VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

After a nice long two month hiatus VBT-Writers on the Move is ready for action in February 2011. As always, VBT-Writers on the Move has a great tour planned with writers and authors who collectively, have tons of writing and marketing experience and information to share. I'll be hosting one of these wonderful authors each month along with my other weekly posts and interviews. One goal I have and VBT-Writers on the Move is to provide more value packed informational content so you can not only learn about the authors, their books and services, but also pick up tips and advice on writing, ghostwriting, marketing, and more. So, look over the schedule below. Each day in February a different author and information will be presented. Just follow the schedule and click on the corresponding day. However, don't forget to stop by here each day too. I'll be posting a link to the Writers on the Move stop and some writing tips as well. Writers on the Move’s February 2011 To

I really liked this blog post and wanted to share it with you. Utah Children's Writers: Writer Zen: We Are Our Own Protagonists : "by Deren Hansen As the protagonist approaches the climax of our novel, we pull out all the stops, throw ever thing at them, and turn what ..."

Writing articles can actually take a good amount of time when you combine all the necessary preparations along with the writing process itself. In fact it is not unusual to begin monitoring the time you invest in this process which can than lead to writer's block. The more time you realize you spent the more frustrated you become and this disrupts your flow of thoughts adding even more time to the writing process. Is there a way to write articles but avoid the various 'barriers' that are bound to occur that lead to more frustration and time spent in the process? Here are 5 tips on writing articles which help to break down the process allowing you to consistently make progress thereby minimizing any wasted time. Pull Your Thought Together - Stop Take the time preferably away from your computer and brainstorm some ideas to determine what you want to write about. As ideas come to mind jot them down and continue to brainstorm different ideas. To start yourself off thin

by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ 1. Work hard to become competent. Neil Gaiman said, "There's no magic formula. To become a competent writer, you  write until you start to sound like you, and then you keep on writing. Finish  things you start. Get better." 2. View life from different perspectives. Douglas Clegg said, "Get out and live and travel and see the world from  perspectives other than the one with which you've been saddled. Youth doesn't  last very long, and it might be better to participate in life awhile before  writing from it." 3. Write one page at a time. John Steinbeck said, "When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages,  a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens  every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day's work is  all I can permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate the possibility of ever  finishing." 4. Strive for vigorous writi

CONTACT:  Karina Fabian Phone:  (805) 285-0108, karina@fabianspace.com Ann Margaret Lewis Phone:  (317) 755-2693 annlewis@joesystems.com For Immediate Release Carolyn Howard-Johnson Conducts Seminar at Free Online Conference World Wide Web--Writers, editors, agents, and other publishing professionals from around the world are gearing up for the free fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference Online, featuring veteran presenters like Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi-award winning novelist, poet and book marketer. The online conference will run from March 21 to 27, 2011 and is sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild. It is free and open to writers of all levels who register before March 1. Writers needn’t be Catholic. It is conducted in an online forum at http:// www.catholicwritersconference.com . Workshops and live online chats cover the gamut of writing topics from idea generation to marketing a published novel; traditional and self-publishing, article writing and fi

SFC Blog: Families Matter: Bargain Priced Family Vacations...Do They Exist? : "What could be more cost effective than a family camp-out? Of course, the cheapest kind is finding a local campsite in your area and pitchin..."

Kris Quinn Christopherson is not only one of the many Stories for Children book reviewers; she is also a wife, mother, children's literature lover and reviewer, writer, and proudly known as “Kris the Reader” through weekly story times in her community.  A Southern-born girl who lives on a farm in the Midwest, she is raising confident readers who adore a good story, and working hard to create her own good stories.  Kris has edited and written for the National Military Family Association (NFMA) online publications.  She is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature, and is a member of SCBWI.  Her essays have appeared on iParenting.com and cribsheet, an online column from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  She blogs about her journeys in reading to and for others, writing what she knows, and raising her family…not necessarily in that order on http://kqchristopherson.wordpress.com/ . VS: I want to thank you Kris for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. I know bein

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The Maggie Project: A Review of Little Shepherd : "Little Shepherd by Cheryl C. Malandrinos; illus. by Eugene RubleAges 4 – 8 Guardian Angel Publishing, ..."

I thought I would do something a bit different over the next few months. As you all know, I have reopened Stories for Children Magazine and have also added to the SFC Team at Stories for Children Publishing, LLC. Each team member at SFC has an interesting background, not just in writing, but in general and I thought how fun would it be to really get to know these wonderful people who help me bring Stories for Children to you. So to start off, I have asked our Assistant Nonfiction Editor Randi Lynn Mrvos to be the first SFC Team guest interview. Randi has been a contributor to Stories for Children Magazine since the beginning and I cannot tell you how exciting it is to be working with her behind the scenes now. She has shared some very interesting topics in the past with our readership and is one very talented nonfiction writer. Randi Lynn Mrvos writes for children's and writers' magazines. She is an award-winning picture book writer, a columnist for the writers’ newsletter