Author: macjam47

As much as I love language and believe in the magic of the written word, I must admit that we humans are innately visual creatures living in a visually driven era. From print magazines to television, film, and now social media, our world is consumed via highly visual mediums that use images to attract attention, convey information, and tell stories.

We writers can’t be blamed for being somewhat affronted by this state of affairs. For those of us who love to read and write, society’s general disdain for the written word can feel like a personal insult.  In my work as a copywriter and content marketer, I am often forced to concede that the best solutions require less text and more visuals. Brevity and the ability to marry words and images have become indispensible skills in today’s communication arts.

As a writer, you may resist embracing the visual. You…

In this Soft Hour,
By which Light, no Shadows fall
To Kiss the Silver Moonlight of my sorrow.
Alone, tis naught but my own Memory which Speaks,
Of Days long past that lie in Wait before me,
Yet by this Hollow Light,
Which Shimmers like true Spectres of the Silken darkness,
And Dances in bleak jibes before me,
This Heart and this Fair Memory Cries out in wails and sobs like Fair Hecuba.
Waiting, Thus,
In this Soft Hour,
By which no Light claims the weakness of my Heart,
I tarry ‘neath the Glimmer of one failing candle
And call out,
Out into the shifting tides of murky darkness swimming hence before me,
Gilded by the Glamour of far distant Lights,
Like Memories peering down from Sweetest Heaven,
And Pierce this empty vale with acutest Hearing,
Longing for the Nearer Sound of Your Fair Voice,
Than how it Sings but…

I have decided to offer a tell-all of the story behind Runaway Smile on my blog. This is done for two reasons: first, I want to thank all the people who made it possible, especially Dimitris Fousekis and George Vasdekis. Second, I want to inspire any authors who are looking for a way to get published without surrendering all rights to their hard work, but for whatever reason are not interested in self-publishing.

The Runaway Smile started out as a silly poem that I was playing with in my head (you can read the final version of it at the end of the book). One day, back in 2012, I was having my childhood friend, Dimitris Fousekis, over for lunch. He’s a professional illustrator and liked the poem so much, that he suggested we turn it into a children’s book. This was before I decided to become an author…

Nature is the Truest, Most Constant Blessing

We can Choose to Enjoy.

Yet, Like any Blessing,
We can also Choose to ignore it,

Abuse it,
Destroy it,

or Chop it down.

What Measure of Steward Will You Be?

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~Morgan~

Waterfall: Plitvice National Park Croatia By : Andrea Pozzi

Geysers : Fly Geyser, Washoe County, Nevada – United States

Woven Trees found at : phoenix-legend.tumblr.com

Additional Images found on Pinterest

As you may know, I’m about to publish Runaway Smile, my first children’s book. Which makes this excellent post by DianeRobinson, author of the Sir Princess Petra award-winning series particularly interesting to me. Enjoy!

Point Of View In Writing For Children

Illustrations by Samantha Kickingbird

Point of view, or viewpoint, can be a confusing aspect of writing for many writers at the best of times. In writing for children, there are some stricter rules on the subject.
There are several different viewpoint techniques in writing, but in writing for children, the viewpoints that are acceptable in modern writing are limited to a few and the viewpoint in writing for younger children is always limited to only one character’s point of view.

Children relate to the point of view character in the story, so making it clear who is telling the story at the beginning of your story…

Most authors at one time or another have dreamed of taking the writing world by storm with a breakout bestselling novel. I’m sure most of us still harbor hope this will happen. Regardless of sales or monetary success, we can still make a difference in the writing community. Whether you’re published or still writing your first novel, you can make a huge impact. Here’s how:

1. Make connections. I recently read an excellent blog post by Susan Toy that discusses online connections and engagement. When it comes to Twitter and blog followers, some people mistake quantity for quality. Would you rather have 100 followers who regularly visit and comment on your blog, or 1000 followers you never hear from again? A huge number of Twitter followers or Facebook Page likes might look good on paper, but what does it really mean if you aren’t making connections with people? Visit blogs and leave…