How Pinteresting! Pinning Down New Readers

By: KL Cooper, Social Media Coordinator for PPW

As a busy writer myself, I know about the need to spend marketing time as wisely as possible. We’re already overwhelmed with all the should dos. Blog more! Facebook more! Wait, what’s a tweet? It’s a wonder we don’t curl up into quivering balls of anxiety with all the things we SHOULD do besides actually writing our novels. So why would I want you to add another one?

I could throw a bunch of statistics at you that expound how many users are on Pinterest or what percentage of those users buy products they find there. It’s impressive, by the way. But, as I’ve already mentioned, your time is precious. So, let me quickly share what I think the value of Pinterest is, specifically for writers.

SUPERFANS!

Pinterest is the ONLY social media outlet that can find you those elusive creatures: the coveted, devoted, word-spreading… SUPERFANS. These are the readers who have no issues sharing the books they love. They devour their favorites and obsess over every detail. These passionate types of readers are heavy users of Pinterest.

Why?

People who use Pinterest are not there to be social. They are there to find images, references, and videos that feed their interests. They aren’t offended if what they find is for sale because they were hunting for it, and they WANT to buy it.

Reach

Everything you pin gets into the Pinterest feed of, not only all of YOUR followers, but the followers of those who re-pin your pins. That’s not even including the staggering reach accomplished when you participate in group boards. Below is a graphic of my reach from my Pinterest author account. I doubt you’re getting that kind of traction anywhere else on Social Media… for free.

Traffic

When you share or post a photo or video on Pinterest, the image itself can drive clickable traffic to your site or book if you post it correctly. Pinterest offers ads too, but its most powerful features are already free!

Longevity

Your pins don’t EXPIRE. People will find what they search for regardless of when it was originally pinned. Your comments also stay with a pin as it gets shared over and over again for the entire life of that pin.

So, how do you do it? How do you go about attracting those beautiful Superfans to your Pinterest activity?

Share

Share your passions and let people into your writer mind. Start by creating 10 boards with at least 3 pins each, which fills out the thumbnail for the boards. Ideas for your new boards could include: writing inspiration, character inspiration, story boards, genre related (TV shows, movies, and books), book research, cosplay related to your books, writing prompts, quotes, video shares, or art. Chances are, your fans like the same things you do. For example, I took a class on archery to learn about it firsthand for a book. You bet I have a board for that and linked it to my blog post about the experience.

Follow

Follow other boards and pinners that interest you. This will put useful pins into your home feed for you to re-pin. You can follow fans of your genre, as they will be pinning things of similar interest to you. And you will expand your reach exponentially if you comment, like, and post to pins and group boards. Incidentally, the followers of other authors in your genre are a great place to find some of your own Superfans.

Create

Create some original content. Though most of your pins will be re-pins, you can create your own and upload them. Try making quote pictures with artfully designed quotes from your favorite authors, TV shows, or movies. Canva.com – a free image tool, is a user friendly way to do this. Add these to your boards with links to your books or blogs.

Market

Market your work with original pins or by changing the details under SOME re-pins. Don’t abuse this last feature. Include the reason you like that particular pin using focus words and hashtags, a link to your work, and a call to action. This makes it easier for your new Superfans to find you and share their passion for what you’ve created.

Consolidate

Make Pinterest work FOR you. You can send your pin to other social media outlets by sharing it with them when you post. It’s just a checkbox or two and BOOM! DONE! You just saved some of that precious writing time. And to make things even easier, you can install a browser extension “Pinterest” button. Whenever you are on a site, and you push this button, your browser will display all the pin-able content, sending it right to one of your boards with the click of a button.

Rules

Follow the rules. You can’t market something without a business account. This violates Pinterest’s terms of service and will get you banned. Don’t worry, you can’t really tell the difference. You can still use your author name, and you get access to the analytics (like the one I included above) to see which pins and boards are serving you best. So make sure you open a business account. If you already have a personal account, it’s easy to convert.

The Best Part

You can turn off ALL your notifications on Pinterest!! Yep. I said it. You don’t need them, because Pinterest is not social and it’s not dependent on real time interaction. Go ahead! Disconnect. You don’t have to “be there” to be successful. Now if that isn’t a good reason to use Pinterest to become a more successful author with MORE writing time, I don’t know what is.

Final Thoughts

BE PASSIONATE. Pinterest is no place for beige. It’s a visual treasure trove that links to the highest level content on the internet. And although it requires some upkeep, pinning is one of the best ways to find devoted, word-spreading SUPERFANS!

