Coming Soon, to an Inbox Near You ~~ Issue #1 of My Newsletter!

But it will land in your inbox only if you’re subscribed to my newsletter! I thought I’d give you a little enticement to fill out the subscription form below, by giving you a heads-up on the contents of the January 2024 issue of By Word of Beth. It will include Writing – None of us…

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Julie Hedlund is FOR WRITERS!

I am so grateful for Julie Hedlund – for who she is as a person, as well as for all she does for writers. She is funny, knowledgeable, supportive, wise. And she knows what writers need to help them SHINE! I first got to know Julie through Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo 2011 (more about Tara next…

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The Value of Courses, Challenges, and Community for Writers

Most of us cannot get where we want to be on our own. We need to learn from others, to be challenged by others, and to be supported and encouraged by others. The same is true for writing. At first, I was too nervous to share my writing (except my hymn texts) with anyone but…

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“He’s Just Like Me!” – Why I Write What I Write

First of all, a word of explanation: this is the first post in a new monthly series called This Writer’s Voice. Please note that the series is not about the elusive concept known as “voice” in writing. It’s a series about writing, looking at the hows and whats and whys of writing, both my writing…

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It’s International Dot Day! — ish

Actually, International Dot Day is actually September 15th-ish, but I figured the 10th was ish-ish enough to celebrate. International Dot Day grew out of Peter H. Reynolds’ wonderful book, THE DOT, which my friend Patricia Tilton reviewed here. If you haven’t read THE DOT, please do, and also read the companion books ISH and SKY…

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Moving Forward — By Asking Questions

If you’re on Facebook at all regularly, you’ll no doubt have seen more than one of the plethora of quizzes and questionnaires that are so popular there. I admit I have fun with them. You may be interested to know that if I were a children’s book character, I’d be Max from Where the Wild…

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How to Make a Picture Book, part 3

How to Make a Picture Book, part 3 Story Development   Julie Gribble is back with the third installment of her blog series. You’re going to like this… … … Bonjour, mes amis! I’m taking a break from sightseeing in Old Montreal to write this post. It’s a nippy spring day and the shining sun…

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In the Spotlight — Mary Aalgaard, On the Page and Off the Page

Some of you may remember that in 2012 I participated in the amazing blogging challenge, the A to Z Challenge,  in which bloggers post every day in April using the letters of the alphabet as their daily prompts. I made some great friends through that challenge. One of those friends is Mary Aalgaard, who is…

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