What Watching "Brother vs. Brother" Taught Me About Competition by Beth K. Vogt

Competition is part of the writing game. But do you stand up to the clash with other professionals – or do you avoid it?

Beth K. Vogt

Have you ever watched Brother vs. Brother? It’s so much fun watching identical twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott compete against one another on their house renovation TV show – especially when I’m cheering for Drew and my daughter, Christa, is cheering for Jonathan. The odd thing is, I’m not a natural competitor myself.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Scott Brothers and the format of their show, here’s a brief run-down of the format:

Drew, a real estate expert, and Jonathan, a licensed contractor, choose a locale – this season it’s San Francisco – and then are given a budget to purchase and renovate a home. There are weekly challenges for a specific living space, i.e. living room, kitchen, master bedroom. Various judges decide which brother wins the challenge. At the end of the season, the houses are sold, and the brother who makes the most profit is the overall champion. The proceeds from the sale of both houses are donated to charity.

Drew and Jonathan work together – and they also compete against one another – again and again and again. Here’s what two very successful identical twin brothers have taught me about professional competition:

1. Embrace Competition. Even Better, Have Fun with It. The Scott Brothers are TV celebrities who’ve built an empire on buying and renovating houses. Every occupation includes competition, but they put a spin on that and decided to compete against one another – and they have lots of fun while they do it. They verbally joust with one another and pull pranks on one another. Even better, each week’s competition usually includes a special prize for the winner, as well as a you-aren’t-going-to-want-to-do-this consolation prize for the loser. Think: a behind the scenes tour of Alcatraz Island vs. being locked in solitary for two hours. 
2. Know Your Competition – and Then Be Yourself. The brothers know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as each other’s quirks. So they’re often trying to guess what their brother is doing. But more than anything, they work with their construction and design teams and go with what they know and like best.
3. Make a Plan to be Successful – and then Adjust When Things Go Wrong. House renovation never goes according to plan. No matter how much they budget and plan, and despite their individual expertise, Jonathan and Drew learn this week after week.. They plan like pros and adjust like pros – and they admit their frustration, too. 
4. Don’t Forget to Include Your Family and Friends – Who Can Also Be Your Competition – and Have Fun! Drew and Jonathan’s brother, J.D., coordinates the show and shuttles judges back and forth between the two houses. Judges are often personal friends of the Scotts who are also house renovators or real estate experts, as well as TV personalities in their own right. And at all times, the interaction is laced with jokes, laughter, and good-natured rivalry.

The overall takeaway for me after watching Brother vs. Brother? Drew and Jonathan have discovered ways to enjoy competition and, behind it all, they are for one another, no matter who wins the contest.

About the Author

Things I Never Told You
by Beth K. Vogt

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A Christy Award winner, as well as an ACFW Carol Award winner, Beth’s first women’s fiction novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, releases May 2018.

Things I Never Told You
It’s been ten years since Payton Thatcher’s twin sister died in an accident, leaving the entire family to cope in whatever ways they could. No longer half of a pair, Payton reinvents herself as a partner in a successful party-planning business and is doing just fine—as long as she manages to hold her memories and her family at arm’s length.

But with her middle sister Jillian’s engagement, Payton’s party-planning skills are called into action. Which means working alongside her opinionated oldest sister, Johanna, who always seems ready for a fight. They can only hope that a wedding might be just the occasion to heal the resentment and jealousy that divides them . . . until a frightening diagnosis threatens Jillian’s plans and her future. As old wounds are reopened and the family faces the possibility of another tragedy, the Thatchers must decide if they will pull together or be driven further apart.

Click here for a sample chapter of Things I Never Told You.

7 Tips to Keep Your Career on Track over the Holidays By Marie Wells Coutu

Travel is essential to the business of being an author, whether attending conferences, doing research, or speaking at events in other parts of the country.

Marie Wells Coutu

And now that we’re in the middle of the busy Christmas season, many of us are traveling or visiting with family and friends. Since this season, as well as summer vacations, wreak havoc with my own writing schedule, I asked some multi-published authors how they keep their careers on track during such times.

