Summer seems to be speeding by and only just starting all at the same time. I guess that comes in part from living in California where summer sun lasts for months and yet Back to School adverts assault me daily and Halloween is in full swing in some stores (I’m looking at you Michaels). What’s your favorite season? Mine is Spring when the weather is warm but not too hot and everything is green.
Currently obsessed with
🐻 This live feed of the bears at Katmai National Park via Austin Kleon.
🎒 I packed backpacks with my eldest for The Family Giving Tree’s Back to School campaign. You can donate or find out more here.
📚 Elin Hilderbrand is one of my favorite summer authors. I’m finishing up the Winter in Paradise series right now and Five Star Weekend is next.
📺 The Summer I Turned Pretty makes me want a house by the beach. All the Elin books may have contributed to that too.
Writing Tip of the Week
If your manuscript isn’t working, try switching up the point of view (POV) or tense. I rewrote my first book, Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist, 50 times and many of those rewrites were written in different POVs or tenses which helped me get closer to the final story I wanted to tell. Switching to 1st can help you get more inside your character’s head. Switching to present tense can make the story feel more immediate. For more on POV and tenses take a look at these articles:
How to Use Close Third-Person To Get Closer to Your Characters
PAST OR PRESENT? LEARN WHICH TENSE IS BEST FOR YOUR NARRATION
Writing Prompt
Choose a photo from your phone or google photo prompts and write a story or poem inspired by it. Here’s one to get you started.
News
The winner of Dear Mr. G is
. Congratulations Alexis, I’ll be in touch with you for your address!Until next week, happy writing and reading. Let me know what you’re enjoying this week.
Christine