Subject: Try Something Unexpected in August

For Readers

Hi Friend,

Happy August!

Things I'm excited about this month

1.The end of summer is approaching and some of you may be glad. The heat can be oppressive and the air conditioning bill high. But, for me it means going back to the classroom to meet a brand new group of college students. I've been preparing for them, but before I head back to work later this month, I'm going to my Airbnb in South Dakota to do a few repairs and to enjoy hanging out in my beautiful second home.

We bought this house last year, and I really love it. My goal is to live there part of the time and in my California the other part. To be honest, it was scary to buy a home so far away and take on another expense. But my husband and I saw it as an opportunity to have a beautiful place to get away to, and to share with others.

Part of what makes life worthwhile is to take chances, try new things, experiment, and to do something unexpected. This was not planned, and my YA children thought we were crazy. "South Dakota! Could you have chosen somewhere colder?" But, we thought it was a perfect change from the boring weather in CA, and we went for it.

These are our views from the front and back of the home. Beautiful, right?

I encourage everyone to try something new that gets you excited about life. And it doesn't have to involve buying a new house. Take a class. Make a new friend. Visit a place in town you've never been to.

Books I'm Reading

I came across Vanessa Van Edwards on YouTube and watched a few of her videos. Since I teach communication skills to college students, I was interested in her communication "secrets". Her latest book is Cues: Small Signals, Incredible Impact and it's about the cues people give us verbally and non-verbally. I found her videos fascinating enough to purchase her book because I hope to share some of her tips with my students.

But, it's interesting to anyone who wants to communicate better with others and to understand the signals people are giving us.

The other book I plan to read while I'm on my trip is Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things. It does touch on the issues of race, prejudice, and compassion. I hope it doesn't make me angry or break my heart too much. Usually, I love books about deep issues, but after losing someone I loved very much just a couple of weeks ago, and the tension in society, I might want something lighter. I will pack an alternative book, just in case this one becomes too heavy.

What are you reading this month?

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For Writers

Rewriting and Editing Your Story

It takes multiple passes to transform a manuscript from a messy first draft into a polished, publishable story.

To give you a clear idea of what “multiple passes” look like as you begin rewriting, I’ll share the first of the six steps I use during the rewriting stage.

Step #1 The Big Picture

The first time I go through my story, I’m only worried about the flow of the story and whether it’s lacking the essentials. I ask myself these two questions.

Does it make sense? Here I’m checking to make sure the story makes sense as I move from chapter to chapter and scene to scene. I check that I didn’t leave anything out, or that I don’t need to add new sentences or even scenes. I want to make sure I don’t lose my readers and that the story progresses logically and has the proper pacing and tension.
Is the structure solid? I check the length of my chapters and might modify them if they are too long or too short. I make sure that I’m transitioning well, that there are strong hooks at the beginning and end of chapters. I might move entire scenes around or cut them out entirely. I verify that I’ve hit my plot points and that they are working as I intended them to work.

If you'd like to read all six steps, I invite you to use this friend link to access my Medium article for free.

If you are just starting out as a writer or you've ever said, "I'd love to write a book" then visit my How to Write a Book group on Facebook to read more of my blogs about writing for free, and to chat about your project and ideas with others.

Or if you want to be walked through the writing process, my course The Easy Tell Your Story Course for Beginners is a great place to start.