1 Do, 1 Don’t and 1 Why Not? for Writers

by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

Oh, how we writers love to give each other advice, don’t we?

Why, yes, yes, we do.
Between all of our mistakes and all of our successes – and please, no one ask the ratio between the two – we have a wealth of advice to share.

Keeping it simple today, here’s a Do, a Don’t and a Why Not?:Do something new.

Most writers want to improve their craft. They join professional organizations. They attend conferences or local writers groups. They read blogs – like this one – and magazines. If a conference speaker offers practical ways to improve your writing or if an article suggests steps to strengthen your social media presence – do it. Simple, right? But how often do we hear good advice and then never implement it? Last May, my agent spoke at the local ACFW Colorado Springs meeting on how to use Facebook to build your platform. One of her suggestions was to do FB Live. To be honest, I didn’t want to go live on my Author FB page. But I forced myself to do this one new thing because she said readers respond to FB Live. Since my first hesitant attempt, I’ve done FB Live two more times. And you know what? My agent was right! These posts have gotten great interactions. Next time you attend a conference or workshop or read a blog post or article ask: Based on this advice, what one new thing can I do? Hint: Accountability is a great motivator. Tell someone what you’re going try and ask them to check back for an update.

Don’t believe everything you think.We all struggle with doubt and face fears. But we can’t buy into to those doubts and fears so that they stop us from pursuing our dreams. As I was writing my second novel I thought, “Who am I to think I can write a book?”What a ridiculous thought since I’d already published a novel.Learn to monitor your thoughts. Evaluate if the doubt undermining your efforts is realistic or if you’re listening to a lie. When you are afraid, remember what author Mark Twain said: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

Why not celebrate someone else’s success?
Progress. Accomplishment. Win. There are all types of success along the writing road:

• Finishing a rough draft
• Surviving that first editor’s appointment at a conference
• Landing an agent
• Signing a contract
• Holding your “real” book in your hands
• Earning out an advance
• Winning an award

It’s fantastic when success is yours – worthy of a HaPpYdAnCe in your living room or dinner out with family or an online celebration with friends.
But when someone else writes that first book … signs a contract … or is handed an award, sometimes we don’t want to celebrate. We wrestle with the blues … and the green-eyed monster. The best way to beat the blues and to conquer envy? Be the first one to celebrate someone else’s success!Shout it out on Facebook. Send them an email or a handwritten note or text. Before you know it, celebrating will be your first response, not a forced response.

TWEETABLES

1 Do, 1 Don’t and 1 Why Not? for Writers @bethvogt @NovelRocket #writing http://bit.ly/2xLu5g2

Based on this advice, what one new thing can I do?  @bethvogt @NovelRocket #writing http://bit.ly/2xLu5g2

Progress. Accomplishment. Win. There are all types of success along the writing road @bethvogt @NovelRocket http://bit.ly/2xLu5g2
____________________

Almost Like Being in Love

She’s won a luxurious dream wedding—now all she needs is the groom!

Winning an all-expenses paid Colorado destination wedding might seem like a dream come true for some people—but Caron Hollister and her boyfriend Alex Madison aren’t even engaged. How is she supposed to tell him that she’s won their wedding and honeymoon when he hasn’t asked her to marry him? And while everyone says they’re perfect for each other, how strong is a relationship when it’s built around protecting secrets?

Realtor Kade Webster’s business savvy just secured his company’s participation in the Springs Tour of Homes. He never imagined he would run into Caron Hollister—the woman who broke his heart—right when Webster Select Realty is taking off. When Kade learns his home stager won’t be able to help with the Tour of Homes, he vaults past all the reasons he should avoid Caron, and offers her a temporary job helping him on the project. This time, their relationship is purely business—Realtor to Realtor.

Spending time with Kade again has Caron questioning who she is and what she wants. The man intrigues her—at times infuriates her—and reminds her of what she walked away from. Has she been settling for what everyone expects of her? How can Caron say “I do” to one man when she’s wondering “what if?” about another?