Here are some of their tips:

1. Plan ahead. “If I have a vacation coming up,” says Christy Award winner, Beth K. Vogt, “I try to do everything I can to make it a vacation. So I work hard to meet my deadlines -- guest posts, my regularly scheduled blog posts, etc. -- and leave my writing obligations at home so I can concentrate on my family -- and relaxing and having fun -- while on vacation.” Multi-published author Cara Putman adds, “If you want to take a true break from writing, the word count [in advance] will have to go up to compensate.”
   
2. Decide on what you “must” do during the trip and what can wait until you’re home again. Deborah Raney, best-selling author of more than 30 novels, says, “My main goal when I travel is simply to not get behind on e-mail. That goes a long way toward helping me catch up quickly when I get back home. But if I’m on deadline, whether I’m traveling or not, I will need to write.”
   
3. Write while someone else drives. Or don’t. “Ken enjoys driving and I can get so much writing done on the trip each way if I put my headphones on,” Deb Raney says. But Beth Vogt has found that writing in the car is “just not comfortable for me. But I do like to brainstorm in the car with my husband.” And Cynthia Ruchti, who has won awards for both fiction and nonfiction, takes a mixed approach: “Only under a tight deadline would I write while my husband is driving, since it feels like turning my attention away from him, even though it is work. On a cross-country trip, I would write. But if it's just a couple of hours on the road, we use that time to talk and take in the scenery...and watch for hazards!”
   
4. Always have a notebook with you to capture ideas and inspiration that will hit while you travel, advises Cara Putman.
   
5. Use “neutral” time while traveling, such as during a flight or while waiting for one. Cynthia Ruchti says, “I write while waiting in airports or if grabbing a meal alone at the airport. I try to either write, ponder, or edit while in flight, but the tight conditions don't always allow that. Sometimes brainstorming with a pen and notebook is more productive in-flight.” Deb Raney, on the other hand, rarely writes during a flight. “If I’m flying, I don’t usually write on the plane unless it’s a longer flight and I have a row to myself. But I often choose a flight with a long layover because I love writing in airports. It’s great people-watching, wonderful white noise, and few interruptions.” Beth Vogt agrees. “I definitely can tune out and write in airports. TIP: Invest in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones.”
   
6. Travel with books, says Cara Putman. “Reading is as much a part of writing. Pick up that book by an author you've wanted to try and see what you like. What worked? What didn't?”
   
7. Minimize your actual writing time, especially if you’re traveling with or visiting family. That’s one tip all of these authors agree on. “It's easy to let writing assignments take precedence over everything else,” Cynthia Ruchti confesses. “But if they do, then relationships suffer, my health suffers, or I just plain miss out on the wonder around me while my focus is on my computer screen.” But sometimes deadlines mean there’s no other choice. Beth Vogt finds that an immoveable deadline often falls during a family vacation or during Christmas or spring break. “What I do then is juggle. I let my family know that I'm going to have to write during the holidays or vacation, but that I will also mark of time (or days) for fun. Sometimes I get up extra early or stay up late and write when family is sleeping.” Cara Putman agrees: “If you need to write while you're traveling, think about what will be least disruptive to the trip. Do you need to do it at night or should you [write] first thing in the morning. Capture the moments so you can still enjoy the trip.”

Hopefully, these tips from successful authors will help you maintain your writing momentum while not interfering too much with your vacation and family time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

About the Author

Marie Wells Coutu’s newest novel, The Secret Heart, will be released in February 2017 from Write Integrity Press. Follow Marie on Amazon.com to be notified when it becomes available. The Secret Heart, loosely based on the lives of Bathsheba and David, is the third book in the Mended Vessels series. Books in the series are contemporary re-imaginings of the stories of biblical women, including Esther and the woman at the well. 

Her debut novel, For Such a Moment, won the Books of Hope Contest. Thirsting for More, the second book in the series was a finalist in the 2016 Selah Awards Contest and a semi-finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards sponsored by Florida Writers Association. You can find more about Marie and her novels on her Facebook page (Author Marie Wells Coutu), at her website (MarieWellsCoutu.com), or follow her on Twitter (@mwcoutu). 
Marie retired after 15 years with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and she and her husband now divide their time between Florida and Iowa.

