A name means someone existed who meant something to another person. Names are important in life and in a story. 1. A name should mean something to the character (and reader) When I read a name in a story, I expect something out of that character. I want to see what happens to the named[…]
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Relationships
Every grant writer and staff from a nonprofit should take time to meet each other in person. This may sound like ancient advice since social media lets people keep their distance. But, people build a better relationship not by throwing electrons at each other across cyberspace. A personal visit does two things: Gives the grant[…]
That old argument: Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing
I had another blog planned. However, I’ve been listening to self-publishing podcasts and traditional publishing came up as it usually does. I think there is merit in both and some people agree since there are hybrid publishing systems combining the two. However, the biggest advantage to self-publishing is that a well written book has[…]
What does a Nonprofit Need?
Before looking for grants, I find out exactly what a nonprofit will need to meet their mission goals. Almost everyone thinks this means money. But, many times a nonprofit will need something else like volunteers. Or, they might need an in-kind donation like equipment or a used vehicle. Maybe, the people at a nonprofit just[…]
Outlining for Fiction
I’ve been writing short stories for many years. Now, I’m writing novels, hopefully to publish one soon. Whether writing short or long fiction, I learned not to write an outline. When I’m ready to write, I had already been thinking about the story for so long that I don’t need to write an outline. I[…]
Passion in Grant Writing
I have had a busy two weeks writing grants for several nonprofits. I volunteer my time since these nonprofits do not have the money to hire a grant writer (if they can find one in this rural area). I learned grant writing by working way too many decades for the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) writing[…]
Six rules I use to find a book to read
There are a lot of books I want to read that get lost in the many books I don’t want to read. So, I came up with six rules to help me sort through all these books and pick the right one (hopefully). Ignoring book covers In Brenda Ueland’s 1938 book If You Want to[…]
Visibility in all that green
Come to this blog every Monday evening for a new, blog post! I’ll write about my attempts at creative writing that include writing short stories and self published novels. I will also blog about the business side of creative writing such as finding a market to send short stories to and how do I really[…]
Where are the words?
This is my first blog post I found them. They were in the back of my mind trying to escape being written down. They were afraid they would be the first words of an unsuspecting blog and head into a nova storm of almost infinite, parallel blogs. My undefinable muse caught my words and made[…]