How Do I Keep Motivated When Writing a Novel?

By Gabrielle F. Culmer

When I write, a novel can take up to one year or less to complete. To keep motivated, I would write a few hundred words at a time until I find the word flow. It takes commitment, concentration and a very quiet environment. Usually, I write early in the morning or in a very secluded environment, possibly in another city. Often, I first visualize myself writing in a place where I wrote another novel and then either physically or psychologically transport myself to that environment where I have completed that work and continue with the sequel or start a new idea. This then increases to a few thousand words at a time.

There are many ways to keep motivated, I try to keep my mind active by reading something else, such as a favorite author or biography. Or you may treat yourself, if you have completed an enormous task, by a meal out or an outing. This may be to the gym, horseback riding, the theater, time with family members, a restaurant in, perhaps, Mayfair, a trip to your favorite countryside, or a familiar city which provides a different subject matter and motivation. It can also be a lovely memory with friends and family that motivates you and can be reformatted to something positive in the story.        

It has also been by completely removing myself from the scenario and then compacting my mind with something unrelated, such as daily work. For instance, Damp Whisper based in London, was started in my free time after a long hiatus from the UK and just after the State bar exams and another Master’s degree in Chicago. Whereas, Arrive by Dusk was started after a total immersion visit to France. Whatever the location, I find it helpful after hours or months of writing to visit another creative place such as a museum, a place of worship, a class, an art store, a concert, or a historical country chateau to induce my creativity. Writing is very therapeutic and once you appreciate the effect that it can have and how it relates to others, you will want to keep writing.

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Gabrielle F. Culmer is the author of five fiction novels, including, Where Lives Lead, Restoring Patterns, and Arrive by Dusk, as well as two collections of poetry, recently, Glenely Bay and Nostalgia from Paris. She is a lawyer, and has Bachelor and Master of laws degrees from universities in New York, London, Canterbury, and Chicago. She enjoys traveling, theatrical drama, horseback riding and researching history in her free time.

The Goldilocks Method

By Patty Lovell 

I’m blessed with a number of good friends I can turn to for fun, laughter, and support. I love them, but none of them writes. They're not illiterate, mind you. They just hate to write ANYTHING more than 144 characters. When I try to talk to them about my writing life, you'd think I was trying to explain what an Aggie is. If you didn't go to Texas A&M, you don't care. Plus, my ego may do backflips and somersaults when they critique my work telling me, “I love it“ EVERY SINGLE TIME, this doesn't help me become a better writer. And as much as I adore my friends, when they ask me for the hundredth time, “When will it be published?” I feel my Mr. Hyde coming out.

It was suggested I join a writer's group. Great advice for us solitary scribes, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Joining a writer's group that fulfills your needs is like Goldilocks searching for that perfect bed. When I walked into the first meeting for a local organization, I felt as though I was attending a high school reunion, but it wasn't my alma mater. Everyone knew each other “forever” and most of the meeting was spent reminiscing about the good 'ol days, when newspapers ruled and grammar mattered. This group was too relaxed for me.

Not ready to give up, I found another group of writers, and I was elated to see such diversified and eclectic members. I thought I had found my tribe, but soon realized I didn't speak their language. After one member used ansible, terraforming, and cryostatis in the same sentence, I realized most were sci-fi writers. This group was much too focused for me.

I became a tad desperate and joined an online writers group. There were so many sub-groups and topics to choose from that I felt as though I had entered writer’s nirvana. My elation quickly subsided when I attempted to join in on discussions and critiques. I couldn't keep people's names straight and who wrote what, and soon became lost in the thread of postings. Too confusing. (OK, the real reason I quit was because I couldn't settle on an avatar).

I was ready to admit defeat, go back to my Howard Hughes M.O. of writing, until a friend told me about one more writer's group. I walked into the room and it was Deja vu. Everything and everyone felt familiar and comfortable, as though I had attended a previous time with no recollection. I was elated! Like Goldilocks, I didn’t give up and I had found the group that was just right for me.

