Category: Royalene Speaks

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 6/24/2016

JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER

The Season for Short Stories

(Part IV)

Have you heard these statements about writers?

“We don’t choose to become a writer. We’re just born that way.”

“A writer is a mysterious creature, fired by inspiration with his head in the clouds.”

“A writer believes in truth and sees the world not as a place but as WORDS that reveal truth.”

A few years ago—well many years ago—when I was teaching a World Literature class for sophomore students, we read an intriguing story about a “stolen” ribbon. The evidence of the theft was the ribbon being found in someone’s pocket. However, the circumstances of how it got there were not accepted as “truth.” You see, the person who was found with the ribbon—and arrested—had seen it fall from the owner’s hand. By the time he’d recovered it from the ground, the owner was nowhere to be found and no one was around to help. So the ribbon was placed safely in his pocket until he could return it to the owner. The conundrum that my students and I discussed was this: HOW does anyone prove they’re not guilty of an accusation without witnesses? Let me assure you, the conversations were lively. And this short story played a major role in helping these young people (and this older one) practice what is known as logical thinking.

Author, Arthur Conan Doyle, was a master in creating webs of intrigue in both short-story and novels. Many do not know that Doyle was medically trained and his practical experience as a doctor (on land and sea) was the foundation for Sherlock Holmes’ methods of deductive reasoning. Doyle turned his personal skills and abilities into mystery writing and the practice of logical thinking that aimed to find the truth for millions of readers.

While the writings of other authors can inspire us to write on any variety of topics, the Season of Spring is also something magical and miraculous—happening all around us. So it is that I encourage us to consider researching what it is that boosts our energy and makes us smile each and every springtime—then, write about it.

  • The small creek close to home now has a constant flow of water; cricket and frog sounds seem to come from all directions as I come closer. WHY?
  • The cottonwood trees are feathering out with new leaves and children are investigating the trails between them. WHO are these children? What do they hope to discover?
  • The orioles have returned to bird baths, joined by finches and red-winged black birds. WHAT is it about their songs that make people want to sing?
  • HOW does my neighbor find such unusual flowers for his springtime garden? They have names like Fawn Lilies, Chinese hellebore, and Leopard’s Bane. He always knows WHERE to plant each one.
  • WHEN will the spring rain-clouds move away, so I can see the evening sky and the stars and constellations that will shine in the heavens for the next several months? This is a transition that starts in spring. With just a little research a multitude of short stories can be born.

You may have noticed the journalistic tools emphasized in the points above. They are reminders that every writing skill we’ve learned will help us create excellent stories—short or novel length.

summer

By the time you read this last blog entry, we will already have moved into SUMMER (June 20th—6:34 a.m.), but please don’t let that slow the writing that you’ve started this spring! Now is the time to complete those short stories, publish them as a collection and/or use them as outlines for a series of novels. ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 6/17/2016

JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER

The Season for Short Stories (Part III)

Within most every month on our calendar there is some type of celebration honoring the men and women who serve our countries in the military. To support, encourage and thank them, children have sent handmade cards to those on active duty. Family and Friend groups have hired local artists to create one-of-a-kind Thank You cards and sent them with personalized messages to thousands of our armed forces around the world. The big-name producers of greeting cards (e.g. Hallmark etc.) have created animated eCards that deliver messages such as: “Spirit, promise, hope. Once a soldier, always a hero,” and “Thanks for being the kind of person our country can depend on.” I love the concept of eCards. Their short messages are like short stories from the heart—much like eBooks.

In a previous blog I mentioned that a collection of short stories can quickly build into a book. One excellent example of this development method combined the author’s love for canine companions with her knowledge of training police and military working dogs. Violetta Kovacs collected multiple short stories about various K9s who exemplify excellence in the daring and often deadly “jobs” they carry out. Then, she published her book: K9 COMMANDO, Police and Army Dogs from New York to Berlin.

k9 commando
k9 commando

YOU, TOO can collect short stories and publish!

  • Are there people in your writing group (s) who’ve written an excellent short story but never did anything with it?
  • Are you in contact with friends who love to tell a good story, but have never written them?
  • Have your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents told you a story that is so vivid in your memory you could write it yourself?

What is stopping you?

  • Are you an art collector of ODD pieces—maybe found in dumpsters or garage sales? Does each individual item TELL you a story?
  • Are you a photographer whose focus is on Mountain Peaks, or Tree Tops, or Valleys, or Meadows? What are the STORIES behind your specific photographic interests?
  • Are you a sculptor of clay or wood who allows the object to inspire the piece AS IF it TELLS you its story as you work?

ARE YOU LISTENING to all these stories?

