4RV Has 3 New Releases

      March and April are good months for 4RV authors. Three books have release dates in late March or early April. Storm Sentinel by Tony LoPresti and illustrated by Jeanne Conway; This Isn't My Bed by Mike McNair, also illustrated by Jeanne Conway; and Burnt Offering by Vivian Zabel.

      The Storm Sentinel is a storm warning whose name is Fred. He is a tornado siren. Oh, you don’t know what a tornado siren is? Fred's friends and he watch over people. The "sentinels" let people know when a tornado might be coming. This book is timely since storm season begins now in Oklahoma and other places in the United States.

     Some children fight against going to bed, but Emma loves bedtime because she and her father have a special game they play. This Isn't My Bed  tells about their game, a game that's not only fun but also funny. Other parents and children will love the book and the game.

      A Modern tale set in ancient times, Burnt Offering contains suspense, romance, and a problem found still today, the sacrifice of children through neglect, abuse, and murder. In Judah, 8th Century BCE, King Ahaz sat and watched his own infant placed in the hands of a red-hot bronze idol. He heard the child’s screams over the beating of 100 drums. He watched the child turn red, then black as it burned alive. He smelled the odor of burnt skin. Yet, he and his followers did what Moleck wanted, killing their own children. Would a hero or heroes step forward to save these children?

         These three books, plus all by 4RV Publishing, can be found on the 4RV Bookstore, in other online stores, and through brick and mortar bookstores.

Spring into an Organized and Clutter Free Home Office

Spring is the season of fresh starts and new life. How appropriate then, that in March we celebrate so many holidays to help writers de-clutter, clean up, and organize their work areas.

Yesterday (March 12) was Organize Your Home Office Day. Even if you missed that, you can still celebrate National Clutter Awareness Week starting March 17, which flows nicely into National Cleaning Week, which begins March 24.

As with everything we writers do, you need to set goals for cleaning your home office that are S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). If you know you’ll be chauffeuring kids around all week to various sporting events, don’t commit to cleaning your entire office. You’ll just get discouraged and abandon the project soon after it starts.

We will learn how to tackle the intimidating tasks of organizing your home office and getting rid of clutter in small increments, which, ultimately, will allow you to concentrate more on your writing and less on the mountain of stuff surrounding you.

First things first—your desk.

Stop whatever you’re doing right now and look at your desk.

What do you see?

Is your Inbox overflowing? Are there piles of paper stacked on one or both sides of your computer? Do research materials for more than your current work in progress make a home on your desk? Are there non-writing related items taking up space on the work surface?

Now you’ve identified your problem areas, you need to have an action plan.

Find three boxes. Mark the first one "Keep," the second "Recycle/Toss," and the third "Put Away."

Going from one side of your desk to the other, pick up each item and decide where it goes. This includes paper and non-paper items like an old stamp pad that has long since dried up, the broken mechanical pencil tucked in the middle drawer, and the stress ball you play with when you’re on a deadline.

The items in your "Keep" box should only be those objects, papers, and research materials important to your current project. Everything else needs to find a home elsewhere. This includes pictures, books, papers, and office supplies. Walls and bookcases make a great place to display your children’s artwork, and, if need be, you can purchase a few containers to hold office supplies.

Anything that ends up in the "Recycle/Toss" box should make it out to the garbage can or recycle bin right away. This will give you a great sense of accomplishment.

Take a few moments to get the items in your “Put Away” box in their proper place. It’s good for your body to stretch and walk around, and, once again, you’ll see the difference not having these items in your way will make.

The last thing you need to do is return the items from your "Keep" box to your work surface. Take a moment to reevaluate each item before you make a space for it on your desk.

Now you have an organized and clutter free desk, take a deep breath and feel how much more relaxing it is to sit where you aren’t bombarded on all sides with piles of stuff threatening to topple over when someone rushes by.

Congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Newly Released Resources for Writers

As with any occupation or craft, it's important to continue to sharpen your skills. Reading a variety of resources throughout the year is helpful. Here are two recently released resources for writers. 

What are the secrets for writing a great ending for your novel? How do you leave readers so satisfied that they'll want another book by you—right now? What tools and techniques can shape your last fifty pages into a powerful, unforgettable experience?

In this book, International Thriller Writers Award winner and #1 bestselling writing teacher James Scott Bell reveals:

• The five types of endings.

• What needs to happen in Act 3.

• How to use the Ah and Uh-Oh emotional wallops.