Find me on Pinterest and take a look at some of my boards for inspiration or email me for more tips on using this powerful tool. Did you know that Pikes Peak Writers is also on Pinterest?

My Pinterest Account: https://www.pinterest.com/KLCooperAuthor/

Pikes Peak Writers Account: https://www.pinterest.com/PPWriters/

Email KL Cooper: writeklcooper@gmail.com

About the Author: KL Cooper spends most of her free hours writing PNR, but when she’s not doing that, she’s rocking social media for Pikes Peak Writers or creating new graphics and book covers for other writers through UnderCover Press. You can connect with her anywhere on social media using these handles: @KLCequalsME @UnderCoverKLC @FleshandFeather

Quote of the Week and the Week to Come

“As soon as one promises not to do something, it becomes the one thing above all others that one most wishes to do.”  ~ Georgette Heyer 

Source: Wikipedia

Georgette Heyer, born August 16, 1902 and died July 4, 1974, was an English historical romance and detective fiction. Heyer essentially established the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency Romance, inspired by Jane Austen. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one thriller year.

This Week on Writing from the Peak

August 15          How Pinteresting! by K.L. Cooper

 August 17          Ergonomics for Writers, Pt. 1 by Catherine Dilts

  

August 18-19      Sweet Success Celebrates Barbara Nickless book signing

Sweet Success Celebrates Shannon Lawrence "Metamorphosis"

Shannon Lawrence’s short story, “Metamorphosis” was released May 1, 2016 in the anthology, Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie's Point of View (adult horror, ASIN: B01F28AOLO, 234 pages), by Sirens Cal Publications. Through Clouded Eyes is available on Amazon, Createspace, and Smashwords.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Through-Clouded-Eyes-Zombies-Point-ebook/dp/B01F28AOLO?ie=UTF8&redirect=true

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/6187564

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/633957

What would you do if you were fading, and the only thing that brought you back was brains?

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in anthologies and magazines, including Under the Bed, Devolution Z, and The Deep Dark Woods. When she's not writing, she's hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings, where, coincidentally, there's always a place to hide a body or birth a monster. Find her at www.thewarriormuse.com.

Don't Just Sit There -- Move!

By: Darby Karchut

We’ve all heard of the negative effects of sitting too long. It’s bad for our muscles, organs, and can even increase the risk of various kinds of cancer. As writers, we must be extra vigilant to guard against this insidious stalker of our health. If you want to know more of the medical hows and whys, you might want to read Get Up! Why Your Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About It by Dr. James Levine (co-director of the Mayo Clinic). In his book, Dr. Levine lists the areas and systems of the body that are damaged by too much sitting:

Source: Pixabay

Heart

Pancreas

Colon

Digestion

Brain Damage (due to less fresh blood and oxygen)

Strained Neck and Shoulders

Back Problems

Muscle Degeneration

Hip Problems

Varicose Veins

Weak Bones

  

Even more depressing news: A study by the 2015 Inaugural Active Working Summit also found that sitting increases lung cancer by 54%, uterine cancer by 66%, and colon cancer by 30%.

Yikes! What’s a writer to do?

Well, for one thing, get up out of your chair. The current mantra from health experts is to “stand up, sit less, move more.” And by moving, they mean more than just our daily walk/run/gym time. Yes, vigorous sustained exercise once a day is vital to our health. However, a number of findings report that standing more during the day is also beneficial to people who don’t exercise. In other words, any kind of moving around counts. The more, the better, but even a little helps.

Here are some straightforward, but effective, alternatives to sitting:

Stand at your desk. A couple of boards across two stacks of books will do the trick. Or, you can get those cool gizmos that raise and lower your work surface. Some experts recommend putting a foot rest (a small box works fine) under your desk. Standing with one foot on the box eases the strain on your back and hips. Switch feet as often as you like. This is one I use a lot, and it really works.

A treadmill/desk combo is also very popular. Just be careful not to get too engrossed in your writing and fall off.

An inflatable exercise ball is a cheap and easy alternative to chairs. Roll it side to side as you write to work your core muscles.

Of course, a gadget that you wear on your wrist that measures your steps is another way to keep moving. I’ve never tried one, but a lot of my friends find them motivating.

However, standing or walking makes it harder to concentrate. So, a rule of thumb that I found helpful is the 20-8-2 Breakdown. For every 30 minutes, sit for 20 minutes, stand for 8 minutes, move for 2 minutes. You can set your phone’s alarm, your sports watch, or even an egg timer, to remind yourself.

