Writing

  • Most Topular Stories

  • How to Summarize Anything

    good words (right order)
    Patrick
    15 May 2012 | 10:30 am
    Writing a tight, logical summary is the most important business writing skill. Don’t agree? Then riddle me this: if they can’t make it past your summary, how can they approve the proposal you just submitted? Writing a summary will also help the writing process. To get the summary right (and if you are writing something that’s more than a page, you need a summary) you have to figure out the structure. Once you know the structure, the rest of the writing will be much easier. B.L.U.F. Bottom line up front. You’re not writing a mystery novel. In fact, you are writing the opposite…

  • Plotting Your Novel: Organic or Outline?

    WinePress of Words
    Janice Robeson
    16 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    One thing many of us “wannabe” writers are curious about is what process an author actually uses to imagine, write and keep track of the storyline in a novel. I am dumbfounded by people who can see the whole thing in their mind and just write it down. I’m oversimplifying here . . . but you get the idea. There are two camps, people who outline and people who do free form or as I learned—“organic” writing. Then there is everyone in between who dabble in both. How does it work? An author working with an outline does a painstaking construction of their plot, characters and scenes.

  • To Write Is To Sit In Judgment On Oneself

    Advice to Writers
    [Your Name Here]
    13 May 2012 | 11:01 pm
    To write is to practice, with particular intensity and attentiveness, the art of reading. You write in order to read what you've written and see if it's O.K. and, since of course it never is, to rewrite it once, twice, as many times as it takes to get it to be something you can bear to reread. You are your own first, maybe severest, reader. "To write is to sit in judgment on oneself," Ibsen inscribed on the flyleaf of one of his books. Hard to imagine writing without rereading. SUSAN SONTAG

  • In a Novel, No One Owns the Truth

    Advice to Writers
    [Your Name Here]
    15 May 2012 | 11:11 pm
    The contract between the author and the reader is a game. And the game . . . is one of the greatest inventions of Western civilization: the game of telling stories, inventing characters, and creating the imaginary paradise of the individual, from whence no one can be expelled because, in a novel, no one owns the truth and everyone has the right to be heard and understood. CARLOS FUENTES

  • Remember Your Analog Life

    robertbruce.com
    robert@robertbruce.com (Robert Bruce)
    8 May 2012 | 12:33 am
    There was a time not too many years ago when, if you were out, you were unavailable. Nothing could reach you. Emergencies had to wait. You found out what happened when you got home, and you dealt with it. That world is, of course, gone. The demands of digital are relentless. The demanders claim their right to break in at any (and all) hours. To update. To DM. To poke. To email. To message. To reach you, on their clock. My generation straddled the old world and the new. We grew up dialing the rotary phone. We leaned in to middle age swiping and tapping the iPhone. We made the transition…
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    Advice to Writers

  • In a Novel, No One Owns the Truth

    [Your Name Here]
    15 May 2012 | 11:11 pm
    The contract between the author and the reader is a game. And the game . . . is one of the greatest inventions of Western civilization: the game of telling stories, inventing characters, and creating the imaginary paradise of the individual, from whence no one can be expelled because, in a novel, no one owns the truth and everyone has the right to be heard and understood. CARLOS FUENTES

  • The Important Thing in Writing is the Capacity to Astonish

    [Your Name Here]
    14 May 2012 | 11:17 pm
    The important thing in writing is the capacity to astonish. Not shock—shock is a worn-out word—but astonish. The world has no grounds whatever for complacency. The Titanic couldn’t sink, but it did. Where you find smugness, you find something worth blasting. I want to blast it. TERRY SOUTHERN

  • To Write Is To Sit In Judgment On Oneself

    [Your Name Here]
    13 May 2012 | 11:01 pm
    To write is to practice, with particular intensity and attentiveness, the art of reading. You write in order to read what you've written and see if it's O.K. and, since of course it never is, to rewrite it once, twice, as many times as it takes to get it to be something you can bear to reread. You are your own first, maybe severest, reader. "To write is to sit in judgment on oneself," Ibsen inscribed on the flyleaf of one of his books. Hard to imagine writing without rereading. SUSAN SONTAG

  • Writing Is An Act of Revolutionary Guerrilla Warfare

    [Your Name Here]
    12 May 2012 | 11:02 pm
    I don't know how you perceive my mission as a writer, but for me it is not a responsibility to reaffirm your concretized myths and provincial prejudices. It is not my job to lull you with a false sense of the rightness of the universe. This wonderful and terrible occupation of recreating the world in a different way, each time fresh and strange, is an act of revolutionary guerrilla warfare. I stir the soup. I inconvenience you. I make your nose run and your eyeballs water. HARLAN ELLISON

  • The Reader Has Certain Rights

    [Your Name Here]
    11 May 2012 | 11:18 pm
    The reader has certain rights. He bought your story. Think of this as an implicit contract. He’s entitled to be entertained, instructed, amused; maybe all three. If he quits in the middle, or puts the book down feeling his time has been wasted, you’re in violation. LARRY NIVEN
 
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    Daily Writing Tips

  • Does Everyone Know Every One?

    Mark Nichol
    15 May 2012 | 10:19 pm
    Writers are sometimes confused about when to attach any, every, and no to one or body as a closed compound and when to treat one of these word pairs as just that: a two-word phrase. Here are guidelines and sample sentences for each combination: Any Body/Anybody The two-word alternative, which refers to people’s physical form rather than the complete body-mind package, might be used as an advertising-copy play on anybody, as in “We can get any body into shape,” but that’s rare; it might also appear as a modifier-noun pair that itself modifies another noun: “People with any body type…

  • All About Ellipses

    Mark Nichol
    14 May 2012 | 11:01 pm
    Three dots. Dot, dot, dot. What could be simpler? Then why do those dots make so many writers dotty? The rules for use of ellipses are not as simple as they seem. But they are manageable. First, a definition: An ellipsis (from the Greek word elleipsis — also the source of ellipse, meaning “an oval” — is an elision of words that can be implied to mentally complete a statement; it can also mean “a sudden change of subject.” But the meaning we seek is another one, the grammatically mechanical one: Ellipsis and its plural form, ellipses, also refer to the punctuation marks…

  • 7 Terms with the Root “-Vore”

    Mark Nichol
    13 May 2012 | 11:30 pm
    Are you a locavore? Probably not — it’s still a fringe movement — but you should know what it means, even if you do not consider yourself a member of the class. A discussion of locavore and six related words follows: 1. Locavore The term was coined in 2005 by a group of San Franciscans who launched the website Locavore.com to spread the word about the conservationist concept of striving to restrict one’s diet to foods and ingredients produced locally. (Some locavores quantify the range as anywhere within a one-hundred-mile radius, but most are not exact in their limits.)…

  • The Rules of Engagement in English

    Mark Nichol
    11 May 2012 | 10:19 pm
    In the same day, this site received, among readers’ responses to my recent post Courtesy Titles and Honorifics, two diverse email messages: One was a reasonable, well-written support of the writer’s opinion that, as she was taught, because the courtesy title Ms. is an artificial designation that doesn’t abbreviate anything, it should not include a period. The other correspondent wrote, “hey watch out your website looks like a rule book, and we all know rule books are fascist.” Whether one’s convictions are adept or absurd, however, one must accept the incontrovertible fact that…

  • Book Review: “Spunk and Bite”

    Mark Nichol
    10 May 2012 | 10:56 pm
    The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, has been widely celebrated as one of the masterworks of English usage. Time magazine listed it as one of the one hundred most influential books written in English since 1923. More than ten million copies of the slim little volume that elucidates good usage, proper composition, and correct form have been sold over the course of the last half-century. Shred it. Shred it, that is, after you’ve read it once so that you know what not to do in your writing. Then, buy a copy of Arthur Plotnik’s Spunk and Bite: A Writer’s Guide to…
 
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    Copyblogger

  • What Does it Take to Write a Billion-Dollar Marketing Story?

    Amy Harrison
    16 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    In 1984, two artists used a simple process to create a story that captivated an audience for years and generated billions of dollars in revenue. That same process is being used today by a master copywriter to attract hundreds of thousands of paying subscribers. With companies creating millions of web pages of content marketing, finding an untold story or a new angle can feel like an impossible task. Especially when you want to avoid creating a story so unique nobody understands it … or wants to pay for it. So how do you create a story that cuts through the noise and strikes at the heart…

  • How to be a World-Changing Writer

    Pace Smith and Sonia Simone
    15 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    As a copywriter, you know that words have power. You know words can influence, inform, and inspire. They can persuade your fellow humans to do some amazing things (or to do the wrong things, but we won’t go there today). What you may not realize is that your words can change the world. Here’s something else that’s really cool that you might not have realized … The keys to world-changing writing are also the keys to damn good copywriting. But as you know, good writing doesn’t happen all by itself. So let’s talk about what it takes to be damned good ……

  • WordPress Hosting That Means Business

    Brian Clark
    14 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    Did you know Copyblogger Media has a WordPress hosting division? Many people don’t, because it’s been a bit under-the-radar. The whole thing started with our frustration with web hosting in general. Specifically, the fact that a lot of “WordPress hosting” amounts to generic one-click installation of the CMS on a standardly-configured box — which simply doesn’t cut it for optimal performance and security. So, last year we decided to manage our high-traffic network of content and product sites ourselves. We did this by bringing into the family a team of people who themselves…

  • The Truth About Making Money While You Sleep

    Jonathan Morrow
    14 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    Want to hear about the day in the life of a so-called “successful entrepreneur?” Yesterday, I stayed in bed until about 2 PM. I watched the last few episodes of Mad Men. Around sunset, I took a leisurely stroll down the beach. When I got back, I hung out with a friend for a couple of hours, ate dinner, and went to bed. In other words … I goofed off. And while I was goofing off, my business generated a pretty decent chunk of revenue. You want to know the coolest part? I did absolutely nothing to “earn” it. I didn’t check my email. I didn’t talk to…

  • 7 Instructive Content Marketing Links

    Robert Bruce
    12 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    This week on The Lede … Are Content Publishers Waking Up from Their App Dreams Nightmares? An Email Marketing Autoresponder Schedule that Sells 3 Quick Tips To Conquering Your Fear of Public Speaking Does Your Domain Say “Trust Me?” Why “Freemium” Fails for Startups: 3 Business Lessons from the Band New Order 5 Basic SEO Truths We Can Learn from Star Wars Peter Shankman on the Value of an Audience If you want to grab more useful links (than the seven we highlight here) every week, follow @copyblogger on Twitter. Are Content Publishers Waking Up from Their App Dreams…
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    onewildword

  • Boost your creativity by doodling

    Carly Sandifer
    16 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Sometimes my brain seizes up when I sit down at the computer to write. It’s as if the glare of the screen and the cold, hard keys have drained all the energy out of my ideas. But since I rely on the keyboard and computer to put sentences down on the page, I have to work around it. So I was intrigued when I read about doodling as a way to boost creativity. Roisin Markham writes about how doodling brings an unconscious clarity to her thinking process. I’m planning to try it. For all the details, check out Roisin’s post at CreativeDynamix. Tagged: creative doodling,…

  • How to use rejection to improve your craft

    Carol Despeaux
    15 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Rejection is how we writers grow thick skins, but we can also use it to better our craft. When I first started sending out my memoir, my husband suggested I send it to fifty or so agents right away. Since acceptance can be a numbers game, I understood his logic, but I felt it was better for me to start out slowly. And I’m glad I did. I received excellent, positive feedback early on that made me rethink my story and take my memoir in a new, more exciting direction. Now, I have a book I feel proud of as I begin to send it out again. But what if you don’t receive helpful rejection…

