Write It! Podcast: The place for writers

 

Have I mentioned that I have a podcast for writers? I do!

It is called Write It! and I talk about all kinds of valuable information for writers. You should check it out:

WRITE IT! 

Write It!

By Deanna Martinez-Bey

 

Write It, is the place for writers. We will talk about writing techniques, tips, and tricks. All authors, writers, editors, and bloggers are welcome! 

 

 

 Book release: The Ultimate Guide To Cookies

Book review: Point Of View 

Best hashtags for authors on Twitter 

Writers Corner: Fall writing tips

Fall is officially here! I have put together some fall-inspired tips and ideas to help us get into the season.


Seasonal tips:

• Dress for success: Get out your comfy sweaters, pants, and socks, it's time to write
• Hot drinks: Stock up on coffee, hot cocoa, and teas... these are a must when writing in autumn
• Writing outdoors: Take it outside...write with your laptop on the porch or in the park
• Writing from home: No porch or park available? Open the house windows and enjoy the fresh air while writing
• Reading: Take your book and a blanket outside and enjoy the sun

Topic and computer tips:

• Change your background picture on your computer to something fall-related
• Take fall-inspired photos to post on social media
• Start a blog and write fall-related posts: weather, clothing, books, and foods
• If you write articles online, write a few fall-related articles

Now, grab some friends or family and go pick a pumpkin! (Take a picture for social media!)

Book release: Picture This

What is the first draft?

Author organization tips: Writing down your book ideas

What is the first draft?

If you are reading this article, it means that you are a writer or want to become one.
Congratulations on following your writing dreams! So many people desire to write and never get around to actually doing it.

Let’s talk about the first draft of your book. What is the first draft? It is the original manuscript. You may be thinking… Now that I have written my book it is ready to be submitted to agents and publishers. Well…hold on just a minute. Before you click send, print out your pages and let them sit on your desk for a day or three. Yup…just let them sit there staring you in the face!

After a few days go back, begin to read your book. Have a red pen handy because there are going to be story, grammatical, and spelling changes that you are going to make.
After you read through your book, mark your changes, and then apply them to your computer document.
After this step is complete you have two choices:

• Move forward with your submissions
• Have someone else proofread it for you

If you are looking for a copy editor, please reach out to me! book.writer.deanna@gmail.com
In addition to being an author and blogger, I am a copy editor and social media manager for authors! 

To answer the question that I proposed at the beginning of this article…What is the first draft, it is just that, the FIRST draft, not the final copy.

More from Author Deanna Martinez:

Preparing your writing environment

Can earbuds save lives?

New approach to writing a plot and creating an antagonist 

Fiction writing: Character living space

Do you realize that the detailed living space of a character speaks volumes about the type of person they are? Allow me to explain:

Dynamic extrovert:
A character with this personality type will typically live in a vibrant space.

Scatterbrained:
Your flighty or flaky character may have a messy, yet cozy living space.

Lonely introvert:
A loner will most likely live in a crisp, clean, non-cluttered environment.

I'm sure you can see where I am going with this. Your characters' personalities will determine the type of space where they live, work, or spend their time.
These spaces do not simply serve as a backdrop, they are scenes in your story and need to be treated as such.

Example:
Susan walked into her living room and dropped her keys and briefcase onto the couch, after scooting the flannel blanket aside. As she sat, she glanced around the room and realized it had been weeks since she picked up or cleaned the place. Dustbunnies were gathered at her feet and take-out boxes from last week still sat on the coffee table.

Does this scene make you think that Susan is a straight-laced professional who has her life together? Nope. It sounds like Susan falls in line with a scatterbrained character, right?

Houses, rooms, workspaces, and hangouts can show the reader into the life and personality of your character.

Fiction writing: Nature settings

What is the first draft?

Flannery O'Conner: How she impacted my life

Set reasonable writing goals

Always remember to set reasonable goals for yourself. The keyword in that sentence is,
you guessed it: Reasonable!
Writing a two hundred and fifty to a three hundred page novel is going to take you more
than a week to write.