IF (or when) you find yourself struggling with completing your novel, writing and/or collecting short stories will send you on a whole new adventure! It will give you fresh insights and fresh perspectives that can not only give you a publishable collection, but will loosen your writing flow and provide a boost to the completion of your novel!

Grab hold of one (or two or three) of the ideas listed here today, and run with it! You’ll be happily surprised how much FUN you’ll have while becoming a published author! ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 6/10/2016

JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER

The Season for Short Stories (Part II)

SO HOW IS YOUR COLLECTION of greeting cards coming along? My February file is filled with Patriotism cards—which I had to research to find—because it includes Lincoln’s birthday, Washington’s birthday and Presidents’ Day (just so all of the other U.S. Presidents don’t feel left out). But the real biggie is VALENTINE’S DAY.

There are numerous short stories from every person’s life that can be told about Valentine’s Day experiences. Some of my personal favorites include:

  • The guy who went to three florists before he found the “perfect” presentation of red roses—in a crystal vase—for his girlfriend. What she actually received was a box of black roses.
  • The friendly neighbor who baked a cherry flavored red cake for the guy next door. The thick layer of icing was topped with peanut “flakes.” When the ambulance arrived and he was carried away, both of them were in tears.
  • The great-grandfather who sent his only great-granddaughter a “magic box.” The secret compartment held the first Valentine’s card he’d given to his wife—75 years earlier.

There are also the legend/historical stories. Many of these relate to people with the surname Valentine and are rarely told these days because the historical accuracy is lacking. However this leaves plenty of room for the fiction writer to imagine characters and events.

  • Christian tradition tells of “Saint Valentine” of Rome who had been thrown in prison for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Legend tells us that this “Saint Valentine” healed his jailer’s daughter, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed: Your Valentine.
  • About 270 AD there was a priest named Valentine who defied a law of Emperor Claudius II who “cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.” This Valentine secretly arranged marriages of young men and women who came to him. He was brutally beaten and put to death on February 14th, for his “romantic” efforts.
  • Ancient Rome also honored one of their pagan gods named Juno—the goddess of women and marriage. It was a custom for the names of the Roman girls to be written on slips of paper which were placed in a container. Then each boy drew a name of the girl he would be coupled with for the festival celebrations.

AND, for those who enjoy writing lighter short stories, consider the BIRDS.

  • This IS springtime, and the birds are looking for their mates and/or mating with their lifetime partners. From the Middle Ages until this very day, people have noticed the romantic melodies in the air. This lyric environment encouraged many humans to express their love in poetry, love notes and gifts of the beautiful flowers that begin blooming in this season.

One other event is celebrated in February that can inspire a wide variety of short stories—LEAP YEAR. Have you ever wondered about the complications that can come to someone whose birthday comes along ONLY ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS?

the book of dreams by richard malmros

Today’s look at greeting-card-short-story-development may have focused on the month of February, but I’m hoping these bits of information will inspire many ideas in your writing-heart. One such author, Richard Malmros—who published his book of short stories titled: The Book of Dreams—has given Readers a collection of shorts that are full of life’s adventures. His book is published in both paperback and eBook editions. Is it time for your short stories to be collected in a book—and published? ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 6/3/2016

JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER

The Season for Short Stories

Yes, I’m one of those people who perk up in the Spring when flowers start blooming, rain showers make the new grass greener and the trees fluff out with foliage. I’m also a writer who finds this season inspiring. Over the last several years I’ve started a new book project almost every Spring. So it is that the blogs for this month are offered to encourage YOU—and me—not only to start a new project, but to see it through to publication by years’ end and even begin the next one!

Somewhere in the multitudinous notes I’ve taken during writing conference workshops, I jotted the words SEASON-SPECIFIC GREETING CARDS WILL INSPIRE YOUR NEW BOOK. The scribbled thought just below this sentence reads: Short-stories lead to novels. I did not make reference to which presenter shared this bit of inspiration. However, I’m thankful these two ideas stayed with me. Here are a few thoughts from my continuing research—and the greeting card topics I’ve collected.

filing system

  • Start a collection of your favorite greeting cards and file them according to MONTH. Highlight words and phrased that are season-specific. For example:
    • January starts off with a bang celebrating the New Year. Although I rarely receive a card wishing me a “Happy New Year” that sentiment is often included on Christmas cards and friends express their hopes and plans for their new year. Take note of activities and events your family and friends have (and hope to have) experienced.
    • FAITH celebrations in January include a variety of traditions around The Epiphany—aka Three Kings Day. This is an early-in-the-year reminder for writers that short stories based on traditional family ways of acknowledging Faith adds excellent depth to many writing projects.
    • January also brings the remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday. For the writer who is developing a “true-life” story, adding a character’s perspective about such National Holidays will add reality and complexity to their story-lives.
  • Follow this pattern of card-collecting discovery for every month of the year(s). In this month of June there are three (3) main holidays:
    • Ramadan (observed by Muslims worldwide to remember the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad);
    • FLAG DAY (commemorating the adoption of our United States flag);
    • and Father’s Day (honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society).
    • EACH of these season-specific TOPICS—touching on Faith, Patriotism and Personal Relationships—are excellent subjects to for short story writing.

