Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
0 items - $0.00 0

Love to Write

HomeAll PostsLove to Write
Close

August 2018: Client Spotlight

Love to Write, NewsAugust 24, 2018623Views0Likes3Comments
I am pleased to introduce you to my client, Becky McGregor, who is currently on the last round of editing on her book, A Dream Called Kristy: My Story of Loss, Healing, and Dreams Fulfilled. The book tells her story of a young mother’s struggle through grief to find healing after her baby’s death. This book takes the reader on a journey through the worst time a mother can face. There is grief, but there are also fun events, times of growth, and healing of the soul. While this is not a self-help book, there are suggestions offered up to readers. Becky hopes the book will help to heal the heart of a parent who has experienced the loss of a child. A wife to husband, Bruce, a mother of five, and a grandmother of four, Becky is a genealogist and writer, though she started her work life as a computer science engineer. I recently asked Becky a few questions and I think you’ll find her answers inspiring and informative:

Read More

National Waffle Day

Love to Write, NewsAugust 23, 20181KViews0Likes1Comment
I've been eating mostly lobster, lately, and haven't had any waffles. Have you had waffles recently? If not, you should, because today, August 24th, is National Waffles Day! Food memories tend to stick strongly in our minds, don't they? The act of eating is so full of all five senses. Just thinking about waffles, you hear and feel the slight crunch of the toasty outside as you take a bite. You may imagine the sight of sticky, drippy syrup puddling into the waffle's squares. You think about the sweet, buttery, bready taste and, oh, the smell of waffles cooking! There's nothing like it.

Read More

Royal Palm Literary Award finalists from the WYL Community

Love to Write, NewsAugust 17, 2018521Views0Likes0Comments
Writing the story we are compelled to tell often involves relentless pursuit: grinding away day after day, month after month, sometimes year upon year. The satisfaction one gets when such a project bears fruit in print can be euphoric and surreal. Yet, what if it gets better than that? Imagine opening your email one day to find these words: “Congratulations! Your entry is a finalist for the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition!” Two members of the Writing Your Life community just received such a message, and you can imagine their elation.

Read More

Dial Up Your Dialogue Editing Tip, Part Two

Love to Write, NewsAugust 17, 2018437Views0Likes0Comments
Our editing tips over the next few months are part of a series called Dial up Your Dialogue, by Writing Your Life editor Teresa Bruce. Be sure to follow along each month for Teresa’s fantastic tips to energize your dialogue.
99190 WUOT Dialogue Logo V2.0
If you’ve ever heard Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine, you’ve witnessed the hilarity of an ambiguous conversation crafted with care. In most cases, however, you’ll want readers understanding your dialogue without confusion. Be sure your readers can tell who speaks each line of dialogue. In the example cited in last month's Dial Up Your Dialogue editing tip, context revealed Timmy and Mom as the speakers. In a scene with more than two individuals present, vary the use of dialogue tags—he said, she said, Timmy said, Mom said—with action beats that show each speaker acting in a way that enhances the story.

Read More

Back to Basics

Love to Write, NewsAugust 17, 2018572Views0Likes0Comments
This past Saturday, I spent the day with a fantastic group of writers learning the Basics of Writing Well. We had two Jackies and three Patricias in the group. Several came from long distances: Lady Lake, Ocala, Cocoa, Sarasota, Sebring, Gainesville, and Cape Canaveral. These folks are committed to writing well! I’m excited about many of these participants also being first-timers to a Writing Your Life event. This was such a fun and engaging group.

Read More

Patricia: FAPA’s Speaking Sensation

Love to Write, NewsAugust 10, 2018589Views0Likes1Comment
By Amanda Benson, Writing Your Life staff Last Friday, Patricia gave a presentation called “Be a Speaking Sensation” at the annual conference of Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA). As her assistant, I often have the privilege of tagging along with her to events such as this to help set up, distribute handouts, and take pictures. I also get the invaluable benefit of hearing all of Patricia’s talks, which I hope and pray are getting saved somewhere in my memory bank.

Read More

August 2018 Book Review

Love to Write, NewsAugust 9, 2018481Views0Likes0Comments
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in a crematorium? If so, go behind the scenes with mortician turned memoirist, Caitlin Doughty in Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory. In this best-selling memoir, Doughty does more than just describe her job and how her early morbid interests became her career. She reveals how our culture is in denial about dying and argues for major changes in how we face the details of death.

Read More

A Day at the Enrichment Academy Expo

Love to Write, NewsAugust 9, 2018525Views0Likes1Comment
In April 2017, The Villages Recreation Department established The Enrichment Academy (TEA), a service entity that provides community education and development. In its first year, more than 10,000 students moved through the new classrooms of TEA. Wow! Last Thursday, August 2, I participated in the TEA Expo, which kicked off registration for residents of The Villages for the fall semester. The Expo also provided an opportunity for those facilitating classes to meet potential students and introduce the courses. I could not believe the diversity of class offerings and sheer size of the Expo.

Read More

An Award-Winning Author: John Mitchell

Love to Write, NewsAugust 9, 2018604Views0Likes1Comment
"My wife, Rachel, and I are thrilled at the recognition 7 Ships has received.” – John Mitchell, award-winning author of 7 Ships
The 2018 Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA) conference wrapped up this past weekend. The highlight of the conference is the President’s Award Banquet, where authors and publishers throughout Florida are recognized and awarded in a variety of genres for their recent offerings. Writing Your Life client John Mitchell’s book, Seven Ships: A U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer’s At-Sea Career, published earlier this year, was recently selected as a finalist in the FAPA President’s Awards, in the autobiography and memoir category.

Read More