It is good to have goals, but make sure they are suitable for your life. If after looking at
your calendar you feel that you will be able to dedicate three hours a week to writing, set
your goals accordingly.

For some, writing every day is a reasonable goal. If this is a possibility for you, decide if
you are able to dedicate 30 minutes a day to writing your book or 3 hours a day. Always
remember that something is better than nothing. So, 20 minutes a day or every couple of
days is better than going 2 weeks without writing at all.

For others, every other day or twice a week may be attainable.
Sit down and take a few minutes to write out your daily schedule. Then, decide when you
can fit in time to write.

It is really that simple.
After you set your writing goals, strive to attain them. But, do not beat yourself up if
sometimes you do not reach the goals you have set for yourself. Just decide to start back
up tomorrow and try again.

To print off a free daily calendar that you can design yourself, click here
http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/calendars/hour.html

Fiction writing: Nature settings

COVI-19 Decluttering: Organizing your books

Writing and Editing tips: Keeping your body comfortable

We are going to take a look at different equipment you can use as a writer and/or editor as well as ways to keep your body comfortable while you work.


Desktop Vs. Laptop

Benefits of a laptop:
You can work while you travel.
The downside of a laptop: 
They make work harder on the body. Because of the construction, the screen is too low while you type, which causes you to have to look down, and this causes extra stress on your neck and spine.

If you like to work from bed, I have an idea for you:
1. A wooden bed table
2. a sturdy chair pillow
These items will save your back and neck...no more bending forward to reach your laptop!
(See above photo)

Benefits of a desktop: 
You can make it ergonomically correct. Add a wrist rest, a footrest, a table to lift your monitor, and back support for your chair.
You can purchase 2 flat screen monitors. Having 2 monitors will benefit you when you are comparing two versions of a document, doing research for your work, and in many other instances.

The downside of a desktop: 
You have to sit in the same place every time you need to work.

General tip: Turn down the blue on your screen or purchase a pair of blue light glasses. This will protect your eyes and may help your eyes from getting tired.

More from Author Deanna Martinez:

How to start your fiction writing career

Wordy Writer: Workbook review

Flannery O'Conner: How she impacted my life

Easy book writing tips

For those who are at the beginning stages of writing their book...here are some helpful tips to help guide you through the writing process:

Beginning tips

Start writing an outline
(Writing an outline for your book will help you stay on track and organized through the writing process)

Make up a writing schedule
(Set aside time to write each day or at least every other day)

Pick a place to write
(Find a quiet place in your home as well as another location to write)

Set deadlines
(Start with daily, then weekly, monthly then a completion deadline)

Along the way tips

Research
(Research the details)

Think about your book
(Think about your book when you are not writing and make notes)

Create notes
(Carry a notebook or note app on your phone. You do NOT want to forget a good idea)

Edit as you go
(when you get to a stopping point, go back and edit what you wrote)

Ending tips

Editing
(Go back and edit at the end)

Take a rest
(Set the completed book down for 2 weeks and then edit it again)

More from Author Deanna:

How to stay accountable to your writing 

Using owned media as an author

My social media course: reveal

How to stay accountable to writing: Don’t make excuses and share your project

Do some of these sound familiar?

Oh, if only I could find time to write. You can!
How do you find time to write books? I make time. I schedule it in.
You must have a lot of free time if you have written three books. I do not have tons of free time on my hands.
You must not be married or have children if you are an author. I am married and have two children.

How in the world can one stay on task when writing? I’ll give you a tip: Tell people what you are doing!
Tell people you trust. Share with those who will encourage you and not hold you back. Tell them that you are writing a book. Make a blog and blog about the process. Post it on Facebook. Just get the word out. By telling people what you are doing, you will be encouraged to keep going and to finish your project. You may even be able to pick up helpful tips along the way. People know people and you never know what types of doors will open for you by sharing your project.

How will telling others keep me accountable?
Eventually, after hearing about your project enough, people will begin to ask you how it is coming along. They will begin to encourage you to keep going and they will tell you how much you encourage them with your entrepreneurial spirit! The interest that others will take in your project will encourage you, keep you accountable and help you find your way to completion.