  • Writing a freelance assignment? Gather the facts

    Carly Sandifer
    14 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Besides being a newspaper reporter early in my career, I’ve worked in the corporate trenches writing everything from news and feature stories for customer magazines and newsletters, to sales and fundraising letters. I’ve also spent a fair amount of time as a ghostwriter. After all these years, my work style is second nature, from how I prepare for an assignment to how I interview sources and get into the writing itself. But I often run into people who are eager to break into copywriting or freelance writing and they want to know how to go about it, so I decided to analyze and…

  • A poem from my son in honor of Mother’s Day

    Carol Despeaux
    11 May 2012 | 8:00 am
      One of the benefits of our recent remodel has been finding treasures as I put the house back together. Below is a poem I found that my son wrote when he was seven years old. He liked to create little booklets of poems and give them to me for special occasions–Mother’s Day or my birthday. Books have been a part of my life since I was a young girl sitting on my mother’s lap, lulled by the stories she read to me. I, in turn, cherished reading books to my son when he was young. I guess you can say we have “book love” in our family. See for yourself:  …

  • A letter to writers from John Steinbeck

    Carly Sandifer
    10 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Does starting a story scare you? Maybe you put off putting pen to paper because of fear. John Steinbeck felt the same way. In a letter to writers, Steinbeck wrote: “It is not so very hard to judge a story after it is written, but, after many years, to start a story still scares me to death. I will go so far as to say that the writer who is not scared is happily unaware of the remote and tantalizing majesty of the medium.” Steinbeck pushed forward and so must we. He discovered there were no clear and easy rules for writing. A teacher gave him and his fellow students this piece of advice:…
 
 
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    WordPress.com News

  • Stay In The Conversation

    Beau Lebens
    15 May 2012 | 6:01 pm
    It’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment…

  • Look at These Gorgeous Blogs

    Sheri
    15 May 2012 | 1:05 pm
    We’ve added a user showcase where you can view stunning customizations made by people just like you. From complete redesigns with CSS to adding pizzazz with Custom Fonts to clever use of options like background and header, this showcase will spark your imagination and inspire creativity. Discover details about what each showcase blog is doing with WordPress.com themes and customizations by clicking a thumbnail to see a colophon-style list of credits on the left. We’ve also updated footer links so blog owners can show off the types of customizations they’ve made and visitors can…

  • Photo Blogging 101, Part 1

    Erica V.
    14 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    Spring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here. Getting started Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including…

  • New Themes: Just Desserts and Oxygen

    Michelle Langston
    10 May 2012 | 8:11 am
    Happy Thursday! We’ve added some exciting new themes to our ever-growing collection, and we’re happy to tell you all about them. First out of the oven is…Just Desserts. Yep, that’s a theme! Designed by Andy Rutledge, Just Desserts is a deliciously stylish premium theme that’s perfect for blogs centered on food. With its responsive, single-column layout and unique presentation of images and posts on the front page, Just Desserts gives you a delectable canvas on which your mouthwatering photos and text can really shine — even when viewed on smaller mobile devices…

  • Find Friends Who Use WordPress

    Nick Momrik
    1 May 2012 | 2:32 pm
    Are you curious to see how your friends are using WordPress? Give the new and improved Friend Finder a try to connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and Google contacts who have WordPress sites! After authorizing WordPress.com to use your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to find your friends (don’t worry — none of this account information is saved!) you’ll see a list of people you know who have WordPress sites. Click Follow and each time your friend publishes a new post it will show up in your Reader under Blogs I Follow. If you have multiple blogs, make sure to set the…
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    English Study Materials

  • Skills Workshop

    andrij
    11 May 2012 | 11:25 pm
    Maggie Harnew's Skills Workshop is a great, non-profit making website where skills teachers can find free resources to use in their classes. Contributed by users from around the world, these classroom-tested resources are available for free download and are ideal as supporting materials for any... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]

  • Middle English Dictionary

    andrij
    7 Apr 2012 | 5:17 am
    The Middle English Dictionary is an authoritative work on Middle English, covering the lexicon and usage of English from after the Norman Conquest to the beginning of the printing press (1100 to 1500). Compiled by the University of Michigan, this dictionary has been called "the greatest achievement... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]

  • The Spelling Blog

    andrij
    4 Apr 2012 | 10:25 am
    Johanna Stirling's The Spelling Blog publishes insightful articles about English spelling, offering readers useful tips on how to learn it. The blog also provides English teachers with practical advice on how to teach spelling. Read The Spelling Blog and gain new looks at a subject that is more... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]

  • ELT Podcast

    andrij
    31 Mar 2012 | 5:49 am
    ELT Podcast offers downloadable MP3 podcasts produced for students and teachers of English as a second or foreign language. The podcasts focus on developing students' listening and speaking skills as well as offer ideas and advice for solving some real-life English teaching issues. Although no... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]

  • Idiom Quest

    andrij
    13 Mar 2012 | 9:47 pm
    Idiom Quest is a comprehensive, fully searchable database of American English idioms. This reliable online dictionary of idioms puts the meanings of popular and not-so-popular idioms at your fingertips and better still, it will help you find idioms that relate to a specific topic or idea, for... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]
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    Creative Writing Forums - Writing Workshops, Writing Help, Creative Writing Contests - Word Mechanics

  • Came or Comes?

    Hero-Jean629
    15 May 2012 | 3:13 pm
    I just need help with deciding which sounds better: "Love comes with a class system, at least according to Norma." OR "Love came with a class system, at least according to Norma."

  • Does the em dash have to go inside or outside the quotation marks? :)

    vanilla16
    14 May 2012 | 9:59 am
    Mm-hmm, like should it be . . . "Althought these"—she looked at the row of beeswax sculptures"—don't meet the criteria for art." or "Althought these"—she looked at the row of beeswax sculptures—"don't meet the criteria for art." :)

  • Toward or towards?

    MissRis
    12 May 2012 | 8:58 am
    I keep coming to this in my story. "I walked toward..." I'm reviewing my work and I keep finding that I have written "towards." Which is it? Is it simply a matter of casual versus formal writing?

  • Lie (down)

    Word Dancer
    10 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    Forgive me if this has been posted before but is the past tense of lie, as in lie down, lay? It doesn't sound right. Jeff took off his shoes and lay down on his bed. Is that right? And if not, what is?

  • Conceit vs Allegory

    Rumwriter
    6 May 2012 | 11:33 am
    Can someone explain to me how these two are different? And I'm talking more than just a dictionary answer, because I could do that on my own.
 
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    The Purdue OWL News

  • Purdue OWL Introducing the Next OWL Coordinator for May 10, 2012

    10 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    Purdue OWL Introducing the Next OWL CoordinatorBy Elizabeth AngeliFrom Liz (Purdue OWL Coordinator, 2010-2012): It has been an honor to work on the Purdue OWL during my time at Purdue. I first used the OWL in college, and when I came to Purdue, I wanted to be involved with the OWL, a resource that has helped milli..

  • Purdue OWL YouTube Channel APA Formatting for May 9, 2012

    9 May 2012 | 6:13 pm
    Purdue OWL YouTube Channel APA FormattingBy Elizabeth AngeliCheck out our latest vidcast, "APA Formatting: The Basics," the second vidcast in our MLA and APA style and formatting series. For a full listing of vidcasts, visit the Purdue OWL Vidcasts resource or the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel. Thanks to cont..

  • Purdue OWL YouTube Channel Personal Statements for May 8, 2012

    8 May 2012 | 9:07 am
    Purdue OWL YouTube Channel Personal StatementsBy Elizabeth AngeliWe are pleased to announce another YouTube vidcast, "Personal Statement Writing." Thank you to content developers Laurie Pinkert and Joshua Paiz for writing, creating, and producing our 21st vidcast. Thanks, too, to everyone who has subscribed, link..

  • Purdue Writing Lab Tutors Recognized for Outstanding Tutoring and Teaching for May 4, 2012

    4 May 2012 | 1:22 pm
    Purdue Writing Lab Tutors Recognized for Outstanding Tutoring and TeachingBy Elizabeth AngeliThe Purdue Writing Lab congratulates UTA and graduate tutors for their recent accomplishments. The UTA of the spring 2012 semester is Sung Jun Ma, and the BWC of the semester is Elise Crane.  The graduate tutor of the 2011-2012 year is Matthew ..

  • Purdue Writing Lab Congratulates Tammy Conard-Salvo for May 3, 2012

    3 May 2012 | 12:27 pm
    Purdue Writing Lab Congratulates Tammy Conard-SalvoBy Elizabeth AngeliThe Purdue Writing Lab's associate director, Tammy Conard-Salvo, has received the second annual Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Committee Administrative/Professional Staff Excellence Award. Congratulations, Tammy, from all of us at the..
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    Charlotte Rains Dixon

  • 7 Ways to Meditate and Why Writers Should

    Charlotte Dixon
    16 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    I know.  Meditation. Crap.  Must we? For many of us, meditation is an item on the to-do list that never gets done, akin to cleaning the basement and scrubbing baseboards.  (And if you actually accomplish those things, please, please, please come to my house and help with mine.) Meditation is boring.  Meditation takes time away from writing.  Meditation is hard to do correctly.  Did I mention that it is boring? And yet, many of those pesky spiritual traditions, mine included, emphasize meditation. Again, crap.  Do we really have to?  We're writers, not swamis or priests, right? …

  • Excerpt: The Moon She Rocks You

    Charlotte Dixon
    14 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    For my Monday post, I have something different for you: an excerpt of a cool book called The Moon She Rocks You by Gurutej. If you are a woman, knowing about The Moon Centers gives you power over your negative emotions. If you are a man, it gives you the key to understand women of all ages. You learn to listen to the voice of their emotions. Women – we can have control over those crazy emotional times in our lives. For more information, visit the author's website or her Amazon page. What are Moon Center cycles and why should we as women care about them? Because these cycles have a…

  • Saturday Writing Tip: Experiment with Viewpoint

    Charlotte Dixon
    12 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    At the Diamond writing retreat I co-led, I got clarity about where I'm going with my current novel.  (On some odd subliminal level, getting my first novel accepted has made a huge difference in my commitment level to this WIP.) But last week I spent most of my time caring for my daughter and The Most Beautiful Baby Ever Born, and not a lot of time working on my next novel. So imagine my surprise one morning this week when the first thought I had upon rising was this: Change Jemima's viewpoint to first person.  (In case you hadn't guessed, Jemima is my protagonist.) Clear…

  • 7 Ways to Get to Know Your Character

    Charlotte Dixon
    10 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    No matter what you're writing, memoir, fiction or even web copy, character is everything. You've got to know your character through and through in order to write successfully. This was brought home to me all over again last week, when I spent the week with my daughter and her baby and learned, first hand, what their life is like together. It is worth it to take the time to learn more about your character.  Otherwise, you'll get midway through your novel and realize you don't understand your character's backstory and hence, her motivation.  Or you'll be rolling…

  • The Sometime Hell of Writing

    Charlotte Dixon
    9 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    I had an assignment to write an article for my buddy Roy's new magazine, 2nd & Church. The assignment was fairly open-ended: go see the new movie, The Raven about Edgar Allan Poe, and write about it.  Since I was due to be gone on various retreats for two weeks, Roy gave me a special dispensation to get the article in much later than everyone else's deadline. Well, shit happened, and I dithered.  Wasn't sure I wanted to see the movie, didn't know how I'd write about it.  I emailed Roy and dissembled.  He emailed back and told me to just do it, already. …
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    What Kate Did Next

  • Here's One I Made Earlier ...

