Annie Dillard writes with a unique and powerful voice. She's not afraid to say anything, has incredible powers of observation, and just happens to be famous enough to only take speaking engagements that will, as she quips, "Help put my child through college."*

Why should you want to write like Annie Dillard? Because if you develop a unique and powerful voice and speak clearly on what you see and know, you might be able to say the same thing about how much you get paid for speaking engagements. And you may even make enough money to put your kids through college.

*Apparently, things have changed since she said this. Which is why Dillard notes you can contact her (or not). But you might need to be the President or something to get an answer.

Like a few other publishing pioneers, InterVarsity Press is blogging. Yet I notice that many of their posts sit with zero comments. Frankly, this astonishes me.

I could say I'm surprised because they have great posts, which should incite great comments. But this isn't really the issue. To my mind, the issue is that a whole lot of writers are missing a golden opportunity. Where else, besides a blog, could writers get the chance to connect on a regular basis with the people who make book and article decisions?

Okay, I'll answer that question:

1. a writer can spend up to several thousand dollars to go to a conference, to maybe get 15 minutes with an editor. A pricey option indeed, and it doesn't help the writer connect on a regular basis (unless the writer becomes annoying and begins emailing the editor incessantly, which will probably incite the editor... but not to great things)

2. a writer can publish articles in magazines and newspapers (and maybe treat the editor-to-woo to paid subscriptions of these magazines and newspapers); however, this option also requires first being noticed by other editors, a technical difficulty

3. a writer can move next door to the editor and offer to shovel snow (or clear out geckos, depending on the geography). This option has obvious down sides, not the least of which is shoveling snow or clearing out geckos.

Or.... [drum roll here]....

4. a writer could visit an editor's/publishers blog on a regular basis and occasionally make insightful and witty comments. This option is only a problem if a writer lacks the ability to make insightful and witty comments. But then, that might suggest that said writer would be more suited to shoveling snow or...

Anyway, someone is going to say that visiting an editor's or publisher's blog is totally intimidating and completely out of the question. But so, I might add, is trying to woo an editor in 15 minutes or less, while simultaneously trying to ward off the effects of jet lag.

I'd also like to suggest that editors and publishers may actually WANT to meet witty and insightful writers, without committing to 15 minutes of face-to-face time or promising to look at a particular proposal. (If you doubt this, I recommend this New York Times article.)

So why not begin today? Check out these great editors' and publishers' blogs. Happy insightful and witty commenting.

If you've written a book, why not give your readers a chance to discuss it with you and each other.

Start a book club blog

and a

book club wiki.

At Behind the Books, I revealed what yawning guys and ladies with letters have to do with why I write.

Today I just want to talk about how we can get fabulous ideas, once we've found our reason for writing. Here are 5 thoughts:

1. Exercise. I say this because I got the idea for Stone Crossings somewhere between a leg lift and a push up. This probably had less to do with the kind of exercise I was doing and more to do with mental space. That is, when we give ourselves the time and circumstance to simply drift in our thoughts, we find little places to dock. Some of these little places might turn into a letter to Grandma, but some might turn into a blog post or a book.

2. Draw. The artwork you see above is the beginning of my daughter's tale about fairies. It's a great story that includes the surprising revelation that fairies are born when they pop out of blooming flowers. When the time is right, they fly up to the sky to get their names, which come to them on a sunbeam. The takeaway for us writers is that it's good to sometimes begin in pictures, without any preconceived ideas about where we need to be going.

3. Stand on your head. (see 5)

4. Pour water over your head. (also see 5)

5. Bang your head against the wall. Okay, so three through five are really the Frog and Toad approach to finding story ideas. When frog and toad had done all these things and more, they found they had a story to tell. The moral? Sometimes we just need to be open to experiences, no matter how mundane they seem on the surface.

Just 5 tricks. Now let's trade. How do you get your story ideas?

Fairies Hiding artwork, by Sara. Used by permission.

Now Available...



If you'd like to know more about my writing process and my book Stone Crossings...

For a peek at what I'm working on, go to God in the Yard

You could spend all year going to conferences, leaving very little time for your own writing. And you could spend loads of money too. Or, you could just go to the top two Christian writers conferences in the nation:

Mount Hermon

Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing

One of the keys to finding time to write is determining what motivates us to write. We spend time on the things that are pleasurable and important to us.

If you are motivated by social interaction, sharing and exchange, you may just want to start a writers group.

Here are two examples of wonderful on-line writers groups. You can start one too. Just check 'em out and see:

Writer Interrupted

FWWriters

When I wrote the proposal that sold Stone Crossings, I used this informative source...

How to Write a Book Proposal

Here's another link you might find helpful:

Anatomy of a Book Proposal