SAVE THE CAT MOMENT

Many of you have probably already read the wonderful book Save The Cat by screenwriter Blake Snyder.

If so you will remember the Save the Cat moment for the protagonist.

If not, here’s a brief explanation: Snyder contends that “liking the person we go on a journey with [the novel's primary character] is the single most important element in drawing us [the audience] into the story”. To illustrate that, he introduces the Save the Cat scene “… the scene where we meet the hero and the hero does something–like saving a cat–that defines who he is and makes us, the audience, like him”.

In my first published novel Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series), the protagonist, Kate O’Donnell has one of those moments in the Prologue. Eight-years-old at the time, she is spending the summer with her grandparents in Brands Crossing, Texas. The reader is first introduced to Kate when she runs out of the woods with a wounded rabbit, begging her grandfather to heal it and punish the poacher who shot it.

This scene, hopefully, makes the reader like Kate, but also, defines her character.  25-year-old Kate reveals the same qualities. Her dog and cat are rescue pets, she defends her aging Volvo when friends and family tell her to trade up to a vehicle manufactured in the 21st century and she walks away from romance and career to return to Brands Crossing and avenge her grandfather’s murder.

Do you have a Save the Cat moment in your novel?

Could you share it?

I will be discussing this technique along with others in my online creative writing class Simply Creating Fictional Characters which begins on February 1, 2012.

You can go to my website to find out more about the class and sign up. Just click on the Class tab at the top of the page then click on Creative Writing.

Hope to see you there.

 

THICKER THAN WATER INTERVIEW:YOU GOTTA READ REVIEWS

Today I’m doing an interview on You Gotta Read Reviews blog. I hope you will go there and read about my writer’s journey in creating Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series)

 

While you’re checking out sites, I hope you will go to my website and read the information about the online creativing writing class I’m teaching. Simply Creating Fictional Characters begins on February 1, 2012. Once you reach my website you can click on Class and Creative Writing to read about the class and sign up.

 

Hope to see you in class in February.

WHEN YOU THINK OF KATE: GUEST BLOG

Today I’m doing a guest blog on W. Lynn Chantale’s blog.

I hope you’ll go there and see how I used Taylor Swift as an inspiration for some of the qualities I created in Kate O’Donnell, the protagonist in my novel Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series).

I will also be talking about the qualities that make your fictional characters believable, interesting and life-like in my online creative writing class Simply Creating Fictional Characters which starts on February 1st.

To find out more about the class and register, please go to my website and click on Class and Creative Writing.

Hope to see you there.

 

FIVE GOOD REASONS TO TAKE AN ONLINE CLASS

If you’re like me, you’ve taken creative writing classes before and might feel that starting another would just add one more distraction that keeps you from your real purpose: Writing.

But wait. Let me give you a few good reasons that taking that class will help you succeed as a writer.

1)      It’s always good to open your mind and try out new methods that have worked for other writers. Some of the exercises you do there may give you ideas for your work in progress.

2)      It’s a great way to connect with and interact with other writers in the class.

3)      It’s a wonderful opportunity to enlarge your social network.

4)      It’s a way to learn more about marketing your book.

5)      It’s fun.

I took two great classes in the fall as I was preparing to build my social network platform and I recommend those classes highly.

The first I took in August was Flying Lessons with Kelly Rae Roberts http://kellyraeroberts.com/

 

 

Kelly grew up in rural North Florida, attended college at Florida State University, then in 1999, met her husband John and set off to begin a life together in Portland, Oregon. Since discovering her passion for painting in 2006, she wrote Taking Flight: Inspiration + Techniques to Give Your Creative Spirit Wings, a best selling book that encompasses all aspects of what it means to live the creative life. She is also the author of Flying Lessons: Tips + Tricks to Help Your Creative Biz Soar - a series of popular e-books where I share everything I’ve learned about starting, running, and growing a successful creative business. Her work has been featured in a variety of mixed media books and she’s had several articles published in various magazines, including Cloth Paper Scissors, Somerset Life, Somerset Studios (my artwork was on the 03/2010 cover!), Where Women Create, Memory Makers, and more. Much of her artwork is licensed and can be seen in stores nationwide on a variety of products, including decorative wall art, home decor products, stationery, and so much more.

