Happy Wednesday Dear Writers! Woot! 

Do I Need To Copyright My Novel/Work? The answer is NO. 

But before I get into it here I just want to invite you to subscribe to my email list where I will send out freebies, information about courses, my membership for writers and you will get tips and tricks before others! YES I WANT THIS

So ONTO the COPYRIGHT issue. 

The other day in a massive FB group a new writer posted the question when do I need to copyright my book? And as FB is always a place for arguing it got heated so I decided that it was needed to write a quick blog about it to help you! 

The answer is that you do NOT need to copyright your work. 

There are many reasons. 

1. No one is trying to steal your story. It's great that you think it's so perfect that lines of people are waiting for you to show it so they can steal it--this simply isn't true. 

2. There are only 5 stories anyhow---in other words, there are NO NEW STORIES----so no...

Hello, dear writers of the world! This is from a post I did on my first blog for writers about 7 years ago, but as I was about to write about things that go wrong in scripts today I came across it so I'm sharing it here as everything still holds true!! 

I used to be a script reader for the studios---in other words, if it didn't get past me, it didn't go anywhere. 

My biggest issues when reading scripts are:

STORY There needs to be a story-period. It has to have a strong beginning, middle, and end.

No amount of special effects is going to help that no matter what Disney, Sony, and other big studios show you. It's one of my biggest pet peeves when people tell me they love a film and I ask them why and they say the 3D was awesome, or the FX were awesome.

A screenplay needs to have a solid story.

Why are you telling this story?

What are you trying to say?

Why is this important to you?

Ask yourself these and more questions, and then you should have a good story.

OMG, what a couple of months right? F*%$!! 

What is going on in the world? Is it ending? 

Do we all need to channel our inner Katniss? 

I seriously have never wanted to live in a Cormac McCarthy novel and I don't intend on starting now! 

So...how do we stay positive and continue to write when the world is crashing down on us? 

Well, I have a few tips for you! 

The first one is just to FOCUS ON THE GOOD---whatever it is, focus on it, grab it, and hold on. Seriously it's so easy to get wrapped up in the chaos and devastation happening and walk down that doomsday path but rather it's best to stay focused on the good or have gratitude. 

The second one is to remember why we write. You may do it just for your own pleasure and if that's the case, see above. But most of us write because we have something to say to the world. If you write for children it is your job to help them come into their own with a sense of security, hope, and understanding. This is...

Despite the situation, I am finding things to celebrate.
1. Elizabeth Warren officially backs Joe Biden
2. My health insurance is offering FREE treatment for CV19 (as long as you are up to date on payments)
3. I still have a job, food in the flat, TP
4. My hubby & I are healthy
5. My dog is adorable
6. The air is super clean outside
7. The sun is shining
8. and, ALL OF YOU! 

It's hard to stay positive when every second of the news is bad---see my earlier post--but we can do it, we just have to look for the good instead of focusing on the bad. 

I'm not an expert in mind-shift but that's what it is, shift your thinking and you will find happiness even in dark times. 

Today these things all made me smile and so I'm focusing on them instead of all the scary stuff. 

As well, I'm working hard in my business to bring YOU what you need to be HAPPY, SUCCESSFUL, & HAVE MONEY! How does that sound? 

If you don't want to download anything but would like to get on...

Hello, everyone!! How are you??

Lately, I have been reading a lot of really scary news, like the worst-case scenarios and every single day it's more and more people dying, and while I have a level head, it's unsettling, to say the least. 

My new plan of self-care is to only watch the news once a week for the duration of this. I am staying in, my hubby and I are both healthy and we know what to do. So why do we need all the sensationalized news coming at us 24/7 and it is just that. Yes, there are many facts in there, but do we need to hear about every single death? Imagine if they did that with all the other deaths in the world? 

We'd all be mental by the end. 

A little story about my reality. 

In 1987 I was a senior in high-school in Arizona with my family, who on my 18th birthday told me that I had to move out---on my own--in friggen high school!! AND, I was due to go to college in the fall, and like most high school seniors I was focused on being popular and...

Happy Monday to all the writers out there who have come by my new blog. 

I'm so grateful that you are here. 

Today I am talking about GENRE CLARITY and why it's so massively important if you want to be successful as a writer. 

This isn't the same as voice, or even who you are as a writer and I'm not saying that you have to stay in one genre, but you do need clarity-especially when you are starting out. 

First I want to invite you to subscribe to my YouTube channel because this week I will have a new short video on this topic and every week I will have new videos to help all storytellers reach their dreams. 

www.youtube.com/stephaniebourbon 

So, what is genre exactly? The dictionary says this: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

This is true but in books, movies, and television it can mean so much more. 

I once went to a conference and heard an amazing...

Good morning writers,

Writi

I hope you are amazing!

I also hope that you are writing down your writing goals for the week ahead. I find that when I have my plans or goals written out in a list I tend to stick to them and actually make them much more than when I say, “I’ll write whatever whenever I have time.”

That’s why for me #NaNoWriMo is so great. I always get an entire novel drafted. It pushes me to stick to daily word count goals.

Here are some quick and easy tips to make those writing goals work for you so you will accomplish more and get that draft done faster.

1. Make daily goals-this can be word count or page count or scenes, whatever you need. Write them down somewhere that you can see them.
2. Get an accountability partner to check in with. You don’t have to check-in everyday-there are no rules but whatever you want just check-in.
3. Make the goals fun. Maybe you meet with your partner at a coffee shop every day for an hour, maybe you chat on the...

Hello, dear writers, dreamers, artists-storytellers! 

I'm just popping in with a quick blog post today to say hello and talk briefly about the importance of happiness! 

It's so easy to get caught up in our lives and forget all about the simple things that make us smile. 

How many of you have woken up and then immediately remembered something that upsets you? Like, right when you step out of bed? All of you right? 

It's human nature. Is this your mantra? "Ugh, I have to go to work today." "Yuck, I hate kale and I know lunch will have kale" (or "I hate the place we are going to lunch today"), "I'm overweight." "I don't have time for anything." "Everyone drives like an idiot" etc., etc.,----this is normal but YOU can change your mindset. 

Because when we start the day on a negative note everything goes bad that can and will happen. You won't be as productive, you won't write your best work-or even decent work, your day job will suffer, you may argue with...