Once you’re up, the moving around part can be as simple as walking around your house or office, climbing up and down a flight of stairs, jogging in place, do a round of jumping jacks, or break out the yoga mat. Even light housework counts. Just move. I read of one executive who makes a point of walking laps around her office whenever she’s on a phone call.

The 20-8-2 Breakdown isn’t supposed to be a hard and fast rule, however. It’s more of a reminder to incorporate opportunities into your workday to rise up. The more you move, the more your body craves it, which in turn, encourages you to be more active. It’s a wonderful, virtuous cycle.

So, give it a try for a week. See what works for you. Even small steps can add up to big results. Like writing a book, no? The hardest part is getting started.

I’d love to hear your suggestions on what you do to keep healthy while writing. Please feel free to share in the comments below.

About the Author: Darby Karchut is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter.  A native of New Mexico, she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. When not dodging death by Colorado, Darby is busy writing for children, teens, and adults. She is represented by Amanda Rutter at Red Sofa Literary.

www.darbykarchut.com

www.darbykarchut.blogspot.com

Welcome to Pikes Peak Writers first Meet the Members Jenny Martin

By: Kathie Scrimgeour

I was excited to learn that “Meet the Members” was going to kick off with Jenny Martin. She and I first met at PPWC 2016, and we hit it off. With her contagious smile and laugh-out-loud attitude I couldn’t help but look forward to seeing her again. In late April, we met for coffee at my now favorite coffee shop in Parker, Fika (the one in Canterberry in case you’re wondering). With cold sleet and rain outside we sat across from one another over hot drinks. The goal of our first get together was to read each other’s work in progress and share some feedback. It was here that she agreed to be the first member for us to meet.

PPW Member Jenny Martin 

Jenny has been writing since junior high school. She and her best friend filled spiral notebooks with story after story. She began with young adult fiction, then found romance and “fell in with the happily ever after.”

Through email exchanges I learned that Jenny joined PPW in January of 2016 and attended PPWC in 1999, 2000, and 2016. She has attended two Write Brains, and is a part of a critique group.

PPW: Have you submitted a complete manuscript yet? What were the results? What best advice, or lessons learned, have you gotten from them?

Jenny Martin: I have not yet submitted anything. Well, not to publishers. I have submitted a handful of first chapters to writing contests and received an honorable mention twice and second place once. Lesson learned was I’m not too far off base, so keep working. It inspired me in that it validated my writing style. It boosted my confidence and made me more determined that I would finish my stories and find a publisher. 

PPW: What are you working on right now, and do you have a publication date set?

Jenny Martin: I have several things I am working on right now. I have two contemporary romance stories, a fiction story set in the Vietnam era, and a series of Civil War historical romance stories. I am focusing on the Civil War series right now. My goal right now is to finish the first in my Civil War series and move on to the second by the end of this year. As soon as I have two completed, and a start on the third, I plan to work on selling for publication.

PPW: What does success mean to you? Does it scare you or motivate you?

Jenny Martin: Success, to me, means finishing my novels. That is the first step. Then selling them.  It will take the sales of several to make me feel really successful. Does it scare or motivate me? A little of both, actually. I just have to push past the scared part.

PPW: What do you do when procrastination is winning over writing?

Jenny Martin: I have several sources I use to get past the procrastination or writer’s block. I use 52 Ways to Get Unstuck, by Chris Mandeville, The Writer’s Brain Storming Kit, by Pam McCutcheon and Michael Waite, and a card game The Storymatic Classic, by Storymatic. They have all helped me find my way forward. They suggest turns to take with the story to add new dimensions and twists that are difficult to come up with on one’s own. They offer suggestions on how to develop richer characters and sometimes, just walking away and acting like one of the characters. Adding a swagger to your own step, testing facial expressions that the protagonist might use, or dancing like a princess. By imitating a character, the writer comes more in tune with them which can help with description, characterization, and scene development giving the whole story more depth and credibility.

PPW: Writing conferences, workshops, and critique groups are an important part of a new writer’s experience (and more experienced writers too!). How have they helped you?

Jenny Martin: I have attended several conferences with dozens of workshops that have helped me with plotting and characterization and numerous other ways. They are a great way to meet other writers and [achieve] new energy and motivation to keep going. I have attended a handful of workshops outside of the conferences and found them very useful for improving my overall writing. I have also found a critique group which has helped me immeasurably. The wonderful ladies of my group have helped me focus, helped me tighten my writing, they cheer me on and keep me motivated. They help me set goals and hold me accountable.