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Beth’s first women's fiction novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, releases May 2018. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.

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How to be a Courageous Author

by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

It appears that one of my favorite songs in The Sound of Music is the song actress Julie Andrews liked least of all.

The Sound of Music. What a story, with Julie Andrews as Maria, the spunky postulant – almost a nun – who falls in love with Captain von Trapp, the stern widower with seven children.

I love the scene where Maria sings “I Have Confidence,” as she strides down the street in those awful cast-off convent clothes, trying to convince herself that she’s not afraid of her future. If acting brave equals courage, Maria is one of the most daring woman you’ll ever meet, fictional or true to life.

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3 Tips for Beginning Writers

by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

An author-friend recently posed this question: What is the best advice you can give to someone who is writing a manuscript, attempting to get published?

I pondered the subject for several days, tossing thoughts back and forth, and then settled on a trio of lessons learned.

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Five Things I've Learned Writing a Series

by Josh Vogt, @JRVogt

My third urban fantasy novel, The Dustpan Cometh, has just released. I thought I would share some of the lessons I’ve learned while writing The Cleaners Series.

1- Humor is Incredibly Subjective

When I first got the idea for an urban fantasy series focused on a supernatural sanitation company, where magically empowered janitors, maid, plumbers, and others wield mops, squeegees, and feather dusters like wands and staffs, I knew it had to have a strong humorous angle. How could it not with such an absurd premise?

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Writer’s Math: How to Prep a Scene with 5+5+1

by Beth K. Vogt @bethvogt

I thought I'd escaped all things numerical by becoming a novelist. Fine with me, as the mention of numbers cues white noise in my brain.

Through the years, I've learned that even wordsmiths enjoy devising equations to help with the writing process. Author Susan May Warren has developed writers equations benefiting thousands of writers as they plot their stories. One day I surprised myself and formulated my own writers equation.

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5 Tips for Sparking Creativity

By Beth K. Vogt @bethvogt

My husband brought me roses the other day. A lovely bouquet of blush flowers, which he put in a vase on the kitchen island. But then he put one single rose in a vase and set it on the table beside my chair while I worked on rewrites. I looked up and said, “Because you remembered that women are more creative when there are flowers around, right?”

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What Sports Photography Taught Me about Point of View (POV)

by Beth K. Vogt @bethvogt

My teen daughter plays volleyball year-round, which means I spend a lot of time at volleyball tournaments. My husband and I are also the photographers for both her high school and club teams. This happened by accident – meaning, when no one else volunteered to take photos, we did. At first, we took lousy photos. Now, we’ve invested in a more expensive camera and lens and after lots of trial and error, we're getting better and better at this whole unexpected sports photography gig.

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Freeze Frame: Creating a Stronger Scene

by Beth Vogt @bethvogt

We all know the advantage of prep work when we paint a room or cook a Thanksgiving turkey.

In the same way, it helps to do some prep work before writing a scene. I’ve used several techniques from author Susan May Warren – FOCUS and the 5 Ws are two favorites. And when I attended a writers conference last year, I learned the Freeze Frame technique by agent and author Donald Maass, and found a fresh new way to prep a scene.

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7 Tips for Planning a Writers Brainstorming Retreat

by Beth K. Vogt @bethvogt

Two weeks before Christmas may sound like the craziest time to run away and brainstorm with your best writing buddies – but, hey, if the plan comes together, go for it, right?

And that’s exactly why I found myself sitting in author Rachel Hauck’s living room with author Susie May Warren – my “writing forces to be reckoned with.” We had three days off from Christmas shopping and all the other holidaze To Do’s to brainstorm our next books. Our time was so successful we plan to have an annual December brainstorming retreat.

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The Power of One Word

by Beth K. Vogt

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions.

