Author: Jim Devitt

Jim Devitt’s debut YA novel, The Card, hit #1 in three separate categories on the Kindle Bestseller list in early January and was a finalist in the Guys Can Read Indie Author Contest this past summer. Devitt currently lives in Miami, FL with his wife Melissa and their children. Learn more about Jim at his blog and his Amazon author page.

Change … Embrace It

clear cut forestChange … it’s inevitable.

What we do with it makes the difference.

Around every corner, we experience change. It could be as simple as a detour sign on your way to a destination or as complex as moving across the country.

Us writer types, well, sometimes we don’t handle change very well. We need our writing space, our coffee/tea, our M&M’s and whatever else gets us through our writing sessions. Most of us need our routines or we lose all productivity.

As with anything, we need to look at change with the right eye. Have you ever driven through vast forested areas and seen blocks of trees wiped out—looking like a patchwork pattern throughout the wilderness? Our first reaction is, “How can they do this to this beautiful area?” Continue reading “Change … Embrace It”

The Ultimate Supporter

flameI was thinking about Lynne Cantwell’s post on “Coping with Unsupportive Support” the other day and it made me think about this indie author/self publishing world we live in. We all need those words of encouragement every now and then. That is why sites like Indies Unlimited and other groups in our social media circles are so important.

It made me ask a question to myself. Do supportive groups or individuals help me reach my goal in writing? Maybe not. Before you all blast me with negative comments, hear me out for a second. As Lynne writes, “… a kind or encouraging word … is often enough to keep us plugging away.”

I agree that we all need positive feedback and support. But, that is not why you’re here. Every one of us is here because we’ve achieved some level of success in our writing venture.

“WHAT? Success? But, I haven’t even published my first book,” some of you may scream. Continue reading “The Ultimate Supporter”

Google+: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

google happy sadNews this past week caused a bit of an uproar in the social media world. Vic Gundotra, the only leader of Google+ since its inception announced that he is leaving Google. This set off an avalanche of rumors that Google+ is going away.

A little closer to home, a flurry of “Have we been wasting our time?” comments started flying in the Indies Unlimited circles. As many of you know, I’m a fan of Google+ and have written several posts on how to get involved over the past several months. It would really suck if the time we’ve spent building our platform over there was for nothing.

Should we be worried about Google+ going away? Should we want Google+ to go away?

Let me see if I can help you formulate an opinion, one way or the other. Continue reading “Google+: Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

Amp Up Your Story Development

where do you get your story ideas?Over the past couple of nights, I’ve had a sequential dream. It’s turning into a really cool book … one day. It got me thinking. How do you come up with your book ideas? Typically, the dream thing isn’t my best fodder for novels. This one just happens to keep returning night after night. I keep a notebook in my nightstand for those occasions. I’ve been known to get up at 3:00 in the morning and blast off ideas into a Word document just so I won’t forget them in the morning.

As I said, I don’t normally get my inspiration from dreams. The Van Stone series is more of a planned series, fictionalizing events and adventures that kids would likely not experience. As with many of you, my characters lead the way and talk to me way too much. At this time, I have five different adventures conceptualized for the series. I’ve actually written parts of most of them (which is why it’s taking so long to get out #2 in the series.) Continue reading “Amp Up Your Story Development”