April 22, 2025

Making Life Better

Traci Dowe/Kenworth

The title of this post makes me pause. In today’s crisis, it seems harder and harder to find something good, at least in politics and our economy. However, good is still with us. It’s there in a baby’s smile; in an elderly couple’s handholding, two against the world; and in our faith in the Lord above that can’t be shaken.

We stand together, even though it seems as though we are alone. More and more voices are speaking out. We need to do that. In warning to our friends and loved ones even if they don’t want to hear right now. Someday, they will. I heard yesterday of a man who runs a gratitude podcast. Imagine that!

He’s doing something uplifting. Annette Rochelle Aben does the same with her Angel Messages each week. There are tons of others who bring hope and encourage our faith each and every day. We are not lost. We have not failed. Our voices are finding a foothold. We’re challenging things we know to be wrong.

People say not to worry about the immigrant. That they’re not one of us. That’s not true. They’re our neighbors, our friends, people in need of others to help them, to speak for them. Because one day, it could be us. Think about what the Nazis did to those in Germany.

Each day they pushed more to root out those different, those who didn’t shine the same image as their own. The Bible says to love one another as he loved us. Not hate. Not say, “This one doesn’t deserve compassion and mercy.” That’s what they’re asking for. Compassion and mercy. A chance to make a new life in a country that our own ancestors came to once upon a time. Does that make us more American than them? Yes, we were born in this country.

Yes, we have rights. But, so do they. Maybe not as many as us until they become citizens but one day they will hopefully be able to do that. A lot of farmers depend on immigrants for help with their crops. And in Florida, they’re considering allowing thirteen-year-olds to work night shifts. Night shifts! What about school? What about education?

Oh, yeah. The parents will educate them. Parents know all about math, reading, writing, history, science etc. Sure, if they’re a teacher. But how many parents are? And how many parents have the time to fully educate their child while working jobs that require overtime hours like those today?

And Elon Musk wants us to work 80 hour weeks. Can you imagine? Just because he sends his children off to their mothers and is single himself doesn’t mean the rest of us can do the same. We care about our families. We care about our friends, our neighbors. We don’t want to live a live where we barely can go anywhere other than the office coffee pot.

I’m older now and so my children are grown but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember the struggle as a single mom. And even married parents struggle. Life is a struggle. It always has been. We need to rely on each other, take care of each other. That’s how we’ll get through these days.

Compassion and mercy. For all. Not just a few.

The Seven:

1. Writers in the Storm: Writers In The Storm | How to Write: Conflict is NOT Tension What’s the difference between conflict and tension? And why is knowing so important in writing? Because they are so very different. Although they are intimately connected – you really can’t have one without the other – they come from different places.  Understanding – and utilizing both in the correct ways – can shoot a boring book into the stratosphere. We just have to figure out how they both work.

So, first a quick explanation:

This is a really great way to describe what both are and why you need both.

• Story Empire: Colors – How they can enhance our settings and characters – #4green | Story Empire Hello, SE’ers! It’s Jan again to explore another color we can use in our fiction writing. Today, we’ll take a deep dive into GREEN!

This is an interesting concept. I hadn’t considered colors before to represent your characters.

• Anne Allen and Ruth Harris: 6 Book Marketing Tips for New Authors A couple of weeks ago, a European blogger asked if she could reblog a post I wrote 10 years ago. She said it was the best piece on marketing she’d ever  read. (Aw shucks. Here’s me blushing.)

The truth is I’d forgotten all about the post, and I pointed out a lot of the info was out of date, but she wanted to post it anyway.

So I thought I’d re-post it here, deleting some of the most dated stuff.

The best you can do is hold on and follow Wil Wheaton’s law.

• Writers in the Storm: How (and Why) To Define a Strong Author Brand My day job involves helping businesses clearly define their brand, so they can turn their stories into money and clients. And do you want to know the most common request people approach me with? “Can you help with my marketing?” *shakes head* This is a common thread among businesspeople AND authors.

Branding and marketing are two very different things, and yet I see people mix them up all the time. Even worse, they try to put the least important of the two at the front of the line.

Before we dive into the “what, how, and why” of a strong author brand, here’s a quick overview of the difference between branding and marketing.

This is some great insight that I plan to use myself.

• Robbie’s Inspiration: How to write a non-fiction book with Sally Cronin – Robbie’s inspiration Picture caption: Banner detailing Sally Cronin’s selection of books with Size Always Matters highlighted

Hi SE’ers its Robbie with you today and I have a lovely treat for you in the form of an interview with influencer, Sally Cronin. Sally is sharing information about her approach and writing process for writing her non-fiction book, Size Always Matters, about health and weight loss.

Over to Sally.

Truly remarkable. My own weight loss is happening with the help of a diabetic drug that is bringing my sugar into a normal range. It literally saved my life.

Fiction Favorites: Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempest Hanging Out. | Fiction Favorites “Twiggy. Let’s hit the backyard.”

“That does sound good. What should we play?

So cute!

• Entertaining Stories: Happy Easter | Entertaining Stories It’s a funky time of life for us. I dove into my writing and hit it hard on Saturday. I made some good progress and put some interesting things into one of the stories.

I engaged in a text thread with my daughter this morning, then called my mother when that wrapped up. There is probably a statement about generations in there somewhere.

It’s weird for us right now. We don’t really have family around us anymore. No egg hunts or anything like that.

I got some good progress on my writing this weekend but my water pump exploded this morning so chaos until it’s fixed.

• Books and Such: #WWWWednesday: What Am I Reading? #amreading – Books and Such  The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

A competition to the death, psychics, and a staircase in the middle of the woods. Are you intrigued?

With all the praise Sunrise on the Reaping is receiving and my eagerness to learn more about Haymitch Abernathy, I couldn’t wait any longer to jump into this Hunger Games prequel. It’s everything I’d hoped, and the reviews are well-deserved.

Sounds good.

What I’m reading: The Writers of the Future 40^th Anniversary and Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan, one of my favorites from when I was a teen. Also, reading Story by Robert McKee.

What I’m watching: Jon Tron, Kitchen Nightmares and Hunter Hunter.

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