PPW: Does your reading influence your writing? How?

Jenny Martin: My reading does influence my writing. I read in my genre(s) every day. I find the aspects of the books I like and try to incorporate those qualities into my own writing. The deep POV for example, I find much more engaging than the more distant POVs, so I work to make my POV deeper. I find the aspects of the books that have left me feeling unfulfilled and try to determine what would have made the story better and apply the same principles to my own work.

PPW: If you met someone who was thinking about starting to write, what advice would you give them?

Jenny Martin: I would encourage them to try. I would also suggest writer’s guide books, writer’s groups, conferences, and a critique group to help them along the way. And persistence, patience, and focus are a must.

PPW: What is one (or a few) of the most important lessons you have learned in your writing career so far?

Jenny Martin: Life is always going to get in the way. A good writer finds a way to push past it and keep on writing. Feedback is crucial. Find someone or a group of people who will give you honest, constructive criticism to help you grow and evolve as a writer. Believe in yourself. Never give up.

Are you a member of Pikes Peak Writers? We would love to learn more about you and your writing experiences. Contact Kathie Scrimgeour at ppwsweetsuccess@gmail.com

Quote of the Week and the Week to Come

"Sometimes, if you aren't sure about something, you just have to jump off the bridge and grow your wings on the way down." ~  Danielle Steel

Goodreads and Wikipedia

Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel, born, August 14, 1947, better known as Danielle Steel, is an American novelist, currently the best-selling author alive and the fourth bestselling author of all time, with more than 800 million copies sold. This as well as the mother of nine!

This week on Writing from the Peak:

August 8           PPW’s new feature, Meet the Member by Kathie Scrimgeour

August 10         Don’t Just Sit There – Move! by Darby Karchut

August 12         Sweet Success Celebrates Shannon Lawrence 
                         & Metamorphosis

Pikes Peak Writers August Events

August Write Brain – August 16

What:  Market Like a Maniac (without feeling like one)

Who:  Cindi Madsen

When: August 16, 6:30-8:30 pm

Where: Venue@21c (upper floor, to the right if coming in the upper entrance) of Library 21c, 1175 Chapel Hills Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80920

More Information: What’s the best way to get the word out about your book? We’ll discuss blog tours, newsletters, how to make social media work for you, publicity, anthologies, and street teams. Learn how to create a tribe of people who will want to help you get the word out for you, how to gain more followers without spending all your time marketing instead of writing, and how to find affordable help when you can’t do it all yourself.

About the Presenter:  Cindi Madsen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a pretty new pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music and dancing and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

You can visit Cindi at: www.cindimadsen.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter to get all the up-to-date information on her books.
Follow her on Twitter @cindimadsen.

August Writers Night – August 22

FREE Writer’s Night

Location: Kawa Coffee

Address: 2427 N Union Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Fourth Monday of every month

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Join fellow writers for PPW Night  on the fourth Monday of every month.

PPW Night is two full hours of discussion, laughter, and fun with other local members of Pikes Peak Writers.

Kawa Coffee stays open for our gathering when they would normally be closed. We understand if you can’t afford a coffee or a snack, but please don’t bring outside food and drink into the coffee shop. Thank you for your understanding.

The direction of the meeting is decided by the participants and can include discussions about query letters, obtaining and working with an agent, writing conferences, or other specific points of the craft.  If nothing else, we talk about books!

If you have any questions, or if there is a specific topic you’d like to get on the agenda, send an e-mail to the host, Deb Courtney, or call her on her cell phone at 719-337-9049.

Meetings are scheduled to start at 6:30 and run until about 8:30. These are drop-in meetings, so feel free to attend all or just part of them.

See you soon!

90-day Challenge: Not a Pantser, Not a Plotter

By: Deb McLeod

If you saw my previous post, you know I created a challenge for myself to write a romance in ninety days. Nowadays writers need a way to put out content fast. So, as a writing coach with years of experience studying and honing the writing process for myself and my clients, I decided we were all taking far too long to finish. Especially me!

So I selected a genre I wanted to write in and outlined a process using all the tools I’ve collected or created in my career. The process broke down like this:

30 days to plot
30 days to write
30 days to revise

30 Days to Plot

Part of my process for plotting uses Blake Snyder’s beat sheets to plot the story arc and the character transformation. I wanted to write a dual narrative, so I did a loose beat sheet for each character to track how the plot will challenge and change their character flaw and allow them to seek out and accept love. This is a romance so that arc is the driving arc of the story. And for me, plotting the internal change is far easier to plot than the external challenge that weaves around the two protagonists and keeps them together long enough to fall in love.