    9 May 2012 | 12:48 am
    How are you all? I'm back in the desert after a solo trip half way round the world with two small children, and gradually coming to terms with the shock and loss. The funeral had its amusing moments. The Welsh cousins arrived en masse at the house - they are powerfully built with thick white moustaches like my grandfather's, and in their immaculate dark suits they were mistaken for the undertakers. Panic ensued as everyone thought the funeral was starting early. It was incredible hearing, and reading, all the tributes to Dad. Yet again it makes you realise how brief, and precious…

  • One Thing I've Learnt ...

    7 May 2012 | 4:05 am
    This is one of those times in life when I'm reflecting on a host of things, but today why not visit lovely Liz Fenwick's blog where we are talking about One Thing I've Learnt. Liz has a different writer posting each day this month, to celebrate the launch of her debut novel 'The Cornish House' which will be published by Orion in May. Big congratulations to Liz - hers is an inspiring example of how sheer determination and talent win through. As her blog says: Just Keep Writing x

  • Blackbird

    20 Apr 2012 | 4:19 am
    He was tough – I remember one summer we were surfing off the north coast of Devon, and he slashed his bicep open on some rocks. Back at the beach house while Mum fixed our tea, Dad calmly sewed up the wound himself. He designed and built every house I grew up in, and countless others for people all over the country, converting barns and restoring listed buildings. He owned construction companies, timber yards, his hands were hard and strong from working, his nails always dark with grease from stripping down a Jeep engine, or from building work. He painted beautiful oil paintings. He worked…

  • Every day

    2 Apr 2012 | 1:08 am
    I write with a cat basking on the warmth of the printer, and a small pug snoring softly on my lap. It's wonderful having a dog in the house again, and the place finally feels more like home. Which is important, when home is also 'work'. Do you write every day? That was one comment that stuck with me from the Emirates Lit Fest - one of the moderators said during a session: if you're not writing every day perhaps you're not a writer. What do you think? Less than a week after finishing the new book, I find the ideas for the next one are humming away in the background as I catch up on six…

  • Power Lines

    13 Mar 2012 | 3:13 am
    How are you all? WKDN is a bit of a monthly event at the moment, but I'd love to hear how you are all getting on with your writing and projects. For me, this month I have finished the last of the work for the MA, so now it's just waiting for the final grade. 'The Perfume Garden' has also been proofed, and is out of my hands. It's a story I've lived with for ten years, so to think of it out in the world is both a joy and a loss. I really can't wait to hear what you all think of it when it is published in June. The most incredible news this week is that it is to be published in…
 
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    WritersDigest.com

  • How to Find Great Writing Ideas

    RoseannBiederman
    16 May 2012 | 10:57 am
    In the search for story-worthy ideas, most writers are sidelined by occasional bouts of creative myopia. When it sets in—when your field of inspiration narrows—it’s easy to convince yourself that your luck has run out and all the good ideas are taken. But finding exceptional writing ideas isn’t a matter of luck. Waiting passively for creativity to strike won’t put words on the page, either. The secret to cultivating writing inspiration is to go out and hunt it down—in unexpected places. “Curiosity, attention, a little bravado, and a willingness to break routines lead to great…

  • Don’t D-Y-I “Do-Yourself-In” with a D-I-Y Mentality

    Phil Sexton
    16 May 2012 | 9:20 am
    by Rob Eagar I am one of the few original self-publishing success stories. And, I did it way before the advent of e-books, Amazon, and social media. Over 10 years ago, I left corporate America as a sales executive to pursue what seemed like a ridiculous dream to write a book. I had no publishing contacts, no name recognition, and no desire to wait two years to get published. So, I chose the D-I-Y “do-it-yourself” approach. I worked tirelessly on my manuscript for a year. Then, I hired my own editor, page layout designer, graphic artist, and printing company. Long story short, I…

  • Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 175 (Dessert Poems)

    Robert Lee Brewer
    16 May 2012 | 6:58 am
    For this week’s prompt, write a dessert poem. The poem can be titled as a dessert. The main characters could be eating or waiting for dessert. Or dessert could just be hinted at in the poem. Of course, I’m expecting a variety of desserts to be mentioned. Happy poeming! Here’s my attempt at a dessert poem: “Strawberry Cheesecake” Most pictures don’t do the real thing justice, but there you are–in your airbrushed glory– smiling straight into the camera (some lucky photographer who got to say, “smile,” in person) with your hair…

  • Writing Scenes: Stepping Forward, Falling Back

    Courtney Carpenter
    15 May 2012 | 7:09 pm
    Author of The Breakout Novelist, Donald Maass, discusses writing scenes in today’s tip of the day. He explains the importance of setting goals for each scene with an example from George R.R. Martin’s book, A Storm of Swords. Most instruction in writing scenes begins with this sound advice: Send your character into the scene with a goal. Well, duh. You would be surprised, though, how many middle scenes in how many manuscripts seem to have no particular reason for a character to go somewhere, see someone, find something out, or avoid something. What do they want? Working that out is…

  • How I Got My Agent: Gretchen Berg

    Chuck Sambuchino
    15 May 2012 | 1:54 pm
    “How I Got My Agent” is a recurring feature on the GLA blog. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings. If you have a literary agent and would be interested in writing a short guest column for this GLA blog, e-mail me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com and we’ll talk specifics. GIVEAWAY: Gretchen is excited to give away a free copy of her book to a random commenter. Comment within 2 weeks; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before.     Gretchen Berg is an…
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    life-story-writing at Yahoo! Groups

  • Spring has sprung in the Netherlands

    Thelly
    6 May 2012 | 9:37 pm
    Keukenhof (Netherlands - Garden of Europe SPRING..like you've never seen it before ! Keukenhof - known as the Garden of Europe - is the one of the best places

  • Memories

    Thelly
    30 Apr 2012 | 10:36 pm
    I hope you are writing your memories every day! We are responsible for leaving a roadmap for the next generation! I learned to play the Ukulele when I was

  • White space - Writing Effective Dialogue

    Thelly
    28 Apr 2012 | 1:03 am
    from www.authorhouse.com Writing Effective Dialogue Writing compelling dialogue is truly an exercise in contradiction. Dialogue is meticulously written, but

  • It's been said that when one of us passes on that it's like losing a

    Thelly
    24 Apr 2012 | 3:34 pm
    To All Lifestory Writers: I've been away for awhile since my Honey Lump passed away in February. Many details to tend to, howevahhh, I'm coping and hopefully

  • An Irish Blessing...

    Thelly
    15 Mar 2012 | 11:35 pm
    May you always be blessed With walls for the wind A roof for the rain, A warm cup of tea by the fire, Laughter to cheer you, Those you love near you, And all
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    The Heart and Craft of Life Writing

  • Your Journal: a Treasure Chest of Memories

    15 May 2012 | 9:39 am
    Amber Starfire is a valued colleague who shares my passion for life writing and photography. Her recently published book, Week by Week is a treasure trove of tips and prompts to supercharge your journaling. (Read my review here.) In this guest post Amber gives tips on how to get even more value from past entries as you work on lifestories and memoir. Journal writing is good for so many things: sorting out problems, recording life events, healing, self-reflection, and personal growth. Often, we process events and emotions in writing and then stack them on a shelf or in a box and forget about…

  • Mother Memoir

    10 May 2012 | 6:51 pm
    Lynn Henriksen, aka The Story Woman, is a woman with a mission. As she explains in a blog post on Telltale Souls.com, since her mother’s death over a decade ago, she has been collecting “Mother Memoir” stories. She publishes collections of these stories, and teaches people how to write them. Although I have not yet read it, her newly released how-to book, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir, is said to be a comprehensive guide to remembering and capturing the essence of your mother’s story – and probably your own in the process. Memoirs about mothers abound. Since nobody came…

  • Snippets

    2 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    This guest post is reprinted by permission from Fresh Views, a monthly newsletter published  by Sharon Eakes, an internationally acclaimed  personal and executive coach and a treasured personal friend. Her focus this month on “snippets” is reminiscent of terms like watershed moments, turning points, or shimmering images used as story prompts and memoir organizers. You’ll be hearing more about snippets in an upcoming post or two based on epiphanies I experienced during a recent trip to Peru.  Snippet: a small piece of something, a bit, a scrap, or fragment THOUGHTS I…

  • Writers Recycle

    26 Apr 2012 | 4:00 am
    Writers are recyclers par excellence. Especially for memoir and lifestory writers, the substance of words pouring  onto the page consists of recycled memories, insights and understanding. Many of us also recycle various materials. When I’m floundering with a concept, I raid my paper recycling pile for an oversized envelope. Something about writing on garbage frees me to write garbage, and my mental clog usually flushes right through. I keep a pile of discarded documents near the printer and print drafts on the backs. I recycle or refill empty toner and ink cartridges. Recycling is The…

  • Tech Tips for Clean Manuscripts

    19 Apr 2012 | 4:00 am
    I’m a  soft touch when a friend or relative asks for help getting a manuscript ready for uploading to a Print-On-Demand service like CreateSpace. More than half a dozen times these requests have ended me saying, “Just send me the file and I’ll fix it, but before you start another one, you have to promise to learn a few basic skills.” Then I spend hours cleaning up formatting garbage before applying the simple tweaks that convert it to a lean, clean, beautiful piece of work. For those who grew up in the typewriter age, it’s natural to position text with spaces, both horizontally…
 
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    Published and Profitable Writers Tips Blog

  • 3 content marketing productivity tips

    Roger C. Parker
    10 May 2012 | 5:24 pm
    Content marketing productivity is the key to successful personal brand building; here are 3 tips for writing as efficiently as possible. Your ability to consistently and efficiently prepare compelling content plays a crucial role in your ability to write and market your book and build your business. In my recent 3 Tips for Increasing Your Content Productivity guest post I prepared for the Content Marketing Institute, I  summarized several categories of writing resources you can explore to increase your ability to use content as a personal brand building tool. Whether you’re writing…

  • Creative briefs help you get the most from your freelance budget

    Roger C. Parker
    10 May 2012 | 12:08 pm
    If you frequently hire freelance copywriters, graphic designers, or web marketing consultants, creative briefs can help you get the full value you’re paying for. Creative briefs, like the one shown at left, are simple one-page forms that save time and eliminate misunderstandings by defining project goals and mutual expectations when working with freelance copywriters, designers, and online consultants. In case you missed it, here’s a link to my recent Personal Branding Blog article about creative briefs.  The article also contains a link for downloading a sample creative brief.

  • Looking for a road map to content marketing success?