More from Author Deanna Martinez:

Using owned media as an author

Should you follow your heart when writing?

To outline or not to outline...

Social media course reveal...

Hello, everyone! I have some exciting news to share...

Guess who wrote an online social media course? This girl. It took me months to write it and complete all the videos. However, it took YEARS of research to obtain all the information I share in the course.

As a published author, I had to learn how to successfully network myself online. The course is written, NOT just for authors, but for everyone who needs to network themselves, their business or their brand online.

All you have to do, is email me: book.writer.deanna@gmail.com and I will send you pricing and details about the course. I can tell you this: the course contains videos, PDF documents and on screen tutorials...everything you need to network!

Check out this video I made on Facebook live when I revealed my course:

More from Author Deanna Martinez:

Should you follow your heart when writing?

To outline or not to outline...

Coming up with new story ideas

What is the first draft?

Preparing your writing environment 

Should you follow your heart when writing?

Do you think that a writer should follow their heart when writing books?

Have you ever got that feeling way down in your stomach that made you know that you must do something? I once heard it referred to as knowing in your knower.
Some call it listening to your heart, and others say it is following your gut. Whatever you call it, refer to it as or have heard it called, we all know that feeling. It is almost like you just can not carry on with anything else in your life until you give in to that nagging feeling or those persistent thoughts.

As writers, we need to pay close attention to this feeling. There may be something that we need to add to our book or delete from our book. If you get the feeling that there are changes that need to be made to your book, go with it and make the changes. Chances are it will make for better reading and an all around better book!

It is important that as writers, we pay attention and listen to our thoughts and feelings. If we want to write the best book, we need to make necessary changes at the exact time they are needed. If we ignore the feelings, it just may keep us from getting offered a publishing contract or that offer to write another book from our publisher!

Tip: Listen to those persistent thoughts and/or feelings that you need to make changes to your story and/or book!

More writing articles:

To outline or not to outline

Coming up with new story ideas

To outline or not to outline

Should writers write books by following an outline? This seems to be a great debate among writers. Some writers swear by using outlines and others would rather fly by the seat of their pants.

I prefer to make and use an outline when I am writing my books. I like to form a basic outline that lays out the gist of what the book will be about and the character’s names and personalities. I also prefer to lay out the basics of each chapter. I do feel that if the outline contains too much information, meaning details, that it will constrict the writer. We still need to have the freedom to add characters and events as we see fit. Often times if an outline contains too many details, it prevents us from being able to be creative with our book.

Let’s compare the two options. Reasons to outline:
Gives us direction
Helps us glide through writing the chapters
Gives us a goal
Helps us remember character names and details (we can refer back to our written outline)
Keeps us on track
Reasons not to outline:
I can’t think of any
I don’t know
Oh, here is one: It can be fun not to have clear direction?

The bottom line is I recommend a simple outline. They are helpful to me and I think it would be helpful to you as well. Let me give you an example of what an outline can consist of:
Basic details of the book (What it is about, the character details, certain points you want to be sure to touch upon, each chapter name (this will guide you what to write in each chapter) and any other details you want to include.

Details you may not want to include in the outline:
Every detail as to what the character says, does and feels.

Let me tell you about outlining....

Coming up with new story ideas...

How do you come up with twists and turns and new story ideas?
Use your own life!
Use problems you have overcome or some that you haven’t and use them in your book. The best part about using your own obstacles in your book is that you can have the outcome turn out however you would like.

If you are happy with the way you have overcome obstacles in your life, then use it exactly how it played out for you. If you are not happy with the outcome of certain events, change them and write them to end the way you would have liked them to. This can also be therapeutic for you, the writer.

You can also take a slight twist or turn in your life and enhance it to become something major! For example, you changed your major in college…something fairly minor, right? Now, enhance it. You started with a major in computers, your Grandmother came down with cancer and you love her so much you will do whatever you can to help her get and stay well. You change your major to chemistry so that you can work on strains of cancer treatments. Sounds much more involved and interesting, right?
Basically, take lemons and make lemonade!

