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Daily Habits to Feed the Hungry Muse
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December 4, 2015
Hi Friend,
Welcome to our new subscribers!
In this Creativity Sparks newsletter, I offer tips, resources, and coaching for novelists and fiction writers who want to build successful and sustainable careers.
But first, here's what's in today's newsletter: - Personal Note from Beth
- Article: Daily Habits to Feed the Hungry Muse
- Big Winter Sale: On Courses + Coaching Sessions
- Romance Contest for Unpublished Authors
- New Course: Edit Your Novel starts January 1st!
- Upcoming Events: In Support of You!
♥
Personal Note
I've been on a big writing kick lately. It feels so good. I've been working on my first full-length romance novel (the sixth in my Touchstone series) and hit the halfway mark as planned at the end of November with my Write Your Novel students. My goal is to get the second half done by December 31st. I'm on track, and doing my bite-sized nearly daily writing sessions.
I love that feeling of disappearing into my story, and then coming out of the writing feeling as if I had traveled somewhere.
What I don't like so much is the feeling of disorientation. It's as if I've unplugged myself from the mundane world to attach to the story world -- which is full of paranormal elements! -- and it's difficult to re-attach to the daily tasks and responsibilities. Does that happen to you?
It's just occurred to me as I write this that I just need to allow a transition time. I'll explore that and let you know what I discover.
Thanks for listening!
And I hope that my personal shares support you in your creative journeys!
♥
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| | Daily Habits to Feed the Hungry Museby Beth Barany
I have been on a huge learning kick lately to feed my muse. She's always hungry, but now more than ever. So I must oblige.
I believe that to be a writer, or any kind of artist, we must feed our muse. Many people are telling me that they don't write during this holiday period, but are spending time, or are planning to spend time, on other creative pursuits. They are feeding their muse.
The dark of the year in the Northern Hemisphere is a great time to dive deeper into your passions, get curious about new things, stretch your wings into a long-neglected but cherished activity.
What will you do to feed the muse this season? Be playful, be adventurous, or just get cozy with your stack of books?
Here are some the things feeding me these days, and things I do near-daily to nourish my voracious curiosity: (I hope they will inspire you too.)
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| | Big Winter Sale!
For those of you actively working on a novel -- either writing one, or marketing one (or wanting to write or market one!), I have some fun deals for you...
Enjoy this Big Winter Sale! My version of Cyber Monday, but will last a bit longer. :)
In honor of winter and the holidays in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m offering up to 50% off on select home-study courses and one-on-one coaching sessions now until December 18, 2015, 9pm Pacific.
Go here to take advantage of this sale:
http://www.writersfunzone.com/blog/winter-sale-december-2015/
Read the full post here... |
| | | | Announcing a Romance Genre Contest for Aspiring Authors Deadline: December 18, 2015, 9pm Pacific - Are you an aspiring romance writer?
- Would you like an editor to give you honest feedback on your story?
- Would you like an editor to give you advice on your writing?
If you answered YES to these questions, then you may be ready to enter our new contest.
Start by checking out the guidelines and rules here:
Act now, the deadline to apply is December, 18, 2015, 9pm Pacific.
And good luck! |
| | | | Edit Your Novel Bootcamp: January 2016
Because you requested it!
Or read on!
In this intensive bootcamp course, you will read and edit your novel in four passes.
By the time you have completed this bootcamp, you will have an edited book, if you’re ready, that you can present to your critique partners, beta readers, or an agent or editor.
This bootcamp is for:
- Beginning writers who have completed a genre novel and want the support of a group and guidance of a class structure while they edit their own book.
- Experienced authors who need the rigor of structure to polish their books, so they can deliver it to an agent, editor, or their beta readers.
Here’s how we’ll focus the course:
Week 1: Assessment
We ask you to assess your writing and we provide guidance and checklists to help you do so.