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Patty Lovell writes mystery and mainstream novels, essays, even children's books. She is a former high school English teacher and librarian who also spent over ten years in business and has even had her invention, The Scoop, sold on Quirky.com. As founder of Girls on the Run of Stark County, a national non-profit for young girls that uses a fun, experience-based curriculum that integrates running to enhance confidence and self-esteem, she knows the value of physical activity for health and for her writing life. Patty has had several essays published in Cleveland Plain Dealer, and hopes to have her first novel, Unclaimed, finished this year.

Book Club Twist for Readers and Marketing for Authors

By Annette Cole Mastron for Southern Writers Magazine

As we all know, writing is a solitary activity. To be a successful author, you also need to be a reader, another solitary activity. However, it’s important for authors to connect with readers. How to do that is the trick. No one wants to stalk down a reader in the grocery store or any where for that matter. (Yes, that really did happen but it wasn’t me).

Recently, I discovered the “Silent Book Club” formed in 2012. It was humbly started by friends reading at a neighborhood bar. Who wouldn’t love books, reading with friends, and having a glass of wine? No distractions of meeting in member homes. No need to fuss or clean your home. Traditional book clubs require homework. Yuck. Normally, in these clubs, you’re required to finish an assigned book. You also then have the pressure to discuss the assigned book and come up with clever comments that someone else won’t express before you. 

Bucking the norm, a group of friends “started Silent Book Club because reading with friends is awesome. We love hearing about what people are reading (often in their other book clubs) and we think it's important to put down our phones and be social. Real, live, breathing-the-same-air social, not hearting-you-on-Instagram social. We also believe there's no shame in drinking alone, especially when you have a good book for company. In fact, most of the time we'd rather be left alone with our book, thank you very much creepy guy asking what we're reading. And, added bonus for the parents out there: your kids can't follow you into the bar. If only you had a bouncer for your bathroom. But you don't need alcohol to read with friends. Silent Book Club is about community. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can do it. We encourage people all over the world to start their own Silent Book Clubs. We have more than 30 active chapters in cities of all sizes, and new chapters are being launched by volunteers every week.”

As an author, you can always bring your own book and share with your “Silent Book Club” members, People will be intrigued by seeing others reading. Think of the opportunities as an author to interact with fellow readers.

This is the structure of “a typical SBC evening looks like this, but you are welcome to tailor it to make it your own:
6:00-6:30pm - People arrive, order drinks/food, share what they're reading
6:30-7:30pm - Quiet reading hour
7:30-8:00pm - Optional socializing, or just keep reading”

Check out their website and see if there is a group by you. If there isn’t one, you can start a group of your own with just a few of your friends.

So what do y’all think? Traditional Book Club or Silent Book Club?

Two Steps to Tighten Your Writing

By Beth K. Vogt

Every book I write begins with a fast draft. Every fast draft is followed with a rewrite. After letting my manuscript rest for two to four weeks, I take a two-level approach to bring the words in my fast draft under control:

      Go Big. Stay “big picture” for your first go-round of tightening your manuscript. Look for

      Scenes that drag at the beginning or at the end. Beware backstory dumps at the opening of a scene. Don’t add information into the scene that you, as the author, need to know, but your readers don’t. Eliminate where you wrote all the reasons why your characters do the things they do and all the things they’ve experienced before they appear in chapter one. Also, avoid the temptation to resolve the tension in a scene before moving on to the next scene or chapter. Enter the scene five to ten minutes late and leave the scene early. Go ahead: delete those paragraphs.

       Circular writing, where you revisit the same plot point again and again. How many of your scenes are about how your hero and heroine can’t fall in love because she’s hiding a secret from him? Cut ’em. Instead, deepen your plot by figuring out what else is going on in your characters’ lives. If there’s nothing else happening, it’s time to do some major replotting.

       Opportunities to tell the story “between the quotes.” Look for scenes where your point of view (POV) character is enmeshed in rambling introspection. Get out of their head and get the scene “between the quotes” by crafting it into dialogue between the POV character and someone else. Dialogue equals action.