Discovery: I work best when I pace my plotting and weave it during the writing phase.

I learn about character through writing scenes. By the time I plotted to the midpoint, I felt I didn’t know enough about each character to pull me through the hardest section to plot - the second half of the second scene.

I learn about plot through the ideas that come to me when I write scenes. As I write and the scene surprises me it might suggest a way to play something out later or the need to set up something earlier. This affects both the plotting and the revision.

I really like to plot in chains. I like to figure out a section at a time. Then write it and ride the riff so to speak to see what comes up as I’m writing. Then the next section is easier to figure out rather than trying to plot it cold.

Originally I’d thought I’d plot the entire book out and then go back to write it. But for me, the second half of the second act is where it gets always gets hard. And writing scenes contain so much discovery of both character and plot that it felt a waste to force the plot that might change as soon as I started writing. So I shifted gears.

It made sense to plot through the midpoint so I would know what I was writing towards. And by the time I caught up to the plot, I might know better what I have to work with in the second half of the second act when the characters begin to be squeezed.

So I stopped plotting at midpoint and started writing. I continued plotting between times as I got an idea or as one of the characters revealed something useful. When I caught the writing up to the midpoint, I took a day to plot out the rest.

Now that I’m there, I’m changing the plot as I go. Like this morning. My characters took over yesterday. What was supposed to be a kiss scene turned into something much hotter and more involved. Then today I had to rework the last scenes – I have 12 more to go – in order to figure out a way to keep them apart till the end of the book.

Discovery: Not a pantser, not a plotter. I can use the best of pantsing and plotting to reach my goal.

Does that make me a plotster? A panter?

30 Days to Write

I am shooting for a 60k word novel so during the writing month I would need to write 2000 words per day.

That’s not that big of a deal any more. I’ve started pushing my daily word counts the last few years. And I write more than 50,000 words for NaNo month every year. If you’ve succeeded during NaNo, you can see that every year you win, it becomes easier to win the next time.

But for this challenge, I deliberately worked against the NaNoWriMo adage I’ve always used – just get the words on paper. When I do NaNo each year, I plot, I write, I develop character and I count all those words toward my 50k.

In my coaching practice, my clients learn to challenge their process – or change the challenge. In our freewriting practice, for instance, once a 30-minute timed writing is easy, then the idea is to challenge yourself to do forty-five, or twenty. It’s the change that keeps the writing fresh.

So with my 90-day challenge I decided to count only finished scene words. I wanted my scenes to be like the ones I might take to a critique group. Not the slap-dash of a first draft or what I produce during NaNo. Because plotting days and revision days are part of the challenge so wherever I can cut time out of the process, I need to try.

Discovery: With the 90-day public deadline and the need to get the scenes down right the first time in order to save time on the revision, my scenes are coming in cleaner on the first try.

Writing really is exercising a certain kind of muscle. And it’s trainable.

30 Days to Revise

I’m not at the revision stage yet, but I’m already jotting revision notes at the top of scenes I already wrote. When the plot veers I go back to the pertinent scenes and make highlighted notes at the top of the scene so I can revise later.

Then, just today, I found “Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels” by Gwen Hayes. So I’ve taken the entire day to look at the plot and rework scenes that don’t fit into the beat structure she lays out. My plot did fit Snyder’s Beats, so I’m not that far off, but I can see now I was drifting to focus on the external arc and letting the romance arc slide. After comparing what I had to what she lays out for a romance, I’m with her on her beats.

I haven’t attempted romance in years. It was great to find out that I’m good on the beats until almost midpoint. Then… So it’s back to the plot for a bit while I figure this out. But I’m ahead of schedule and this will save me time in the revision stage.

The takeaway from the challenge so far

My clients, who are watching and cheering from the sidelines, are beginning to look at their own process. They know that this will be my next course offering and I’m going to challenge them to try it. So I’ll issue a challenge here to you – how well do you know your process? How much have you challenged your process and tried something new?

Here are my stats at day 36 so you can see where I spent time and what I achieved:

• Total days spent on the project so far: 36 days
• Average time spent per day: 3 hours
• Exclusive days spent on character development: 3 days
• Exclusive days spent on plotting the arc: 9 days
• Plotting scenes and writing: 24 days
• Word total for finished scenes: 39,444
• See you next month when I’ll be in the middle of the revision.