    Roger C. Parker
    1 May 2012 | 2:52 pm
    Discover how to create the endless content you need for content marketing and personal brand building success. Attend my Content Catalyst Revealed 90-minute webinar, Thursday, May 17, at 7:00 PM ET. In a small-group format, I’m going to describe a simple, proven 6 step system to jumpstart your writing creativity It’s a simple, easy-to-use process you can use it over and over again for articles, blog posts, ebooks, podcasts, teleseminars, and videos. When you sign-up, I’ll also send you a copy of my Content Catalyst, a $99 value. The Content Catalyst contains over 400 inspiring ideas…

  • Mind mapping as a content strategy tool

    Roger C. Parker
    29 Apr 2012 | 4:20 pm
    Mind mapping is a content strategy tool that helps content marketers analyze competition, plan projects, manage time, and track their progress. Whether you’re writing a book or creating a content marketing plan for your business, mind mapping belongs in your marketing arsenal.  Here’s how you can benefit: 1. Analyzing The power of mind maps to simplify complex projects is illustrated by the example, at left, of the second edition of Kristina Halvorson’s Content Strategy for the Web. (Note: download a PDF copy.) At a glance, you can see how the 12 chapters relate to the 4…

  • 7 keys to a successful book launch

    Roger C. Parker
    28 Apr 2012 | 6:45 am
    The 7 keys to a successful book launch for marketing your book while writing it, paving the way for your book’s long-term writing success. It’s never too early to begin preparing to market and promote your book. A successful book launch creates a powerful momentum that will position your book, establish your brand, and lead to years of success. Whether you’re working with a large publisher, or writing and publishing a book on your own, i.e., self-publishing, the 7 keys described below will give your book a lasting competitive edge. And, best of all, you can fit the tasks…
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    Writing Forward

  • From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Moral Dilemmas

    Melissa Donovan
    15 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    Creative writing exercises: Moral dilemmas Today’s creative writing exercise comes from 101 Creative Writing Exercises, my recently published book on the craft of writing. This book guides writers through an adventure in writing. You’ll explore different forms and genres of writing, including freewriting, journaling, memoir, fiction, storytelling, poetry, and article or blog writing. 101 Creative Writing Exercises imparts proven writing techniques while providing writing practice and creative inspiration. Today, I’d like to share an exercise from “Chapter Nine: Philosophy,…

  • Genres in Fiction Writing: Literary Fiction vs. Everything Else

    Melissa Donovan
    10 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    How do you classify creative writing, or do you? In creative writing, we talk about form and genre. Form is what we write: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Genre is how we further classify each of these forms. In fiction writing, there’s literary fiction and everything else. In fact, literary fiction and all of the other genres are so at odds with each other that some writers simply say they are either literary fiction writers or genre writers. But what does that mean? Isn’t all fiction considered literary? Yes and no. What is Literary Fiction Anyway? Let’s start…

  • Proofreading and Editing Tips to Improve Your Writing

    Melissa Donovan
    8 May 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Proofreading and editing will help you improve your writing. From the archives… The best way to achieve better writing is through daily writing and reading, but proofreading and editing are near the top of the list too. If you want to improve your writing, it’s imperative that you review each piece to check for typos, mistakes, context, and tone. Creative writing tips often fail to mention the mechanical side of writing. It’s fun to focus on language, plot, characters, and rhymes, but polishing your work diligently will make you a better writer. And once you nail grammar and…

  • Writing Tips: Write What You Know

    Melissa Donovan
    3 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    Writing tips: write what you know. If there’s one piece of writing advice that took me years to truly understand, it’s write what you know. When I first heard this instruction, I thought it was odd. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I do remember thinking that as far as writing tips went, it was absurd. What about writing from your imagination or your feelings? How do genres like science fiction and fantasy fit into the idea that you should only write what you know? It all seemed rather limiting. Was I supposed to write about American suburbia? Because…

  • Creative Writing Prompts from Far-Off Places

    Melissa Donovan
    1 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    Creative writing prompts for travelers and dreamers. Travel and adventure are the themes behind some of the greatest poems ever written and best stories ever told. Blockbuster movies like Star Wars andthe Indiana Jones franchise, TV shows like Lost, and books such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn all use adventure as a premise to telling a riveting tale. Today’s creative writing prompts are designed to get you out of the house and away to a far-off place. You can go anywhere you want — some of these places are fantastical while others can…
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    LisaHartjes.com

  • What Do Your Characters Say?

    Lisa
    7 May 2012 | 7:10 am
    Language is an important part of any culture. It allows us to communicate with each other, and what we say is as important as how we say it. Idioms are an example of this: phrases that have two completely separate meanings. Let’s take a look at “kick the bucket”. Almost anyone who speaks English knows that, in addition to the literal meaning of someone taking their foot and kicking a bucket, it means someone died. Having our characters using idioms is part of world building. It allows the reader to feel more a part of the world, and it reveals some things about the…

  • Hart’s Deep: Look out! It’s the cops!

    Lisa
    4 May 2012 | 6:58 am
    Where there’s a group of people living together in an organized way, there’s going to be those who enforce the laws. Hart’s Deep is no exception. The City Watch is the police force for the city of Hart’s Deep, and each quarter of the city has a Watch post (some, like the market quarter, has two). Here’s the standard description of one of them: Watch Post This is the local watch post for the city watch. It contains a few offices, and three holding cells. The cells are used to hold criminals who are being held over for trial, or drunks who need a place to dry out…

  • Hart’s Deep: All that adventuring makes us thirsty!

    Lisa
    3 May 2012 | 7:51 am
    Taverns. Places for adventurers to meet and for them to be parted from their money – either through buying drinks or by pickpockets. Taverns (or local pubs or whatever they’re called) used to be very common. They’re a place where people who live in the neighborhood gather for a drink and some socializing. Have a pint and catch up on the local news and gossip. Hart’s Deep has its own share of taverns. Here’s one you’ll find in the market quarter: The Iron Wheel Tavern This tavern’s sign is a slowly rusting iron wheel hanging from a post attached to the…

  • Hart’s Deep: What is that smell?

    Lisa
    2 May 2012 | 11:11 am
    In the medieval world – actually any time period – the air was filled with smells, and not all of them pleasant. Waste and refuse often lined the streets, and the odors of slaughterhouses and dead fish happened all the time. That’s not to say there were no attempt to sweeten, or at least hide, the bad smells. Perfumes and other scented items were popular and often prized, especially if made from rare and valuable ingredients. Hart’s Deep has a perfumer. It was originally supposed to be a spice merchant, but I already have several already written up, and I figured it…

  • Hart’s Deep: What’s In That Building?

    Lisa
    27 Apr 2012 | 6:28 am
    Once you’ve completed a map of a city, you’ve got lots of buildings (and in Hart’s Deep’s case, several thousand) on your map. It’s probably a good idea if you knew what was in at least some of them. As obsessive as I can be with my mapping, there’s no way even I would go and assign a purpose to over 5000 locations in Hart’s Deep. What I did instead was pick out what I thought was a number of locations that might be visited by adventurers and placed them on the map. I didn’t really do this completely randomly either. Expeditious Retreat Press…
 
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    Scribble Pad

  • Ceviche in Paradise

    Delighted Scribbler
    30 Apr 2012 | 7:30 am
    One of the best post-wedding parts of this trip was revisiting Tulum. I don't mean the ruins. Yes, those are nice and the beach is beautiful, but I'm thinking of another obligatory destination: El Camello. This place serves THE BEST ceviche! Some small selfish part of me wants to keep it a secret lest it become so popular that the menu is ruined with short cuts and modifications for bland palates. But it must be shared! In this simple, but very popular restaurant, printed menus are available, but for us unnecessary. We were on a mission: to eat our weight in ceviche and fried…

  • Wedding in Playa

    Delighted Scribbler
    29 Apr 2012 | 2:58 am
    Playa is beautiful as ever and the wedding we came to was gorgeous and joyful. It was the perfect wedding in an incredible setting. Not a drop of rain, despite the forecast as we watched two of our dearest friends tie the knot. Picture perfect. I love that the Mayan Riviera has become so popular with our friends. As a kid, and especially as a teenager, I'd come to the beach to visit my family and daydream about what it would be like to have my friends with me. Little by little of over the years I've had the opportunity to live those moments I once only imagined, and it's wonderful! My…

  • I'm in love with this duck!

    Delighted Scribbler
    25 Feb 2012 | 3:07 pm
    Male Mandarin Duck So I'm on the internet looking for images of mandarins (can't remember why) when I see a set of pictures of this duck, a mandarin duck. It's adorable! I like animals, but I've never been enamored with any one creature. My room was never covered in bunnies or puppies or anything like that. That said, this critter really has my attention. I look at it and I just want to go all paparazzi on it. I know it's rude to stare, but I can't help it! Male Mandarin Duck Consequently, I called upon the powers of Google. And I discovered there's a fairly romantic story that goes with this…

  • WEBook.com

    Delighted Scribbler
    16 Jan 2012 | 10:21 pm
    The hunt for an agent has begun! Again. But this time it's for a different project. My 2008 Nanowrimo novel is edited and ready to go places. Let's see how this goes. So far, I've joined WEbook.com and started the submission process for six agents. Now the hard part: waiting. In the mean time, I'm sure more editing can only help. Or it'll at least keep me from losing my mind during the wait.

  • Android

    Delighted Scribbler
    9 Jan 2012 | 12:18 am
    So I finally have a smart phone. It's useful and also a fun little toy. I'm still trying to get used to it and admittedly, it sucks me in a lot. And it's more than just instant email and face book. My sister introduced me to this crazy little vice called Angry Birds. I'm not really much of a video game person, but there's something oddly addictive about catapulting birds on a mission to destroy egg-poaching pigs.
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    Get It In Writing

  • I Get You

    Allison Nazarian
    15 May 2012 | 6:59 am
    I get you. I know more about you than you think. I know about some of your relationships. I know about your stories. Your excuses. Your “never agains”  Your “what ifs” and your “maybe just one more times.” I know what it is like to wonder “Is it me?” or “Why do I keep making the same mistake?” I know what you worry about. I know why you are frustrated. I get what not knowing how much more you can take feels like. I know that sometimes you feel you just can’t go on. I believe you mean it when you say you are only giving one…

  • Why Traditions Matter To Me

    Allison Nazarian
    11 May 2012 | 7:34 am
    A guest post by Erica Kaplan, aka my sister.   A few days ago my 5-year-old daughter Lily asked me why we still had our “Happy Halloween” banner hung in the corner of our kitchen. She’s right to ask, it’s strange that we still have it up from last October’s pre-Halloween get together. Every year we have people over with all of their kids, wearing their crazy costumes, and we have pizza and apple juice (and wine and beer for the grown-ups) and quick, chaotic photo sessions before we all trek outside to trick-or-treat. I explained to Lily that since we have the party every year…

  • Bravery

    Allison Nazarian
    10 May 2012 | 10:41 am
    This is for those of you who think you are not brave. You know what?  You are the bravest there is. Yes, YOU. You who are… …doing it all yourself …terrified whether you will pay all the bills this month …ready to walk away from “so so” to find your “fucking awesome” …questioning whether you should have done it …doing it the “right way” when everyone else seems to be taking short cuts …thinking you may never do it …feeling more alone than ever …asking if this is all really worth it …wondering why…

  • How Are You Really?