Another great way to find ideas for your novel would be to take a trip to Barnes and Noble. Go to the section of the store where they sell the same genre books that you are writing. Read the backs of the books in search of an idea that can spur you to a story idea or plot twist of your own.

More from Author Deanna Martinez:

Preparing your writing environment

Resolutions Vs. Goals

Self publishing: yes or no?

Self publishing books...yey or nah?

I have been reading an excellent book about how to make money blogging. I plan on writing a post about it in the near future.

In addition to blogging, the author suggests writing books about what you know and self-publishing said books on Amazon.

I have 3 novels published through a traditional publisher. But, I have been doing everything this book suggests and it seems to be working. With that said, I am in the process of self-publishing non-fiction / self-help books.

My hope is to have my first one ready to publish within the next week. I have just finished creating the cover and have already edited the book as it needed some love because I originally wrote it years ago.

I will give you a hint as to what it is about...Organizing and Recipes! That is all I will say at this time. haha

You will see a new post about this book very soon...including the cover, which I am in LOVE with!

If you would like to check out my novels, here is a link to my Amazon Author Page: Deanna Martinez

Helpful information:

Resolutions vs. Goals

Create a personal planner / organizer

Follow your heart, even if the world doesn't look at you as being "normal"

Started novel #4

The writing of novel #4 has begun! First, I put together my plot, then my character development, next a bit of research and then my rough outline. 

The camera you see pictured above will be placed on the chapter page for each chapter in the book. The photo may change if needed, but as of now, this is the one.

I hate giving away book details, because they will often change along the way. But I can tell you this, my main character is NOTHING like me! I am excited to write about a character that I do not know. I have to create her from beginning to end. 

I wrote an article entitled: Writing a novel: How to come up with story ideas and plot twists If you are writing your first novel, you may find this helpful. I keep my articles brief and to the point. There is nothing worse than when I click on a post to see a recipe and there is paragraph after paragraph of useless info before the recipe is posted. Well, except people who hold up traffic to back into a parking spot...but, I digress. 

My point is, my blog posts and articles cut to the chase. 

Thank you for visiting my blog! 

Let me help you create the perfect personal planner / organizer...

I am the Queen of organization. Often times it is helpful, like when I need to find something and at work, but to those who are not organized, I look like a freak of nature. I don't care though...I can find my stuff and they can't.


I mentioned in my previous post that I started a YouTube channel about life as an author. Well, you better believe I created a post about crafting your own, specialized personal planner.

Check out my video where I show and tell about planner I have tried before and why they didn't work for me...

Check out my snazzy socks...don't you love them? I have a new fascination with Instagram. I found a company called:  HAPPY SOCKS and I am head over heals for their socks. I will share my pictures after I make my purchase!  

In the mean time, enjoy my socks and my video.

31 Word substitutions for the word, "Very"

The word, “very” does not belong in the vocabulary of a writer. There are other creative words that can be used in the place of this “lazy” word.

The word, “very” is an overused adjective. The word is used to emphasize the word it is describing. Often times, adjectives, such as the word, “very”, can be left out of the sentence. If you are trying to say that someone is “very hungry”, take out the word “very” and your point will still come across to the reader. Or, substitute it the word “very” and the word it is describing with another creative word (See, I could have said “more” creative word right there, but I left out the word “more” and my point still came across properly).

