New Teaching by Amanda Bradburn in Tech & Trade And other Things

Michelle here Scribes and Wanderers! Be of good cheer, the month of Romance is at an end. We are currently voting on the genre for July. It's a hotly contended thing, just as before, but I promise it is going to be one wild look at whatever is chosen. The Generals up for leading this month have vastly different styles and hearts like lions  in the hunt and like falcons on the dive! I am excited!

After July 4th the genre that wins will be announced and tips, interviews, ideas, and helps of all kinds will start appearing again!

Also this July  (for the first time ever) we are opening up our month-long writing contest to those who are not on the face book group page. I know, right? Incredibly exciting! Unfortunately you MUST live in the United States or Canada to take advantage of this. Check back on the 5th for full details! And get your ideas churning!

The next time we open it up to the Internet at large (which will be in the fall) there will BE NO SUCH RESTRICTION. Very exciting, right? Bear with us as we learn now to manage the shipping overseas without breaking the bank and work to get the prizes (mainly books) through Customs without issue.

So there are the announcements, and I will close by saying that there is an amazing teaching up in the Tech & Trade section by our own oh-so-talented Amanda Bradburn. Listen to her Scribes, learn from her, and one day your book might be sitting beside her stories on the bookstore shelves.

New Challenge Up!

Hullo all! Michelle here again! It's a day late and a dollar short (due to the fact that someone on my street was digging about in their yard and severed the internet cable for the street) but there's a New Challenge up and this one asks you to reach right into the gut of your story (and others too) and pull out the very core of the work. So put your rubber gloves on, get your pen in-hand and go take a look!

Fictional Romances by Mirriam N.

Fictional Romances

An extraordinarily helpful and somewhat snarky look at several fictional romances that I like. (I know it's late; I'm so sorry!)

New Challenge Up!

Greetings Summer Scribes (or Winter Scribes)  our New Challenge is up (finally) who knew that entering rooms could be so revealing of character or rather, of your character's character. Go check it out!

Romance Question Answered!

Answer to the question: What makes a Romance novel stand out? The answer was given by my friend Kathryn Olsen who works at Tyndale publishing editing books by Francine Rivers and Katherine Palmer. (and other ones too of course.;)) 

Scribe Approved Romance Titles

I haven't read all these books, so I can't vouch for them, but I'm sure they will be fine to read. When you've read them, you can even post a little review to let the rest of us know what you thought of the book. Happy reading! ~Emily B.

New Challenge Up!

All right guys, this week's challenge is up, a day late and a dollar short due to Blogger eating it the first time. But it is there! Go check out the Creature Feature and start adding animals to your worlds!

New Teaching by Amanda Bradburn in Tech & Trade

Michelle here! Author Amanda Bradburn is back on our Tech & Trade page  and so is the dragon. Go check it out! You won't want to miss this exercise, it's a chance for your paper tigers to play the hero.

Mindy Starns Clark On Building a Romance

 


Mindy Starns Clark's newest book, The Amish Midwife, is co-written with  Leslie Gould. It is a fantastic look at being in control of your life, and letting go and letting Christ direct your path even when that means pain and heartache.

Answer to the Saturday Spotlight Question

Hullo all, it's Michelle here again! I hope you have had a restful and peaceful Sunday. I sure have, I took a three hour nap that I wasn't planning on taking, but apparently I needed it. And to those who read this blog across the date line ::waves furiously:: yesterday says HELLO.



Answer to the question from last night.You all had great answers and guesses. It is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. And the year that it was first published was 1813~ Elizabeth Lorenz



And another blog to highlight as a resource to help understand what is changing in the publishing community and what isn't, here is Joe Konrath's blog "A Newbie's Guide to Publishing" There's a wealth of wisdom there, but tread with caution as Joe is a bit of a wild man. As a disclaimer  I will add that all of his opinions are totally his own and have nothing to do with the League of Extraordinary Scribes. I'm just highlighting his blog because there's a ton of experience and wisdom he's sharing, for free  when it comes to traditional and non traditional publishing.

Saturday Spotlight

Ah, we've made it to the weekend. Michelle here (again). Elizabeth will be taking over more of the maintenance of the blog after she's finished with Joseph and the  Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat this month so for now you're stuck with me.

Two  fun things on this lovely Saturday, one a question from Elizabeth Lorenz about romance books, and the other a link to Stephen Bly's thoughts on how he builds a romance novel.

Romance Question: What is the most popular Romance Novel ever written? Who wrote it? Extra points if anyone can guess when the first copy of the book was printed! And now Scribes no cheating, don't use Google(tm) or any other search engines. Just take a guess and see if you're right. :D Check back here for the answer tomorrow.

Stephen Bly at Camy's Loft
Camy Tang is an amazing mystery/romance writer and her blog is one I highly recommend following. I've learned a lot.

New Challenge Up!

Good Wednesday to everyone, Michelle here. Where I am is miserably hot, and what I want to do most in all the world is to swim in a pool filled with ice cubes. Unfortunately swimming in that glorious pile of heaven-sent wetness is not going to happen for me, not right now anyway.  Samuel Clemens once said "Everyone complains about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it." I can't do anything about the weather where I am, or where you are, but I CAN put your minds into melt-down mode or  critical blue screen freeze. Hey, hopefully this week's Challenge will so distract and confound you, you'll forget about the weather all together. Go on, go take a look at the juggernaut we have posted on the Challenge Page.

Stretch your minds Scribes, and Encourage One Another!

Interview with Jeff Gerke, Owner of Marcher Lord Press

Due to some technical difficulties, Jeff Gerke's interview for Sci-Fi month was delayed, but no longer. Think of this post as warping through the fabric of time and the internet. It belongs to May's look at Sci-Fi, but through an anomaly beyond our control you are now viewing it in June. 

Romance-it didn't always mean what it means today!

Ok so to kick off Romance Month I thought I would start with the history of the Romantic Novel. I found this article and thought it was pretty cool! So let Romance begin.~Elizabeth Lorenz

JUNE GENRE ANNOUNCEMENT

Scribes, wanders, and rogues the genre that squeaked into the lead this month by ONE vote (see votes do matter every last one of them) is Romance. This will be led by Elizabeth Lorenz who also General(ed) us in April through Mystery! If there is something special you'd like her to do or find (interviews, resources, reading lists) post below and let her know what your expectations are. And get this month ready to look at Romance from a Christian point of view.

You say To MAY to and I say TO mah TO

There's a new Challenge up Scribes, and this week it's all about vocabulary! You're definitely   going to want to have a thesaurus close by for this one.  If you don't have a well thumbed thesaurus sitting next to your computer, here's one on line.  By far it's the least ad ridden and user friendly one that I've found. Now, why are you still reading this, you should be writing!