Tag Archives: writing

by Marjorie | March 7, 2025 · 2:00 pm

Zen dishes

Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

LISTEN HERE:

I returned to my home weakened, yet desperate to do anything. After surviving brain surgery that left my right side paralyzed, I was sent to a rehabilitation facility for two weeks. During my stay the staff had insisted we inmates (patients, that is) perform what they called “standing therapy.” We were encouraged, teased, and cajoled into standing for periods of fifteen minutes at a time. Most of my fellow inmates were stroke victims, almost all elderly, and they needed a lot of cajoling. I was much younger than the others, needed no cajoling, and resented the undisguised condescension in the therapists’ voices.

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Filed under Meditations/Liturgies

Tagged as brain surgery, family, healing, meditation, mobility, phyical therapy, rehab, rehabilitation, Traumatic brain injury, writing, zen

by Marjorie | March 6, 2025 · 11:56 am

A word about words

LISTEN:

Have you noticed when an author has used lots of different words? Hmmm, maybe you didn’t notice. Most likely it simply sounded interesting, and the writing felt like it moved along at a good pace. Maybe you noticed that the author noticed everything in their path. Say they are walking along a city street. They notice this, then draw your attention to the cracks in the sidewalk. Then they say, “Hey, I just noticed that the traffic is slowing down.”

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You can edit your own writing. Sort of….

LISTEN:

*Or perhaps you simply need to post your work elsewhere…*

Yes, you can edit your own writing. But should you? Well, sure. In fact, you really do need to edit your own writing. Raw writing is almost never the best you can produce. The very least you can do is take a good look after the flame of writing has died down a little.

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Filed under Self Publishing

Tagged as copyediting, crappy first draft, editing, editing tips, publishing, read aloud, self-publishing, shitty first draft, writing, writing first draft, writing tips, writing-tips

by Marjorie | January 20, 2025 · 5:13 pm

How to start a writing group

LISTEN:

You’ve thought of joining a writing group. Maybe someone has told you to join a writing group. Perhaps you have heard about how cut throat writing groups (sometimes called critique groups), can be. You have avoided going to a writing group.

But… that book you read where the author talks about how helpful the members of her writing group have been. Those writing conferences that people rave about (and pay good money to attend.)

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Filed under Self Publishing

Tagged as authors, books, fiction, mentoring, nonfiction writing fiction, pandemic writing, publishing, vampires, wizard of oz, writing, writing group, writing nonfiction, writing-tips

by Marjorie | January 8, 2025 · 3:12 pm

Crest fallen, or Learning how to write after teaching it for 40 years

Guest post: Em Turner Chitty previously published this article on her Substack

I taught English language and writing for many years, edited (and graded) thousands of essays, raged at the inadequacy of the way we are taught to teach it, and now for the first time in my life am dipping my toes into the waters of actual writing every day for myself, maybe for a few others. And I’m finding it way more difficult, and myself feeling more vulnerable, than I ever expected the experience to be.

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Filed under Self Publishing

Tagged as blog, blogging, books, copyediting, editing, em turner chitty, non fiction, nonfiction, self publishing, self-publishing, selfpublishing, substack, writing, writing process, writing support

by Marjorie | January 6, 2025 · 5:28 pm

Proofreading is Elementary?

The Girl Scout–happy to be in school. Not so thrilled to check or rewrite her assignments

LISTEN:

Proof reading: You learned that in elementary school, right? You remember elementary school. Even up into high school, you knew that when a teacher told you to “Proofread your work,” it meant that you were supposed to read through what you had written, looking for spelling mistakes. In later grades, you also needed to decide if your sentences made sense, and if not, to rewrite them.

What you likely never heard during your years of formal schooling (perhaps even into college?) was that “proof-reading,” in the publishing world, means exactly what the words say. Proof-reading is actually reading (reviewing) a proof (test) copy of a manuscript that has been laid out, almost ready for publication as a book (or ebook or audio-book these days).

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How to write a book

It’s a process–but it always starts with your first steps

LISTEN HERE:

Breaking down the process

Please note: this is a blog post, not a book! What is included here is not comprehensive. It’s a start, not the final word. Thanks for stopping by and read on.

Where to start?

It’s a process with lots of steps.

Start small. A blog post? A letter to a friend? A letter to the editor? It all counts.

Write what you know

Non-fiction–Write a useful book. I learned the importance of this from the best: Write Useful Books, by Rob Fitzpatrick. Plan to write a book that teaches what you’ve learned, shares skills you have developed, or inspires others who are coping with life challenges related to what you have faced.

Fiction–You will still be writing what you know, with a huge dash of imagination thrown into the mix. Of course there’s more to it than that, but it’s where you start.

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Filed under Self Publishing

Tagged as book editing, books, copy editing, developmental editing, editing, how to self publish, how to write a book, how to write my book, I want to write a book, proofreading, publishing, self publishing, self-publishing, write and publish books, write fiction, write nonfiction, write useful books, writing

by Marjorie | February 3, 2017 · 10:39 am

A question and a story

My dad and I

Do you know when you’re going to die? Well, I don’t know the answer to that, for you, for others, for myself. But since I’m a storyteller from way back, here’s a story:

You know, my dad was lucky. Three months before he died, Dad sat in his living room watching four of his teen grandchildren gathered on the floor around him, reading chapters of his soon-to-be-published memoir. He and I had spent a number of weekends together over the previous several years, working together to help document his life lessons and experiences. I clarified details of stories that didn’t quite hold together, drawing out more information. The more he shared, the more he remembered other events. Continue reading →

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Filed under Blog Posts-Personal Histories

Tagged as family, Family history, family stories, Family storytelling, writing

Tag Archives: writing

Zen dishes

A word about words

You can edit your own writing. Sort of….

How to start a writing group

Crest fallen, or Learning how to write after teaching it for 40 years

Proofreading is Elementary?

How to write a book

A question and a story

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