Writing Tips – Joan Hall

This Week at Story Empire

Published on December 16, 2022December 15, 2022 by Joan Hall

Happy Friday, everyone! We’re already halfway through December, and soon a new year will be upon us.

Not a lot happening at the Hall household this week. I’ve been knee-deep in the final edits of Menagerie. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m a bit of an introvert. Yesterday, I realized I hadn’t been anywhere in a week. I remedied that by going out to breakfast with my husband. After having thunderstorms and rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather was perfect, but a bit cool. But it’s that time of year. Winter solstice is next Wednesday.

We’re winding down another year at Story Empire. Here are the links to this week’s posts.

Beem Weeks started us off with Why Write Short Stories?
Mae Clair’s Wednesday topic was A Christmas Carol and Holiday Reading
D. Wallace Peach wrapped up with week with Writing the End Part Two

No new photos this week, so I’m looking back into my archives. In 2010, we took a trip to Arkansas. I’ll share a couple of pics from our visit.

We spent two nights in Hot Springs. One of the attractions was a walk-through display of Christmas lights. This is one of the photos I took that night. The overnight lows were in the teens, so it was quite chilly for our little excursion.

The following morning, we drove to Mount Magazine. All the trees and vegetation were covered in ice. We learned that’s a common occurrence when there is fog and the temps drop below freezing. It was a winter wonderland!

See you Monday with a new Legends and Lore post!

This Week at Story Empire

Published on December 9, 2022December 10, 2022 by Joan Hall

What a difference a week makes! Only a few days ago we were enjoying the beautiful fall foliage. We live in the country, and across the road behind our neighbor’s house, the trees were brilliant reds and golds. I had an excellent view from my writing desk.

Twilight had fallen one evening, and I hadn’t closed the blinds yet. Even then, the colors were ablaze. Amazing. This week is another story. Most of the trees are now bare and our front yard is evidence of that. But it’s to be expected as the first day of winter is less than two weeks away.

And now for the weekly wrap-up at Story Empire

I began the week with Who Influenced Your Writing
On Wednesday, Staci Troilo wrapped up her series on Story Development and Execution. Her topic was Planning a Series.
Today, Gwen Plano discusses Writing Throug h the Seasons

Another week on the books. Here’s a photo of my front yard. Although you can’t see it, there’s a sidewalk between the lights and the green plant. Looks like a lot of work is ahead.

See you next week!

This Week at Story Empire

Published on December 2, 2022December 2, 2022 by Joan Hall

Happy Friday, everyone. One four more left this year. Can you believe it?

After taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s been a busy week as I’m wrapping up the edits of my short story collection, scheduled for release in January.

Story Empire had another full week.

Harmony Kent began the week with a summation of her series, How to Use Prologues. If you missed any of the posts, she has the link to each one in the post.
On Wednesday, D. L. Finn’s topic was What Every Writer Should Know. She gives some sage advice, so I know you won’t want to miss it.
Interested in bringing humor into your stories? Then make sure to check out John Howell’s post today. Click this link to read.

This fall has been one of the most beautiful ones Texas has had in years. On Sunday, my husband and I took a drive in the country. The colors of the trees were amazing. I snapped a few photos. Most were taken from inside the car, so please overlook the glare from the windows.

The photo on the right is the oak tree in my front yard. Beautiful (until we have to rake the leaves).

That’s it for now. I’ll return next week with a new Mystery Monday post.

This Week at Story Empire

Published on November 18, 2022November 17, 2022 by Joan Hall

It’s been a busy week at the Hall household. I’ve decided all of them are busy, just in different ways. Monday, we had three windows replaced. We ran errands on Tuesday and went out for Mexican food. (I have to get my Tex-Mex fix.) And, I’m plugging away at the short story edits. Look for the cover reveal and a call for tour hosts on November 30.

We had another full week at Story Empire. I hope you had a chance to visit, but if not, here are the links. You won’t be disappointed.

D. L. Finn began the week with a post about Writers and Reading.
Beem Weeks took the stage on Wednesday where he discussed the worth of Book Trailers.
Finishing up the Week, Mae Clair’s topic for today is Tracking Unfollowers in Twitter.

And that wraps up another week. It’s been cold and we’ve had rain some days, so no new photos. I pulled this one from my archives. We had taken a weekend trip to Washington, Arkansas, and came across this pioneer cemetery. I loved to explore old graveyards, so finding this was a treat.

This Week at Story Empire

Published on November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 by Joan Hall2 Comments

Hey, everyone. I planned to write a post this week and show some of the photos I took in Oklahoma last week. However, two days after our trip, tornadoes ripped through several towns in northeast Texas and southeastern Oklahoma.

Some of those towns, including Idabel, Oklahoma, and Powderly, Texas, suffered major damage. Hard to believe just two days prior we traveled through both places. Ironically, while driving through Paris, Texas, my husband and I talked about a major tornado that happened there in the early 80s. Powderly is a tiny community just north of Paris.

In Idabel, at least one person died, and a school and one church were destroyed. Somehow, it didn’t seem fitting to write about our adventure (which was wonderful) in the aftermath of such devastation. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that would happen so soon after we were there. It goes to show we should never take life for granted.

Now on to more cheerful things. We had another great week at Story Empire. If you missed any of the posts, here are the topics and links:

John Howell kicked off the week with Humor in Writing: Five Ways to Do It
On Wednesday, my topic was Signs You Might Need a Writing Break
Today, Staci Troilo wrapped up the week with Holidays and The Hemingway Code

Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and several other countries. Both mark the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. If you see a veteran today, take a moment to thank them for their service.