She now teaches classes like Flying Lessons to other creatives who want to manage their own on-line businesses.

Then I signed up in September for Write It Forward with Kristen Lamb. http://kristenlamb.org/

Kristen is the author of the #1 best-selling books We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer.

Kristen worked in international sales before transitioning into a career as an author, freelance editor and speaker, and she takes her years of experience in sales & promotion and merges it with almost a decade as a writer to create a program designed to help authors construct a platform in the new paradigm of publishing.

Kristen has guided writers of all levels, from unpublished green peas to NY Times best-selling big fish, how to use social media to create a solid platform and brand. Most importantly, Kristen helps authors of all levels connect to their READERS and then maintain a relationship that grows into a long-term fan base. Kristen’s clients include mega-authors James Rollins and Sandra Brown, and her techniques have even launched indie authors from total obscurity to the top of the best-selling lists.

Currently Kristen is teaching workshops based off her best-selling books at various writer conferences across the country. She also teaches on-line classes on social media techniques.

In each of those classes I learned so much about managing an online creative business and developing an effective social media presence.

The bonus was meeting hundreds of creative, interesting people and getting to know them. I now follow their blogs and websites, follow them on twitter and facebook, email them frequently and they reciprocate. We buy each other’s books, cheer each other’s triumphs and are there for support through disappointments. We have become a community.

So don’t hesitate to join a class if you have any curiosity at all about what you might learn.

 Remember my online creative writing class Simply Creating Fictional Characters begins February 1^st.

Please go to my website: http://sharonkowen.com, click on classes and creative writing classes for more information. I hope you’ll sign up and join the Simply Creating community.

 

Sharon

Ebook Promotions

Hi everyone,

I’m still excited about all the promotion hype on my book Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series). Today I’m doing an interview on Ann Montclair’s blog. I hope you will hop over there and see it. All comments will be appreciated. Through January 5th you can download a FREE copy of the Ebook version of my book at Amazon.

I really am excited about being a part of KDP Select and I’m grateful to my friend Diane Capri for steering me in that direction.

Today, January 3, is the last day you can download a FREE copy of Diane’s bestselling novel, “Carly’s Conspiracy.” An Amazon bestseller and reader favorite, this is the first in the acclaimed Judge Willa Carson mystery series.The book is clean, witty, and a great read. Loads of Florida atmosphere to get you through the January cold! You can download your copy here until midnight tonight:
http://www.amazon.com/Carlys-Conspiracy-Carson-Wilhelmina-ebook/dp/B005E8YSB 0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-ext&ie=UTF8&qid=1325595340&sr=1-1
One last reminder:

My online class Simply Creating Fictional Characters begins on February 1st. You can find more information by clicking on the Classes tab at my website http://sharonkowen.com. Hope to see you there in February.

CHASING MY OWN 15 MINUTES OF FAME

Thanks to Diane Capri and Debra Eve for helping me make the decision to go with KDP select.

Now, my book Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series) has been listed on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords since July and has really generated few sales.

Based on my friends’ experiences, I temporarily unpublished my book on Smashwords and signed up for KDP select on Janurary 1st. I also chose to  participate in the 5 day promotion offering my book free during those days.  According to the report today and 13 copies free copies have been “sold” and four paperback books have sold since I signed up. Not bad for the first day. And that is nothing compared to Diane’s and Eve’s experiences. See below:

Diane:

Okay, folks — this is AMAZING, and I owe it all to Debra Eve (for the idea) and to all of you for the support! So here’s the amazing thing: Carly’s Conspiracy has been free on Amazon for 14 hours. It’s already #19 PAID in the Kindle store and #559 in the FREE store. Now, I don’t have a clue how many copies “sold” that actually is, but it’s very cool to see this after it’s been languishing there for 4 months! Woo Hooo! You guys are GREAT!!