Go Smaller. After tightening your writing by considering the big      picture, zero in on more specific details, such as

     The opening and closing sentences for each scene. You want the first sentence of your novel to hook your readers. Don’t miss the opportunity to pack a punch at the start and finish of each scene, enticing your readers to keep turning pages.

     Story world: Think details by weaving in the five senses and the surroundings your characters live in. But pick the best ones, utilizing them as symbols and metaphors, so that they help you layer in emotion.

     Bad habits. At times, I’ve fallen in love with the words so and just and but, all common minor missteps—and all opportunities to tighten my writing. Remember some of those sentences you loved as you wrote them—that at the same time seemed a bit familiar? Maybe it’s because you’ve written that sentence or phrase somewhere else in your manuscript—or even in another book. Find them and delete them.

It’s easy to nitpick our way through our manuscript, decreasing word count. But tightening your writing is removing whatever slows your story down, or as author Elmore Leonard said, “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.”

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Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction 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 doors marked Never. Things I Never Told You, releasing May 2018, is Beth’s first novel in her women’s fiction series for Tyndale House Publishers. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA Award finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and also enjoys speaking to writers’ groups and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.Beth’s links:Beth’s Website Tyndale Media Center-where you can download press materials like: Media Alert, interview questions, Author Q & A, author image, book cover image, etc. Author Image  Book Cover Image Author Bio Beth’s Blog Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Questions To Ask Before Marketing and Promoting

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine 

Authors know they need to promote their books and market themselves.

But, before the promoting and marketing begins here are two questions authors should ask themselves and determine the answers so they can develop a profitable and successful promotion and marketing program.

“What is the value the reader will receive from reading the author’s book?”

“What is unique about the author’s book?”

By the time an author reaches this stage of promoting and marketing their understanding should be clear and concise on how their book stands apart from other books.

What does the author’s book offer that would entice the reader to choose their book over another author’s book?

Without realizing it most readers are expecting benefits from the books they read.

Readers have desires and needs and they look for books to fill these.

When an author can answer these questions, this gives them promotional and marketing material to use in their campaign, which will standout above the other authors.

When an author delves into studying what makes people buy a particular book to read they find the best place to start is with themselves.

Interview questions for the author. (Be specific)

·         When you visit a bookstore, what books draw your attention?

·         Why do you go there first?

·         As you walk and gaze at the books on a shelf, what stands out first?

·         Why did it stand out?

·         Is that why you picked up the book to look closer?

·         Did you turn it over and read the back cover?

·         Did that interest you?

·         Did you open the book and read a paragraph or two?

·       

          What caused you to either buy the book or put it back on the shelf?

These questions, when honestly answered will tell you not only what you do, but it will give you a great understanding of what other readers do. It also gives you information you need for developing your promotion and marketing campaign.

So, grab a pen, pad and go to your bookstore.

Answer the questions above. Have fun.

Pitching to Agents & Editors

By Beth  Carter

It’s pitch season and I’m not talking about baseball! Authors have many ways to pitch their work to agents and editors. In fact, the choices can be daunting—and rewarding. Years ago, I flew to Ohio to pitch to a certain New York literary agent. I’m not sure why but I was extremely nervous, likely because it was my debut novel. Before that, my publishing credits included children’s picture books and six-word memoirs (I’ll post about those another time!)

I typed up catchy notes describing my novel and packed them in my suitcase (along with a gazillion clothes and shoes as if it were Armageddon.) After being picked up at the airport by a total stranger and taking her to dinner for her trouble, I attended several workshops, met friendly, aspiring writers, and authors who had “made it.” I tried my best to put the pitch out of my head as I devoured the writerly information since I was a newbie writer at the time.

Every spare minute I had, I rehearsed in my hotel room to half memorize and tweak my pithy hook. I practiced in front of a mirror and timed myself since it was just a ten-minute pitch. (Yes, just ten minutes to talk about any publishing credits, the all-important novel hook, and myself.) A couple of hours before my appointment with the (gasp) agent, I skipped a workshop and escaped to my room for ONE. LAST. PRACTICE. SESSION.

