Love to Write Blog Tour

Susan May Warren, Rachel Hauck and Sarah Sumpolec are Book Therapist (and friends through ACFW). Together, they run My Book Therapy, a service for helping writers write the story they long to write. And do it well. They are so busy over there! First, the manuscript service and now a project they are writing with their readers and other writers, known as "blog a book."Here's an interview with Susan and Rachel to better explain this new project:

~ How do you find the time for this collaborative project? :)

SMW: I have been thinking about Blog-A-Book for a while, (I patterned it after HG TV’s Blog Cabin) thinking it would be another way to help people learn to write. I also love a challenge, something that helps me grow as a writer, so I thought this would be a great combination.

RH: Talk on the phone a lot. ;)

~ Whose idea was this? (What a creative and ground-breaking idea!)

SMW: It was my idea…probably I have too many ideas for my own good!

RH: I'm just happy to be along for the ride. Susie's had this vision for a long time and has done a fabulous job of executing her dream.

~ How do folks get involved? (or is it too late?)

SMW: Oh, we’ll be working on it all year, so you can get involved anytime. Just go to www.mybookthearpy.com/index2.php and vote in the weekly poll and then go to www.mybooktherapy.ning.com – the VOICES and you can add your voice to the discussion. Ever voice counts!

RH: It's never too late to get involved.

~ As book therapists, what are the three mistakes you see most often in the manuscripts which are sent your way?

** Shallow Characterization - Not digging deep enough inside the character to really know what they are about and what their journey will be.

** Surface writing –telling the reader how to feel instead of drawing them into the scene with the use of great storyworld and metaphors.

** HOOK – not spending the time to develop a compelling hook and inciting incident, and thus submitting too early.

RH: Not knowing the characters well enough to weave in subtleties and nuances that make the dialog pop and the character more alive. Too much telling and back story. Weak dialog.

~ Best piece of advice for writers?

SMW: Concentrate on ONE element at a time – e.g. Hooks, or dialogue, or storyworld, and don’t be afraid to go over and over. And, keep writing – if you have finished a manuscript, send it out for feedback, but then keep going to the next manuscript. In every story you will grow as a writer, and after you’ve learned the lessons, you’ll know how to go back and fix the previous manuscript. Don’t get stuck…keep moving forward!

RH: Read and write. Study the craft but mostly reading and writing. And being teachable.

Thanks, ladies.

Susan has also put together a book of "how-tos." I've sat in on a few of her writer workshops. She's fantastic! This book is a hands-on, go-at-your-own-pace tool to help writers write. I took a peak at the trailer for "From the Inside...Out: Discover, Create and Publish the Novel in You." It's fantastic!! I'm gonna need a copy of this. :-) Watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbfR__NsnBQ

You can enter a contest to win a copy of "From the Inside...Out: Discover, Create and Publish the Novel in You" and/or a 10% discount on Book Therapy services. Enter here:

http://www.mybooktherapy.com/index2.php/?page_id=177

Also, catch the other bloggers who are posting as part of this tour by clicking below.

http://www.litfusegroup.com/latest/current-blog-tours/71-the-love-to-write-blog-tour-for-my-book-therapy

Join their blog a book project by clicking over to www.MyBookTherapy.ning.com. You can become one of the VOICES and join in. Readers/comment-leavers have just chosen the pics for their hero and heroine.

Thanks to Susan, Rachel and Sarah for dropping by!