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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Do You Have a Book Inside You Struggling to Get Out?
If you've envisioned the perfect plot for a blockbuster novel or have a fantastic idea for the next non-fiction best-seller, yet have found it difficult to motivate yourself to get started or stick with it for very long, you may just find the inspiration you need by writing your book with novelist Holly Lisle.
Let Holly Help You Get Your Book Written!
Holly Lisle, an experienced author with over 30 books to her credit, who offers various courses in fiction writing at her website, HollyLisle.com, has brainstormed a fabulous idea for helping her fellow writers find the initiative to get their books written. She calls it Write a Book With Me.
A Group Writing Plan That's a Little Different
Perhaps you've participated in other community writing efforts, starting out enthusiastically enough but losing steam partway through because the high daily word-counts were difficult to maintain. You may have fallen behind and catching up simply required too much effort. If so, I have good news for you: You won't have that problem with this absolutely pressure-free group writing plan. Holly has made it almost ridiculously easy for any writer to participate and stick with the program by requiring (and I use the term loosely) a minimum of only 250 words per day, five days a week, and by not requiring that missed days' word-counts be made up later. What more could a writer ask?
A Program That's Not Just Fun but Guilt-Free
Holly also gives the reticent writer a convenient "out." Should you try her writing plan and decide it isn't for you, you simply quit—without recriminations. Here's the way Holly explains it in her "official" rules:
You acknowledge that all this has to be is fun—it isn’t work, a competition, or a form of self-flagellation—and if knocking out your words at this pace stops being fun, you walk away with no guilt.
Well, that certainly is refreshing, isn't it? Writing without guilt—and having fun doing it! I hope you'll pardon the pun when I say, "What a novel idea!"
You'll Enjoy the Flexibility of Holly's Plan
As you can see from the points mentioned above, flexibility is the hallmark of Holly's cooperative writing plan. In fact, the most important "plus" that I see in it (aside from actually getting your book written) is that, no matter what you do, you absolutely can't fail. And, in our often stress-burdened lives, there's certainly a great deal to be said for that! (You can also join this group writing plan regardless of your book's current stage of completion--another obvious indicator of its flexibility.)
So, what are you waiting for? Check out Holly's "requirements" for participation and then get started. Now's as good a time as any—and probably better now that this super-flexible plan has been developed—to get your book written!
Holly's plan may be just what you need to free your Muse and get your creativity flowing.
Happy writing! (And I do mean happy!)
Jeanne
Do you have a book "in you"—one that you've always dreamed of writing but never gotten around to? Or, have you started your book, only to lose your enthusiasm part-way through? Perhaps you've joined other cooperative writing programs that were more of a challenge than you were prepared to undertake and quit soon after. I'd just love it if you'd share your experiences with us. What were the positives and negatives of the programs you've been involved with? What do you look for in such programs? Or are you a lone-wolf writer? If writing alone is your preferred modus operandi, what don't you like about writing along with others?
Writer's Notes' Recent Emphasis on Free Giving Sites
I'm sure you've noticed that a number of my recent posts have been philanthropic in nature--though I've done my best to keep these relevant to the general topic of Writer's Notes. In addition, most have involved free giving opportunities through click-to-give, search-to-give, or test-your-vocabulary-to-give sites. This post is no different.
Click to Give Free Books to Children Around the Globe
I've discovered a site, via my blogging friend Lillie Ammann, which donates free books to children around the world and also helps build schools in impoverished parts of the globe through revenue raised via its advertisers in response to free clicks by visitors to the site. This is one more opportunity to give an intellectual and literary hand to those in need without the necessity of donating money. What an excellent idea!
Click to Support The Literacy Site
The Literacy Site is part of a bank of click-to-give sites that I discovered through an article written by Lillie, entitled How to Be a Philanthropist with No Money and Only Ten Minutes a Day. The Literacy Site allows you to take part in their two programs which help bring literacy to the poorest populations around the globe: Room to Read and First Book.
Room to Read Program
One of The Literacy Site's programs is the Room to Read program. Room to Read provides books for children through its Local Language Publishing Program and builds adequate schools in rural areas of the developing world, through its School Room Program.
The mission statement of the Room to Read program follows:
Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education is a lifelong gift that empowers people to ultimately improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only an education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.
