First Word

  Today I wanted to discuss challenges every writer faces. I’m going to discuss them in no particular order or emphasis.   Lack of confidence – many writers don’t get published or even try to publish due to a lack of confidence in their talents and skills. I’ve published hundreds of articles and books, and yet I still struggle with confidence in my work. Writing requires readers, and readers can be critical. It can be difficult to put your work in the public eye and not feel sensitive about it. One thing that helps me is to be open to improvement. When someone gives me feedback – and as long as it’s done in a productive manner – I’m open-minded about it and don’t take it personally … anymore . I used to feel like an abject reject lol … age and wisdom have taught me the phrase “it’s all good.”   Uncertainty with a story idea and whether or not it will be a commercial success . Over the years, I have learned that when a story is going to be a hit, it will ...

  Great interview with Jeff Perlman, author of Adventures in Politics: https://www.leadergov.com/podcast/ Adventures in Local Politics is the story of how one community found its way through visionary leadership and citizen engagement. The book serves as a useful guide to all those who want to lead positive change in their communities and tells the story of a former journalist turned mayor who helped to advance his city’s revitalization. Delray Beach went from blighted and depressed to being named North America’s “Most Fun Town” by Rand McNally. Adventures in Local Politics tells the story of how a city known as “Dullray” became a community considered a national model for downtown revitalization and citizen engagement. It offers lessons and cautionary tales for other communities on their journeys.    

On Tik-Tok, they have this thing called “Storytime”. Something kind of interesting plays in the background video while someone starts with a question: “Am the asshole”… I know it’s crude, but the question leads to some salacious tale about all sorts of family ridiculousness, bad relationships, cheating boyfriends and girlfriends, etc. Then in the comments, people answer whether or not that person was in the wrong. I have to admit, almost every story leaves me with my jaw on the ground. The point is, it’s shocking behavior told in a way that just sucks you right in.   Storytime prompted me to think about anthologies. Storytime is great because over the course of about four to six parts, you hear what is essentially a short story. It’s perfect for quick entertainment. Then after wandering into a bookstore to find a few anthologies right upfront in the most coveted display areas, it piqued my interest. For many years, anthologies weren’t that popular. So, it begged th...

I am intrigued and excited to discuss a major trend in book promotion: BookTok (aka TikTok). I already started building my TikTok platform. I recently read how BookTok is rapidly becoming a viable book promotion platform. According to the article “Publishing Trends: Predictions for the Book Industry in 2022” by Kaelyn Barron, “BookTok appears to be here to stay, with all trends indicating that even more authors will join the platform to market their books in 2022. So far, the hashtag #BookTok has garnered over 34.7 billion views on the platform. We’ve seen the impact of BookTok firsthand with one of our own authors, Maclen Stanley, who has accumulated over 424,000 followers and 6 million likes in just a few months since his book The Law Says What? debuted in July. Many reviewers on Amazon have commented that they bought the book specifically because they enjoyed his related TikTok videos. Book reviewers have also taken to the platform to share their thoughts on ...

  I am focused on writing right now. I had a discussion with a fellow writer about writing and rewriting. She mentioned that authors like James Patterson focus on the rewrites to find the genius in the work. I’m not a Patterson reader so I can’t speak to his work. I mostly get it down in a single draft, which is different from others. I’m naturally not opposed to rewriting, and in some cases, I do revisions. However, for the most part I seem to get it down in the first draft. In another discussion, one of my friends asked how I managed to get it right the first time. I acknowledged I don’t always get it down, but I would say at least 85 percent of it. As a professional writer, I am the same with my magazine articles. I get a first draft down pretty easily.   How do I do it? (And Friend-Os, adopt your own style and what’s right for you.) When I worked in corporate, I almost felt guilty for sitting idle just to think. I am a doer and work hard. So, I don’t like...

  Today’s topic is about using the point of view and the feelings of the character to apply it in how your descriptions unfold. In writing One Little Lie , I am writing in the first person. I chose the first-person narrative so I could convey the depth of the character’s feelings, but also to allow the prose to unfold from that person’s perspective. You have to remember that if you decide to use the first person narrative, you will be restricted to the knowledge of that person. You’re up in the narrator’s head, and the narrator only observes and hears from the other characters.   I’ve used several types of techniques. I decided to use first person in One Little Lie , because it’s a deeply personal and emotional tale. The story revolves around one character’s story of transformation, from open naivete and hopeful trust to the rude awakening of a narcissistic liar’s duplicity. You go through the experience of her transformation with her and see it unfold throu...

  Today’s topic is about narrative and novels. I’ve been listening to what is a 36-hour audio book titled The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante . I’m a huge fan of autobiographies and biographies, and I love reading about other female authors. The narrator Elena Grecco tells one of the most shocking and compelling stories about her life in Naples.   In discussing this book’s narrative with my friend, he asked me, “Why is it so shocking when she reveals important plot points. You just don’t see it coming.” Ferrante is gifted at telling a story through what I called “immediacy,” which means she tells the story exactly as it unfolded to her. In real life, we don’t have foreshadowing and little breadcrumbs that get dropped when something major is about to happen. We might see hints in a character’s behavior, but that’s all the hints we get in this kind of narrative.   As a result, Ferrante’s life experiences – and many are indeed dramatic and shock...

  Q. What is Adventures in Local Politics about? A. It’s the story about how Delray Beach found its way through visionary leadership and citizen engagement. The book serves as a useful guide to all those who want to lead positive change in their communities. It tells the story of a former-journalist-turned mayor who helped to advance his city’s revitalization. Delray Beach went from blighted and depressed to being named North America’s “Most Fun Town” by Rand McNally. Adventures in Local Politics tells the story of how a city known as “Dullray” became a community considered a national model for downtown revitalization and citizen engagement. It offers lessons and cautionary tales for other communities on their journeys.   Q. What led you to write the book? A .  When I was elected, I searched for a book that could help me navigate this new world of politics that I had entered. I couldn't find it. So, I wrote the book that I could have used when ...

  Some people have been watching the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial religiously -- almost on the same scale with the OJ Simpson trial back in the 90s. This high-profile defamation case has played out in an interesting way when it comes to a public relations perspective.  Depp's team has masterfully used social media to show how he's kind and genuine with people. If you watch mainstream media versus social media, the difference in attitude is totally opposite. Mainstream media has villainized Depp and seems to lean more toward Amber Heard. Meanwhile social media and experts and fans do not see it quite the same way.  Most of social media and average people watching this trial soon realized that Heard's testimony is questionable.  Social media's portrayal of Depp has been masterful at repairing his image. I assume that Depp's team is well aware of the tactics they've taken, which are brilliant. We see Depp doing a live performance in his iconic character Captai...

  REBUILDING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY POST-COVID New book provides insight into how to rebuild a connected community in a post-COVID world.     During the pandemic our communities literally had to disconnect to stay healthy. This disconnection dissolved old ideas about how to meet and even greet people. Governments and private companies designed new ways to interact via social distancing and reinvented many workplaces where millions of workers began working out of their domiciles and Zoom calls became the new standard for meeting with coworkers. Now as we move back toward a “New Normal” center, it has left people feeling disenfranchised and emotionally struggling with reconnecting with others. The second edition of the book Adventures in Local Politics – How Leadership Brought Back Delray Beach by Jeff Perlman illustrates how compassionate, empathetic leadership can bring communities back together.   Adventures in Local Politics is an engagi...