Let’s take a look at some substitutions:

1.Very angry / fuming

2. Very big / gigantic or huge

3. Very clean / spotless, immaculate or spick and span

4. Very cold / freezing or Very cold / icy or hard hearted

5. Very fast / immediate

6. Very fat / large

7. Very good / suitable

8. Very happy / joyful, delighted or ecstatic

9. Very hateful / repulsive

10. Very hot / broiling

11. Very hungry / famished

12. Very loving / affectionate

13. Very mean / nasty or cruel

14. Very nice / lovely

15. Very old / ancient or antiquated

16. Very pretty / beautiful or attractive

17. Very poor / underprivileged

18. Very quiet / silent or peaceful

19. Very rude / offensive

20. Very sad / miserable

21. Very silly / ridiculous

22. Very skinny / lean or malnourished

23. Very small / miniature

24. Very smart / clever

25. Very soft / spineless

26. Very sore/ excruciating, tender or painful

27. Very strong / muscular

28. Very stupid / senseless

29. Very tasty / scrumptious

30. Very tired / exhausted

31. Very ugly / horrid

Ready to start writing that book?

Are you dreaming about writing a book or maybe two? Let me help you make that dream a reality! I have written several articles about writing that I would like to share with you.


As you read these articles, keep in mind that I would not suggest you do something that I do not do myself. These are tips and tricks I have learned along the way. Let's take a look:

Create a special place to write your best seller!

What is a goal and how do I set one?

Set reasonable writing goals specifically for you...

6 easy steps to get you started. Write that book!!!!

Should you follow your heart when writing your book (or ignore it completely)?

These 5 articles will hopefully inspire you and get you going in the right direction...in the direction of writing your book!

Be patient, I'm sure I will have more articles coming soon! Happy writing!

2017: Make your dreams a reality: Goals vs Resolutions

2017 Is a great year to move forward with what you love! Leave the old, stinky past behind and move forward into a bright, shiny new year.

At the beginning of each new year, I enjoy writing about the difference between resolutions and goals. Check out the difference. It may not look like a big deal, but read on…

Resolution: A promise we make to ourselves and declare to others that we are going to make a positive change for the new year.

Goals: A plan we make to move forward towards a better life.

Do you see the difference? A resolution is a promise, but a goal is a plan. A promise versus a plan. Let’s set goals for ourselves this year. Make a plan, write a list of steps to get you to where you want to be: financially, physically, emotionally, relationally. Set reasonable goals. Take baby steps towards your new future, your new life.

Focus on your dreams, write them down and then write a list of doable steps so that you can bring them to life. Let’s not allow our dreams to remain dreams. Let’s make them our reality for 2017!

Think on your goals. Meditate on them, see yourself living the life that you desire. Talk about your dreams and goals with people who will build you up and encourage you. Make your plan and work towards it each day, little by little, taking baby steps.

You can do this! 2017 is your year, it’s your book to write…so write a best seller!

Story and plot, YouTube, new website...a jam packed post!

Story and plot...are they the same or different?
The answer is...drum roll please....

They are...DIFFERENT!

I recently wrote an article describing the difference between story and plot. Here is a taste of what was written:

Story and plot are actually two different things when writing fiction. Here is a brief, but simple list of ways they are different. By understanding the differences, you can write a better book.
Story is emotional.
Plot is physical.
For example: story is to a character feeling sad as plot is to describe a character crying.

Simple examples of each:

Click here to read the rest of this informative article about story and plot!

One of my favorite articles is the one I wrote about Creating space to write your book at home.
I have been thinking about creating a YouTube channel to help aspiring writers. In addition to writing tips, I would also include my other loves...baking and running! (It's a good thing I have the running with all of the baking I do!)

I have recently completed my new website! It seems like it took FOREVER, but I wanted to be sure I included everything in order to make it successful.
Author: Deanna Martinez-Bey

Update on the writing course

Some days are definitely easier than others when it comes to keeping up with my school work! Sometimes I sit at my computer and knock out a lesson or two in no time and other times it is a struggle to focus on one chapter within a lesson!

Nonetheless, it is coming along well. I am on point with my lessons. I am learning so many new tips. I have learned about story structure, plot templates, character development, viewpoint, tenses and setting so far. All of it has been interesting and helpful.

I also continue to work on my next novel, in addition to the one I have in with my publisher. There is a lot going on at my house! I'm not only an author, but a wife and mom as well. My family keeps me on my toes!

Something I am learning is that following your dreams takes a lot of hard work. A lot of late nights. A lot of support from my husband! It would be a million times harder without his support.