To All Readers of Author Haven

First let me say how much I appreciate your support of this blog. It's been a pleasure to serve you. If that sounds like a goodbye, well yes it is one.


I started this blog as a place where writers, many of them wounded in the fray that is the publishing world today, could heal, learn and grow. Over the past several years, with the help of three wonderful co-bloggers who shared my vision, Author Haven has truly become an online writing retreat. I intend to leave it up indefinitely and hope you will continue to access its many helpful posts. I'll continue to update the bookshop.


Read on to learn where you can find the regular contributors of Author Haven.

Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Marlene Anderson now maintains an active forum where she helps the hurting. Here's a word from Marlene to you: It has been a privilege to write articles for Author Haven, sharing what I have learned in life both professionally and personally.   If you have found my blog posts encouraging and motivating, please join me on my website, Focus with Marlene Anderson, as I  continue to speak to and about the challenges we face today. My website is currently under renovation, but will soon be going strong with blogs and thought-provoking conversation starters.        Blessings, Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC.

Michael Duncan

Michael Duncan has just celebrated the release of his debut novel, Shadows, first in the Book of Aleth fantasy series.  From Michael: To all those who have found their way to Author Haven, I want to thank you for your kindness and support.  This blog has been a delight. Truly the title has been deserved: a haven for authors who seek to fulfill their call to write. 


It was the ministry of Author Haven that kept me going forward with my desire to become a novelist.  The words and wisdom that I found here (and those tidbits that I offered) provided the needed impetus for me to press on.  Now, with my first novel in print and a second coming in the summer of 2012, I look back and know that being a part of Author Haven was integral to this accomplishment. 


To Janalyn, Marlene and Kathryn, I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of this and giving me a platform to voice my heart.  Thank you to all who have followed this blog and encouraged me with your comments and blessed me with your faith.  And, though we sign off here, I invite you to find me at my new address: Michael Duncan.  I pray that the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior fill your lives in abundance. 

Janalyn Voigt

Kathryn C. Lang

Kathryn Lang has followed her path deeper into the world of inspirational speaking. She may be found at: her website: Kathryn C. Lang


As for me, Janalyn Voigt, I'm working on Tales of Faeraven, my epic fantasy series, and a historical romance while blogging from Live Write Breathe, my author blog. In addition I offer book giveaway drawings, author interviews, expert book reviews, and reader fun at Novel Books: Creative Writing. I've enjoyed the time I've spent with you here at Author Haven, and I hope you'll follow me over to my other digs.

Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level

Posting today is author and editor Suzanne Hartman, who has just released Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level. I've worked with Suzanne and highly recommend her advice.


Thank you for the opportunity to write a guest post here at Author Haven. You all do such a wonderful job of writing articles to help authors improve their writing. That’s what my new e-book, Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level is about too. I learned so much from other authors when I first started writing, and as I progressed through the laborious rigors of revision after revision, so I am thrilled to be able to pass along the many lessons they taught me—lessons that helped me take my writing to a new level, and eventually to a contract for publication.

Once I got some editing experience under my belt, I began to notice a pattern. Certain issues repeatedly cropped up in the manuscripts of new authors. Most of them were issues I had to deal with in my first draft as well. So I started my first Top 10 series of articles, Top 10 Mistakes New Fiction Writers Make.

Over time, I accumulated over one hundred articles, but they were scattered throughout my blog and it takes effort to sift through them all. This  realization birthed the idea to consolidate the articles into an easy-to-use e-book so authors could have the information at their fingertips as they write and revise.

The following issues are covered in Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level. It is my hope and desire that authors will grow and learn from the advice they find in this book, and that they too will make their way to publication.

PART ONE – BEFORE YOU START WRITING
Chapter One – Evaluate and Outline
Chapter Two - Dialogue
Chapter Three - Punctuation
Chapter Four – Comma Rules
Chapter Five - Point of View
Chapter Six – Show Instead of Tell

PART TWO – WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
Chapter Seven – Writing Chapter One
Chapter Eight – Start Chapter One With…
Chapter Nine – Don’t Start Chapter One With…
Chapter Ten – While You Write

PART THREE – REVISE, REVISE, REVISE

REVISION ONE: GRAMMAR ISSUES
Chapter Eleven – Uses of “Was”
Chapter Twelve – Participial Phrases
Chapter Thirteen – Filtering
Chapter Fourteen – Weak Words
Chapter Fifteen – Weasel Words/Phrases

REVISION TWO: STRUCTURAL ISSUES
Chapter Sixteen – Evaluate Where the Story Should Start
Chapter Seventeen – Make Sure Every Scene Has a Purpose
Chapter Eighteen – Details, Details, Details
Chapter Nineteen – Is Your Middle Sagging?

