We all know that journaling has many benefits. It can help relieve stress and anxiety, provide clarity, strengthen memory, improve mood, and more! Research is finding that it can improve your physical health as well.
These are enough reasons to journal, but if you’re a writer, there is another important reason you should consider: journaling provides inspiration!
Your present and past journals possibly contain a wealth of story ideas, and it’s a great way to help create characters! If you’re a children’s writer, this is especially true if you read through your childhood journals. What experiences did you have in your youth that would work well in a story? What was your writing voice like as a child? Perhaps your character might “sound” the same. Scrapbooks are another potential source of inspiration.
I, personally, am getting ready to dig through my old journals in search of inspiration. I am both excited and a little nervous at what I might find. Perhaps I’ll let you how it goes.
Caution:
Reading through old journals can stir up past emotions that may be painful. But, what you wrote in those journals is part of your life experience and helped shape the person you’ve become. If it hadn’t been important to you—at least at the time—you wouldn’t have written it down. So, before visiting the past, it’s a good idea to mentally prepare yourself for what you might find in the pages of your life story.
Parents:
Encourage your children to spend a bit of time journaling each day. (Perhaps a new journal would make a great Christmas present.)
Question:
Do you journal? If so, what have you found to be most beneficial about the process?
If you found this post helpful, let me know in the comments!
This rhyming picture book is a great tool to discuss emotions with children, and is sure to leave everyone giggling over Duck’s silly antics. And the seven pages of reading activities at the end really make this book stand out. The picture book is also now available on Amazon.
Duck is sure to become a favorite character among his readers. What I particularly love about this book is that it is the same story as 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘋𝘶𝘤𝘬 the early reader, but this time it’s told in rhyme with much more detail. I highly recommend purchasing both books, giving the costumer opportunities to develop several compare-and-contrast activities with their children/students. Readers who have already read the early reader will love comparing it to this new version, while children who have first listened to this new version will gain confidence as they learn to read their favorite story in the form of an early reader!
The strongest and most interesting protagonists are those who grow or change in some way throughout the story, which stands to reason if they are working to solve the story’s conflict.
The change doesn’t have to be big, especially if you’re writing a short story or picture book. In most cases, these protagonists often gain new information or learn an important lesson about themselves, about life, or about others—and they need to reach these conclusions on their own rather than being told what to think by another character (although other characters can certainly help lead them to these conclusions) .
The lesson learned by your main character is the same lesson you want your reader to get from the story, and your protagonist needs to be the one learning it right along with the reader. This will help your reader relate to and make connections with your main character, thus connecting with the story as a whole.
Conflict is arguably the most important literary element in any story, for it is what drives the narrative.
What many don’t realize is that conflict is not always with another character.
Conflict can be internal or external and is often categorized as six types:
Character vs. Self
Character vs. Character
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Society
Character vs. Supernatural
Character vs. Technology
Example: In my book Oh Deer! my main character faces two different types of conflict: the external conflict against nature and the internal conflict of whether to intervene or allow nature to run its course.
What is your favorite type of conflict to read/write?
For you authors out there, what type of conflict will we find in your stories?
Tuesday, April 20, was one of the saddest days of my life.
It started out like any other day: wake up, take my two oldest children to school, homeschool my youngest in the morning, and help care for my grandma in the afternoon.
On this particular afternoon, my grandma was taking a nap, so I decided to call the local nursing home and schedule a visit with my dad for the following day. I had been trying to schedule a visit for a week, but COVID restrictions make scheduling visits difficult, and the visitation coordinator and I had been playing phone tag trying to get in touch with one another. A window visit would have sufficed, expect Dad had a courtyard window with no access from the outer perimeter—even courtyard visits had to be scheduled.
The nursing home also functions as a rehabilitation facility, and Dad had been in there since January, healing from his second below-the-knee leg amputation. Such a healing process is difficult, especially for a diabetic, but Dad was doing well. Just four days prior to my call, the family had participated in a phone conference with Dad and his nurses and physical therapists. They told us that therapy was going well and that he had amazing upper body strength. They were hopeful that he would soon be fitted for prosthetics and could come home in a couple of months. Things were looking up.
Dad was excited about our upcoming visit, and so were my children, especially my youngest; she had been talking about it for days. We needed to get this visit scheduled in the books once and for all. I dialed the number.
“How may help you?” the receptionist asked after a friendly greeting.
“I’ve been trying to schedule a visit with my father, and I’d like to come tomorrow at 3:00 PM if that’s okay,” I replied, telling her Dad’s name.
Her tone immediately changed to one of discomfort.
“Actually,” she said with hesitation, “We are going to transport your dad to the hospital, but…” her voice trailed for a moment. “I’m so sorry to tell you like this, but paramedics have been doing CPR on him for about 15 minutes. We’ve been trying to contact your mom…”
“What? You mean he coded?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry.”
Shock. Confusion. Shock.
“Okay, thank you,” I managed through a rush of sudden sobs. I hung up the phone and tried to call my mom. No answer. She had been at work and had been unable to answer the phone. I called my brother who lives less than a mile from the rehabilitation facility. “I just got off the phone with the nursing home. They’re doing CPR on Dad!”
My brother rushed to the facility, but it was too late. Dad was gone.
Instead of visiting Dad at the nursing home on Wednesday, I would be visiting him at the funeral home on Friday.
