to combat real problems?
7. Do I have a catchy angle to interest the media?
8. Is this a book or several salable articles?

Reality Check
Christian Book Publishers receive nearly 250,000 manuscripts during a typical year. Some of the 300 publishers receive more than 10,000. On average about 5% of those submissions are published—approximately 12,000 titles a year. The average first printing of a book for a new author is just under 4,700 copies. (Christian Writers’ Market Guide 2008, Sally Stuart, WaterBrook 2008)

There is no secret to publication. It takes more than a great idea. If you want to be published, work at being a great writer.

* © 2007, Michael S. Hyatt. Used by Permission. Originally posted at www.michaelhyatt.com

Cleaning up the piles and hearing voices

"Any writing genius, from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison, derives much of their reputation from their ability to create a unique voice from every character."

~ James V. Smith

You never know what you'll find when you tackle the piles on your desk.

Or, in my case, the piles that overflowed from my desk to my dining room table.

How's that for honesty?

I found lots of interesting tidbits--article ideas scribbled on pieces of paper, quotes jotted down in various notepads, encouraging letters from people I've met along the Writing Road--and lots and lots of things needing to be filed.

I rarely file. I'm more of a pile-er.

Anyways, I found a piece I cut out of somewhere--I have no idea where--titled, "Fiction Writers--Get Thinking!" It talks about James V. Smith's book, The Fiction Writer's Brainstormer. On the paper is Smith's take on five qualities of voice that fictions writers should always consider. They are:

1. Vocabulary: Give you characters distinctive words.

2. Verbosity: You can create a distinctive voice just by controlling the length of a character's thoughts and speeches.

3. Velocity: This is reflected in how you arrange words, sentences and ideas.

4. Viewpoint: The literal point of view and omniscience allowed that character by the author.

5. Venom: When you're talking about emotion, you hit upon a central issue in the character's makeup.

So, to all you voice-hearing fiction writers out there: Your characters may be talking to you. But as the author, you get to decide what they sound like when you sit down at your computer and put those characters into your novel.
Now you know five ways to do that.

Short, Sweet and to the Point

Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.—Murphy’s Law

Before an editor or publisher will look at your manuscript, you must hook their interest with a book proposal. My research on writing a book proposal is hundreds of pages long.

“Writing a Winning Book Proposal” written by Michael S. Hyatt provides the best description and example of how to write your “Unique Selling Proposition.” He suggests filling in the blanks to this sentence:

If consumers in the target market purchase and read [name of book], then they will [list the book’s benefits], because the book will [list the book’s features].

If you want to write a winning book proposal, download Hyatt’s ten-page how-to article.