About the Author: Deb McLeod, MFA, practices novel research immersion. For her novel, The Train to Pescara, Deb journeyed to Sardinia to study ancient goddess worship and spent time in the Abruzzi village her great-grandparents left in 1905. Her metaphysical knowledge for the Angel Thriller, The Julia Set, culminates from four years of studying and teaching meditation, clairvoyance and chakra healing. For over fifteen years, Deb McLeod has been a creative writing coach helping other writers to embrace their passion and get their words on the page. For more, 

August Letter from the Editor

Hurray! It’s August. Quite frankly, I’m relieved. July has been one accident after another, and I’m hoping August will break my clumsy streak. Oh, the accidents weren’t life-threatening. One involved me typing away, reaching for something, and sending my coffee cup flying. That little episode cost me $99 to call a carpet cleaner to get the stain up. Did I mention the coffee cup was full? Did I mention my first attempt to use Resolve and Dawn Detergent didn’t work and Dawn actually fades your carpet? Oy!

Accident number two occurred a day or so later. My carpet was freshly cleaned, therefore, I’d placed my computer on my breakfast nook. I’d been out on a walk, so I poured a glass of ice water, set to get to work and dumped the entire contents on my laptop. 

Doomed! Doomed I tell you. I immediately shut it off and tried to drain the darn thing, but water was everywhere. Worst part--the computer is not yet a year old.

Fortunately, I know a great computer repair shop. The owner said, “Did you turn it on?”  Of course I had. (Note, if this ever happens to you, do not turn it on.) Long story longer. The next day as I headed out to research computers, my cell rang, and the owner said, “Good news, it’s dry and it’s working.” That incident deprived me of an additional $35, but I paid it willingly because it could have been far, far worse.

What did I learn from my accident-prone July? Do not keep liquids near your computer. As I type this, my coffee cup is in Virginia!

Obviously, I’ve been distracted. Writers get that way. I was thinking, of course, about my manuscript. But also the sensational articles we have coming up for you this month. Tying nicely into avoiding accidents and hindering our writing careers, we’ll talk about health and ergonomics. Darby Karchut has a great article on Don’t Just Sit There – Move! Catherine Dilts presents an outstanding series on ergonomics, complete with graphics, and deadline driven Barbara Nickless, writes about stress. 

We’ll have a review of Jason Evan’s July Write Brain on Writing African American characters. Deb McLeod, the Writing Coach has an update on her 90-Day Genre Series Project, and Kathie Scrimgeour has a new column called, Meet the Member (a new feature introducing a PPW member).

Finally, I’d like to do a shout out to K.L. Cooper who has been designing some fantastic graphics for the blog and on Facebook and will be joining the blog as a columnist.  Writing from the Peak is also moving in the near future as part of Pikes Peak Writers redesigned website.

Lots of things in store for the rest of the year, and especially August. We hope you’ll tune in. Suggestions for content? Interested in writing for the blog? If you’re a Pikes Peak Writers member, I will consider your ideas and your writing. If you’re not a member, why aren’t you? PPW membership is free. Join Here  The advantages and learning opportunities are tremendous.

Hey, everybody, it's August. Here's an idea. Have an outstanding—accident free—writing month.

About the author: Donnell Ann Bell is the managing editor for Writing from the Peak, the coordinator for the monthly Open Critique held on the first Wednesday of every month, and one of Pikes Peak Writer's board members at large. She is a best selling romantic suspense and mystery author. To learn more about her books, find her at www.donnellannbell.com

Quote of the Week and the Week to Come

"You know what I did after I wrote my first novel? I shut up and wrote twenty-three more." ~ Michael Connelly

Source: Wikipedia and Biography.com

Michael Connelly, born on July 21, 1945, in Philadelphia, PA, is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. 

This week on Writing from the Peak

August 1       Letter from the Editor   Donnell Ann Bell

August 3       The Writing Coach   Deb McLeod

August 5       Pikes Peak Writers August Events

Sweet Success Celebrates Shannon Lawrence and Sound Advice

Bloodbond Magazine is pleased to present a short story by Shannon Lawrence, “Sound Advice,” (adult horror), published by Alban Lake Publishing, May 2016. It is available online at Alban Lake Publishers: http://store.albanlake.com/product/bloodbond-may-2016/

A family trip becomes a night of terror when they venture through skinwalker territory in the middle of the night. 

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in anthologies and magazines, including Under the Bed, Devolution Z, and The Deep Dark Woods. When she's not writing, she's hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings, where, coincidentally, there's always a place to hide a body or birth a monster. Find her at www.thewarriormuse.com.