Eve:

For three days last week I was on four Amazon Kindle best seller lists. Over 900 people downloaded Later Bloomers: 35 Folks Over Age 35 Who Found Their Passion And Purpose.

See Eve’s full story at http://www.laterbloomer.com/15-minutes-of-amazon-fame 

So, folks, feel free to download a free book of Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series) for the next 4 days. At the end of that time it will sell for $2.99 for the rest of January and February while my blog book tour is in progress.

After reading Eve’s and Diane’s stories, have any of you changed your mind about signing up for the 90 days with KDP select?

Christmas Poetry by Martha Faulkner

Today is the tenth day in the series of holiday stories, poems and songs created by members of the Trinity Writers’ Workshop. These submissions were included in the  TWW Christmas Book which was given to children and their families during the  Christmas at the Stockyards event in Fort Worth, Texas on December 3, 2011. The tenth of these writers is Martha Faulkner and the following poems are hers.

Christmas Reminder

Who’ll open the first present?

We each wait for our turn.

Round the coffee table,

Watching the fireplace slowly burn.

Will it be youngest to old,

Or Grandmom to sweet Lily?

It doesn’t really matter,

Some traditions seem silly.

One by one we “ooh” and “aah”

“You can exchange it if you like.”

“It’s perfect!” “I love it!”

Then out comes Emma’s bike.

Her face lights up, she screams delight,

The rest just falls away.

Pure joy, warm hearts, shared love.

This is Christmas Day.

 

Christmas Scene

Neighborhood houses shine bright,

Lit up red, multicolored, or white.

Christmas joy is in the air,

Candy canes and garland everywhere.

Grapevine reindeer stand so still,

Posed frozen on the side of the hill.

Only problem with this scene

It’s still two days before Halloween!

Fa-La-La

‘Tis the season to be jolly–

Red candles, gold bows, and wreaths made of holly.

Nativity sets with figures glued down

Snow globes to wind up and watch scenes go round.

Gingerbread cookies and peppermint candy

Hot chocolate filled mugs that make us feel dandy.

Fa-la-la-la-la  La-la-la-la!

Don’t forget that beginning February 2, 2012, I am offering a two month class in character development called Simply Creating Fictional Characters.

 

The class will include techniques in buiding believable, interesting three-dimensional characters. I will also assist and encourage students to interact with each other through twitter, facebook and their blogs.

I think it will be a great way to start the new year.

To find out more about the classes go to http://www.sharonkowen.com click on the tab classes and creative writing classes.

Looking forward to seeing your there

Simply Creating Fictional Characters Class and 2012 Blog Book Tour

I earlier posted an announcement of the first in a series of online classes I will be teaching in 2012: Simply Creating Fictional Characters.

I originally scheduled it to begin January 2nd 2012; however, I’ve decided to postpone the start date to February 1st 2012 to allow everyone (including myself) time to get all the new year’s schedules and plans worked out in January.

For more information on the class, please go to my website then, click on the Class tab at the top of the page and choose Creative Writing Class from the drop down list.

This is a two month class (2/1/12-3/31/12) with instruction material and the opportunity to participate in class discussions. You will be encouraged (but not required) to complete the exercises, give and receive critique and interact with other class members in various social media (blogs, websites, twitter and facebook).

You may work at your own pace and do as much or as little of the class work as you choose.

The price for the two month class is $20.00 for TWW members and WANA1011 members. It is  $40.00 for non-members.

I look forward to working with you in the clsss.

On another note:

Most of you know I self-published my first novel, Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series) in July of 2011. It is now available in Ebook and paperback versions.

I’m planning to publish my second book in the series, Whatever Goes Around (Brands Crossing Series) in March of 2012.

Anticipating the publication of the new book, I am participating in a blog book tour to promote the first novel.

Thanks to Marissa Dobson my fabulous new publicist for setting this up.

Following is a schedule and a list of participating blogs for this tour.  I hope you will check them out and leave comments.

