Incurable Disease of Writing

Welcome to the May 16, 2008 edition of Just Write. Thanks to everyone who submitted! As usual, we have some bright people sharing information about the world of writing. Please visit them and encourage them all to keep up the good work.

Book Reviews

Cindy King presents Book Review - Letting Go Of The Words - Writing Web Content That Works By Janice Redish posted at Cindy King, saying, “Letting Go Of The Words is a must read for anyone involved with a website or blog. This is not about the tools you need or anything technical. This book is about web content and information strategies. It’s about “planning, selecting, organizing, writing, illustrating, reviewing, and testing content”…that gives readers a successful and satisfying web experience.”

The Writing Life

Steve Osborne presents Writers: Don’t Be Seduced by Photography posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Writing Mechanics

Jim Murdoch presents You probably think this blog is about you (part three) posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “Third of four articles on ‘thinly veiled autobiographies’”

Orna Ross presents Five Keys To Writing Excellence by Orna Ross posted at WRITING ADVICE & PUBLISHING ADVICE from Font, saying, “All good writing shares five common characteristics. Orna Ross takes us through them.”

Writing Projects/Prompts

Christina M. Rau presents Phone Calls And Conversations (Or Fifty Ways To Need A Lover) posted at The Unromancing Of Roma, saying, “Chapter 2 of The Unromancing of Roma–Marie gets a date!”

Aaron presents And Now Something New posted at Aaron Crocco: Copious Notes, saying, “I have announced on my blog that I will be writing an interactive book with help from my readers and post each chapter as I write it.”

Theresa L. Twogood presents Daily Prayer Journal posted at OLIN e-Book e-Publishing.

Writing Resources

Amy Munnell presents Windmills of My Mind…Memoir Markets posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

Writing Tips

Steve Osborne presents Which Do You Love: Writing or Being a Writer? posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Just Write
using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORs:

Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last.

Well, we do.

This is a different kind of teen book. Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You’ll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it’s like being a teenager. You’ll find a lot of cheap throwaway books for teens because young people today aren’t supposed to care about books or see any reason to keep them around. And you’ll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice—because the message is dumbed-down. Like, just for you.

What you’re holding in your hands right now is a challenging book for teens by teens who believe our generation is ready for a change. Ready for something that doesn’t promise a whole new life if you’ll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant. We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming. And we’ve noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it’s also more difficult.

We’re nineteen-year-old twin brothers, born and raised in Oregon, taught at home by our parents, and striving to follow Christ as best we can. We’ve made more than our share of mistakes. And although we don’t think “average teenagers” exist, there is nothing all that extraordinary about us personally.

Still, we’ve had some extraordinary experiences. At age sixteen, we interned at the Alabama Supreme Court. At seventeen, we served as grass-roots directors for four statewide political campaigns. At eighteen, we authored the most popular Christian teen blog on the web. We’ve been able to speak to thousands of teens and their parents at conferences in the United States and internationally and to reach millions online. But if our teen years have been different than most, it’s not because we’re somehow better than other teens, but because we’ve been motivated by a simple but very big idea. It’s an idea you’re going to encounter for yourself in the pages ahead.

We’ve seen this idea transform “average” teenagers into world-changers able to accomplish incredible things. And they started by simply being willing to break the mold of what society thinks teens are capable of.

So even though the story starts with us, this book really isn’t about us, and we would never want it to be. It’s about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation. It’s about an idea. It’s about rebelling against low expectations. It’s about a movement that is changing the attitudes and actions of teens around the world. And we want you to be part of it.

This book invites you to explore some radical questions:

• Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we’re actually missing out on some of the best years of our lives?

• Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie and that we are its victims?

• Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-alifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments—as individuals and as a generation?

• And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely—a path that required more effort but promised a lot more reward?

We describe that alternative path with three simple words: “do hard things.”

If you’re like most people, your first reaction to the phrase “do hard things” runs along the lines of, “Hard? Uh-oh. Guys, I just remembered that I’m supposed to be somewhere else. Like, right now.”

We understand this reaction. It reminds us of a story we like to tell about a group of monks. Yep, monks.

On the outskirts of a small town in Germany is the imaginary abbey of Dundelhoff. This small stone monastery is home to a particularly strict sect of Dundress monks, who have each vowed to live a life of continual self-denial and discomfort.