• A simple technique for crafting twist endings.

• The most important secret of all—resonance.

• The Stew, Brew, Accrue, Do brainstorming method.

• The best way to tie up loose ends.

• The most common ending mistakes, and how to avoid them.

And more. Read this book and you will come away with a thorough knowledge of why great endings work and how to create them for every novel you write.

The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writers” and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded to include 55 new entries!

One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and compelling way. When showing our characters’ feelings, we often use the first idea that comes to mind, and they end up smiling, nodding, and frowning too much.

If you need inspiration for creating characters’ emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-don’t-tell guide for emotion can help. It includes:

• Body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for 130 emotions that cover a range of intensity from mild to severe, providing innumerable options for individualizing a character’s reactions
• A breakdown of the biggest emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome them
• Advice on what should be done beforedrafting to make sure your characters’ emotions will be realistic and consistent
• Instruction for how to show hidden feelings and emotional subtext through dialogue and nonverbal cues
• And much more!

The Emotion Thesaurus, in its easy-to-navigate list format, will inspire you to create stronger, fresher character expressions and engage readers from your first page to your last.

What are some of  your favorite resources? How often do you read books on writing craft? What is the best piece of advice you've found within the pages of a book that has changed your writing?

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Three Steps to Meeting Your Goals

At the beginning of year, many writers create a list of goals. For the first few weeks we are all gung-ho and working feverishly. Then something happens. Life gets in the way. On top of that, our calendar is filled with unrealistic goals or goals that aren't specific, timely, or measurable enough to accomplish them. We get discouraged.

How do we stay the course? How do we work our goals into our daily schedules and make them happen.

Look at your calendar and find an hour. Maybe it won't take that long, but give yourself time to truly consider the goals you have set. Bring your calendar and your list of goals with you. I prefer to do this outside of my house--libraries work well.

STEP ONE: Review your goals one at a time and make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. 

In order to move forward, your goals need to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Let's say your goal is to publish your first article in 2019. That's great, but it's too vague. A S.M.A.R.T. goal would look like this: I will publish my first article by the end of 2019; researching my topic and writing the article by February 1, having a final draft by March 1, and performing market research in April to begin submitting to select magazine publishers by May 1.

Why is this important? Deadlines are marks on the calendar. They are dates you can see and shoot for. Just as important, instead of having to wait until that article is published to feel like you accomplished something, you have these targets along the way that keep you motivated.

STEP TWO: Break down your S.M.A.R.T. goals into small tasks.

Now, let's take that S.M.A.R.T. goal and break it down into small tasks. The to-do list to research your topic might look like this: perform online research, set up interviews with experts, conduct interviews with experts, and visit the local library for additional resources. Then you need to estimate the time necessary to complete each task.

STEP THREE: Time block your calendar.

Pull out your paper or electronic calendar. It's time to get serious. The best way to accomplish your goals is to structure your time so you work most effectively and efficiently. Time blocking will help. There are plenty of online templates to make this easier. I prefer a weekly planner in half hour increments.

The first thing you do is plug in all the things you know you can't change: the day job, picking up the kids from school, exercise time, doctor appointments, etc. The empty blocks are where you tuck your small tasks in. Maybe Monday morning at nine you have half an hour to perform online research. Wednesday at noon might be a great time to call or email those experts to set up interviews.

What's the best part about time blocking? It shows you where time is being wasted, so you can reclaim it.

If you want to meet more of your goals this year, create S.M.A.R.T. goals, break them down into small tasks, and then time block your calendar. You'll be glad you took the time to set yourself up for success.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Getting Published - 6 Hot Tips

By Karen Cioffi

There are a number of articles and posts discussing whether it’s important to have a degree in writing in order to be successful in your writing career. The articles that I’ve read all agree that it’s NOT necessary. But, there are at least 6 essential steps you will need to take to reach the golden ring of publication.

1.  Learn the craft of writing

While it’s not essential to have a degree in writing, it is essential that you learn the craft.

You can obtain this knowledge through a number of avenues, such as:

a.    Become a part of a coaching program or club. Just make sure the instructor or coach has the necessary credentials to teach or guide.
b.    Research blogs and sites that offer instructional articles on the genre you are writing in. You can also find articles through the article directories.
c.    Attend writing conferences. Even if you can’t go in person, or can’t afford to go, there are a number of free online conferences that offer great workshops, networking, and even pitches to publishers. One such conference is the Muse Online Writers Conference.
d.    Join a critique group that has new and experienced writers. Critique groups are a great way to learn the ropes. The experienced writers will provide a kind of one-on-one tutoring. Through the critiques you receive you’ll begin to notice your common errors and how to correct them. Through the critiques you give, you’ll be able to pick up on errors much quicker. All this will help you to hone your craft and become a confident writer.
e.    Read books about writing, self-editing, and books in the genre you are writing. Study these books.