    Allison Nazarian
    1 May 2012 | 8:10 am
    Today, what if, when someone asked “How are you,?” you actually gave a real answer? What if, instead of chirping a happy answer like “Great!” or “Awesome, how about you?” you were a little more honest than that? “I’m having trouble paying my bills.” “My kids are on my last nerve.” “My relationship is feeling a little boring.” “I’m still trying to figure out what my true purpose in life is.” “I spend too much time on Facebook.” “I’m worried I’m in way over my head in…

  • Back To Basics

    Allison Nazarian
    30 Apr 2012 | 6:31 am
    The answer is always simpler than you thought it would be. That in and of itself may seem a bit complicated, as our maneuvering, our questioning, our ruminating, our never-ending mental ping pong always tells us it must be really, really complicated. But it isn’t. It is simple. And, yet, our egos and their henchmen seek out the complicated. But, well, no. The answer, the meaning you seek? It is already there. You don’t need to go nuts looking for it. Don’t devote all of your mental energy to imagining all of the various and complicated ways things can happen. That old…
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    Work-in-Progress

  • New York Trip, 2: The Bronx Is Up, and the Battery Down

    16 May 2012 | 8:45 am
    [If you missed the first part of my trip to New York and seeing GATZ, you can catch up hereThe next day, I used my above-14th-Street exemption to take the subway to the Upper East Side to meet up with a friend for a lovely breakfast of eggs Benedict and another excellent cappuccino at Sant AmbroeusThen I went to the Whitney Biennial, a collection of contemporary art, selected to mirror the pulse of “right now in the art scene,” so along with paintings and sculpture, there were installations, films, performance, artists in residence inside the museum, and more.  I lucked into a great,…

  • New York Trip: The Bronx Is Up, and the Battery Down

    15 May 2012 | 8:02 am
    What could be a better reward after a long semester than a trip to New York City?  If you’re me, nothing!  Here are some highlights (warning: reading this may make you hungry).We decided to cash in a hundred years of accumulated credit card points to stay at a nice hotel, and in a rash act of immense bravery, decided to stay in a totally different part of town to encourage us to deviate from our usual midtown haunts.  In fact, once we settled on the Ritz-Carlton at Battery Park, we even made a new rule:  No trips above 14th Street.  (Okay, with a few exceptions.)The…

  • Writers' Happy Hour: 5/15, Downtown DC

    14 May 2012 | 7:36 am
    Sorry this is a little last-minute, but I’m so pleased that my recent Conversations & Connections panel about finding literary community in DC inspired Willona Sloan to set up a writers’ happy hour, open to all (with RSVP):Write. Drink. Read. A Writers' Happy HourTuesday, May 15, 6:30 - 8:00 PM Science Club (1136 19th St, NW, WDC. Near Farragut West Metro)RSVPs required. Part writers workshop, part happy hour, part open mic reading, this laid back collaborative, creative gathering is open to writers of all levels and experience. We'll grab a beer, do some writing and share our work in…

  • Mr. Miyagi

    7 May 2012 | 6:06 pm
    I’m going on blog vacation for a week or so.  Until then, be sure to check out this blog post by Clay Snellgrove, one of my Converse low-res MFA students, in which I am compared to the iconic Mr. Miyagi of The Karate Kid (original version, of course):My mentor was listed on my class roster as Leslie Pietrzyk.   The last name wasn’t Miyagi, but its spelling was just as bizarre, so I figured I could make do.  After Leslie was featured in one of the residency’s evening readings where she shared an original piece of short fiction, I had my Miyagi moment, witnessing the…

  • Work in Progress: The Ticking Clock

    3 May 2012 | 9:05 am
    My neighborhood prompt group met yesterday.  Our first prompt was the word “blue,” inspired by the poem that is currently up at Redux, “A History of Blue,” by Sarah Brown Weitzman, which is a beautiful catalogue of varying types of the color blue:…a period of Picasso’s, fountainpen ink, first-place ribbons, husky’s eyes,Concord grapes, shrimp’s veins, overalls,lagoons and lakes, a hint in skim milk…Read onWhen we shared what we had written, it turned out that our group came up with some great stuff, a wide range of approaches to the same, open-ended word.  I’ve…
 
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    Buzz, Balls & Hype

  • Looking for Answers

    M.J. Rose
    12 May 2012 | 12:19 pm
    There are a lot of people debating the pros and cons of the DOJ suit. That’s not what this post is. I have a question that has come out of what I’ve been reading on other sites, blogs and articles and would like to ask it here and open up the floor for comments because I am really confused about this one issue and feel like I'm missing something.  I both self publish and traditionally publish.  But for the purposes of this post I’m speaking here as a self published author only!  Many self published authors are saying the Agency model is not in the interest of authors but rather…

  • 5 Stages of Grief by Katharine Weber

    M.J. Rose
    25 Mar 2012 | 11:37 am
    Exchange the goals depending on your genre and this by Katharine Weber is great! STAIRCASE WRITING - Katharine Weber's Writing Journal: A WRITER’S FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF AT AWP 

  • Guest Post: Meet and Greet the Award Winning Authors at the London Book Fair

    M.J. Rose
    15 Mar 2012 | 9:20 pm
    Springtime brings in the arrival of the much anticipated London Book Fair 2012. The literary buzz is that the readers and writers will be joined together under one roof at Earls Court Exhibition Centre,  The London Book Fair has been attracting world-wide spectators and lovers of the written word for 41 years. The 2012 Exhibitor directory professes over 1900 participants thus far. The London Book Fair 2012 is a well-respected event for promising new comers, established authors, publishers and their audiences. The book fair opens its doors promptly at 9AM on April 16th up through April 18th.

  • The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel of Suspense

    M.J. Rose
    13 Mar 2012 | 4:21 am
    The Book of Lost Fragrances is out today and I do hope you'll buy a copy. Publisher’s Weekly named it one of spring's 10 best suspense books and called it a “deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense.”  It’s an Indie Next Pick for March. A Starbucks Book Club pick and a Pulpwood Queens pick for this summer. Heres' what some early reviews and readers have said... and here's a link to buy the book at the store of your choice. "The historical data and the liberal sprinkling of invented historical detail mesh together like an ancient puzzle with the…

  • Guest Post: Celebrate the Written Word at the Upcoming Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

    M.J. Rose
    11 Mar 2012 | 9:19 pm
    Los Angeles is many things to many people but seems to carry a torch with the written word. For the 17th year in conjunction with the Los Angeles Times, the occasion is simply titled as the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to be held at the University of Southern California (USC). The complete schedule has yet to be released, but promises to be just as exciting as 2011. 1,140,000 people turned out to celebrate the sounds of text hosted by more than 200 international exhibitors and authors.  The annual literary gathering is open to the public and considered one of the country’s largest…
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    Wordful

  • 3 websites that take headline writing to an entirely new plane of existence

    Charles
    2 May 2012 | 7:01 pm
    On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. —David Ogilvy Ogilvy wasn’t messing around when it came to headlines, and if he were alive today he’d definitely bump it up to ninety cents. Headlines do all the heavy lifting when it comes to attracting clicks and shares, which is why it’s more important than ever to invest in good copywriting. But who actually gets it right? I don’t mean your average headline-writing-formula-right, but rather…

  • How Pete Cashmore grew Mashable

    Charles
    30 Apr 2012 | 9:48 pm
    It’s always cool to learn how the world’s most popular blogs got their start. In almost every backstory, you’ll find a heavy dose of creativity and execution, good timing and touch of the unconventional. Mashable founder Pete Cashmore is one of those bloggers. He started the social media news site from his parents home in Scotland, then quickly expanded to New York and San Francisco (I actually used to work on the same floor at SOMACentral). Now it’s the #2 blog in the world behind the Huffington Post, with rumors of a massive buyout from CNN. The videos below…

  • My Vision for Wordful

    Charles
    14 Jan 2012 | 2:34 pm
    I’ve taken a major break from blogging here at Wordful, and it’s in large part to some serious shifts in my personal and professional life over the past year. To make a very long and (painful) story short—the down economy and a few other issues forced me to to shutter my office and consultancy and venture to San Francisco to find “a real job.” On May 6 of last year, I kissed my wife and kids goodbye and left Kona for San Jose on a one-way ticket with $50 in my pocket. My sister picked me up and the next day my dad drove me up to the city, where I met up a good high…

  • Should Stupid People Not Blog?

    Charles
    14 Jun 2011 | 2:39 pm
    No, they shouldn’t. Of course there’s no way to determine who’s stupid—let alone the validity of stupid being a unit of measurement (or judgement)—but, yes, as a general rule of thumb, stupid people shouldn’t blog. What I’m referring to here are some recent comments made by blogger and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis at ReadWriteWeb 2Way Summit NYC, namely: “There are a lot of stupid people out there … and stupid people shouldn’t write.” “There needs to be a better system for tuning down the stupid people and tuning up the smart…

  • Are There Enough Great Names to Go Around?

    Charles
    13 Jun 2011 | 1:17 am
    Being smack dab in the middle of tech-startup world here in San Francisco,  I’ve seen more than my fair share of clever names. Businesses in the Mission where I’m staying all seem to draw on the appeal of one-word randomness, like Beretta (a restaurant), Ritual (a coffee shop) and Revolution (a clothing boutique). Pithy and tidy, these monikers do a good job evoking the zeitgeist of the city hipster. Naming an online property is not that much different, with the glaring exception that it must be wholly unique to qualify for its own URL. So my question is: In such a crowded but…
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    RSSMix.com Mix ID 50439

  • Freelance Writing Jobs for May 16, 2012

    16 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    It’s already the middle of the week – it seems I have lost track of time! I hope that you are all doing well and writing lots. Here are your freelance writing jobs for today. Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing Legal Content Writer (CA/Telecommute) Content Writer – Car Import Store Article Writers (Remote) Freelance Writers for Content Marketing Company (Telecommute) Blogging Jobs Business Blogger (Telecommute) Blogger About Sweden Beauty and Cosmetics Blogger (Telecommute) SEM Blogger Copywriting Jobs Freelance Marketing Writer (Boise/Telecommute) Freelance Senior…

  • Freelance Writing Jobs for May 15, 2012

    15 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Good morning, everyone! Apologies for not being able to post jobs yesterday. We’re back on board today, and I hope you get some good gigs. Have a great day ahead! Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing SEO Content Writer (Telecommute) Niche Specialty Writers (Telecommute) Freelance Finance Writer (Remote) Web Writer – Automotive Website (USA) Freelance Writer – Legal (Anywhere) Real Estate Writer (Telecommute) Freelance Health Writer (SOMA) Healthy Home Content Writer (Sunnyvale) Blogging Jobs Versatile Bloggers (Australia) Genius DIY-Hobby-Electronics Bloggers (Online)…

  • Freelance Writing Jobs for May 11, 2012

    11 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Good morning, everyone! It looks like it’s going to be a great day today. I don’t know why, but I will not complain about this beautiful morning. I hope it is the same for all of you. Here is the last batch of writing jobs for this week. See you on the other side of the weekend! Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing Article Writer – Healthcare Writer (Toronto/Telecommute) Content/Article Writer – Home Improvement (Florida) Web Content Producer (Denver) Article Writers Blogging Jobs Wellness Blogger (Online) Eco-friendly Wedding Blogger (Telecommute) Succinct and Funky…

  • Freelance Writing Jobs for May 10, 2012

    10 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Good morning, everyone! How are you doing on a Thursday? Just one more day, and the weekend is here again. Let’s rock work today, shall we? Here are your freelance writing jobs. Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing Content Writer (Coquitlam) Blogging Jobs Freelance Wedding and Party Planner Blogger (Telecommute) Blogger/PR Writer (Greater LA) Online Review Blogger Men’s Fashion Blogger (San Francisco) Copywriting Jobs Freelance Copywriter with Passion for Travel and Design (Telecommute) Experienced Copywriter (Bay Area) Freelance Copywriter/Profile Writer (NYC) Mining Industry…

  • So You Think You’re a Writer?

