Roselynne,

If you format your manuscript with 1″ margins all around and use 12-point font, double spaced, it’s generally about the same as a novel. So a 300 page manuscript will be roughly a 300-page book.  

According to SCWBI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), early readers should be about 20 pages (5,000 words) and chapter books should be from 40-60 pages (10-15,000 words). And most middle grade novels are in the 20,000 to 40,000 range.  The Magic Treehouse books are about 5,000 to 12,000 words, depending on which one you pick up. 

Also, around 80,000 words is about a 300-page novel. That’s a good target length if you are writing YA novels or adult novels. Replication: The Jason Experiment is 85, 214 words long and the final book is 294 pages.

Over the years I’ve read many more of Bill’s books and got my son totally hooked on his Wally McDoogle series for young readers. No matter how old you are, if you’ve never read a Wally McDoogle book, you’ve got to. They are so very funny!

When I first heard Bill Myers speak at the Oregon Christian Writers Summer Coaching Conference in 2010, I was spellbound. Bill is a great storyteller. I could listen to him all day long. So I thought you’d all like to hear him speak in his own voice. I’ve done a few podcast interviews before as the author being interviewed, but this was the first time I tried interviewing someone else. It was a little tricky, but I figured it out. 

FYI, in this interview, Bill talks about a film company that he’s working with to get some of his books made into movies. The name of this company is Amaris Media International, and if you click here, you can check out their site and keep up with what they’re working on.

So here is my interview with Bill Myers where he talks about how he became a writer, director, and producer, and about his latest ebook Supernatural Love, which is available on Kindle now. 

Click here to download the MP3 of my interview with Bill.

Or click on the gray Audio MP3 Play Button under the social media icons to listen now. 

CLICK HERE to download To Darkness Fled-Episode 13

Achan awakes alone in the darkness with no ability to bloodvoice Sir Gavin or the rest of his party. Is this a trick of Darkness? Or has something horrible taken place?

Review by Jill Williamson

When a reporter harasses a member of Robyn’s prayer team, Robyn speaks up—and makes a terrible enemy. Not the reporter, though. A demon, sent by his master to stop Robin’s prayer group at all costs. Robyn knows nothing of this, of course. She goes about her regular routine and agrees to appear on the news, to have a second interview with the reporter who is offended by prayer. But Robyn and her friends are now under demonic attack, and Robyn must figure out what God wants her to do.

Good book! The way the demons and angels were characters reminded me of Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness. All the characters were true to life and engaging. I found the idea of the spiritual attack interesting to ponder. I hope that there will be a second book soon. Recommended for teens.

AgeRange: 14 and up
Genre: supernatural
Part of a Series: This is the first book in what might become a series
Pages: 278
Publisher: Risen Books
Released: 2011
 

William James said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”  Some simple ways I’ve tried to show appreciation to others are: 

1. Smile. This is the fastest way to show others you like them.

2. Give a compliment. Saying something nice is an easy way to make someone’s day.

3. Ask a question. And don’t stop at “How are you?” Questions are a simple way to start a conversation. And people feel good when you’re interested in their life.

4. Listen. Everyone likes to be heard, and listening lets a person know you care.

5. Offer to help. If you see someone struggling, jump in and lend a hand! Get the door for a stranger. Give up your seat on the bus. Slow down and let a pedestrian pass–even if they’re jaywalking! The other day, our car died three blocks from the mechanic’s shop. Some guy helped my husband push the car the rest of the way. I didn’t even catch his name, but he was a hero to us.

Check out the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation for more ideas. Granted, some of these are premeditated, but planned kindness makes a difference too.

What about you? Leave a comment and tell us other ways we can make a difference in someone’s day.

Another mom brought in these cute cheese and hotdog hearts. (Click on the picture to see how to make them. They’re from Family Fun Magazine.)

And we had a lovely wedge salad with a tomato rose with our Valentine’s Fundraiser dinner. (Click on the picture to watch how to make one on YouTube.)

How about you? See any clever Valentine’s treats yesterday? Tell me about it.

I thought some of you might find this tool helpful. Be sure to check out Michael’s website at: http://www.storymastery.com/.

TITLE is a GENRE about HERO, a ROLE, who EMPATHY/SET UP. When HERO is OPPORTUNITY, s/he decides to NEW SITUATION/PRELIMINARY GOAL. But when CHANGE OF PLANS, s/he now must OUTER MOTIVATION/PRIMARY GOAL by HERO’s PLAN as well as SECOND GOAL in spite of the fact that OUTER CONFLICT.

My example:

By Darkness Hid is an medieval fantasy story, about Achan, a stray boy, who is about to become a man, who lives under the ale casks in the cellar of the kitchens of Sitna Manor because he is owned by Lord Nathak and was raised by Poril, the cook.

