| As parents many times we disassociate what we tell our children with the message they are receiving. I have seen first hand how a word, a sign, or even the rolling of eyes can influence the future of our children. Many times we believe that our words are just a saying; they know we don’t mean it. But, do they know that we don’t mean it? Do they know that we are frustrated with the situation and not with them? Do they know that many times we feel inadequate as parents? What do you think the effect on a little boy will be by the time he is a teen if you repeatedly tell him that he talks like a girl? I would suggest that insecurity with his own masculinity will be the result. He probably will be quiet, introverted, and ashamed of himself. Nevertheless, all that we put inside ourselves one day must come out, and what will happen when this child explodes, perhaps in a violent outburst that shatters his and others’ lives? Read the rest of this entry » |
Communication with our kids a must.
March 1st, 2010The Keepers of Sulbreth reviewed for www.Ijustfinished.com
February 15th, 2010The Futhark Chronicles Volume One
Author: Susan Gourley
Fantasy
Young Adult and Adult
Susan’s first debut in the fantasy genre is a five star effort. I immensely enjoyed the characters and the world she had created. It is without a doubt a page-turner, a well-written book full of surprises.
It is the story of a young man, Cage, who has taken the responsibility of protecting a woman and her daughter, Kristall. After her husband died drunk, Anadalune raised Cage as his own mother when his real mother wanted Read the rest of this entry »
Inspiration and How to Get It (or Beating Writer’s Block)
January 20th, 2010Inspiration is an integral part of the writing process, without it you are stuck. I don’t have a lot of problems with inspiration; it seems to overrun my mind. However, once I started a book with giant eagles and was so busy with promoting my published books that a year went by. When I tried to continue writing it, I wasn’t sure what to write. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Include Feelings in your Writing
November 11th, 2009There are so many feelings and some are very complex, yet they are the heart of any good story. It doesn’t matter if the tale is a romance or not. Even a villain has some kind of feeling as a basis for what he does.
When I was a foster-mom, a therapist gave one of the young kids a page that listed a lot of different feelings. I was impressed Read the rest of this entry »
The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson for Ijustfinished.com
October 23rd, 20095 stars.
This is a well-written tale of four very intelligent classmates that by chance get a “right day” for themselves and those who come in contact with them.
The story begins with Destiny, a girl in her sixteenth year, living in a boarding school—the last of many. She has been surrounded by monotonous schedules day after day since she was sent to the boarding schools when she was seven years old. But this day was to be a different day; this day she was going to break the rules and take whatever came. She would have done it by herself but the beautiful car idling Read the rest of this entry »
Ideas on How to Describe People
October 16th, 2009There are many simple ways to describe people, like:
She had blue eyes and her skin was white as the snow… But then, how about the same description expressed in a different way? – The blue of a bright spring sky was trapped on her eyes but the white of the clouds had settled on her skin.
Can you see the difference between these two examples? Read the rest of this entry »
Descriptions in Your Book
September 22nd, 2009You have to have descriptions in your book so that the reader will be able to have some background on where or why your character is in a place or a situation.
We already talked about using dialogue for this purpose and that is a great way. Now I want to tell you about another way that you can get ideas of how to use descriptions properly.
Get the fantasy books that you like and read them with a notebook and a pencil or a laptop next Read the rest of this entry »
On Love and Animals by Maxwell MacPherson, Jr.
September 16th, 2009This is a refreshing book about nature and the beautiful lessons it teaches us. The author is very knowledgeable about fishing techniques, fly tying, and species procreation. I don’t think that many in our day have the depth of knowledge he has on this subject or about nature itself. He introduces the reader to a world full of olden day mannerisms and life. I enjoyed the book for all of the information passed on through real life stories Read the rest of this entry »
Out of Time by: Pauline Baird Jones
September 8th, 2009Out of Time is the story of a twenty-seven year old woman named Mel who works as a television extreme terror factor protagonist reporter. She gets to be with many people whom you and I couldn’t and do extraordinary things that put her life in real danger every time.
Between stunts she lives alone in her childhood home after her grandmother passed away. She loves the old place but it is as un-exciting as her personal life. Before her grandmother died she was doing an album of history about her husband who had died in the war against Hitler. Read the rest of this entry »
The Pattern to a Moving Story
September 6th, 2009To keep your story moving you will need a pattern that you should follow in every scene of your book. Some scenes may be long and elaborate and others smaller, but the same blueprint serves them all.
Another way to avoid putting your readers to sleep is to use conflicts and surprises. If you include these elements in all your scenes, you will have a great tale. How do you do it? Read the rest of this entry »
The Book of Names by: D. Barkley Briggs for Ijustfiniahed.com
July 28th, 2009The book of names
Just as you think that our society is too futuristic, author D. Barkley Briggs spins a great tale of today’s life intermingled with fantasy. If you don’t believe that a regular young man like you could end up in a fantastic adventure and transported to another dimension it is because you have not read this book…
It involves two brothers that moved to a country setting after the death of their mother. The young men are the oldest of four boys with a younger set of twins. The oldest of them is Hadyn Barlow, Read the rest of this entry »
What do readers want from their authors?
April 27th, 2009Readers normally want a fast paced book. What they usually don’t want is to fall asleep reading. (When they do want to fall asleep reading, they can grab a textbook!)
As an author you need to keep the story moving at a good pace or you will lose your reader.
What keeps a story moving? Dialogues are one excellent way. Most anything you need to say can be said in a dialog. For example: Read the rest of this entry »
The Possibilities of Sainthood By: Donna Freitas for Ijustfinished.com
March 17th, 2009Donna has created a great tale with lots of Italian flavor in its pages. Her characters are believable and easy to relate too. I enjoyed the cover, it is a picture perfect of its content. The story, its characters, and the many saints that Antonia prays to are very real in the protagonist’s life.
Antonia, the main character, is a fifteen-year-old catholic schoolgirl living in the world of today. Like many other girls her age, she spends hours trying to figure out a way that her knee high uniform looks cool, beneath her mother’s strict scrutiny. However, unlike many girls her age, she knows and keeps a diary of a zillion saints Read the rest of this entry »
How to hook your reader
March 10th, 2009Get out your fishing pole, and I’ll give you the juiciest worm ever… but really: Many times you only have the first paragraph of a book to hook your reader into the story. If you fail to hook them, they won’t continue reading or buy your book. Does that mean your book is no good at all? No, it just means that you need to change the starting or move another scene to become your first paragraph. Read the rest of this entry »
The ABC’s of great writing
March 2nd, 2009a) You need to have a setting where your story takes place.
It could be dangerous, new, cool, different, a wonder in itself world.
b) You need characters.
Their personalities might be: delightful, lovable, scary, powerful, and/or interesting.
c) Have a problem. Read the rest of this entry »
What kind of books to write?
February 24th, 2009That will depend on what do you want to say…
Here is the simple difference between fiction and non-fiction:
1.- Non-fiction:
If you plan to write a book about computers, gardening or teaching, you will NOT want to start with “Once upon a time” Why? No one will take you serious and therefore your book won’t take off.
On the other hand non-fiction books are easier to sell and could make you a best seller if you know how to market the book properly. Read the rest of this entry »
A check list for aspiring authors
February 17th, 2009What should you do when you want to write a book?
• First thing “Keep your day job.” To publish and promote your books takes money and sometime lots of it. Promotion may include travel, business cards, bookmarkers, renting tables at fairs, posters, and free copies for reviews, etc.
Now that that is out of the way, let’s get down to writing. Read the rest of this entry »
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