    9 May 2012 | 7:30 am
    I have a confession. Sometimes, when I meet people for the first time, and I am asked what I do for a living, I hesitate. I know what I do, but there are moments when I don’t feel like using the word “write” and its derivatives. I still cannot pinpoint the reason, but the next time it happens, I shall certainly think about it again. Has that happened to any of you? Maybe you find it easy to put on the label “writer”, but whether or not you do, what I’d like to share in today’s Grammar Guide is something [Read more…]
 
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    About Freelance Writing

  • Is New York Publishing Beginning to Rear It’s Head?

    annew
    16 May 2012 | 10:58 am
    A Guest Post by Jim Donavan, a good writer and long-time friend and supporter of mine. In the great debate about the “true” cost of producing an ebook, it appears that big publishing still has it’s... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Personal Rejections? Don’t Stop Now! They’re Golden!

    annew
    15 May 2012 | 3:03 pm
    In comments to the  post, How To Find A Literary Agent, Jesse made the following comment. I wanted to (again) address rejection and the freelance writer. Greetings Anne, Actually, I’m writing in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • How To Find A Literary Agent – Ask Anne The Pro Writer

    annew
    14 May 2012 | 10:52 am
    Hi Anne, Any suggestions on finding an agent for a book I have written? It’s fiction. Everyone that has looked at it says it is worthwhile. It is very timely based on the current situation here... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • You Can Use The 5 Laws of Writing Magnetic Blog Headlines Right Now

    annew
    11 May 2012 | 12:13 pm
    A guest post by Syed Ali Abbas who blogs at Writers Blog. Good news bloggers! One headline can give you up to NINETEEN times better results than others! It means your Clickthrough Rate (CTR) can go... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • The 3 Secrets To Learning Technology

    annew
    10 May 2012 | 11:44 am
    Several days ago I posted 3 Steps To Getting Published – An InfoGraphic. In truth I was a bit tired of writing and fiddling with graphics is one way I relax. I’d also seen a lot of infographics... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    How Not To Write

  • You Must Write

    Jamie Grove
    12 May 2012 | 8:46 am
    I’ve spent many years dissecting the practice of writing. I know the mechanics behind the process at a psychological level. I know the many of the methods we use to achieve various effects. I know about the role of writing in our society and the inner-workings of the complex dialogue that occurs between writers both living and dead. In short, I know why we write. I can also tell you that the reasons do not matter. If I were to list all the reasons why we write, lay out my case, explain in detail all that makes a writer, it would not make you a better writer. It would paralyze you. It would…

  • The List: Stories You Haven’t Written

    Jamie Grove
    27 Apr 2012 | 4:25 pm
    At some point, every writer makes The List. The List is comprised of all the stories that you haven’t quite gotten around to writing. Entires may also include stories half written, sketched, completed but not “edited”, and “completed” but not sent. A writer may also choose to include appendices for concepts or fragments, lists of character names and/or places of interest, plot schemes, and bit of clever dialogue. Letters declaring grand plans are allowed but only when accompanied by their companion letters of dejected resignation to the hellfire of eternal procrastination. We’ve…

  • How to Screw Everything and Just Write

    Jamie Grove
    15 Apr 2012 | 10:23 am
    With so many many hats and masks and roles, life is complicated. There are responsibilities. There are expectations. There are even expectations of the expectations. We writers take on an extra set of burdens by hitching ourselves to the multiverse inside our heads. We scribble and plot. We create whole civilizations. We illustrate the fine details of lives of those who have never existed; will never exist, except in our own minds. And yet, the one thing we probably do more than anything else is futz about with trying to justify our writing in the face of life’s other responsibilities.

  • When the Hero is Wrong the Story is Right

    Jamie Grove
    5 Apr 2012 | 8:40 am
    I’ve had characters who seemed to know exactly which way to turn or just the right thing to say at precisely the right moment. To some of you, this may seem like a blessing, but in fact it is a curse. When the hero of your story knows all the angles, that’s when the story’s taken a turn for the worse. It starts small. Maybe some insight that only you (the author) should really know. This minor indiscretion like this may not seem like a big deal. You probably don’t even notice it. You keep going along on your merry way, writing the scene and unfolding the tale. It all becomes so easy.

  • Writing is a Superpower

    Jamie Grove
    31 Mar 2012 | 9:52 am
    I’m sitting at the cafe right now. The place is packed, even for a Saturday. This is about the time I’d normally feel like escaping the joint, getting back up to my studio and focusing on a story. This is when the second espresso would kick in and I would feel my writing superpowers activate. If I look into this memory, I can see the soft glow of the lamp waiting for me. I can see the desk I no longer own. I can see the ancient dining table to one side of the room covered in books and drawings, the pale light of a gray day filtering in through the gauzy curtains. I can look around this…
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    Bad Language

  • Want to make better decisions? Learn another language.

    Matthew Stibbe
    14 May 2012 | 2:20 am
    I’m a great believer in learning something new. I got a private pilots licence and then a commercial licence between 2000 and 2010 and I’ve been learning Dutch for the last five years. But now, Wired has given me a good reason for it: it helps me make more rational decisions. The article reports: A series of experiments on more than 300 people from the U.S. and Korea found that thinking in a second language reduced deep-seated, misleading biases that unduly influence how risks and benefits are perceived. These guys ran interesting experiments and the results are encouraging. Check it out.

  • Unattended cranes and the power of emotion

    Matthew Stibbe
    13 May 2012 | 3:47 am
    Do you think anyone would notice if I just had a go? What is about these cranes that turns me into a schoolboy? Fire trucks and planes also have the same effect. As Freud said the mind is a great rationaliser of childish emotions. Related posts: How to respond to childish letters and emails How to cut your power consumption by 40% How to get a reader’s attention

  • Four lessons on entrepreneurship from an old campaigner to a new start-up

    Matthew Stibbe
    10 May 2012 | 1:53 am
    I used to run a computer games company, called Intelligent Games, and occasionally I get emails from people who played our games. That’s always a pleasure and I had one today from an Australian architect (and SimIsle fan) who is just starting out in his new practice. He made the flattering mistake of asking if I had any advice for him. Here is what I wrote and this is what I might have done differently if I had known then what I know now (it’s also what I’m trying to do now at Articulate and Turbine): Hiring people is very expensive They are ‘sticky’ in that it’s hard…

  • Essential SEO tip for writers: How to configure Google Authorship to get your byline in search results

    Matthew Stibbe
    8 May 2012 | 2:00 am
    If you are a blogger or a journalist, check out Google Authorship. It’s a way to link your articles with your Google+ profile so that your profile gets included in Google search and people can find other articles by you. It also gives you analytics for your content in search. On the face of it, this looks like a must-do if you want to maximise your visibility on Google and get more traffic for your writing. You need to do a bit of work besides setting up a Google+ profile, as described on Google’s help page. Here’s how I did it on this site (Bad Language). Register for Google+. Here’s…

  • HP Folio 13 Ultrabook Unboxing and Review

    Matthew Stibbe
    23 Apr 2012 | 8:16 am
    Check out my video review of the new HP Folio 13 Commercial Ultrabook. Nice! Click here to view the embedded video. Related posts: Scoop: HP Slate 2 unboxing and review video Gadget review: Siri for couch potatoes Cool tools: HP mini-projector and accessories
 
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    Word Grrls

  • The Fears and Musings of a Newsosaur

    Laura
    15 May 2012 | 9:31 am
    Newsosaur on Twitter. I don’t think news media will become extinct. We have the ability to evolve rather than become extinct. The communication will always be needed and wanted, but the media and the message need to be flexible. This isn’t easy because we tend to like our standards and resist change at the same time we are drawn to shiny and new things. Related Posts:I’ll Just Be MeTwitter Profile of the MonthFiction Language Becomes FactTwitter Profile of the MonthBest Twitter Profile of the Month

  • Writing as a Form of Gambling

    Laura
    14 May 2012 | 5:51 am
    Laura: How do you handle losing at cards? Especially if someone else is a poor winner? Shawnee: Playing games and gambling should be fun, even when you lose. I have a few simple rules I play by that help me deal with losing: * Play the game for the fun of it; winning is just the bonus. * Never bet more than you can afford to lose. Consider the loss like paying for the movie ticket, the shopping trip, the cost of the entertainment; your loss is just the price of admission. * Mind your manners. Win, lose, or draw, make sure you’ll be invited back again by being gracious not only to your…

  • One Word Blog Day – Thingamajig

    Laura
    13 May 2012 | 9:32 am
    Thingamajig     One Word Blog Day Related Posts:One Word Blog DayOne Word Blog Day: AvatarOne Word Blog DayOne Word Blog DayOne Word Blog DayReaders who viewed this page, also viewed:One Word Blog DayPowered by Where did they go from here?

  • Zombie Scenarios from the Zombie Safety Guide

    Laura
    12 May 2012 | 2:06 am
    From the Zombie Safety Guide Zombie Scenario # 7 You find yourself holed up in an abandoned building in the middle of the night. You were forced to take shelter because there are Zombies crawling all around the street. You hear a peculiar banging coming from deeper within the abandoned building. You’re armed with a handgun, and only 12 rounds of ammunition left, What do you do? Do you investigate the sound, and chance being infected or attracting more by using your gun? Or do you ignore it and sleep the night away. What would you do? I’d create sound in some other area (away from…

  • A Slow Down in Posting this Week

    Laura
    11 May 2012 | 9:39 am
    I’m having some computer issues while I try to change from running the MS Windows operating system to Ubuntu Linux. The new computer is not co-operating as well as the old computer did. Related Posts:The Slowing WebX Marks the SpotUbuntu Live, Windows DeadKeep your Computer Happy and HealthyComputer Buggy?Readers who viewed this page, also viewed:MysteriesBuffy Likes to ReadShort, Readable and Eye CatchingPowered by Where did they go from here?
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    Sanjay Nair

  • 5 Ways in which you can use Original Content to enhance Link Juice

    Sanjay Nair
    2 May 2012 | 1:44 am
    Original Content is the best way to generate valuable back links that provides link juice to your websites. But how can you use the content? Here's 5 different ways in which unique content can be used to generate link juice.

  • After the Google Panda, it’s the Penguin

    Sanjay Nair
    30 Apr 2012 | 1:31 am
    Have you noticed that your website rankings have dropped suddenly post the 24th of April 2012? Chances are that you, like thousands of other website owners have been affected by Google's latest Penguin Algorithm Change to combat web spam.

  • The 11 DoFollow Tips for Newbies in Affiliate Marketing

    Sanjay Nair
    14 Feb 2012 | 8:49 am
    Are you new to Affiliate Marketing? Then these 11 tips will change the way you are working to promote your website. Here are 11 simple but overlooked facts that are absolute DoFollow for newbies!

  • 10 Telltale signs that your business urgently requires a Content Expert

    Sanjay Nair
    2 Sep 2011 | 7:00 am
    Is your business slow? Sales not happening? Ranking behind your competitors? Maybe, its all about words! Click here to read some ominous signs that it may be the content hampering your business goals.

  • Writing the right way – Part 1: Voice

    Sanjay Nair
    19 Jul 2011 | 9:21 am
    Today, we begin a series of articles that focus on the many nuances that make content writing an expert’s job. If you take a look around, then you will notice that there is enough literature on the subject already. But as every content writer has his own secret recipe, here’s mine.
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    Get Paid to Write Online

  • Words, Words, Words – Aren’t They Just Wonderful?