The Secret Heart
by Marie Wells Coutu

 The Secret Heart

Beautiful Shawna Moore married Hunter Wilson, the governor of Tennessee, after a whirlwind romance, only six weeks following her first husband’s death in Iraq. Now, she wonders if the governor loved her at all or only hoped to avoid a scandal.

An investigative reporter—and friend of Shawna’s—is asking questions. If he discovers the truth about Shawna’s baby, Hunter’s chances for reelection could be ruined. But keeping the secret is destroying their marriage. Will Shawna convince Hunter to choose his family and drop out of politics, or will he continue to put his career first?

The Secret Heart will be available for pre-order in mid-January. For a sneak peek, download the first chapter here.

Writer’s Math: Prep a Scene with 5+5+1 by Beth K. Vogt

Beth K. Vogt

As a novelist, I thought I’d escaped all things numerical. Fine with me, as the mention of numbers is reason to cue the white noise in my brain.

Through the years. I’ve learned that even wordsmiths like to devise equations for the writing process. Susie and Rachel have developed a variety of writer equations and — Surprise! — I’m formulating a bit of writer math myself.

I love the process of fast drafting — writing the first draft of my manuscript without stopping to rewrite, using it as an act of discovery about my characters and my plot. But how can I ensure that even my fast draft is as strong as it can be?

Simple. Whenever I write a scene, I remember the equation: 5+5+1.

5 + 5 + 1

The first 5 stands for the 5 Ws: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Before I begin writing a scene, I type out the 5 Ws of the scene. I like to do this in red so that it stands out. I list:

Who is in the scene? Specify the main POV character and any other key character

What is going on? Focus on the main action.

Where does the scene takes place? In a castle? On a boat?

When does the scene happen? What time of year is it (if that’s important) or what time of day is it?

Why is this scene important? What is the goal of this scene? Is it an Action or ReAction scene?

5 + 5 + 1

The second 5 stands for the 5 Senses: Touch, Sight, Taste, Smell, and Hearing. I consider the main character for the scene I’m writing and then run their POV through the list, one by one. (I also type this out in red.)

EXAMPLE: What if my main POV character is a shool teacher and the scene takes place on the playground? My list might look like this:

Touch: the chainlink of a swing, a young child’s hand, some stray trash blowing across the schoolyard, an abandoned lunchbox

Sight: children climbing on the monkey bars, one child sitting by himself off to the side, a kick ball soaring over the fence into the street

Taste: bitter aftertaste of coffee

Smell: hint of autumn on the breeze, scent of cherry chapstick she applied

Hear: children laughing, footsteps running across asphalt, the sound of a school bell

Sometimes as I write out the 5 Senses I stumble upon a possible symbol to weave through my scene.

5 + 5 + 1

The 1 stands for the main emotion of the POV character in the scene. I’ve discussed the importance of determining the specific emotion the POV character is feeling in other posts. Use one word: anxious, rejected, elated, content. Write this down too — yes, in red.

Now that I’ve done my prep work, which takes 10-15 minutes, I’m ready to start writing. I don’t have to interrupt my forward motion by wondering about Storyworld — what my character might see or hear or touch — and knowing the character’s main emotion keeps the scene anchored.

TIP: You can also use the 5+5+1 Prep a Scene Equation as you finish writing for the day. Consider the scene you’ll start writing tomorrow and type out the 5 Ws, the 5 Senses, and the POV character’s main emotion for it before calling it quits. You’ll have a jumpstart on tomorrow’s word count.

About the Author

About Beth Vogt

Crazy Little Thing Called Love
by Beth K. Vogt

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A 2015 RITA^® Finalist and a 2014 Carol Award finalist, Beth is a contemporary romance novelist with Howard Books. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. In 2015 she introduced her destination wedding series with both an e-novella, Can’t Buy Me Love (May) and a novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love (June). Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Wedding bells and storm clouds collide in the first engaging novel in a brand-new series about destination weddings, the power of love, and the possible mishaps and missteps that happen on a couple’s journey down the aisle to “I do.”

Paramedic Vanessa Hollister has put her adolescence behind her, including the unwanted label of being the new kid in town over and over again, thanks to her father’s military career. She’s overcome what her mother called “the biggest mistake of her life” and is planning an elegant destination wedding in Destin, Florida with her new fiancé. But will the reappearance of her first husband from her what-were-you-thinking teenage elopement disrupt her dream of an idyllic beach wedding?

