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We all love to root for the underdog, don't we? In this week's episode of the Write for a Reason podcast we talk about several different ways you can make your readers feel so angry for your protagonist, because of what they are being put through unjustly, that they won't be able to put your book down!

Have a listen, and let me know what you think!

Every blessing,

Janet

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Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

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Hi, Janet here. Today I have a fun writing assignment for you!

Listen to the podcast, then bust out your writing journal and get writing...

Have fun!

Every blessing,
Janet

P.S. Would you like to join our Writers for a Reason Unite membership group? More details here. We'd love to have you!

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

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Just a quick writing tip today, to help your improve your writing.

Janet Wilson talks about adding colour to your stories...

Enjoy!

If you'd like more free writing tips, or would like help with your story, hop on over to the Write for a Reason website.

See you there!

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

Send us a text

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

Send us a text

Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer.

Today we’re going to be looking at the whole subject of book reviews. It’s something that came up in our writers for a reason unite group -  there’s a certain amount of confusion about what makes a good book review, and we want to do it well, so I’ve asked book reviewer and blogger Brenda Daniels to come and talk to us (all the way from South Africa!), to give us clarity and make the whole thing simpler.

Brenda has worked as a freelance journalist for 20 years and has her own blog – A Feast of Tales – on which she features book (and sometimes move and travel) reviews. In the last few years she has tried her hand at fiction and has written two children’s novels, a dissertation of children’s short stories and a number of other short stories, one of which won a prize.

I’ve asked Brenda if we can discuss two different sides of writing book reviews:

1. How to write the perfect review yourself, for fellow authors’ books – or any book you’ve read, for that matter. What to put in, what to leave out... best practice - that sort of thing.
2. What to ask readers to put in their reviews for our books. This is a really useful thing to know! As you are aware, having good book reviews can make a massive difference to book sales, and if we can make it simpler for our readers, so much the better!

So grab a pen and paper, or your writing journal and get stuck in. You'll be glad you did. :-)

See you next time,

Janet

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

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In this episode of the Write for a Reason podcast, I talk to author Jubilee Lipsey about the structure of chapters. That may sound like a bit of a dry topic, but actually there's so much more to it than meets the eye. It’s fascinating, and I’m sure you will learn a lot!

After all, you do want your readers to find each of your chapters enthralling, right?

So grab a pen and paper, or your writing journal, and get ready to find out what needs to go in every chapter… Jubilee has come up with lots of great tips that will give you clarity as you plan and write each chapter of your novel. And what to do if you get stuck!

Enjoy!

Jubilee is a biblical fiction author who recently published her first rapid release novel trilogy (all three books released within a couple of months!) on the friendship of David and Jonathan, along with an accompanying Bible study. You can find out all about Jubilee and her books (My Brother, the King, My Rival, the King and My Father, the King) on www.jubileelipsey.com.

If you’d like lots more free creative writing tips, hop on over to write-for-a-reason.com, where you will find lots more resources and encouragement to help you write excellent, relevant, fun novels and get them into your readers’ hands.

If you haven’t yet done my free course, Gripping Beginnings, you can sign up and start immediately. This will help you grip your readers from the very first page of your story.

Don't put it off – today is a gift to use wisely! Only you can write your book, and if you have been called to write, someone's waiting for it.

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

Send us a text

Today I interview Sharon Tedford, who is here to talk to us about the whole big issue of rejection. 

Sharon is an English writer, living in Dallas (I know, listen to the podcast for how that happened!). She’s a talented creative writer… but still suffered from that awful pit-in-your-stomach feeling when facing rejection – as most of us do.

Rejection is a big thing, isn’t it, for writers? Whether we fear rejection so much it stops us from sending proposals/pitches in the first place, or whether it hits us hard when we receive back a rejection letter from a publisher we thought was a certain match for our story, it can stop us in our tracks.

And let’s face it, it hurts.

Sharon shares five positive ways we can handle rejection, so we can become, as she calls it,  ‘contented rejected’.

It will make you think about ‘rejection’ in a whole new way.

Don’t miss this one! :-)

If you’d like to buy the book from The Women of Write Texas which Sharon mentions (which includes Sharon’s chapter on becoming contented rejected), you can do so here (USA) or here (UK). It’s called The Write Calling, Encouragement from the Writer’s Heart.

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

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Are you thinking about publishing your book on kindle?

Today on the Write for a Reason podcast I’m delighted to welcome Christopher Benner, author of The Dragons of Ederstill. This is Christopher’s first book, and is for young adults.

Christopher decided to publish his book on kindle because he was on a limited budget, and today he gives us the simple steps anyone can take to get their book on to the kindle platform quickly and easily.