    Sharon Hurley Hall
    16 May 2012 | 11:18 am
    I’m a writer, but even if I wasn’t, I think I’d still have a fondness for words.  They intrigue me and when I find a word I’ve never come across before or one that simply sounds interesting, I need to find out more. It's a word we all use, but do you know where silhouette comes from? Where has it come from?  What did it used to mean?  Why do we use it today?  Are we using it correctly? I’ve talked a bit about this in the past and we’ve looked at some of my favourite words before, such as ampersand and ubiquitous, but recently I’ve come across…

  • Writing Portfolio Survey Results

    Sharon Hurley Hall
    11 May 2012 | 2:26 pm
    I promised you the results of my writing portfolio survey. While they can’t claim to be exhaustive, the stats reveal that: 40% of respondents update when they remember 25% every time they get a new clip 15% at least once a month 5% at least once a week Writing Portfolio – Your Comments Interestingly 10% of those who responded don’t have a writing portfolio and 5% never update it. That surprised me, and I’d have been interested to know why. I think it’s always useful to have some examples of your work handy to show prospective clients. Some people took the time to…

  • How To Succeed As A Part-Time Freelance Writer – Part 1

    Sharon Hurley Hall
    9 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    Being a full-time writer may be the primary goal for many writers, but it doesn't have to be I’ve been writing here on GetPaidToWriteOnline.com for coming up two years now. During my time here so far, I’ve tried to mix up my posts, thinking about what I’d want to hear if I was in your shoes. Sometimes I’ll write about my experiences as a freelance writer to date. Other times I’ll provide some information on what I think you should – or shouldn’t – do as a freelance writer. And there have been plenty of times where I’ve just talked randomly…

  • Updating Your Writing Portfolio – Survey

    Sharon Hurley Hall
    4 May 2012 | 1:18 pm
    Here’s a little fun for the weekend – a one question survey on writing portfolios. I’m wondering, how often do you update your writing portfolio? Click on the image or the link to go to the survey. I’d love it if you’d say why you chose your answer either in the survey comment box or below. Click here to take survey More on writing portfolios: How To Create A Writing Portfolio My Writing Portfolio – A New Approach Writer Without Portfolio

  • Freelance Writing Problem #2687: Clients Who (Think They) Know Better

    Sharon Hurley Hall
    2 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    I'm a relaxed writer, but sometimes I've felt like growing a little bigger and getting a little greener... One of the first things any new freelance writer should know is that it’s a career which brings with it some major highs and major lows.  Sometimes you think freelance writing is the best thing in the world, other times you can find yourself tearing your hair out. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m relatively relaxed and laid back, not getting too stressed out over many things when it comes to freelance writing.  However, one of the points that really bugs…
 
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    BenCrowder.net

  • Drafts

    10 May 2012 | 4:36 am
    My new favorite text editing iPhone app? Drafts. I heard about it last month via Ben Brooks, and after an initial hesitation (the design didn’t really appeal to me at first), I bought it. And now I love it. It’s a simple idea, really — when you open the app, it creates a new note with the keyboard open. Which means you can start typing immediately. Which is awesome. In fact, in the last few days I’ve started using it almost entirely to the exclusion of my other iPhone text editors (Simplenote and iA Writer). It’s really, really good for getting thoughts down…

  • Instapaper 4.2

    10 May 2012 | 3:54 am
    The Instapaper 4.2 update dropped last night, and mmm, it’s tasty. First, there’s a new fast pagination mode. It’s fast. Really fast. And smooth. I love it. (There’s also a new iBooks-style mode where you get a page turn animation. It’s okay, but I’m hooked on fast pagination mode.) If you’re using pagination instead of scrolling (and I recommend that you do), the scrollbar has been moved from the thin line on the right down to a series of dots on the bottom. Since with pagination you’re moving left and right instead of up and down, it makes…

  • The Light Princess

    8 May 2012 | 1:02 am
    Today’s ebook release: George MacDonald’s fairy tale The Light Princess, available as always in EPUB, Kindle, and web editions. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the book (or story, rather, since it’s actually very short) held up to a rereading. Mmm, I love George MacDonald’s work.

  • Ogham alphabet chart

    4 May 2012 | 1:09 am
    Apparently I’m in a language-chart-making mood. This time, though, the nerdiness quotient jumps dramatically, with an Ogham alphabet chart. Ogham is a medieval alphabet used for Primitive Irish and Old Irish and a few other languages. Very obscure, but also very cool, as you can see: It can be written both vertically and horizontally. The red letters are the transliteration (according to manuscript tradition), the grey letters in brackets are the pronunciation, and the italicized words are the names of the letters. Some of the forfeda (the last group) changed meanings over the course of…

  • Welsh mutations chart

    2 May 2012 | 5:18 pm
    Continuing with the language chart nerdiness, here’s a chart of Welsh mutations (in Welsh, the initial consonant of a word can change based on what comes before it): Thanks to Kjerste Christensen for feedback on the chart.
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    Write to Done

  • The New Style of Writing for the Net (Are You Up with the Play?)

    Mary Jaksch
    14 May 2012 | 6:05 am
    By Mary Jaksch, Chief Editor of Write to Done If you want to improve your writing, where do you look for inspiration? I mean, would you use Shakespeare as your guide? Or Hemingway? Or other famous authors? I hope not. Because writing for the Net is different. The new style of blog writing is based upon … The answer may surprise you. It’s not writing for a newspaper or a magazine, or journal writing, or creating novels, or academic writing. It’s copywriting. Weird, eh? What Joe Sugerman can teach bloggers Joe Sugerman is one of the copywriting greats. He’s what Mohammed…

  • How an Editor Hammered Me and My Guest Post into Shape

    Mary Jaksch
    11 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    A guest post by PJ Reece of PjReece.ca “Wow!  This looks awesome, PJ.” That’s Mary Jaksch getting all excited in a March 11 email.  I had sent her my newly hatched eBook called STORY STRUCTURE TO DIE FOR.  Mary continues: “Do you want to write a guest post for Write to Done about ‘story structure’?” Does a blogger like backlinks?  Does an author want to see his book appear on Page 1 of Google?  Does “i” come before “e” except after “c”?  Do I want to…? LATER THAT SAME MINUTE: “Dear Mary…  It would be my pleasure to write a guest blog about “story…

  • How to Succeed in Writing When You’re Not an Expert in Anything

    guest
    8 May 2012 | 6:30 am
    A guest post by Carol Tice from Make a Living Writing Do you worry that you aren’t qualified to be a writer? I frequently have writers tell me they feel their chances of earning well from writing are doomed, because they’re not an expert in anything. Or that it’s hopeless because they don’t have a college degree. They can’t launch a successful blog, because there are already so many blogs farther along than theirs, with more authority. We all know there are certain specialized writing niches that can pay very well, such as technology, finance, and healthcare.

  • How to Find Your Daily Writing Motivation

    guest
    4 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    A guest post by James Chartrand of Men with Pens You know the deal: If you want to get better at writing, you need to write. Preferably daily. Preferably at the same time every day. But uuuuuugh. What if you’re just not motivated to write every day? What if you can’t discipline yourself? What if you tried for a few days then completely ran out of juice and sat around eating cookies instead? Every writer struggles with this. “I just don’t have any motivation today,” we say, all sad and desolate, as if we’d completely run out and had no idea where to get…

  • It’s Time to Start Your Novel: Here’s Why

    guest
    1 May 2012 | 6:10 am
    A Guest Post by Ali Luke of Aliventures.com You’ve had the seed of a novel in your head for months now. Maybe it’s a plot idea (“What if..?”) Maybe it’s a character. Maybe it’s simply the thought of writing something that’d bring other people the same pleasure that you’ve had as a reader. That seed has been sitting, waiting. And now it’s time to let it grow. I know you’re not ready. I know you don’t have enough time. I know you don’t want to waste your idea by going for it too soon. But … There’s Never Going to be a Perfect Time For years, I had a novel seed…
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    Lisa Romeo Writes

  • Guest Blogger Carol Smallwood on Style

    16 May 2012 | 9:55 am
    Over the past few weeks, I've featured guest posts from some of my fellow contributors to Women Writing on Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching, and Publishing. But none of us would have been tossed together were it not for the efforts of the book's co-editor, Carol Smallwood. So today it's her turn.Please welcome Carol Smallwood.            Style is impossible to see in your own writing even though you automatically detect it in the writing of others. The more you write, the more you want words to flow effortlessly. Once you no longer have to think where the…

  • Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, May 11, 2012 Edition

    11 May 2012 | 9:42 am
    ► Wonder how authors decide on book titles? (Hint: they often don't. Publishers' marketing departments do.) ► I know, I know, no Pulitzer was awarded this year for fiction…but in case you wondered about the other winners, the list is here.► On a related note, there also was no award in the nonfiction manuscript category this year for the Bakeless Prize (administered through Bread Loaf Writer's Conference and Greywolf Press). Sigh.►I'm interested in Pressfolios, a new site where a freelance writer can build an online portfolio. GalleyCat reviewed it.► Ever wonder if a…

  • Guest Blogger Kate Hopper on Claiming the Title “Writer”

    9 May 2012 | 7:24 am
    Last time I was stuck in Minneapolis airport, I spent a desultory five hours doing what one does: having no fun. Next time, I think I'll call Kate Hopper and ask to hang out with her for a few hours. We'll have a lot to talk about – writing, motherhood, teaching writing, and the intersection of all that and more. Kate is a fellow contributor to the anthology Women Writing on Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching, and Publishing, and this is the third in a series of guest posts from some of the book's contributors.Please welcome Kate Hopper. How many years were you writing before you could…

  • Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, May 4, 2012 Edition

    4 May 2012 | 8:45 am
    ► Michael Steinberg, founding editor of Fourth Genre, one of the few literary journals fully devoted to nonfiction, has links to several useful articles about creation nonfiction craft at his brand-new blog (scroll down left margin for craft essay links). ►I'm loving the new email newsletter from the Review Review  (a site that reviews literary journals), overflowing with links out to up-to-the-minute articles, posts, contests, and other things literary, from many sources.► Nicola Morgan (Britain's "Crabbit Old Bat" blogger) reminds us that publishers are "in it for the…

  • Stuff My Writing Students Say, Part 13

    1 May 2012 | 8:59 am
    "I'm doing the assignments and reading, taking in all the feedback, and doing a lot of revising and new writing based on all of that, but I just don't know if my work is improving. I keep waiting for the 'aha' moment and it's not coming."     Aha.      There's a short, and I believe, simple answer to this, and I'm not being flip or glib:  Stop waiting.      Really, how often do moments of epiphany, instances of "Oh now I get it!" come along in precisely that fashion, at just the time when you anticipated, hoped, planned for?
 
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    Will Write For Food

  • 9 James Beard Award-Winning Stories, and Why They Won

    diannejacob
    15 May 2012 | 3:30 pm
    By now you’ve seen the announcements for the Oscars of food writing, the James Beard Awards for books, broadcast and journalism. But have you read the pieces that won over the judges? I thought not. I tracked down a handful of feature stories and explain why this is food writing at its finest. Here’s what it takes to win an award of this caliber, with links to writers so you can investigate who won as well: 1. Cooking, Recipes, or Instruction: Anna Thomas, Eating Well, for “The Soup for Life” Here’s a sensuous look at how Thomas concocted recipes for green soups…

  • Want More Work? Get into Video, Advises Chow’s Jane Goldman

    diannejacob
    8 May 2012 | 10:13 pm
    Jane Goldman doesn’t mince words. When I asked Chow.com’s head eater whether food writers can make a living, she suggested finding another profession. Ouch! At least she has a suggestion: Learn video. Now the vice president and editor-in-chief of CBS Interactive’s Entertainment and Lifestyle division, Goldman was a writer and editor in the past, including for the Industry Standard, New York, Rolling Stone, and Wired. She has also been a screenwriter and producer. Goldman founded Chow as a print magazine in 2004. CNET acquired it in 2006, along with Chowhound.com,…

  • New FTC Rules on Writing Reviews, Affiliations, and Sponsored Posts

    diannejacob
    1 May 2012 | 4:20 pm
    There’s nothing like poring over a heavily-footnoted article in the New York Bar Association newsletter. Several times. What does this have to do with food writing? Glad you asked. Food writer Rebecca Lang, whose husband is an attorney, sent me an article he gave her called, “The FTC’s Revised Endorsement Guides Impact How Companies Can Advertise Through Social Media.” It outlines endorsement guidelines for bloggers from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). I’m so glad she did, because I had not seen this interpretation on accepting goods, money, or affiliations (where you…

  • Tired of Recipes? 7 Other Subjects to Post Instead

    diannejacob
    24 Apr 2012 | 8:04 pm
    Recipe posts are a ton of work. You’ve got to develop and test a recipe, photograph it, write it, upload and edit photos, then write the post. It takes up to 6 hours to complete a post, food bloggers tell me. Why not take a break from all the cooking and testing? The occasional non-recipe post won’t hurt, and doing so will let you expand the subjects you cover in a new way. Typically, narrative posts mean advice and recommendations. Here’s how some food bloggers do it: 1. Start a series. Choosing Raw, for example, has an inspirational Green Recovery Series about people who…

  • Is Food Writing a Dismal Way to Make a Living?

    diannejacob
    17 Apr 2012 | 5:51 pm
    Your career ladder. Do you know what's on the other side? Recently Amanda Hesser, co-founder of Food52 and a former New York Times food writer, said in Advice for Future Food Writers she could ”no longer responsibly recommend that you drop everything to try to become a food writer.” “Except for a very small group of people (some of whom are clinging to jobs at magazines that pay more than the magazines’ business models can actually afford), it’s nearly impossible to make a living as a food writer, and I think it’s only going to get worse,” Hesser…
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    Fiction Notes

  • Author Platform? But I’m Just Starting to Submit

    Darcy Pattison
    16 May 2012 | 5:55 am
    You’re a beginning to intermediate writer. You’ve just getting to the point of submitting. Do you need a website, do you need to build a platform? A platform just means that you have a following for some reason, a group of people that you can easily tap into to jump start sales. Keep that in mind: the purpose of a platform is to jump start sales–from a publisher’s point of view. Yet, when you work to develop a platform, you can’t think that way. Instead, you need to consider your strengths and interests. Topics Do you have a passion for the environment? See…

  • Authors for Earth Day–Success!