Oh, sure, I’ve tried to resolve my way into a better me – usually failed before the month of January is over. I lose the list. Or I just lose the want-to, overwhelmed by all those numbered priorities. It’s as if I’m juggling a bunch of have-to's.

Anybody else relate?

Twelve years ago, I discovered the principle of One Word – choosing to focus on one word for an entire year. Consider this quote from the book My One Word by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen:

“ …words encapsulate ideas. They evoke our emotions. They hook into memories. They define our experiences—helping to shape us in the process.

There’s power in words. Beauty in words. Grace in words.

Words create movement. They craft nations. They seal a marriage. They cast vision. They make us laugh. They focus our attention. They expand our horizons. They stimulate our creativity. And they script our possibilities.”

As writers, we can all agree with that statement, can’t we? Words are powerful. Now consider the process of prayerfully choosing one word to focus on in 2017, allowing it to fuel personal and spiritual change in your life. Intrigued?

To further spark your imagination, here’s a recap of my previous One Words:

• 2006: gratitude - Keeping a gratitude journal revolutionized my “glass-half-empty” attitude.
• 2007: simplify - A severe illness changed this word to survival as I embraced simpler things in ways I never imagined.
• 2008: content - as in “be content with such things as you have” (Hebrews 13:5) I bought a lot less that year!
• 2009 & 2010: forgiveness - I had a lot to learn and unlearn about forgiveness.
• 2011: hope - There were times I could have asked “Why?” Instead, I asked myself, “Are you going to abandon hope?” My answer: No.
• 2012: trust - During a year of change, I faced doubting versus trusting -- and chose to trust. 
• 2013: confidence - I was so much stronger after keeping my heart and mind set on "not throwing away my confidence." (Hebrews 10:35-36) 
• 2014: think - I anchored my thoughts to truth more and more, rather than letting my thoughts go wandering.
• 2015: collaborate – This means to work jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something. Synonyms: co-operate, join forces, team up, band together, work together, participate, combine, ally. As a writer, I focused on collaborating with God.
• 2016: prosper - to act wisely, as in "And David was acting wisely (prospering) in all his ways for the LORD was with him." (1 Samuel 18 14.) This word helped me make major decisions.

My word for 2017 surprised me: inheritance.

Psalm 16:5-6 (NIV) says: "Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." 

At times I've talked negatively about my inheritance. Not the eternal one I've received from God, no. But there can be emotional "inheritances" carried from generation to generation within families ... some good, some harmful. One night as I battled insomnia, I read Psalm 16:5-6, and the word "inheritance" seemed to be written in bright, bold letters. I knew it was my One Word for 2017.

If you’re considering focusing on One Word in 2017, here a few things that have helped me:

1. Read the book My One Word by Mike Ashcraft & Rachel Olsen. It’s not mandatory reading – I chose One Words for several years before I found this resource – but it’s excellent. There’s also a website: http://myoneword.org
2. Take time to pray about your One Word.
3. Read through Scripture and see if a particular verse stands out to you. My One Words are always scripturally based.
4. Look for confirmation. My One Word is often confirmed by a quote, a song, or a visual. I use those as additional ways to focus on my One Word for the year.

So, do you prefer to keep New Year’s Resolutions? Does anyone else choose One Word for the year like me? I’d love for you to share them in the comment section!

TWEETABLES

The Power of One Word by Beth K. Vogt (Click To Tweet)

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions~ Beth K. Vogt (Click To Tweet)

There’s power in words. Beauty in words. Grace in words. (Click To Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” As a contemporary romance novelist, Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner and 2016 Carol Award winner for her novel Crazy Little Thing Called Love.  She was also a 2015 RITA® Finalist for her novel Somebody Like You, which was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. In 2015, Beth introduced her destination wedding series with both an e-novella, Can’t Buy Me Love, and a novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. She continued the series in 2016 with the e-novella You Can’t Hurry Love (May) and the novel Almost Like Being in Love (June). Her novella A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Beth enjoys writing contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Find out more about her books at bethvogt.com. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also part of the leadership team for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories.