As a bonus, Christopher also shares a marketing strategy that has brought him over 900 downloads of his book in just five weeks, so grab a pen and paper and get ready to take notes… this could soon be you!

Here are some of the links we mention in the podcast:

Kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200645680 (Step by step formatting for kindle)

For keyword research:

Keywordtool.io and Ahrefs.com/amazon-keyword-tool

Click here to take a look at the Write for a Reason Book Marketing Academy.

And of course, if you’d like to buy The Dragons of Ederstill, you can download it from the UK Kindle platform here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragons-Ederstill-Christopher-Benner/dp/B0B3RL883X
or from the kindle store in your own Amazon.

Christopher is also offering the audiobook of The Dragons of Ederstill free from his own website:

Bennerfamilyfarms.com/audiobook.

Wow, what a lot of great value!

Do subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes – lots more to come!

Please share with a writer friend, and hop on over to Write for a Reason  for lots more creative writing tips and encouragement. :-)

Don’t forget, today is a gift to use wisely. Only you can write your story, and if you feel called to write, someone, somewhere is waiting for it.

Blessings abundant on your writing,

Janet

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

Send us a text

The better we can express deep emotions in our characters, the more we will engage our readers.

Here's an exercise for you to do that you need never show to anyone, to help you get your emotions out into words. It will help you with your stories, I promise!

Write freely without editing for at least ten minutes on each of the following topics (if you find it too difficult to write in the first person, write as if a narrator is watching you):

• A time when you were frightened. Maybe the terrible thing happened, maybe it didn’t. But write about it now.
• A time when you were truly happy. Maybe the best thing that ever happened to you!
• A time of deep disappointment. A dream smashed, maybe, or when friends betrayed you.
• A time you were filled with love. When you would have done absolutely anything for that person.
• A time when you were filled with anger. An anger that made you want to get justice, or revenge… and maybe you did?
• A time you felt totally helpless. You were totally at the mercy of someone else.
• A time you felt overcome with sadness. We have all suffered loss. Write about that grief you felt.
• A time you laughed until you cried. You could no longer stop laughing than stop the world turning!

Don't pick the easiest topic – pick the most difficult, even if it’s tough to do. Write freely about how you felt. Be totally honest. You can use "unsuitable" language as nobody need see what you have written. Be free to let all your emotions run out of yourself on to the page – spit it out! Write about the unfairness, the rage, the delirious joy, the terrible feeling that things might never change, things that were said. Write about the people who helped you and the people who made things worse for you (and maybe what you would have liked to do to them).

How did your emotions affect you physically? Write how long the feelings lasted and how it has affected you since. Write how you feel about these memories now. Leave nothing out!

If your characters can express depth of emotion in your stories, they will be able to engage your readers at an emotional level. They might even be able to help them. That terrible or wonderful experience you have been through might be an enormous help to a new generation of readers. "Someone understands" is a wonderful feeling.

I hope you found this helpful! If you did, please share with your writer friends and hop on over to write-for-a-reason.com, where you will find lots more resources and encouragement to help you write excellent, relevant, fun novels and get them into your readers’ hands.

If you’re in the process of writing your novel, I’d love to invite you to join Writers for a Reason Unite – check out the details on write for a reason.com. 

All for a small fee a month.

“I’ve loved it! It’s been really valuable to me to have someone to bounce ideas off! And I really need the accountability and encouragement!” – Angela

What you get:

• Twice monthly Zoom group meetings
• Membership in a small ‘Writing Buddy Group’ (such good fun!)
• Writing assignments to add depth to your novel.
• Live Q and A sessions so you can ask anything when you get stuck
• Chat with ot

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)

Send us a text

Hi folks,

I have another podcast for you! This one is from Pam Daunton, who recently had her first novel, The Dove Stone, published. (Congratulations, Pam!)

You will be inspired by her writing journey. She started off great, but then gave up when she realised that writing a book was much more difficult than she thought it would be.

Then... well, I'll let her tell her own story!

If you struggle sometimes, having realised that there's much more to writing and promoting a book than you thought, and feel like giving up, don't miss  this episode.

Because, if you've been called to write, someone, somewhere is waiting for your book.

Don't bury your talent; never give up! Write for a Reason is here to help you, and the Lord is on your side! xxx

Janet

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the 50 Ways to Get Your Book Noticed training  I mention in the podcast.

Getting your story written is only the first part of your job as a writer. Marketing is equally essential, but it can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? What are the best things you can do?

This training is going to help you quit the overwhelm and give you some ideas you can put into practice immediately.

It’s taken from the Write for a Reason Book Marketing Academy, coming soon. I will tell you all about it during our time together. Love to see you there. More details here.

Support the show

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)