REVISION THREE: FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Chapter Twenty – Check Your Goals, Motivation, and Conflict
Chapter Twenty-One – Final Polishing

PART FOUR – LEARN FROM OTHERS
Chapter Twenty-Two – Join a Critique Group
Chapter Twenty-Three – Read Books on the Craft of Writing
Chapter Twenty-Four – Attend Writing Conferences

For more information about Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level, or to purchase the e-book, please visit my website: Write This Way.

Keeping with the spirit of helping authors improve their writing, I am offering free copies of the complete checklist from Write This Way, which lists each issue to watch for as you write the first draft and guides you through the revision process. I will send a copy to each person who leaves a comment with an e-mail address. This offer is valid until October 10th, 2011. 

About the Author

Suzanne Hartmann is the author of the e-book, Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level . She is also the author of The Race that Lies Before Us , a Christian suspense novel available next year through Oak Tara. On the editorial side, Suzanne is a contributing editor at Port Yonder Press and operates the Write This Way Critique Service.

Shadows: Book of Aleth, Part One

Enjoy the video trailer for my debut novel: Shadows: Book of Aleth, Part One. It comes out on Saturday, October 1st. You can find it at my website: http://www.michael-duncan.net/ or go to the publishers website: http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/harbourlight/763-shadows-book-of-aleth-part-one. It is also available at all online retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Thanks!

Strength for the Heart

The silver cord of life
Untouched by human strife
Is little more than a spider’s web
And has no strength in the flow and ebb
That comes to every life

Through pain and grief and sorrow
There’s hope for all the ‘morrow
For iron strength will come at last
To those in Christ who will hold fast
And bear up under sorrow

Trust not to human hands
Or the glint of silver strands
For God alone will be your strength
If through life you go the length
And hold His nail-pierced hand

Don’t walk through life alone
And falter at God’s throne
For Christ will be your saving grace
Just trust in Him and seek His face
You’ll never walk alone

©2011
Rev. Michael Duncan

(Scriptural references: Ecclesiastes 12:6; 1 Peter 5:10; 1 Timothy 6:17; Mark 13:13; Psalm 30:5)

Listening to our children

You have had a hard day at work, you rush to pick up your kids from their after school activities while wondering what you will fix for dinner. On the way home the kids start asking permission to do this or that or start fighting in the back seat. You have a headache and all you want to do is scream at them to shut up and settle down.

It becomes harder and harder to find time with our kids that don’t involve rushing from one place to another or meeting this or that deadline. We struggle to eat breakfast and dinner together as outside activities and work schedules collide. We bring our work home with us and we struggle to find some quiet time by ourselves to recuperate and prepare for the next day. It is even more difficult if you are a single parent. Listen to our kids? It seems that all I do is listen to them complain, whine, demand, insist, nag or tell me they are the only kids in the whole world who don’t get to do this or that.

That is not listening. That is losing control as a parent. Demands, whining and complaining are not permissible. Asking for things and giving your point of view is okay when done respectfully. It doesn’t mean kids can’t be excited and even show their disappointment but it is done within respectful limits. Respect is taught and modeled. Disrespect and disobedience is not tolerated and is rewarded with a time out without toys, TV or conversation in a boring setting, such as sitting on a chair without any attention for five to ten minutes.

If you find more and more of your family time is spent in a revolving door, sit down and draw up a daily routine that will work for your family. That means a regular bedtime and a regular time to get up. It means a set time to do homework before playtime. When kids are involved in extra activities such as sports or music lessons, adjust the schedules without sacrificing homework time or family time. Establish some family rules that include required chores for every member in the family and a regular dinner time. While there will be exceptions, when family members consider dinner a time when the family will spend quality, fun time together, they will be less resistant. Use that time to listen to your kids and encourage them. Choose interesting topics to talk about.