As I glanced over my notes, I felt a strange sensation on my face. I sat on the hotel bed slightly alarmed, reached up, and felt several bumps. I raced to the mirror and noticed pink hives on my cheeks.  Now what? I endeavored to calm myself by taking deep breaths, drinking water, and walking the halls. It eventually worked, but alas, I blabbered eight or nine of the ten allotted minutes, which only allowed the agent to ask me questions for one minute. What a disaster. She requested a partial (the first three chapters) but eventually passed on my novel. I was devastated.

A few months later, I noticed an online pitch session. Online? That meant no packing, no traveling, no rehearsing, and definitely no hives! Guess what? Several agents and editors requested a partial followed by the full manuscript. I eventually signed with Soul Mate Publishing for my double award-winning THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS. Book 2, CHAOS AT COCONUTS, releases in April, and I’m hard at work on Book 3 because my readers have insisted this be a series. I really wish I could tell the agent about my progress, my loyal readers, my 210 reviews, and my awards, but I can’t remember her name!

Do you have a crazy pitch story? Please comment below.  

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Beth Carter shed her corporate bank suits and heels to pen novels and children's books. She much prefers afternoon writing at Starbucks to 8 o'clock board meetings. Carter's novels include: CHAOS AT COCONUTS (Book 2), THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS (Book 1), SLEEPING WITH ELVIS, MIRACLE ON AISLE TWO, and SANTA BABY, a novelette. Winner of a 2017 Raven Award, a 2015 RONE Award, and named Best Debut Author in 2015, the author pens romantic women's fiction and contemporary romance in what she calls rollercoaster romance. The author infuses plenty of humor, suspense, heartwarming romance, and page-turning plot twists. Also a children's picture book author, Carter has four children's books published: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE?, SOUR POWER, SANTA'S SECRET, and THE MISSING KEY. All have been well received by kids, parents, teachers, and counselors. You'll likely find Beth Carter sipping a skinny vanilla latte while writing. That is, if she isn't on a boat or at T.J. Maxx. Her social media links are: 
Website: http://www.bethcarter.com Blog: http://banterwithbeth.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorbethcarter Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethcarter007

When Your Protagonist Sees Your Antagonist in the Mirror

By C. Hope Clark

Oh my, how authors love to groom protagonists, making main characters deep, flawed, driven, and three-dimensional. Readers have to connect with them. Stories usually open with them. They carry series into multiple books, and readers cannot wait to see what happens to their lives.

But antagonists define protagonists. Readers and authors cannot clearly articulate the good in someone without it being reflective against the bad in the world, in society, in people, but most of all the person responsible for creating the reason for the story in the first place – the opposition.

Which means the protagonist has to study the antagonist closely. Every good guy strives to better understand the composition of the guy he’s up against, and all too often, that means the main character waking up to the revelation that they have to think like the opposition, with the fear that they will find the bad guy staring back at them in the mirror.

Intelligence-When adversaries in any competition are mismatched, the results are a boring game. The two opposing parties must be intellectual challenges for each other. That’s not to say they have the same IQ or have the same type of smarts. The truth is when one is remarkably smart in one area, and the other sharp in another totally foreign, their clash makes for grand conflict. They each have the wit and cerebral tools but must dig deeply to learn how the other thinks, each piecing the puzzle, learning the other’s history, habits, and methodologies. If the two aren’t thought-provoking stimulation for each other, one of them will win quickly, and what fun is that?

Appearance-Often a protagonist fears being too similar to a culprit. That’s the fear of many a hero, that they’ll absorb enough of the other side, or become too calloused to evil that they start not feeling the divide as clearly as they think they should. So imagine how that chasm between the two sides is lessened if either sees themselves physically in the other. Smile, build, eyes, a scar. They’d almost obsess over that, wondering what else they have alike that they cannot immediately see.

Habits and Likes-This type of comparison appears in military stories, with opposing countries and armies. Also, when the sanctioned military group goes up against the privatized ex-military group. What if a PI went up against a cop? Or one attorney went up against another? Technology, athleticism, nature skills, science. Level the playing the field, and they have to use alternative skills to those they have similar. The more similarities, the greater the challenge.