Week 2: Focus on Plot, Pacing, and Story Structure
We will guide you through making sure your story moves at a good pace, your scenes work, and that your story structure works for your genre.
Week 3: Focus on Characters and Emotions
We will help you make sure your characters are consistent, their motivations are clear, well-founded, and fit their goals and the genre, and that the right amount of backstory is revealed at the right moment.
Week 4: Focus on Word Choice, Grammar, and Punctuation
We will help you uncover your overused words, suggest fixes, and help you train your eye for easy-to-miss and common grammatical and punctuation errors.
If you've taken our classes before then you know we offer hands-on real advice and support.
To get the most out of this course, you will work!
Early Bird Sign Up Bonuses!
Sign up by December 10, and you will receive 3 bonuses valued at over $200.
- How to Beat the Critique: The Aspiring Author’s Guide to Prepare Your First Novel for a Dynamite Critique (Handbook and Guide) by Carol Malone (Author, Editor and Writing Coach in Training) (PDF format)
- 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing by C.S. Lakin
- A Detailed Critique by an Experienced Author and Editor
Option #1: DIVE IN
You get the detailed course materials: templates, videos, audios, and checklists. Plus access to the 4 weekly calls we deliver live.
Investment: $99
Option #2: ALL IN
All of the above, plus a one-hour coaching session with Beth and a read-through of up to 20 manuscript pages.
Investment: $119
If you are a current or past student, be sure to use your discount code. (Contact me if you didn't get it.)
If you're ready to join us in January, we'd love to have you with us. I say "us" because Ezra and I will be teaching this course together. (Ezra is my husband and the best selling author of the thriller-suspense novels in The Torah Codes series.)
Between the two of us, we have edited hundreds of manuscripts, including each others.
You may not know this, but Ezra and I first met at a writers group, and got to know each other first as critique partners. We learned how to respectfully articulate what was wrong with a manuscript and how to suggest fixes. We've come a long way in our understanding since then, and bring all of our years of experience to support you in learning how to edit your novel.
We look forward to having you in the class!
Go here for all the details and to register:
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| | 12-month Group Coaching Program for Dedicated Novelists
Early Bird Registration opens soon for the year-long Author Group Coaching Program for Novelists. Early registration bonus gifts will be posted soon. Check out what we offer here: http://coaching.bethbarany.com/. |
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Have a Happy and Creative Week!
And thanks for showing up for yourself and doing your creative work!
All our best,
Beth & Ezra
beth@bethbarany.com
PS. If you found this newsletter useful, please forward it to your friends,
writing buddies, and people who you know want to write a novel, but
gosh darn it, haven't yet.
♥
ABOUT US
Beth and Ezra Barany
are award-winning, best-selling novelists, with 18 books and 5 awards to their name. They are teachers who have worked
with over 100 authors to help them get their books written and
published and into the hands of their readers.
♥ Happily married for over 15 years, we’re passionate about writing, storytelling, and guiding authors to achieve their dreams.
♥ We
offer coaching, change work sessions, book marketing coaching (Beth)
and cover design (Ezra), all for genre novelists. More at bethbarany.com.
WHAT I DO + WHY
I support writers and aspiring authors through classes and workshops, articles, books, group programs, and consultations with private clients.
I also help authors because I walk my talk; everything I or my teachers teach is based in real experience and matured through the school of hard knocks.
I believe that the creative life works better with play and love, so with playful joy during this holiday season, I offer you goodies to support you in your writer's adventure.
ABOUT BETH BARANY
An
award-winning novelist, certified creativity coach and Master NLP
Practitioner, Beth runs Writer's Fun Zone, a blog for and by writers,
and her recently launched school for novelists, the Barany School of
Fiction.
In
her downtime, Beth reads, colors, watches movies with her sweetie,
travels, and has coffee with friends and family. And plays with her cat, gardens, and walks. And sleeps. She loves sleep.
Photo Credit: by c. 2014 Vivienne McMaster
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