2. Write and keep writing
 Remember the old expression, ‘practice makes perfect.’ It’s important to make time to write every week, whether it’s daily or specific days, or even if you have to squeeze it into your schedule. The more you write, the more comfortable you will feel about writing.

3. Read your work, proofread your work, self-edit your work, revise your work…repeat

This is where you apply the information you’ve reaped from Step 1. After you think it’s ‘really’ good, submit it to your critique group. Then repeat Step 3. When you think it’s perfect you’re ready for Step Four.

4. Submit your work

In this step you can take two paths:

a.    Submit your work to an experienced editor. This is the path almost all writers will advise you to take. The editor is trained to spot things that you and you’re critique group will not. Yes, it will be an expense, but there are some reasonable and experienced editors out there that you can take advantage of.

b.    If you cannot afford an editor, be sure to carefully read a book about self-editing, print your manuscript out and go over it with a fine tooth comb. When you feel confident that it’s as good as you can get it, start submitting it to publishing companies and/or agents.

5. Read publishers’ guidelines carefully

Along with reading them carefully, you need to follow them carefully. Publishers have more submissions than they can handle, if your submission doesn’t meet their guidelines it would be highly unlikely it will avoid the trash pile.

6. Persevere

It’s not necessarily the best writer who gets published and has a successful writing career…it’s the writer who perseveres. Writing can be a long and arduous road and is usually filled with a great deal of rejection. But, if you work toward your goal, learn your craft, and keep moving forward, you have what it takes to become published.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, successful children’s ghostwriter, and online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing. Check out her middle-grade book, "Walking Through Walls." 

Three Tips on Finding a Critique Group

Critique groups are vital to a writer’s success. Family and friends can tell you they like your story. They might even be able to give you some suggestions on how to improve it to their taste. However, they might not be able to provide the right kind of feedback, or maybe they are uncomfortable telling you something is downright awful.

I’ve been a member of different critique groups for more than a decade. Some have been online or via email. My most recent group meets monthly at our local library. If you’re looking for a critique group, here are some helpful tips:

Decide what kind of group is best for you

This might be tough at first, especially if you’ve never been part of a critique group. Questions you might ask yourself are:

• Would I prefer an online group or a group that meets in person?
• Am I looking for a group where we write to prompt and then read what we wrote?
• Am I looking for a group where members read something they have previously written?
• Is it important to me to be in a group where all the members write in the same genre?

Ask questions

Before joining any group, don’t be afraid to ask questions of them too.

• How often do you meet? If it's an online group: how often do members submit?
• How many members do you have?
• Am I expected to read each week?
• How many pages do members submit?
• How long has your group been meeting?

Sit in on a meeting

If the group meets in person, contact the facilitator and ask if you can observe a meeting. This will give you an idea how the group runs, how the members interact with each other, and what type of feedback you can expect.

As to how to find out about actual critique groups: check out writing associations you belong to, attend a conference or retreat and network with other writers, or check in with your local librarian or bookstore manager. There are plenty of online groups as well.

Critique groups help you see your writing in new ways. They inspire you to continue when you're not in the mood. Consider critique groups an important support team no matter where you are in your writing career.





Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Character Interviews and Questionnaires

We recently discussed that good writing requires engaging characters. In order to create strong, dynamic, realistic, and relatable characters, we must know them in and out. They must become as real to us as our own family members.

So, how do we do that?

One way is to complete character interviews and questionnaires. From physical descriptions to likes

and dislikes, from hobbies to memories, and from pets peeves to quirks, spending time with your characters in such a meaningful way will create the rich, deep, and complex characters readers enjoy.

If you look online, you will find a variety of character interviews and questionnaires from well-known sources.

The Ultimate Character Questionnaire from The Novel Factory

Gotham Character Questionnaire

The Official NaNoWriMo Character Questionnaire

Writer's Digest Novel Writing: 10 Questions You Need to Ask Your Characters

No matter where you start --plot, setting, or character-- taking the time to get to know your characters will build depth and texture into your story.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com