Susan Marlene
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Timeless Significance For Every Day

CONTACT ME! & NEWSLETTER

PENS OF PRAISE - MARCH 24th MEETING CANCELED

3/18/2020

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​Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, we are not holding our monthly meeting, which we had already delayed for a week. This is an excellent opportunity for us to write more, or if you have Gmail, we could hold a meeting on Google Hangouts. (If you have up to ten people, this is a free service!)

Another alternative is that we write to a prompt and share those offerings with each other via group email. How about writing about resourcefulness!

I look forward to hearing from you!

I already miss you! I know that we are collectively praying for this emergency to be resolved quickly. Please pray for those in authority over us, for their health and stamina and wisdom. I appreciate that I’m not at the helm, making such important decisions for our great nation.

So, until we meet again, I will look for your emails with devotions, short stories or plays on resourcefulness!  
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“HOW Did THAT Get into MY Manuscript?” by Susan Marlene with Sarah Grosskopf

3/3/2020

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Here is my portion of the lesson from our February PENS OF PRAISE meeting. I have included Sarah Grosskopf's website link at the bottom of my post so that you can visit her excellent contrbution for that lesson also!

“HOW Did THAT Get into MY Manuscript?” Bloopers, errors, and wacky information…Have you finished a writing project only to find problems that could have been avoided? Let’s explore some positive avoidance methods:
List of characters chart—including looks, traits, talents:
​

Chapter by Chapter (This lists Physical location and time and what major happenings, setbacks, and victories the character or characters’ have per chapter.

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​Timeline:
 Have you ever had to chase down wayward actions of your character? How about mix-ups or confusion on important detail(s) of your character(s)? I’ve decided to use timelines and charts religiously in future so that I can keep track of who did what-when-how- why- etc. and who they were with and when. Where they are at and what is their goal and hurtful lie to overcome and their dream to aspire to. Etc. etc. 
Example of a basic timeline that can be embellished as the story builds:

Main characters for the timeline example:
Character #1
Redford comes to town. Place of his biggest failure.
Redford discovers a body and is suspicious of 3 different people.
Redford travels to England in search of a major clue.
Redford returns to Manitowoc in time to save his love interest from being murdered.
                 
Character # 2:
Tom meets with Redford at the Lake where Redford’s girlfriend drowned years ago. 
Tom hides information about the murder he and Robert committed from Redford to                protect himself.
Tom travels to England in search of information.
Tom returns to Manitowoc in search of a woman he is looking for related to the murder. A woman who Redford feels responsible for.

Character #3
Robert sees Redford and Tom and talks to them
Robert discovers the body and is suspicious of 3 different people Whoops wrong    person!  :0
Instead, Robert hides the body and barely gets away
Robert flees to England and takes evidence about his accomplice for blackmail
Robert escapes Redford and takes the first plane back to Milwaukee to kill his accomplice.
 
A grammar check:  Grammarly.com
 
Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon - Debra shares the chart that can organize these critical pieces of story. She offers examples too. Quite the valuable how-to guide for writers of fiction!

You will not wish to miss Sarah Grosskopf's teaching!

https://sarahgrosskopf.com/resources/
Editing Fiction: Avoiding Bloopers, Errors, and Wacky Information
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PENS  OF PRAISE FEBRUARY HANDOUT

3/2/2020

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WELCOME TO PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP
Tuesday, February 18, 2019
 
Prayer - Sarah Grosskopf
Introductions for new guests.      Pass around the sign-in sheet.
Devotion-- Susan Marlene
GRAMMAR TIDBIT--Rebecca McLafferty
GRAMMAR TIDBIT:
TIGHTEN YOUR WAISTBAND WRITING
By Rebecca McLafferty
 
LET THE TEACHING BEGIN
“HOW Did THAT Get into MY Manuscript?” Bloopers, errors, and wacky information can find their way onto manuscript pages. How does that happen? Sarah Grosskopf, Pat Klein & Susan Marlene will share some ways of avoiding those common and even if possible, the uncommonly surprising mishaps that sabotage the excellence of your fiction or nonfiction manuscript.
PROMPT: PROMPT: One Marvelous Mistake (or Two) Write your genre and your page worth of poetry, devotion, short story or essay to share your marvelous mistake—or two!
 
Steve Laube & Christian Institute    [email protected]
Don't make the mistake of waiting until April to think about taxes. Once tax season arrives, it is too late to change the past. The savvy thing to do is to prepare for tax time now. Steve Laube
President, Christian Writers Institute
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
TheFamily.net WEMI  FM
  • Thanks, Sue F.
Write to Publish Conference   http://www.writetopublish.com/ June 17 – 20, 2020
Christian Devotions is looking for devotions. This is not a paid site, but one to give to the Lord and share your message with others!   www.christiandevotions.us 
  • ; https://www.paperrater.com/
Northwestern Christian Writers Conference,  http://www.northwesternchristianwritersconference.com/ July 24 – 25, 2020
www.grammarly.com free download          
https://www.loc.gov/about/   Library of Congress website
 
REMEMBER:
Inspired reader = happy reader + excellent take-away = return reader!
God’s abundant blessings to you as you write for His glory!
 
 
 
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    Words are not just words. They are thoughts and inspiration that have been behind every relationship and every deed--good or bad throughout time. If you have that burning desire to communicate and explore, come peruse my pages, teachings, and short stories. Allow inspiration to anchor your dreams on the written pages of memoirs, devotions, poems, or stories, both short or long! Luxuriate in the creativity you were born to share!

    ​Rebecca McLafferty is an accomplished writer, editor, speaker, and so much more.  I have known Rebecca for years, and her track record is exemplary. Her in-depth insight into story and respect for the writer’s voice are major reasons I respect her and highly recommend her for your writing project!  You may find her at McLafferty Enterprises, LLC’s website.  https://www.mclaffertyenterprises.com/services-4

    Sarah Grosskopf is a writer, beta reader, and copywriter extraordinaire! I highly recommend Sarah and have known her for years. She has taught and encouraged Pens of Praise members with humor, instinct, and highly praised skill sets. So, consider this an invitation to discover details about Sarah Grosskopf. Here is a link to her website!
    ​https://sarahgrosskopf.com/

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"Hope" is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all,​  by Emily Dickinson


​Generative artificial intelligence technologies (AI) are forbidden to copy or use for training purposes and/or other purpose the writing, photography, or artwork of Susan Marlene.  No permission is granted to generate text, photography, and artwork in the same style or genre as Susan Marlene’s Work, unless express permission is granted by Susan Marlene. No permission is given to sublicense others to reproduce and/or use Susan Marlene’s writing, photography, or artwork without her permission. 

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