Listening involves looking at your child as they tell you about their day and responding with appropriate comments of praise or motivation. If you are in the middle of making dinner or some work project, stop what you are doing and give them your full attention while they are speaking or set a time in a few minutes to talk with them. Schedule a purposeful time every day with your child to ask about their day. That could be part of a bedtime ritual. Children sleep better when they are not going to bed feeling angry, discouraged or anxious.

Take some time each week and spend it alone with each child, doing something they like to do that also allows interaction. Encourage them to talk and be prepared to listen about their concerns and fears without over reacting or preaching. Help break down their problems and brainstorm possibilities. Let them know you are there for them as they struggle with the challenges of life. As children learn how to implement options in a safe way, they will be able to use those skills as they mature. As children know they will still be accepted and loved even when bringing up the worst scenario, they will be more open to discussing difficult and maybe even dangerous situations with you. Develop a trust that you do not break.

Listening to our kids does not mean we allow them to do whatever they want to do or even agree with everything they think is okay. Children don’t want us to be their friends; they want us to be parents. Kids want and need structure and limitations. When you set boundaries for them, they learn how to do that for themselves as they get older. Kids want to know someone is there helping them make good choices. They want to know we will listen to them even when they are unhappy, angry, or have grievances.

©2011 Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

The Writing Spirit

This video contains inspirational writing advice from Gary Zukav, Richard Bach, Ken Robinson, Yann Martel, and more. Enjoy!

Listening to Your Spouse

He said – she said – and around and around you go. Why can’t we have an intelligent conversation? Why does she always have to blame me for everything? Why does he never listen?

We get married because we love someone and want to spend the rest of our lives with that person. Yet when the happy glow of the honeymoon begins to disappear, we look at the other and wonder what we ever saw in that person. Did we make a big mistake?

We are attracted to another for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they complement us in some way. Sometimes we are drawn to someone who likes to do all the things we like to do. Or so we think. At some point, when the other person no longer meets our expectations they appear selfish or self-centered and we feel hurt and betrayed. Oh, we still love them, but don’t understand why they no longer see the world as we do.

We are all aware of divorce statistics and the side effects of it. If we grew up in a divorced home we may be determined not to repeat the same mistakes. Yet, here we are, deadlocked in our own relationship and it seems we are slowly sliding down that same slippery slope as we come face to face with the fact that while we may share the same core values we hold different beliefs about how to implement them. Suddenly the expectations, obligations and responsibilities we hold are making it difficult to resolve problems and differences. These deadlocks can even revolve around fundamental beliefs about religion and how that is expressed in our daily lives. Add to that the hectic pace of life and we have a recipe for trouble.

Once again, when we are passionate about our beliefs and views, we are often reluctant to listen to an opposing viewpoint – instead, we aggressively defend our own while attacking the other – and communication grinds to a stop. Without getting into the specifics of learning how to fight and negotiate within a marriage, let’s just consider some simple rules about listening that we can apply right now to our conversations.

First, be honest with yourself. We bring to our relationships our expectations, assumptions, and past experiences that color and distort our perception of reality. Communication often breaks down because we don’t focus on the real issues, because we keep our fears of inadequacies and rejection hidden while arguing pseudo-problems. Acknowledge and accept your own personal fears. Acceptance allows us to be vulnerable and still be okay allowing us to accept the other with grace, compassion and love even when you disagree. This creates a safe environment where sharing can occur.

Second, listen without judging, evaluating, or defending your position. Focus on what is being said and not about a response. Validate feelings. Listen and clarify what you heard with feedback. Did you understand what the other person is trying to tell you? Refrain from offering advice or quick solutions. Pay attention to your own feelings. If you find yourself getting upset and angry, accept responsibility for how you feel, ask for a time out and schedule a time to return to the discussion when your anger is under control. Keep that return appointment.

Perhaps the most important thing we can do in our is to apply our listening skills. In fact, it is the most important thing we can do in any relationship, because it is in the listening that we begin to connect with the other person.

In a later blog, I will share some suggestions given by experts in the field of marriage about negotiation and asking for what you want. But just for now, practice hearing what your spouse is trying to say.

©2011 Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC