Author Archives: Betsy

Strange Weather

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Betsy

This has been an unusual year for weather (I include natural phenomena under the “weather” umbrella). We’ve had an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week. We’ve had the appearance of a rare red display of the Aurora Borealis far … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life | 1 Comment

Tips for Newbies: Making Your Characters Believable

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Betsy

What do you do to make your characters three-dimensional, so they seem real to the reader?  One key is to think about the characters’ lives BEFORE they enter your plotline.  Sure,  every author comes up with names and physical descriptions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuts and Bolts | 3 Comments

Colin’s Crossing

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Betsy

This piece won 2nd place in the September Flash Fiction contest in LinkedIn’s Aspiring Writers group, with the paramenters: Historical Fiction, theme: Coming to America, Focus: Uncle Ed’s Store, word limit: 715. Colin huddled into the smallest ball possible and snuffled … Continue reading →

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What Would You Do?

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Betsy

When you see a tragic story on the news,  do you wonder why someone didn’t do something to prevent or stop it? Maybe you tell yourself that you would do better in the same situation, but would you? If you … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life | Comments Off on What Would You Do?

Stalking the Fugitive Sock

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Betsy

I’m sure you’ve had this experience, too–you’re folding and sorting the laundry, fresh from the dryer, and you come up short a sock. If you’re one of those people who just buys all white or all black socks, all the same, … Continue reading →

Posted in Strange but True | 2 Comments

Better Nature

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Betsy

A thousand compassionate prayers go spiraling into the heavens, disparate voices with one shared thought: worry for the welfare of a stranger. It is a common effort, arising spontaneously without communication, without planning, minds and hearts blazing forth pure light– a communion … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Poetry | Comments Off on Better Nature

Reframing

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Betsy

One of the most important communication techniques in trauma therapy is REFRAMING. The concept of reframing appears often in neuro-linguistic programming and in the works of Milton Erickson, who was renowned for his ability to do “instant cures” with just … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Self-help | Comments Off on Reframing

My Brother the Mass Murderer???

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Betsy

My brother called me a while back, quite upset. He had had a really bad day the day before. His power flickered sometime during the early morning hours, so his alarm didn’t go off. He woke up to find he … Continue reading →

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Tips for Newbies: What is all this ISBN stuff?

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Betsy

If you are considering self-publishing (SP), you’re probably hearing about ISBNs. First off, let’s define it. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It’s the number that goes with the bar code on the back of your book. It is … Continue reading →

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Tips for Newbies: What is “Published”?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Betsy

In the old days–you know, just a few years ago–publishing a book meant producing a volume printed on paper, using an offset press (ink on paper). Offset was expensive to set up, involving editing of multiple galley proofs, so  minimum … Continue reading →

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