Instead of wearing comfy T-shirts and well-worn jeans like most people, these monks wear either itchy shirts made from goat hair or cold chain mail worn directly over bare skin. Instead of soft mattresses, pillows, and warm blankets, they sleep on the cold stone floors of the abbey. You might have read somewhere that monks are fabulous cooks? Well, not these monks. They eat colorless, tasteless sludge—once a day. They only drink lukewarm water.

We could go on, but you get the picture. No matter what decision they face, Dundress monks always choose the more difficult option, the one that provides the least physical comfort, holds the least appeal, offers the least fun. Why? Because they believe that the more miserable they are, the holier they are; and the holier they are, the happier God is.

So these miserable monks must be poster boys for “do hard things.” Right?

Wrong!

We’re not plotting to make your life miserable. We’re not recommending that you do any and every difficult thing. For example, we’re not telling you to rob a bank, jump off a cliff, climb Half Dome with your bare hands, or stand on your head for twenty-four hours straight. We are not telling you to do pointless (or stupid) hard things just because they’re hard. And if you’re a Christian, we’re certainly not telling you that if you work harder or make yourself uncomfortable on purpose, God will love you more. He will never—could never—love you any more than He does right now.

So that’s what we’re not doing. What we are doing is challenging you to grab hold of a more exciting option for your teen years than the one portrayed as normal in society today. This option has somehow gotten lost in our culture, and most people don’t even know it. In the pages ahead, you’re going to meet young people just like you who have rediscovered this better way—a way to reach higher, dream bigger, grow stronger, love and honor God, live with more joy—and quit wasting their lives.

In Do Hard Things, we not only say there is a better way to do the teen years, we show you how we and thousands of other teens are doing it right now and how you can as well.

Welcome to the May 9, 2008 edition of Just Write. We have more than a few superb links this week. Please visit them all and leave comments.

Book Reviews

Deborah Dera presents The Rhythm of Write » Coming Soon: Paul Kilduff’s “Ruinair”! posted at The Rhythm of Write, saying, “Paul Kilduff recently transitioned from fiction to nonfiction writing in order to compile his latest travel memoir, Ruinair! Join us as he makes a stop on his virtual blog tour to answer questions about his writing career!”

Copywriting/Freelance

Heather Johnson presents 8 Tips for Managing Your Time as a Freelancer posted at Contract Worker - Freelancing Experiences.

Encouragement for Writers

AnneGlamore presents You Can Read Me Now posted at My Tiny Kingdom, saying, “Blogging has lead to all sorts of exciting writing and speaking opportunities, and now I’ve been published in a book!”

Cheryl St.John presents What I Learned About Writing From Watching American Idol posted at Cheryl St.John.

Poetry

Amy Munnell presents Waxing Poetic…Competitions for Your Poetry posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

George L Smyth presents One Minute How-To - How To Write A Poem posted at George L Smyth, saying, “Tairy Woodard explains the best route to writing a successful poem.”

The Writing Life

Amy Munnell presents Interview…with journalist W. Thomas Smith, Jr. posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Combat journalist W. Thomas Smith, Jr. reveals how he got caught in a media war while covering terrorists in the Middle East.”

Craig presents How a technical writing certificate can boost your career posted at HelpScribe Technical Writing, saying, “A technical writing certificate program can lead to bigger paychecks and more opportunities, and offer an advantage over the competition.”

Writing Mechanics

Jim Murdoch presents Are you a writer or a typist? posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A discussion of the effects of technology of the art of writing.”

Jim Murdoch presents You probably think this blog is about you (part one) posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A discussion of the use of autobiographical details in novels”

Writers Coin presents On Writing: The Formula posted at The Writer’s Coin, saying, “A quick and dirty formula that leads to more productive writing sessions (and more writing, period).”

Angela Williams Duea presents Words you shouldn’t end your sentence with. posted at Pearl Writing Services, saying, “Does the title sound wrong? It should - it contains a common mistake people make when writing.”

Writing Prompts/Projects

TherapyDoc presents Everyone Needs Therapy: The Kid with the Funny Laugh posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, “When therapists write something therapeutic for patients, it can get pretty wild. But it works.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Just Write using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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