What happened? What caused him to suddenly stop breathing when everything was going so well? We were told he complained of chest pain shortly before he stopped breathing. Our best guess is a heart attack.
Fast forward 10 days, and here I sit, telling the story I never expected to tell. How is the family doing, you may wonder? We’re sad. Mom is devastated that she didn’t get the phone call in time, not that it would have made a difference. Everything happened so quickly. Once he stopped breathing, paramedics worked on him for over 25 minutes, doing everything they could possibly do.
Our family no doubt needs prayer during this difficult time. Dad left behind many friends and a big family, including eight grandchildren, who loved him dearly. The days ahead won’t be easy.
We miss him tremendously, but our faith provides us with peace, comfort, and hope that he is in a better place and that we will see him again—walking on two legs, no doubt. It is because of this faith that we are able to thrive through the grief.
The words of Christ have never rang truer for me than when I lost my grandpa in 2012 and now my dad in 2021: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,” and “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
My Heavenly Father has my earthly father in His care. See you later, Dad. I’ll be okay.
Today is the first weekiversary (it’s a thing) of Oh Deer!
Yes, it has been exactly one week since I published my first book, and what a week it has been! Oh Deer!has seen much success in its first week, but that’s a topic for another post. Today I want to focus on one of the reasons for its success: my husband Doug.
You see, today is another “versary”—our anniversary. Fourteen years ago I stood before God, family, and friends and pledged my heart to this amazing man. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. Little did I know that I was making the best decision of my life.
June 24, 2006
Second to God, Doug has been my rock. He has loved, protected, defended, nurtured, and supported me far more than I ever deserved. I’ve had some crazy ideas over the years (e.g. publishing a book), and Doug has been my biggest cheerleader, the first one to encourage me.
He’s always there behind the scenes making sure my dreams become reality. The world doesn’t see the hours he spends at the computer formatting books, designing shareable images, learning the ends and outs of the publishing business, and tracking progress—all talents that I lack—and he does this in addition to going to work every day and maintaining upkeep on our country home. He loves the Lord and serves our church in many capacities; he’s an amazing father who encourages our children to follow their dreams, which are often more outrageous than mine; and he’s always there for others in need.
I don’t know how he does it all. Sometimes I suspect I’ve married Superman.
Oh Deer! is as much his book as it is mine. Like every other adventure in our marriage, we are on this author journey together. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So today I celebrate us!
Happy Anniversary, Doug!
I love you.
Forever yours,
Brandi
FUN FACT:
It was the above picture that inspired the look of our characters in Oh Deer!—illustrated by the talented Mau Rendón.
I am excited to announce that the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here: Oh Deer! is available to purchase on Amazon!
It’s a common dilemma—finding a wild, baby animal without its mother. Many well-meaning citizens want to help, but they are not sure what to do. This is exactly what happens to Brooklyn when she spots a white-tailed fawn in trouble. As a thunderstorm looms in the distance, Brooklyn must decide whether to intervene or allow nature to run its course.
Research shows that stories are an effective method for remembering factual information. Through the power of storytelling, this book provides essential information that empowers children to make educated decisions about their interactions with nature’s wild animals. Rich vocabulary, expressive illustrations, and a crisp story line make Oh Deer! an entertaining narrative that children will never forget.
Read to see what happens to the young deer in this incredible true story and also learn some fun facts about fawns, including what to do if you spot one alone.
One of the great things about smartphones is that you can carry an entire library in your pocket!
I want to make sure you have as many options as possible for accessing Oh Deer! on Amazon, and that includes the electronic version.
If you are interested in owning an electronic copy, then you’ll definitely want to keep reading. If you would rather have a print version, you still want to keep reading because there are tons of other ebooks you might be interested in owning without cluttering up your bookshelf.
I recently downloaded and started using the Amazon Kindle app, and I absolutely love it! Just about any book you can imagine is available, and some of them are FREE. Those are my favorite!
In order to use Amazon Kindle, you will need an Amazon account. If you already have one, great! If not, creating one is easy and FREE! Click here for instructions.
With an established Amazon account, you will have two options for retrieving your ebooks. 1) You can download the free Amazon Kindle app on your mobile device, or 2) you can use Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader on your desktop or laptop.
Summary:
Step 1—Create an Amazon account (if you don’t already have one). You can find instructions for creating an Amazon account by clicking here.
Step 2—Decide whether you will use the Amazon Kindle app on your mobile device or the Kindle Cloud Reader on your desktop/laptop.
I realize that many of you already have Amazon accounts and are skilled shoppers, but for you novices out there, I thought I would provide instructions for creating an Amazon account to ensure that you are able to purchase The New Bug in Town and Oh Deer!
Instructions for Creating an Account on Your Mobile Device
Step Two: Hover your mouse over “Hello, Sign in” in the upper right-hand corner until the drop menu appears. (See red arrow in the image below.)
Step Three: Click “Start here” on the drop menu. (See red arrow in the image below.)
Step Four: Enter your information and then click the yellow “Create your Amazon account” button.
Enjoy shopping on Amazon and don’t forget to purchase Oh Deer! (and leave an Amazon review) once it becomes available. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
If you would like to join my launch team and get a free digital copy of Oh Deer! on Amazon, please enter your name and email below.