Remember how exciting it was when Superman went up against Batman? They utilized what they had in common as much or more than how they were different in battling each other.

Take it further and recall the movie/story Face Off, where Nicholas Cage and John Travolta literally changed faces, taking the appearance similarity to the extreme by swapping places. They’d studied each other down to nuances, understood how each other lived personally and professionally, yet one was bad and the other good.

Authors prepare detailed character analyses for a story, noting the differences and specifics of characters. But when they spend as much or more time on the similarities between the protagonist and antagonist, those characters come with built-in tension before Chapter One even gets written on the page.

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C.Hope Clark just released Newberry Sin, her eighth mystery and the fourth in her Carolina Slade Mystery Series. Hope is also founder of FundsforWriters.com, chosen by Writers Digest in its 101 Best Websites for Writers for the past 17 years. She lives on the banks of Lake3 Murray in central South Carolina with her dachshunds and federal agent husband. www.chopeclark.com

Sundog Books and the Redneck Riviera

By Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor of Southern Writers Magazine

On a recent weekend trip to Seaside Florida, enjoying what is known there as the 30A Lifestyle, I visited the Central Square area for brunch. I discovered next door to the restaurant is Sundog Books. Sundog Books, http://www.sundogbooks.com/, is one of those fabulous independent bookstores and it is owned by Linda and Bob White. Sundog has not only survived the slump independents went through but apparently has thrived through that period. Although the place was busy I was able to visit with Manager and Memphis Native Carolyn Rogers. Carolyn is a great representative for Sundog and you can tell she loves everything she does there.  

I couldn’t think of a better place, a perfect fit for a bookstore than on the square on Hwy30A. Surrounded by miles of beach and most beach goers sit on the beach reading. It is a wonderful marriage between authors, reader and bookstore. Sundog goes one step further by promoting local authors as well.   

As I was approaching the porch of the bookstore there sat a gentleman signing his books. His name is Harvey H. Jackson III and his book is The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Rivieraan Insiders History of the Florida-Alabama Coast. Harvey is uniquely qualified to write Redneck Riviera due to the fact his grandmother bought a home  on the beach in the area is 1954  and he is Eminent Scholar in History at Jacksonville State University. Harvey has authored other history books dealing mostly with his State of Alabama. Harvey noted the property his grandmother owned in 1954 he has inherited and is there now. He has seen the great changes and effects of the growth and decline of the area since he was a child. His love for the area and his background in history makes a great combination for an excellent read on the area. The area known as  the Redneck Riviera, Mobile Bay to Panama City, may be struggling with its identity today with the push for a more dignified  title of the Emerald Coast. I am sure the later sounds better is you are a realtor selling beach property and with the high style of living there now it may indeed win out.

Southern Writers Magazine exists to help authors. It is encouraging to see what Sundog Books is doing for local authors. Carolyn Rogers said Harvey’s Redneck Riviera is one of their best sellers. I am sure that is true because it is about the area, the authors personal and professional input and Sundog Books allowing promotional opportunities. If you are in the area I hope you will stop in and I hope Harvey is there to greet you and sign his book for you.

If you know of similar cooperative efforts as Sundog Books and Harvey Jackson are enjoying please let me hear of them.   

Five Ways to Refresh a Dried-Up Imagination and Rediscover Your Love of Story

By Joanna Davidson Politano 

Cracking your heart open and pouring it onto the page can be draining—especially in an industry full of discouragement, competition, and long waits. I’ve had to replenish my creativity several times, and here’s what’s worked:

Change your finish line. Before you are published, that first sale is often the goal. Then you cross that finish line by contract or self-publishing and there’s a whole new set of benchmarks, from awards and good sales numbers to positive critic reviews and future contracts. Striving for these things can be draining because they only multiply. Instead, set a goal that brings you back to why you started writing—the love of spinning a story out of hand-picked words, delight in creating, or the advancement of an important message. Strive for excellence in that rather than a numeric, success-driven benchmark and watch your creativity flourish again.

