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Tuesday is here but I’m still thinking about the weekend.  Have you ever had to hunt down zebra or elephant cards with phrases on them?  Well, that’s what I did while I was in The Art Shoppe on Sunday.  I started to look at the variety of cards from different artists and some of them might be poets.  Narrowing down words into a few sentences can be a nightmare for a novelist used to having over 200 pages of words. 

I have to admit, there’s times when I’ve struggled with times when I’ve had to give author statements or summaries but it’s necessary.  If we can’t form that summary for our readers, then we may not have a clear point of view for our stories.  Talking with my fellow authors getting ready to publish a book, I’ve asked them the hard questions. 

Believe it or not – tell me about your book can cause an author’s eyes to glaze over.  One way to get over this hurdle is to sit down with other writer’s and talk about your book.  They’ll help you prepare by asking questions of other readers and other authors.  For me, it’s almost easier to form the summary when you talk out loud to other people.  This is something we learned in high school speech classes but it really works.  You’ll know if you need to work on it in a few minutes because you’ll either have stuttering moments, or you’ll whip out your 2 minute, well formed elevator pitch.

Your exercise for today is to take whatever piece your working on and pitch it to someone else to see if it makes sense or if you have a clear direction.  Start before you’re finished with your novel because just like practice it will make the end process easier because you have a starting point.

I hope you make time to review your pages this week.  As we move out of August, my brain is already thinking about Preptober and the fun I had last year with daily prompts.  Maybe mine will be more focused on the next book that I want to finish by the end of the year.  The posts will continue!

Thank you for reading!  I post Monday through Friday!

Writer’s who need help can take a look at my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journal-Writing-Prompts-Notes/dp/B0931QRL7C.

~Yoon Ju

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