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Jim Potter, Author

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Stories Are Everywhere

October 2, 2019 by Jim Potter 10 Comments

· Stories Are Everywhere: My Blogging Topics  · MY PURPOSE in BLOGGING In 2017, when I sent my final draft of my novel, Taking Back the Bullet, to my editor, Jan Hurst, I started preparing drafts of written blogs for my new website hosted by Rosemary Miller, aka “The Tech Chick.” My unwritten mission statement was this: “To be in the moment, to enjoy the adventure, and to do my best for me and my readers.” The website was also designed to promote my books and be a public platform, a … [Read more...] about Stories Are Everywhere

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: A Life in Progress, Alexandria, Allison Bomgardner, Ann Fell, Annika Smith, book reviews, Cyndi Enders Landon, Deputy Jennings and the Old Order Amish, Dylan Kohls, Evie Simmons, exaggeration postcards, finding a story, Galena Mae Crable, Geraldine Triplett, Gina Laiso, Gloria Zachgo, Hubcap Houdini, interviews, J. Alex Potter, James A. Woodson, Jan Hurst, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Leland Woodson, memoir, reporting, research, reward postcards, River of Tears, Robert E. Enders, Rock Neelly, Rosemary Miller, Sandy Woodson, Sundrop Sonata, Tabitha Barr, Taking Back the Bullet, the doll lady, The Tech Chick, Theda Sorenson, Tracy Million Simmons, writing

The Big Lie

October 25, 2017 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

·  Rolla Preceded Roswell  · A good portion of the population has heard of Roswell, New Mexico; not for its desert beauty, but for the decision of the US government to cover up the truth about UFOs and early alien contact in 1947.  A little known fact is that Rolla, in southwest Kansas, was the epicenter of alien visitation nearly twenty years before the Roswell Incident. My Grandpa Clarence, who farmed there, explained it to me over the course of my family visits to Hutchinson, … [Read more...] about The Big Lie

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: aliens, creative writing, dust storms, grasshoppers, Rolla, Roswell, Science fiction, setting, The Big Lie, writing

Back Story

October 11, 2017 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

·  Going Backward in Order to Go Forward  · "422 to 409." "409, go ahead." "If you want to stop by, you can take some more photographs for us." "No thanks, I've got other plans. Do you have enough help without me?" "10-4." I should have been thankful for the offer, instead it only reinforced my unwillingness to be a part of one more grisly scene of death. My shift was over. I had paid my dues. I just didn't have it in me to look at one more dead body. As I pulled into my driveway, only … [Read more...] about Back Story

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: back story, creative writing, fiction, flashbacks, literary fiction, writing

Mix Things Up

October 4, 2017 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

·  Braiding  · Braiding means weaving information into the story, especially characters, like a hairdresser weaving strands of hair into one strong braid. In my novel, Taking Back the Bullet, I focus on three main characters and their families. Out of thirty-four chapters in the book, I use the first nine chapters introducing the fictional characters. The first two chapters are set in Prairie Grove, Kansas, where the reader meets jailer Tom Jennings and artist Jesse Thomas. In the … [Read more...] about Mix Things Up

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: back story, braiding, characters, creative writing, fiction, literary fiction, literature, weaving, writing

Getting to Know Your Characters

September 27, 2017 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

·  Who Are These People and What Are They Doing In My Head?  · I'm having so much fun thinking about the fictional characters coming alive since the last blog!  In the blog titled "More Seeds to Sow," I introduced you to a veteran with PTSD who relied on a flock of ducks to help keep him calm; a woman who was nearly evicted from her home but was able to adopt out her two dozen beardless dragons in time; and a criminal duo who landed in jail after their third armed robbery in which the woman … [Read more...] about Getting to Know Your Characters

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: character development, characters, creative writing, fiction, imagination, literary fiction, writing

More Seeds to Sow

September 20, 2017 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

·  Fourteen Therapeutic Pet Ducks, 24 Bearded Dragons, and a Masked Batman Caper  · "You can't make this stuff up!" I tell other writers. We're all in agreement. If you want any ideas for your writing, you don't need to read fake news online. Just take a few "real" headlines and start writing. Free-writing is one form used by writers to get started. You just take a topic, start writing, and see where it leads you.  Today I'm using three brief AP news stories as examples of how topics … [Read more...] about More Seeds to Sow

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Batman, bearded dragons, brainstorming, creative writing, fiction, free-writing, literary fiction, pet ducks, writing

Seeds to Sow

September 13, 2017 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

·  Questions to Ask  · Recently, in a Hutchinson News article, there was a story about a long-time bar being forced to close due to dwindling customer support. The owner was sharing a lot of memories with the reporter, but there was one that I knew immediately would fit into many a novel, maybe one of mine. Surprise! It's not a drunken fight scene. The owner recalled how when she and all her female employees took the night off to attend an event, they left a few male employees in charge at … [Read more...] about Seeds to Sow

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: creative writing, fiction, literary fiction, literature, questions to ask, story, writing

Seeds to a Story

September 6, 2017 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

 ·  Listen, Read, Write, Repeat  · If you're a writer, or want to be a writer, do you save story-starters?   Do you file newspaper clippings, save Pinterest images, or write down bits of overheard conversations, certain you'll use the comments or pictures in future dialogue? Maybe your file is labeled, "Save - to Use Later." I'm reading the Hutchinson News, and I glance at the obituaries and see the name, "Billy Goodenough." I don't know him, but his name just sticks in my … [Read more...] about Seeds to a Story

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Billy Goodenough, Colville Confederated Tribes, creative writing, fiction, literary fiction, story starters, writing

Cultural Exposure

August 30, 2017 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

 ·  Albinism and Africa  · I've never been to Tanzania, but I've researched the country, especially the PWA community. The acronym stands for People With Albinism. If you want to learn more about the genetic condition called albinism, I recommend the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH). If you want information on the fight against attacks on people with albinism, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, then Under the Same Sun (UTSS), operated out of Canada, is the … [Read more...] about Cultural Exposure

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: albinism, creative writing, literary fiction, NOAH, Tanzania, Under the Same Sun, writing

Creative Writing

August 23, 2017 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

·  Fake News  · Today the media talks about the alarming impact of "fake news." No doubt that in our instant, mass communication world, one fraudulent or deceptive story can cause massive confusion with grave consequences. Check out this "exaggeration" post card from 1937 showing a rather large grasshopper that died of lead poisoning. Similar manipulated, tall-tale images had been in circulation since the early 1900's, the Golden Age of Postcards. The popularity of early cards was due … [Read more...] about Creative Writing

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: creative writing, exaggeration postcards, fake news, fiction, literary fiction, postcards, tall tales, writing

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Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Choosing a Title

Choosing a Title Copyright 2023 ©  by Jim Potter Your book is copyrighted, your title is not. Did you know that upon writing your book, it’s … Read More about Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Choosing a Title

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Interviews with Jim Potter

Video interview with James Lowe outside Bookends Bookstore July 21, 2022

Print interview with author Bill Bush September 1, 2022

Print interview with author Cheryl Unruh February 28, 2019

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