Back in September, I published Emotional Beats: How to Easily Convert your Writing into Palpable Feelings. As promised, I will be posting the book on my blog. So, here is the next installment, starting Part 3 of the book: Other Beats. As this is a rather long section, I’m breaking it into two posts.

Analogies, Metaphors, and Similes

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A good analogy is harder to find than… erm… well, it’s pretty hard. Unless you have these to help:

• She slammed against the chair, her adrenal system upgrading from zoned out to Defcon 1.
• The idea of being that close to her hit him like a shot of tequila in a Red Bull.
• She’s crazier than a sackful of raccoons.
• It was as futile as carrying water with a knife.
• The food was spread out like a Thanksgiving feast.
• Her comfort zone retreated into darkness, waving farewell with…

Payment can be a tough subject for many of us who are freelancers.  Yet, it’s important!  After all, why are we working?  Sure, we truly enjoy our craft, whether it be writing, visual art, graphic design, crafts, or whatever the case may be.  But we don’t do it purely for love.  We do it because we need something to pay the bills and put food on the table.

That’s why today’s post is dedicated to that most uplifting of prose, “pay to the order of.”  We’ll talk about pay, getting paid, and things to do to make sure you get paid!  If anyone has questions, feel free to ask and I’ll probably add it on as another question.

Tips for Freelancers:

Set clear expectations.

Have a place on your website that explains when you expect to be paid, how much, and when.  Then you will have a leg to stand…

Quite simple here, we humans drag our feet throughout this beautiful world, only to never remember why or to take time to acknowledge the beauty in the moments we’re living in.

Be grateful for everything you have because there is much evil throughout this world that you’re not taking part in. Most likely the mind is just over thinking and doesn’t realize what’s actually happening. Try to think about what you’re doing at this moment, instead of other thoughts. Every other thought is just your imagination messing with you. Stop creating these false ideas in your mind, then you shall be set free.

Every gasp of oxygen you take, be grateful for that because maybe one day all the oxygen on the planet will disappear, and you shall never breath again, then you will be grateful for every breath you take. So appreciate this moment instead of later.

When we…

I find one of the most talked about topics in writing is “show don’t tell”. It doesn’t seem to matter how much I try not to I still do, and I also find myself repeating words or not describing actions well.

I stumbled on this list of body language for us to keep near us while writing.

he lowered his head
she hung her head
he ducked
she bowed her head
he covered his eyes with a hand
she pressed her hands to her cheeks

she raised her chin
he lifted his chin

her hands squeezed into fists
his hands tightened into fists
she clenched her fists
she balled her fists
he unclenched his fists
her arms remained at her sides

he shrugged
she gave a half shrug
he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug
she gave a dismissive wave of her hand

she raised a hand in greeting
he…

The sea is a shadow washing the shoreline,
filling in dents and scavenging sand,
drowning dunes in beach foam and brine.

The sea is a shadow chasing along the strand,
shattering shells and scattering stones,
casting its treasures on the bleak hinterland.

The sea is a shadow of clamours and moans,
a sobbing soliloquy borne on the wind,
stealing your breath and rattling your bones.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

My response to Sue Vincent’s Daily EchoThursday photo prompt – Empty #writephoto

So you received the dreaded rejection letter.  Well it was bound to happen.  You are in great company, and I wasn’t talking about me.  If you are a writer, then rejection will be a part of your everyday life.  Author David Eddings said, “If you don’t have callouses on your soul, writing isn’t for you. Take up knitting instead.” Funny but true.

When you get your rejection letter and odds are you will, treating it as an insult and allowing it to bring out the worst in you will stall your dream of becoming an Author.

Those who are successful as novelists recover and learn from their rejection letters. They use them as motivation to become better writers. They recognize that rejection hurts, but see it as part of the process. They also take action.

• Wallow then write – Give yourself thirty minutes or so to  get the rejection out of your system, then get…