January

4 – Interview @ Ann Montclair

9 – Interview @ Mike Woody

10 – Guest Blog @ W. Lynn Chantale

11 – Interview @ You Gotta Read

16 – Interview @ Everyday is an Adventure

17 – Interview @ Books-n-Kisses

24 – Interview @ chastitybush

30 – Guest Blog @ liadavis

February

2 – Interview @ Bea’s Book Nook

6 – Guest Blog @ I’m a Book Shark

7 – Interview @ Ella Jade 

8 – Guest Blog @ Curling Up by the Fire

9 – Guest Blog @ I Just Wanna Sit Here & Read

16 – Guest Blog @ Me and Reading

20 – Interview @Lila Munro

22 – Book Spotlight @ Simplistik

28 – Interview @ Sarah Ballance

Thanks to all of you for your support during my writing journey. I could never have gotten this far without you.

Sharon

Happy Birthday Jesus by Lacy Hall

Today is the eighth day in the series of holiday stories, poems and songs created by members of the Trinity Writers’ Workshop. These submissions were included in the  TWW Christmas Book which was given to children and their families during the  Christmas at the Stockyards event in Fort Worth, Texas on December 3, 2011. The eighth of these writers is Lacy Hall.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

by Lacy Hall

Christmas was always a time of great excitement and anticipation in our family.  It meant decorating the tree, seeing family we hadn’t seen in a long time, and lots of good food and fun.  We always went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church, and drove all around town afterwards looking at nativity scenes and twinkling Christmas lights.  It was always a wonderful time but one year my mother suggested doing something extra special.  “Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus, so let’s have a Happy Birthday Jesus party!” she said.  We all loved the idea, so we set about to plan a party to remember the birth of baby Jesus, the greatest gift of all.

We decided we would have the party on Christmas Eve, so we invited all our friends and family to come over after the candlelight service.  During the week leading up to the festivities, we decorated the house with bright green garlands and gold tinsel and made luminaries for the yard out of paper bags and candles. I don’t know which was more fun..the party itself or all the excitement getting ready for it.

Finally, Christmas Eve was upon us, and that day was a whirlwind of preparation of food and putting the final touches on the decorations.  My mother made a big chocolate cake and wrote “Happy Birthday Jesus” in icing on the top of it. There were finger sandwiches, sausage balls, all kinds of crackers and dips, and my grandmother’s homemade peanut brittle and chocolate fudge. We got ready and went to the candlelight service where we watched a live nativity and listened to the hand bell choir play Christmas carols.  My favorite part was at the end of the service.  The preacher talked about how the world is in darkness without the love of Jesus, but how His light can be shared from one person to the next until all of us have it inside our hearts.  He demonstrated this by lighting a candle and then the next person’s candle with his flame.  We all did this one by one until each person’s flame was burning brightly.  Then all the lights in the sanctuary were turned off and we stood there in the glow of all those candles.  It was very quiet and the flickering of the candlelight on our faces reflected the joy that we all felt. Then we sang Silent Night with no instruments playing and when that was finished, we left and did not blow out the candles until we were outside.  Of course, we had to rush home to be there in time to greet our guests.

The house was filled with the sounds of laughter and holiday cheer.  We kids recited a story about the birth of Jesus titled, “The Baby Born in a Stable.”  Then we lit the candles on the birthday cake and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, and all the candles were blown out.  We ate and sang carols and had a marvelous time with all of our friends from church and our family who made it in from out of town.  Everyone went on and on about how much fun they had and what a marvelous idea it was to throw a birthday party for Jesus.  My mother and father and I decided right then we wanted to make it a yearly tradition and so we did.  Over the years, many splendid Happy Birthday Jesus parties were thrown, each unique and some quite adventurous.  Some years, the children attending would dress up in costume and act out the “Baby Born in a Stable” story and there was the year I got sick from eating too much fudge.  At one memorable party, the wind starting blowing up a gale and set the luminaries in the yard on fire and we had to keep running outside to put them out.  We laugh about that one now.  I have a lot of precious memories about all those parties, but the thing I cherish most is that our family’s tradition played a part in bringing a lot of people together over the years to share in the joy of Christmas and celebrate the birth of the One who came to earth and was born as a baby so we could all know His love and grace

.”