Post intentional one-liners in front of your face. On a stick-a-note, write out your project’s “takeaway,” describe one specific reader you hope to reach, or note the spark that made you start on this particular project. They say it’s more damaging to be stepped on by a stiletto heel with a narrow focus of pressure than an elephant’s foot. Hone down the important elements of your project or your vision for short, poignant reminders as you write.

Let your imagination run wild by giving in to it. We all encounter ideas that are a little “out there” or not in the writing schedule, but you think, that would be so fun to write! Sink into that idea for a while and give yourself over to it, whether it’s a scene, a short story, or a novel. Explore and enjoy it, knowing that no one will ever see it. Although I’ll warn you, my “for fun” project ended up being my first contracted novel. Either way, a writer’s enthusiasm for a project is utterly contagious to readers!

Do something ridiculously child-like. I have two small kids, so this is easy for me. During the day I race toy cars, read Dr. Seuss, play tag, and sing with abandon. Drawing out this forgotten part of yourself will bring creative power to your writing. No story ever suffers from the candor, energy, or out-of-the-box thinking of a young heart. Let go of your task list and carve out joyful playtime—then take that liveliness and let it spill onto the keyboard.

Return to your absolute favorite books. Sink into them and let the magic you’ve always found in their lines saturate your dry imagination. Dissect what’s effective there and look for general ideas you can use. For example, one favorite author made it impossible to guess the ending “answer” of her book since she had readers focused on the wrong question throughout. It was fantastic and I began thinking of how I could also distract my readers from the truth until the end.

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Joanna Davidson Politano freelances for a small nonfiction publisher but spends much of her time spinning tales that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives. She is always on the hunt for random acts of kindness, people willing to share their deepest secrets with a stranger, and hidden stashes of sweets. She lives with her husband and their two babies in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan and shares stories that move her at www.jdpstories.com.

Her social Media links: Website: jdpstories.com Blog: jdpstories.com/true-stories-the-blog/

www.facebook.com/joannadavidsonpolitano/  https://twitter.com/politano_joanna

https://www.pinterest.com/sunshine39n/

Writing Your Character's True Feelings

by Gary Fearon, Southern Writers Magazine

A favorite couple of mine has a four-year-old who loves to role-play, so whenever I visit we play this little game.

"Make an angry face," I say. He frowns.
"Make a surprised face." His eyes and mouth open wide.
"Make a scary face." He narrows his eyes and shows his teeth.

We keep this going until I run out of emotions or Ninja Turtles comes on, but I always try to end the game with a happy face.

Even when it's not part of a game, it's easy to read what kind of mood a four-year-old is in. It's once we grow up that we are prone to conceal our feelings and make them less visible to others. Therefore, what you see isn't always what you get.

Writing a character's emotions via physical cues alone rarely hits the mark, especially if they are clichés. A character whose "heart leaps" at the sight of her beloved or who has "tear-stained cheeks" virtually leaps off the page with plasticity. Something as rich and personal as feelings deserves better.

We've all had supposedly true human interest stories forwarded to us in which someone was the recipient of a great act of kindness. We cringe from the sheer amateurism when we read that he responded "with a tear in his eye." These fake stories are so heartwarming, they're almost flammable.

So how do we express a character's emotions without resorting to clichés? By looking not at what's visible through outside appearance, but rather at what's going on inside. What is our character's reaction that makes him/her unique?

Everyone feels worry, for example, if they think they may have left the stove on after leaving the house. But going deeper, each individual has a thought process uniquely their own. One person may head back home in a panic, another may blame their spouse and start an argument, while another may eventually write it off and let fate decide.

What your character thinks and what he does in response to a situation reveals much more than a tear-stained cheek will. Instead of focusing on the obvious, use the moment to dramatic advantage.

Speaking of avoiding the obvious, take care to eliminate extraneous words in phrases like "tears in her eyes" or a "frown on his face". (Where else would she have tears, and where else would he have a frown?)

Whether or not a physical display accompanies them, feelings are a very internal thing. When writing emotions, seek out the more secretive elements of that very human experience.  Coming up with a scene that touches the heart authentically will elicit genuine emotion from your reader and put a smile (on your face).