First Book Program
The other program offered by The Literacy Site, is the First Book program, which is dedicated to getting books into the hands of disadvantaged children. After Hurrican Katrina, First Book launched Book Relief, with a goal of providing over five million new books to those so seriously affected by the devastation as well as those organizations involved in the rebuilding effort. So far, 3.5 million books have been distributed through the Book Relief program.
Here's what The Literacy Site has to say about itself and its First Book program:
Since its launch in November 2004, visitors to The Literacy Site have helped generate over a million new books for children from low-income families. Our non-profit partner First Book helps convert clicks at The Literacy Site into actual books in the hands of children.
Other Convenient Opportunities for Free Giving
When you visit The Free Literacy Site, you'll notice that it's part of a bank of other free click-to-give sites: The Hunger Site, The Breast Cancer Site,* The Child Health Site, The Rain Forest Site, and The Animal Rescue Site. Each of these sites offers help and support to different worthy causes and relief efforts, and their convenient shared location on the same QuickDonations.com website makes it easy for you to click to help all six causes at the same time. (Note: you'll also have access to all six of these sites when you click the link to The Literacy Site, above.)
When you visit these sites, within minutes--or less--you'll be able to help feed the hungry, provide free mammograms* for poor women, give free health care to poor children, protect a portion of endangered rain forest habitat, rescue and provide free food and care for stray animals--and all this in addition to the free books and school facilities you'll be helping to provide for underprivileged children through The Literacy Site!
Wouldn't that be worth a few minutes of your time each day? If enough of us join together in the effort to help these worthy causes, we could really make a difference. It won't cost us a penny, and the effort involved would be less than the effort it takes to write an article, post a blog entry, or even leave a comment.
I'm in. How about you?
Jeanne
*Note: During the month of November, if the funding goal of 500 mammograms is reached, The Breast Cancer Site will donate an ultrasound machine to a hospital in South Africa through funding provided by its charitable partner, GreaterGood.org. As of today (Nov. 11th), visitors to the site have brought contributions to 31% of the goal. So, please click daily to help the people of South Africa receive their ultrasound machine!
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything new? Have anything to add? Join the conversation!
Search Kindly: The Site Where Research = Charity
The next time you need to research an article, blog post, book, or story, why not use Search Kindly and donate to a worthy cause at the same time? Search Kindly is a website that offers Google search capability with a twist: Each time you complete your Google search from the site instead of anywhere else, you actually donate money for free to a worthy charitable organization.
Why Search Kindly?
The people who run the site have this to say about themselves and their innovative way of raising money for charity:
Search Kindly is a non-profit organization dedicated to the idea of micro-volunteerism and micro-philanthropy. A lot of people doing a little is better than a few people doing a lot.
They also explain why they've chosen to use a site that offers Google search as their vehicle for fundraising:
The whole point of Search Kindly is to take something that you'd be doing anyway, like surfing the Internet, and turn it into a really meaningful action.
Sounds like a fantastic idea, to me.
How Does Search Kindly Work?
The charity which receives each month's donations is chosen via voting by the site's visitors during the month prior to the one in which the donations are distributed. So, not only are you able to give without money, but you're also able to help decide who receives your gift.
Search Kindly posts a list of organizations from which you can choose when you place your vote (which you may do once every eight hours). There are currently six charitable groups vying for December's funds. Each organization title in the list links to a description of the group and its work. During the first three weeks of the month, open voting takes place among all six charities to determine the top two. These two remain in the running during the fourth week, at which time the site's users vote for their favorite of the two and thereby choose the recipient of the next month's proceeds.
Donations are generated through the site's advertising, and 100% of proceeds raised are donated to the chosen charity each month. Last month (October) $913.35 was raised for Wildlife Direct, and the goal for this month is $1,000, which will be donated to Blood: Water Mission. (As of this writing, $180.60 has been raised so far this month.)
Which Groups Can I Choose Among for December's Donation?
Charitable organizations in the running for Next month's donation are the following:
-Covenant House
-Friends of Bonobos
-Boma Fund
-Cows for Kids
-Marion Medical Mission
-Save Darfur Coalition
Visit the site to learn more about these organizations and their work and to enter your vote for the charity of your choice. Then, why not start using Search Kindly for all your internet research?
As they say on the website, "If you're going to search, why not Search Kindly?"
Let's Search Kindly together!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have any input? Any questions? Please feel free to comment!
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