Prayers and Writers: A Perfect Match!

by John Riddle

Prayer has played an important part in my writing career ever since I prayed and asked God to bless me with the gift of creative communication. In my senior year of St. James high school, my family was living in a public housing project in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Vietnam War was still taking place, and I was a few months away from graduation. I didn’t know anything about college scholarships at the time, so I knew I had to pick a career and get ready to do something with my life very soon.

Thursday Review—I Love to Write Day

I Love to Write Day - November 15
John Riddle, founder

I am so excited to introduce you all to one of my first mentors in the freelance writing world. I know so many writers who got their start through his generous heart and wise counsel. John Riddle is also the Founder of I Love to Write Day. This date - November 15 - is also a great opportunity for you to let others know you're a writer. I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing about this idea came about and how it's grown. Be sure to stop by John's website and take advantage of his mentoring program, as well as his many ebooks.

What is I love to Write Day?

I Love To Write Day is a grassroots campaign I launched in 2002 to have people of all ages practice writing. Everyone is encouraged to write something: a poem, a letter to the editor, start a novel, finish a novel…the possibilities are endless!

People of all ages will celebrate I Love To Write Day on November 15. Founded in 2002 by Delaware author John Riddle, I Love To Write Day is now celebrated in over 22,000 schools all across the United States. Bookstores, libraries, community centers and everyday people also join in the fun. Many Governors from across the United States are recognizing the importance of writing, and are encouraging their residents to celebrate I Love To Write Day on November 15. In fact, Governors from the following states have "officially proclaimed" November 15 I Love To Write Day: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and Texas. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have been invited to participate in I Love To Write Day.

When did you start it and why?
In the spring of 2002 I was driving from my home in Delaware to the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s conference in Asheville, North Carolina, where I was scheduled to speak My oldest daughter, Bonnie, was in the car with me; she was a college student at the time and interested in attending some of the workshops. Even though she was already a published writer, she knew the value of learning more about the craft of writing.

As I was passing through the Richmond, Virginia, area, I was thinking about a magazine interview I had to do the following week. Normally I am the one interviewing someone and then writing an article, but this time I was going to be the subject of the article. Writer’s Digest magazine wanted to do a profile of me, highlighting my success in writing for so many Websites over the past few months.

When I worked in the fundraising field a number of years ago I loved planning big special events. One time I tried to set the Guinness Book of World Records by having the largest number of people dance the "Twist" in one location. I even got Chubby Checker to tape some Public Service Announcements to help promote the event. As a writer and author, I knew I needed a Website, and when I came up with the name I Love To Write Day.org, it wasn't long before the idea of holding the 'world's largest party for writers' came about.

I told Bonnie to “remember this moment,” because I “officially declared” November 15 to be I Love To Write Day, and I knew that I Love To Write Day would be a success.

However, never in my wildest dreams did I believe how successful it would become! About two weeks after the conference was over, I established the I Love To Write Day Website and began sending out press releases to media outlets all across the United States. I also sent information to schools, bookstores and libraries.

About ten days later I started getting numerous media requests for interviews and more info about I Love To Write Day. And the response from schools was absolutely overwhelming. By the time November 15 rolled around, over 11,000 schools all across the country had signed up to hold special ILTWD events and activities. Bookstores, libraries, churches, community centers and even a few malls joined in the fun. When USA Today published an interview with me on the first ILTWD, my phone didn’t stop ringing, and I lost track of how many e-mails I was receiving.

Share with us a little of your background.
I am the author of 34 books and have worked as a ghostwriter on numerous projects. For the past 16 years I have been working out of my home office here in Delaware, and enjoy going on the road to speak at schools, colleges and conferences. Before I became a full time author/ghostwriter, I worked in the nonprofit world as a fundraiser.

How many people do you estimate participate in ILTWD?
Over the past 9 years, we have heard from just over two million people!

Has it spread outside of the US? If so, where else?
Each year I get requests from other countries to start an I Love To Write Day program in their location, but I’m not going “International” until after our tenth year. Canada, Spain, Australia and Japan are a few of the countries that are waiting for an I Love To Write Day movement.

What are some of your favorite I Love to Write Day moments?
There are so many success stories associated with ILTWD; here are a few.

• A school in South Carolina sent their honors English students to a nearby nursing home, to help the residents write their life stories.
• A group of elementary students in New Jersey wrote to the Governor, and asked him to "officially proclaim November 15 I Love To Write Day in their state; (he did, along with 8 other Governors).
• The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence uses ILTWD as a way to encourage women and children to journal about their feelings (I spoke at their International conference in Washington, DC).

What can we do to help promote it?
Please help spread the word in your community! Tell everyone: family members, co-workers, Facebook friends, local schools, bookstores and libraries, etc.
Please share the http://www.ilovetowriteday.org/ link with everyone ASAP! Contact johnriddle@sprintmail.com with any questions, or to sign up for ILTWD.

Now that you know about I love to Write Day, I encourage you to use this time to make a difference in the lives of others as a writer. Let's keep track of what everyone's doing. Leave your comments about your plans and then I'll report on everything we've done after November 15.

And, Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

The Importance of a Name - Get It Right!

Many of you may assume this post has to do with naming characters, but it doesn’t. Today I want to share about the importance of names in the context of the business end of writing.

So many times writers agonize over naming characters within their manuscripts, but don’t get the name of the editor they’re querying correct. Or they try to network with someone and get his or her name wrong. This is a HUGE mistake. Sure, this person will remember you, but chances are it’ll be in a negative way. Names are critical when you’re interacting with people.

Some of us have difficult and ambiguous names – like mine. When I was the Managing Editor for Centered Magazine I constantly had writers querying me—Mr. Eddie Melson or worse Mr. Eddie Nelson. My first impulse with those queries was to hit the delete button and that’s usually what I did. Why? Because their lack attention made me think if they couldn’t get my name right, they probably had a lot of other mistakes in their writing.

Writing is a highly competitive business. Don’t start out with strikes against you just because you didn’t bother to double check the spelling of someone’s name. When I was first starting out, I remember getting a lead from John Riddle, an instructor at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. As I carefully copied down the information of whom to query he made a comment I’ll never forget. “Be sure you spell the editor’s name correctly. She won’t even open your email if her name is misspelled.” That advice is golden and I’ve never forgotten it!

A lot of this business involves referrals and leads from other writers, so networking is critical. Because of that it’s also important to make certain you get the name correct when you’re posting a comment on someone’s blog or sending them an email. I read a blog last week, written by a blogger named Kathy and the first comment posted was addressed to Katy. Big mistake. It could have been a typo, but it also could mean the person commenting wasn’t paying attention. Either way, it leaves a poor impression—not just to the blogger, but to anyone who reads that blog.

Here are some things I do to help me slow down and make certain I’m getting the name correct.

• Write it Down – I keep a scratch pad next to my computer and I always write down the name of the person I’m referring to. Writing it in longhand somehow helps engage my brain and acts as a way to double check my accuracy.
• Check the Gender – so many names can be either masculine or feminine. Most websites and blogs have pictures (Centered Magazine had pictures of everyone on staff making it easy to see that I’m a woman) so I try to check that way. If it’s a blog and there’s no picture, I look at previous comments to see how most people have referred to the person – male or female.
• Add to My Contacts – if I’m going to make a comment on someone’s blog or query an editor, I add them to my contacts list. This helps me find them again without searching the Internet and it gives me another way to double check their name.

Words are our business—and that includes names—so when we write, we need to be accurate and diligent.

What are some ways you ensure your accuracy? Has anyone ever misspelled your name? How did you feel?

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie