AboutBobbie Christmas Expertise As the author of the triple-award-winning book on creative writing, Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), I help writers power up their prose, edit and revise their manuscripts, and increase their chances of selling to a publisher. I also help writers polish manuscripts for self-publishing and sometimes assist in the process.
Experience Experience: I have more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of the publishing and communications industry and have run my own book-editing company since 1992
Organizations:
Board of Advisors, Georgia Writers Association (past president)
South Carolina Writers Workshop (past vice president)
Florida Writers Association (charter/lifelong member)
Atlanta Writers Club
Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL)
International Guild of Professional Consultants
Publications:
Write in Style (Union Square Publishing), A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation), A Cup of Comfort for Friends (Adams Media), A Cup of Comfort for Mothers and Sons (Adams Media), Haunted Engounters (Atriad Press), Remembering Woolworth's (St. Martin's Press), First-Time Home Buyer magazine, HomeBusiness Journal, Apparel Industry Magazine, Edge Magazine, Atlanta Jewish Times, Time Travel Australia, American Writers Review, Points North, That's Entertainment, Atlanta Parent, Agnes Scott Alumnae Magazine, and several dozen other places
Education/Credentials:
Journalism: University of South Carolina
Three decades of on-the-job training in publishing, marketing, communications, advertising, newspaper and magazine production/writing/editing, book publishing, etc
Awards and Honors:
First Place, nonfiction, Georgia Writers Annual Contest, 2005
First Place, education, Royal Palm Literary Award, 2004
Best in Division, Georgia Author of the Year Awards, 2005
Finalist, Best Books 2005, USA BookNews
Third Place, nonfiction, Georgia Writers, 1999
Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year, 1998
Many other awards
Past/Present clients:
Olin Frederick (publisher), The Writer's Machine (publisher), Russell Dean & Company (publisher), Keith Harrell (author of books for John Wiley & Sons and Hay House), Dale Butler (member of the Parliament, Bermuda) and hundreds of writers. I also edit books for print-on-demand companies that help authors self publish.
Question Hi. This may seem like a silly question, but how do writers keep from running out of ideas for books? Thanks
Answer The only silly question is why you think you have a silly question! Every question and answer is important.
How do writers keep from running out of ideas? Some people meditate and let their minds drift until an idea comes. Others get ideas in their sleep at night. The best suggestion I know, though, and it works for anyone, is to constantly ask, “What if?” For example, you might be watching the news on television and see that someone won the lottery in your hometown. You might ask, “What if I won the lottery? What would I do? What might happen to me and to my friendships?” The answer could lead to a good story with many ups and downs.
If you read in the newspaper that a little boy was found after getting lost in the woods for two days, you might ask, “What if he weren’t found for two weeks? What might happen? What might a four-year-old do to survive in the woods?”
Let’s say you talk a walk with your dog and see a piece of paper on the ground with a list of items on it. You might think, “What if a person made a list of things to do and then lost the list? What if someone else found that list? What might that person do? What if the list involved items needed to commit a murder or rob a bank or blackmail a colleague?
Apply “What if” to everything you hear, see, or do, and you will never run out of ideas for books.
Also, subscribe to The Writers Network News, my free newsletter for writers. In addition to news and markets for writers, it has a creative writing assignment each month, to keep your ideas flowing. Sign up at www.zebraeditor.com.