Don’t forget that beginning January 2, 2012, I am offering a two month class in character development called Simply Creating Fictional Characters.

The class will include techniques in buiding believable, interesting three-dimensional characters. I will also assist and encourage students to interact with each other through twitter, facebook and their blogs.

I think it will be a great way to start the new year.

To find out more about the classes go to http://www.sharonkowen.com click on the tab classes and creative writing classes.

Looking forward to seeing your there

Clarice’s Long Stockings by Clarice Bostick

Today is the seventh day in the series of holiday stories, poems and songs created by members of the Trinity Writers’ Workshop. These submissions were included in the  TWW Christmas Book which was given to children and their families during the  Christmas at the Stockyards event in Fort Worth, Texas on December 3, 2011. The seventh of these writers is Clarice Bostick.

Clarice’s Long Stockings

by Clarice Bostick

Once upon a time there was a little girl.  Her name was Clarice. She had long brown curly hair. Shyness was a problem for Clarice and she was easily embarrassed. George and Paul were her brothers and Alice was her sister.  Grandma lived with the family. Grandma and Clarice’s mother and daddy spent a lot of time reading to her, playing games, teaching her to sew and read and doing so many other things.

There was a vacant lot in back of the house and it was called the “back hill”.  Clarice was a dreamer.  She liked to go on the “back hill” and sit in a path that overlooked a Buttercup ringed pond and think about Christmas. Christmas was wonderful at our house. The fragrance of date-nut candy mother was making, the gingerbread men Grandma was making, turkey roasting in the oven and the smell of the Christmas tree were all memories she would hold dear all her life. One of the most exciting memories of all was the long stocking packed with fruit, nuts, gum, Crackerjacks and candy.

Well, the stocking at Christmas was wonderful, of course, but there were other aspects of it that was not so wonderful. As soon as the weather turned cold Clarice’s mother would say,” Oh, dear, it is so cold it is time to put on your long stockings.”  This was one thing that this little girl dreaded. First, her mother would put this contraption on her to hold the stockings up.  It was sorta like a harness that had straps over the shoulders that fitted to a waistband and had two straps in the front and two in the back that were attached to the waistband and then would be pinned to the top of the long white cotton stockings. How awful.  They were warm but they were a big embarrassment. No one Clarice knew had to wear these, not her friends, not her sister, just her.  Clarice’s birthday was in January and on her 4^th birthday she had her first and only birthday party. There were nine who came to the celebration. Her mother took their picture and there was poor Clarice on the front row with her white stockings in plain view. How humiliating. Kindergarten was the next big obstacle to get through with the dumb things. Of course, she was the only one who had to wear them. And then of all things a Christmas play was planned and all the children would be in it. How in the world was she going to handle being in a play where all the world would see her in those dreadful white stockings. Well, guess what? She was picked to be Mrs. Santa Claus.  That meant she would wear a long dress. The stockings could not be seen.  What a relief. The worrying over the stockings would go on all winter, except at Christmas. Now they turned in to her best friend. Mother would let her use one of them to leave out for Santa. And Santa never failed to fill it to overflowing. There was only one pair of these things so Clarice got a reprieve from them or several days. Maybe those stocking were not as horrible as she thought. Turned out they were downright wonderful. You probably have guessed it by now, but that little brown haired girl with the long curls was me. I don’t wear long white cotton stockings anymore, but my curls have been white for a long time

.”

Don’t forget that beginning January 2, 2012, I am offering a two month class in character development called Simply Creating Fictional Characters.

The class will include techniques in buiding believable, interesting three-dimensional characters. I will also assist and encourage students to interact with each other through twitter, facebook and their blogs.

I think it will be a great way to start the new year.

To find out more about the classes go to http://www.sharonkowen.com click on the tab classes and creative writing classes.

Looking forward to seeing your there