As a professional storm chaser, Logan Hollister is used to taking risks. However, a reckless decision during the last tornado season has him questioning the future of his team, the Stormmeisters. Coming face to face with his ex-wife eight years after their divorce compels him to confront his greatest regret: losing Vanessa. Does their past give him the right to interfere with her future?

Up Your Game! 3 Steps to Improve Your Writing by Beth K. Vogt

Beth Vogt

You’ve just finished writing a manuscript, maybe even submitted it to an agent or editor. Whew! Time for a little writer R&R: Reconnecting with family and friends and Rescuing the house from all the tasks you’ve ignored.

But what if new imaginary characters are already talking to you, demanding you listen to them? Before you get too far into that new story, don’t forget to ask yourself one key question:

How are you going to up your game as a writer with this next book? (Click to Tweet!)

I first heard the challenge, “Up your game with every book your write,” at a My Book Therapy writing retreat taught by best-selling authors Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck. Never heard of the My Book Therapy writing community? Check it out! Never heard of Susie and Rachel? Read ‘em. I’m blessed to count them as both mentors and friends.

For several years now, I’ve seen Susie and Rachel live out the “Up Your Game” challenge they gave all the retreat attendees and me. With each book they write, they look for new ways to improve their skills. (Click to Tweet!)

So how do I accept their challenge to up my game with each new book I write?
Upping your game is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Celebrate what you’ve done. Always take time to celebrate the book you’ve written once it’s completed and/or published. I mature as a writer with each book I submit. Yes, two and a half years later, I would write my debut novel better – but that’s because I have grown as a writer. I need to acknowledge that as a positive sign, not angst over it.
2. Focus in on specific craft techniques. I choose one, maybe two, writing skills to work on for each new project. In Catch a Falling Star, my second novel, I chose developing a stronger Storyworld – weaving in details describing the five senses and the world my characters lived in that would bring my story alive for my readers.
3. Get some accountability. I tell my mentor(s) and preferred readers – two friends who read my rough drafts – how I want to up my game. In my third novel, Somebody Like You, I told Rachel that I wanted to work on weaving stronger emotion into the story. She had me read a scene from Catch a Falling Star and then helped me see how I could have made it stronger emotionally with a few minor changes. This was my first step to upping my game in my third book: remembering what Rachel taught me while I wrote Somebody Like You.

Becoming a better writer doesn’t happen by accident. We have to be purposeful, celebrate our successes, determine where we need to improve, and ask others to help us learn.

How do you up your game as a writer?

About the Author

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Somebody Like You

Somebody Like You
by Beth K. Vogt

Can a young widow find love again with her husband's reflection?

Haley's three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he's killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening-and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed?

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation-ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together-and whose ghost could drive them apart?

“In Vogt’s quietly beautiful inspirational contemporary, two people learn to let go of the past and discover that God often works in mysterious ways. . . . a heartwarming tearjerker about learning what love is.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Prepping to Pitch at a Writer's Conference by Beth Vogt

Yesterday, Beth Vogt talked about the importance of finding your story question and how your novel can lose focus without it. Today, she's sharing her wisdom when it comes to pitching your book idea to editors and agents. - Sandy

Beth: Call me crazy, but I love pitching a book idea to an editor. No one else will sell my novel better than me. After all, I’ve lived with these imaginary people interrupting my thoughts for months. I’ve invested time and mental energy in them. I’ve even talked about my hero and heroine with friends and family, well, as if they were my friends or family.

Do I get anxious when I think about sitting down in front of an editor, an unseen but oh-so-real clock ticking off precious minutes as I introduce myself and my novel? No. I’m not nervous, I’m excited. (Tell yourself that enough times and you start to believe it.) It helps that I’ve participated in 15-minute appointments from both sides of the table – as an editor hearing pitches and as a writer giving them.

I’ve also developed a few techniques – some my own, some from watching other writers – that make pitching a book easy, or at least easier.