When Achan is offered the opportunity to train to be a squire, even though it’s against the law for strays, he decides to train anyway, in hopes of becoming worthy of Gren, the peasant girl he loves. But when Lord Nathak discovers Achan’s training and forces Achan to squire for Prince Gidon, and the prince tries to take Gren for himself, Achan now must help Gren marry another and keep her life safe by pledging to serve the evil prince for life, as well as give up his dreams of freedom, in spite of the fact that he is now hearing voices in his head.

Now you try it:

______________ is a ________________ about __________, a ________________, who ________________________. When ____________ is ___________________, s/he decides to ____________________. But when  _______________________, s/he now must ________________________________ by ______________    as well as ____________________ in spite of the fact that _______________________.

How did it work? Is this something you might find useful in the future? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

When asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 28-31)

I think that’s pretty cool.

But I was just thinking, what if you don’t love yourself? What if you don’t even like yourself? What if you judge yourself harshly, think you’re too thin or too fat, think you talk too little or too much, think you do everything wrong? And if you think of yourself in such a critical way, how might that reflect on how you think of your neighbor? 

Perhaps, to truly love your neighbor, you need to first learn to love yourself as Christ loves you.

So just how much does Christ love you, anyway?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

I wonder if it’s possible for me to love anyone so much that I would sacrifice my son. I don’t think so. 

Wow. 

Anyway… that’s what I was thinking.

What do you think? Have you ever had trouble loving yourself? Leave a comment and let me know.

Shadowwriter: My problem is that toward the middle of the book, it gets dry and I need something to happen. I’m not sure what.

The strength of a plot depends on how the writer reveals information to the reader. If you have nothing going on in the middle of your book, try some of these mystery tips to see if you can add some intrigue. And if you don’t have enough characters for intrigue, maybe you need to add some minor characters.

1. Know the ending

When writing a strong plot, it’s important to have some idea of how you want the story to end. This usually results in your main character achieving his goal. In a mystery novel, that means figuring out who done it. If your mystery is a subplot, you still need to reveal the answer to that mystery. Once you know your ending, it will be easier for you to plant clues and red herrings for the reader along the way.

2. Avoid luck

Nothing is more frustrating to a reader than a story in which the main character succeeds by a string of good luck. Do not allow luck or other heroic characters to sweep in and steal the spotlight from your main character. Your hero needs to solve the mystery!

3. Backstory

Know the backstory of all your main and minor characters. Do not put all that you know into the book! You need to know it to understand each character’s motivation for doing what they do in the story. Murder requires motive. So does every other action. Once you know each character well, it will be easier to plant clues and red herrings for the reader. 

4. Introduce the culprit early on

Make sure the reader gets to see that bad guy/traitor/guilty party early on in the book. It’s frustrating to be reading a story and think you know who may have done it only to discover it was a character who just entered the story in chapter 28! Give the reader a glimpse early on. JK Rowling does a great job with this. If you’ve read or seen the first Harry Potter, remember that we first saw Professor Quirrell at the Leaky Cauldron when Harry was first headed to school.

Keep in mind, the culprit shouldn’t always be the least likely person. Mix it up. Keep your reader guessing.

5. Clues

A clue is: anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem or mystery.

Plant clues as the story moves along. Things that may seem significant or completely ordinary. Harry Potter’s meeting a new teacher seemed like no big deal at the time.

Clues can be observations. Perhaps your character notices a tattoo on a friend. He doesn’t think much of it until later in the book when he sees a villain with the same tattoo. Then there is a connection that raises suspicion of the friend. 

Clues can be relationships: relatives who hate each other, a boyfriends who was cheated on, a couple in love, a mentor…

Clues can be evidence like fingerprints, hair color, footprints, license plate numbers, etc.

Clues can be dialogue. Keri told me she loved snowboarding. Then why did she tell me she hated it?

Depending on the type of writer you are, you might plan these clues before you write the book or write the whole book then go back in and plant clues. Both ways work.

Use clues sparingly. You don’t need them for every character in every scene. You just need a few here and there.

6. Red herrings

A red herring is something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue.

Plant red herrings as the story moves along. Things that may seem significant or completely ordinary. Professor Snape’s apparent hatred of Harry seemed like a very big motive for villainy, even though it wasn’t.

Red herrings can be observations, relationships, evidence, and dialogue too. Reveal them in the same manner as you do clues. You goal is to throw your reader off track.

Depending on the type of writer you are, you might plan out these red herrings before you write the book or write the whole book then go back in and plant red herrings. Both ways work. 

Use red herrings sparingly too. 

7. Wait as long as possible for the big reveal

If the mystery subplot is integral to the overall plot of your story, don’t reveal your culprit in the middle of the book. Wait until the last possible moment for your main character to figure it all out.

The idea is to create a trail of puzzle pieces for your character to find and put together until it’s time to be revealed. So if your story is stuck, I suggest you plant some more puzzle pieces.

CLICK HERE to download To Darkness Fled-Episode 12

In this episode, Achan learns the true dangers of his powers, and he and Vrell practice swordplay.