One of my favorite quotes about writing short stories is this: “The best short stories should haunt you for days and weeks.” Then a couple years ago, I clipped this quote from Entertainment Weekly relating to a new George Saunders’ collection of short stories: [These stories are a] “master of joy bombs: little explosions of grin-stimulating genius that he buries throughout his deeply thoughtful, endlessly entertaining flights of imagination”.

And, there you have it! Our short stories must be written with great genius—visually imaginative “joy bombs” balanced with thought-provoking insights—so that our Readers cannot stop thinking about them. Then, when they’re published in a collection our writing reputations will precede us into the world of novel writing! ⚓︎

 

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, ghostwriting, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 5/27/2016

HELPING HANDS, MINDS and HEARTS

Part IV

It is my hope that the information I’ve offered you this month about GHOSTWRITERS has been beneficial. This partnership/ghostwriting career brings two people together in a hearts, minds and hands pursuit to complete something wonderful that neither writer could do alone. In this last blog entry of the month, I’ll give you a few more examples of WHY you may really need to work of a Ghostwriter.

  • Are you an expert in your career field or educational experience? Do you have a “great idea” for a book with no time or professional writing ability to develop a readable book? You need the help of a Ghostwriter!
  • Are you a CEO of a business that is “doing okay” but you hope will “thrive” someday? Working with a Ghostwriter will allow you to TELL the story about how and why you birthed this business. People will read about the foundational reasons you’re “in business,” respect what you’ve built and come knocking at your business doors.
  • Are you a politician who dreams of working within “the system” to breath “new life” into it? Whether you choose to publish under your own name or with a pseudonym, the clarity of your message must be of highest priority. The Ghostwriter who shares your vision will help you.
  • Do you dream about what life was like for your grandparents—great-grandparents—great-great-grandparents…? Would you like to write a book about their lives, the countries they came from and the wars they survived? That takes a LOT of research, and most people have very little time to dedicate to that kind data search. The Ghostwriter who specializes in memoirs and/or history research is just the person to help you.
  • Are you a CPA who sees “the writing on the wall” in the financial lives of your clients without the ability to explain the steps they need to take to protect their future?
  • Are you a TV Journalist who sees the “real world” on a daily basis yet has only 30-60-90 seconds to express ALL you want to say to your viewers? Journalists are born writers, yet rarely do they have the time and/or reserved energy to write the books that are clamoring within them. Please! Don’t wait until you retire! Connect with a Ghostwriter (who may have also worked as a journalist) and get your book-s written!
  • Are you a Medical Professional who can offer expert information that will benefit potential patients (every person on earth) saving them unnecessary physical, mental or emotional stress? You probably have boxes full of research! Hire a Ghostwriter! Point them in the direction you believe is best and LET your book be written!

Several years ago, one of my very, very best friends passed from this earth. (Yes, I know, it’s not quality writing to use the word very, let alone use it twice. But the truth of it stands as is.) She was a writer I consider to be extraordinarily gifted. She could write with such great empathy whether developing a children’s novel, poetry, or creating magazine articles.

Much of my friend’s work was published in non-fiction genres. But she always returned to her prose writing. One fiction story in particular carried such intensity of emotion, woven with the power of colliding circumstances, that I have not forgotten it—in thirty-plus years. However, she never published that novel, and I have grieved its loss. This writer—my dear friend—wrote with such a unique perspective that inspired excellent life values without “preaching.” She considered working with a Ghostwriter to complete that novel—but didn’t.

SO IT IS I SAY to you, today, DO NOT WAIT! Find the Ghostwriter/partner who will work with you on your book until it is completed! Get referrals from publishers. If you want to work “hand and glove” with a Ghostwriter, talk with your local Liberians and/or local Writing groups. However, the best Ghostwriter for you and your project may not live in your community. Don’t hesitate to expand your search. The majority of my clients live in other states and we’ve never met (face-to-face) but have enjoyed great success in completing their work—and seeing it PUBLISHED! The right writing partner is waiting for your call! Today is the day to start your search! ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.