Friday, June 19, 2009

Floored By It All

When Texas gets rain, it's always news. This week we got 8 inches in just a few hours! Along with the torrential downpour came flooded floors at our house. So we're in the process of replacing hardwood in our kitchen, dining room, and part of the living room. Just bring your tools and come on over!

At least we won't need to water our lawn for a few days. So in spite of the mess, "Thank you, Lord, for the rain."

On a happier note, I was blessed to receive my new book this week: Miracles in Tough Times (Guideposts Books: New York). Don't you just love that? God's timing is always perfect. One of my close friends said, "Mary, be sure to read the Introduction to the book again." That's where I say that tough times don't last but tough people do. So how's the old adage go? "Only your best friends can tell you that you have spinach in your teeth." Okay, I get it--it's time to practice what I preach. Thanks, Barbara!

Anyway, here's a photo of the new book. And if you're celebrating these tough times, too, you might enjoy getting a copy to read. It's a collection of true stories of how God intervenes in our lives during our most difficult days. You can order it through the Product Store at http://www.CreativeEnterprisesLtd.com.

So what are you writing? I'd love to hear about it.

Meanwhile, here's another installment in our Writing Myths series. I hope it's helpful.

Myth #7: Adjectives Are Key to Great Writing

Many writers try to rely on adjectives to give their writing power and excitement, but that's truly a myth. Adjective-laden paragraphs describing the garden or the parlor actually make it more tedious and tiresome to read. Readers tend to skip over those parts, because they’re boring. They interrupt the action and excitement of the story and slow it to a crawl. Have you ever caught yourself skipping over those paragraphs?

C. S. Lewis once said of his writing, "I try to leave out the parts that people don’t read." And that's great advice. Don’t beef up your manuscript with strings of adjectives. Keep it moving! And your readers will keep moving with you. Blessings, Mary

Next time? Myth #8: Verbs--To Be or Not To Be?

CreativeEnterprisesLtd.com

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