1.      Travel light. I’ve watched writers walk into 15-minute appointments juggling tote bags labeled with the conference logos, notebooks, purses, bottles of water, cell phones . . . you get the idea. The most important thing to bring to a 15-minute appointment is your idea. It’s all about you, the editor or agent, and selling your book. To help organize needed items like your pitch sheet, sample chapter and business card, check out my Resource Page for Writers on my website for details on a streamlined pitch notebook.

2.      Talk to yourself.  A 15-minute appointment is no time to ad-lib. Develop an elevator pitch – a brief one or two sentence verbal introduction to your book – and then practice, practice, practice so it comes off sounding unrehearsed. I’ve taught my family to ask, “So, what’s your book about?” I recite my pitch while I’m driving around town or cooking dinner or blow-drying my hair. Then, when I sit down in front of an editor or agent, I’m comfortable enough to let the conversation flow naturally.

3.      Take time to pray. You’ve written your manuscript. You’ve rehearsed your elevator pitch so much your conference roommate insists you recited it in your sleep. All that’s left is to pitch it for real! Stop. Take your story – your hopes and dreams – and place them before God, asking him to bless the work of your hands. (Psalm 90:17)

Fifteen minutes is just that: 15 minutes. Don’t judge the success of a writing conference solely by your editor or agent appointments. Sure, we all want to hear the magic words “I’d like to see a full manuscript!” But you can’t make an editor say or do anything – all you can do is prepare, pray, and trust God for the outcome.

~~~ 

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. She’s discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Her contemporary romance novel, Wish You Were Here, debuted in May 2012 (Howard Books), and Catch a Falling Star released May 2013. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also the Skills Coach for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren. To learn more about Beth, please visit www.bethvogt.com.

Lessons Learned Along the Writing Road in 2012 by Beth K. Vogt

As we journey towards publication and beyond, we may strive to gain as much knowledge as we can about writing, networking and the publishing industry. But we also might be surprised by other lessons that come our way. Author Beth K. Vogt shares some of her own. 
~ Dawn

Lessons Learned Along

the Writing Road in 2012

by Beth K. Vogt

There are certain practical lessons I’ve learned along the writing road, such as:

1. My commitment to not read reviews? Tough to do when people forward reviews – both the good and the bad. Or when I wander onto Goodreads and Amazon and Barnes and Nobles …
2. A reviewer’s opinion about my writing isn’t ’a judgment against me as a person – or even me as a writer. It’s an opinion. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Besides those two lessons, there is one lesson I learned in 2012 that changed me – emotionally, spiritually and mentally. And it’s this:

In God’s economy, my journey along the writing road is all

about making me look more like him and a whole lot less like me.

I am called to be a writer—enabled by God to be a writer. I am created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27)—meant to reflect him to the world through my words, actions and interactions. (2 Cor. 3:18) One of the things God wants to do is transform me—change me from who I am into the woman he wants me to be. 

How does he do this? Through the circumstances of my life. Some of my circumstances relate to me as a woman, a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend.

But this past year as I shifted under the weight of the title “debut author,” a whole new set of circumstances materialized. At times, I cared (too much) about reviews and stars and followers and blog comments.

Guess what?

God only cares about how all those things affect me on a soul-deep level. And they do. They do. 

Success revealed my good and not-so-good heart attitudes. Some days I handled success quite well. And some days … well, I didn’t. At times I envied other writers’ front and center stage moments, wondering why the spotlight wasn’t on me. At times I doubted myself, spending too much time focused on me, myself, and I. That is a whole other form of self-centeredness.

With 2012 drawing to a close, here’s the truth I’m taking with me into 2013, with its 365 unblemished days:

In God’s eternal mindset, writing is a means to an end.

Yes, I will continue to pray that he bless the work of my hands. (Psalm 90:17) But I will also ask him to use my journey along the writing road to rub off my rough edges, revealing both my strengths and my weaknesses. And when I reach the end of the road, I pray I don’t recognize myself. Instead, I hope my life reflects God to the world.

Click to reach Amazon.

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. She’s discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.”  Her inspirational contemporary romance novel, Wish You Were Here, debuted May 2012 (Howard Books.) Her second novel, Catch a Falling Star, releases May 2013. Beth is also an established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International.  

To learn more about Beth, please visit www.bethvogt.com