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Backing Away From the Cliffs of Insanity

By Beth K. Vogt

Any Princess Bride aficionados reading this today? If so, when I drop the phrase, “The Cliffs of Insanity,” you’ll instantly envision the harrowing cliffs scaled by Vizzini, Inigo Montoya, and Princess Buttercup – with thanks to Fezzik – and then later climbed by The Dread Pirate Roberts.

If you’re not familiar with The Princess Bride – Gasp! – you may have read “The Cliffs of Insanity” and thought, “Oh yeah. I’m a writer. I’ve spent some time perched on the edge of those cliffs.”

I get it. Being a writer is crazy-making.

• You bet your life on maybes, dependent on the kindness of others. Agents, editors, publishers, reviewers. And, really, their decisions determining your success have nothing to do with kindness. Publishing is business, bay-bee.

• You balance your hopes on the seesaw of contradictions. Write your passion vs. write what the market wants. Traditional publishing vs. indie. Which do you choose?

• You hear – and listen to – voices. There’s no ignoring the imaginary characters in your head that tell you what they’re going to do. Meanwhile, there are ever-present voices real world voices. Your boss. Your spouse. Your kids. Your friends. All demand you focus on the here and now. 

• You face unending professional challenges. The changing world of publishing. Waiting and waiting for the longed-for yes. Accepting rejections. The mixture of joy and jealousy when a friend earns "the call." 

The craziest part? You chose this life. You're committed to this insanity, a.k.a. “the dream.” Here are a few suggestions for managing the madness:

• Pick your mentors wisely. Writers like Poe and Hemingway battled the writing craziness by indulging in mind-altering escapes. Look elsewhere for your role models. I admire my mentors for their faith and life choices, not just their writing skills. And if you’re farther along the writing road than other writers – and you always are! – mentor to someone else.

• Don't let all your dreams be based on maybes. I have limited control over my success as a writer. There is more to my life than writing. I'm pursuing other dreams with both short and long-term goals.

• Choose between your passion and writing for the market. Or not. Maybe you'll be the lucky author who hits the market when your passions collide with what "they" want. (Romantic-Amish-Vampire-Time-Travel-Steampunk-with-a-moral, anyone?)

• Jump off the seesaw. The whole "balancing the writing world with the real world" challenge? I may never master that. Sometimes my mind seems to be inhabited by shrieking eels, all screaming, "If only my husband, my kids, my friends would leave me alone, I could accomplish the more important goals!" That’s when I know it's time to shut down my computer, walk away from what I’m writing, and reconnect with family.

• Acknowledge how you’re feeling – the good and the bad. If a wide range of emotions is good for our fictional characters, why are they bad for us? Sometimes we're conflicted: over-the-moon-happy for our friend who landed a contract and also disappointed we're not the one signing on the dotted line. That's reality. I’ve found the best way to battle jealousy is to purposely celebrate someone else’s success. Write them a note or post a “So happy for you” message on Facebook.

How do you back away from the Cliffs of Insanity? (And do you know what cliffs were featured in The Princess Bride?)

TWEETABLES
Backing Away From the Cliffs of Insanity by Beth K. Vogt (Click to Tweet)

Managing the writing madness~ Beth K. Vogt (Click to Tweet)

Being a writer is crazy-making~ Beth K. Vogt (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” As a contemporary romance novelist, Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner and 2016 Carol Award winner for her novel Crazy Little Thing Called Love.  She was also a 2015 RITA® Finalist for her novel Somebody Like You, which was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. In 2015, Beth introduced her destination wedding series with both an e-novella, Can’t Buy Me Love, and a novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. She continued the series in 2016 with the e-novella You Can’t Hurry Love (May) and the novel Almost Like Being in Love (June). Her novella A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Beth enjoys writing contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Find out more about her books at bethvogt.com. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also part of the leadership team for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories.

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