    Darcy Pattison
    16 May 2012 | 4:12 am
    Darcy Pattison and Science Specialist, Marilyn Johnson on Earth Day. CONGRATS to the fabulous 2012 Authors for Earth Day Participants: Steve Swinburne, Dan Gutman, Jennifer Ward, Barb Rosenstock, Barbara Gowan, Conrad Storad, Michelle Worthington, Molly Idle and myself. To date, the Authors for Earth Day coalition has given voice to young readers across the United States (FL, AZ, NY, PA, NJ, CA, CT, AR, IL & VT) and they even went international this year with an A4ED author visit in Queensland, Australia. In addition to inspiring thousands of students, contributions to conservation have…

  • Summer Plans: Ideas for Topics

    Darcy Pattison
    14 May 2012 | 10:55 am
    photo copyright by Dwight Pattison, 2011This weekend, I sent a special email to subscribers to Fiction Notes, asking you to suggest topics for summer discussion. Here’s the skinny on who YOU are: Note: Percentages will add up to more than 100% because participants could choose more than one category. First 75 people responded to the survey—Thanks! That’s about 5% of those invited to take the survey, which is actually a very good participation rate. What interests you the most? Writing novels 72% Finding your publishing home 38? Writing picture books 31% Finding your voice 29% Hurray! We…

  • 8 Dialogue Mistakes to Avoid

    Darcy Pattison
    11 May 2012 | 5:31 am
    Housekeeping note: I’ve updated all the pages for my books, so if you see a stream of them in an email–that’s my complete bibliography. Dialogue can go wrong in at least 8 ways. Know it all. When one character knows it all the reader knows nothing, it’s tempting to have Mr. Know-it-all tell all. Don’t. That sort of “Let me explain. . .” dialogue is deadly to read. Instead, we need information to come out naturally as the tense situation develops. You can add a bit of exposition here, a description there, a tidbit in dialogue. But never do an…

  • Desert Baths

    Darcy Pattison
    11 May 2012 | 5:30 am
    Coming August, 2012 Watch the vulture bask in the morning sun, the roadrunner kick up a cloud of dust, the javelina wallow, and the bobcat give her cub a licking with a rough tongue in Desert Baths. As the sun travels across the sky, learn how twelve different desert animals face the difficulties of staying clean in a dry and parched land. Explore the desert habitat through its animals and their habits of hygiene. Told in lyrical prose, this story is a celebration of the desert lands of the American Southwest. 32-Page HC: 9781607185253 32-Page PB: 9781607185345 Downloadable English:…
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    WritersDigest.com » There Are No Rules Blog by the Editors of Writer’s Digest

  • How to Find Great Writing Ideas

    RoseannBiederman
    16 May 2012 | 10:57 am
    In the search for story-worthy ideas, most writers are sidelined by occasional bouts of creative myopia. When it sets in—when your field of inspiration narrows—it’s easy to convince yourself that your luck has run out and all the good ideas are taken. But finding exceptional writing ideas isn’t a matter of luck. Waiting passively for creativity to strike won’t put words on the page, either. The secret to cultivating writing inspiration is to go out and hunt it down—in unexpected places. “Curiosity, attention, a little bravado, and a willingness to break routines lead to great…

  • Don’t D-Y-I “Do-Yourself-In” with a D-I-Y Mentality

    Phil Sexton
    16 May 2012 | 9:20 am
    by Rob Eagar I am one of the few original self-publishing success stories. And, I did it way before the advent of e-books, Amazon, and social media. Over 10 years ago, I left corporate America as a sales executive to pursue what seemed like a ridiculous dream to write a book. I had no publishing contacts, no name recognition, and no desire to wait two years to get published. So, I chose the D-I-Y “do-it-yourself” approach. I worked tirelessly on my manuscript for a year. Then, I hired my own editor, page layout designer, graphic artist, and printing company. Long story short, I…

  • All Marketing is a Felt Need

    Phil Sexton
    14 May 2012 | 11:48 am
    By Rob Eagar In my work as a marketing consultant, I’ve met numerous authors who work in academic circles, such as counselors, professors, pastors, and specialty book publishers. A common problem among these scholastic groups is the tendency to believe that their marketing should be exempt from the need to answer the consumers’ primary question, “What’s in it for me?” Appealing to a person’s felt need is viewed as stooping to a lower level of commerce. They maintain that focusing on logic, displaying didactic descriptions of their content, and listing pedantic…

  • Ask a Literary Agent Anything: Here’s Your Chance!

    Jessica Strawser
    7 May 2012 | 1:52 pm
    Photo by Colin_K (on Flickr via Fotopedia.com), Creative Commons License Is there a question you’ve always secretly wished you could ask a literary agent? Maybe you want privileged information … or maybe you want real, tell-it-to-me-straight advice. Maybe something’s been bugging you for a while, but you’re too afraid of sounding like an amateur if you speak up … or you’re too professional to risk sounding bitter. Maybe you haven’t gotten up the nerve to ask what you really want to know about what goes on behind closed doors in Manhattan publishing. Or maybe you’ve just…

  • Promote Your Book with Power-Bites

    Phil Sexton
    6 May 2012 | 9:16 am
    By Rob Eagar The more you rely on technology to spread your message, the more you must be brief. We live in a world of smaller screens, smaller attention spans, and smaller conversations where media platforms continuously shrink discussions. For instance, radio and TV interviews these days are typically no longer 3 – 6 minutes. And, social media tools, like Twitter, limit your remarks to just 140 characters. To market successfully in a world of micro-communication, it’s crucial to speak concisely with power. People no longer give authors a long time to explain what they do.
 
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    The Truth About Lies

  • Don't waste my time

    14 May 2012 | 5:00 pm
    Time equals life; therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life. – Alan LakeinTime is precious. I say that and it reads like a cliché. Time is valuable but most people aren’t willing to pay us a fraction of what our time is worth. I know what the government says the average wage is—currently that would be about £26,000 per annum—but I’ve never earned anything like that. In fact when I was on £15K I thought that was good money, about £7.70 per hour before taxes. So what is you spare time worth?I am going to die. Not soon. At least I hope…

  • Magnus Opum

    9 May 2012 | 4:30 pm
    Every writer of modern fantasy was influenced by Tolkien to some degree. He was the premiere fantasy writer of the last century, and all of us writing today owe him a huge debt. – Terry Brooks If you enjoyed JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy Jonathan Gould’s Magnus Opum. Or not. I guess it all depends on how passionate you were over The Hobbit. Some readers are a bit precious about Tolkien’s work and parodies like The Wobbit and Bored of the Ringsdon’t sit well with them. I was probably about fourteen when I first read the book and I’d no sooner…

  • Drowning in chocolate: an apology ... eventually

    4 May 2012 | 5:00 pm
    What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare? W H Davies (‘Leisure’) I am not someone one would generally think to call an optimist. Introverted, melancholic individuals are not generally prone to expressing an overly positive view of life even if, on the whole, they hold one. Even the most introverted and melancholic individual will, however, most likely, fall in love at some time during their life and at that that time—if only at that time—they get a whiff of what optimists must feel every day. It doesn’t matter how hopeless their situation is, how…

  • Verruca Music

    29 Apr 2012 | 5:00 pm
    of course i could have used the traditional ovine sleep induction method but frankly the sheer effort required to imagine two thousand five hundred and eighty four sheep shambling over a rickety old gate was beyond the poor old bonce and enough to make the heart sink and god knows the heart did sink — Stuart Estell, Verruca Music There are a lot of new books appearing at the moment. A lot. I don’t think people are writing more. People have always written and will continue to write long after typing has completely replaced handwriting. It’s just there are more people and, with the advent…

  • Aggie and Shuggie 33

    24 Apr 2012 | 5:00 pm
    Maggie: [Knock Knock Knock]Ma! Da! Get up. Aggie: [Throwing the bedroom door open] Whit is it, hen? Is it yer gran? Huff we bin burgled? Hus the doag swallayed the remote agin? Maggie: Naw. Nuhin like tha. This! [Holds up her laptop] Huff ye seen this? Aggie: Whit hen? Maggie: Unca Jim’s hud a wan star refyoo. Aggie: A whit? Yoo are yankin ma chain. Do noat joke aboot stuff like tha. Maggie: Ah’m no jokin ma. Wan star! Wan! Aggie: Ssssssh. Keep yer voice doon. Yer’ll wake yer faither. If e gets t’hear news like tha afore is second cuppa coffee e’ll go ballistic. Maggie: Ah know…
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    Imperfect Clarity

  • Building Confidence: Horses & Writing — A “Damn Fine Words” Contest Entry

    Kari Wolfe
    30 Apr 2012 | 10:00 pm
    Tic & Pers, from Sisters Quarter Horses, LLC   There’s nothing like being on the back of a horse, dust in your hair, reins in your hands. The sun beats down on your skin so you wear a light long-sleeved shirt. It also helps to keep away the flies that seem to go hand in hand with the heat and horses. Once in the round pen, no halters at first. Just you and the horse. The most valuable thing I’ve learned about horses is that they are prey animals. Running away is their first instinct. On the prairie, it’s all about remaining alert and keeping an eye out for…

  • Review: and she was: A Novel of Suspense by Alison Gaylin

    Kari Wolfe
    24 Apr 2012 | 2:14 pm
    The premise behind “and she was” by Alison Gaylin was what caught my eye first: “Missing persons investigator Brenna Spector has a rare neurological disorder that enables her to recall every detail of every day of her life.” But not only can she remember every detail, she is plagued by that remembering at various inopportune times, her memories rearing their heads and taking all of her attention as though they have a life of their own. That right there was enough to get my attention and for me to pick up the book. The novel is touted in a subtitle as “A Novel Of…

  • Donald Maass’s Writing 21st Century Fiction: Thursday at the PPWC

    Kari Wolfe
    20 Apr 2012 | 11:56 am
    From the Pikes Peak Writers Conference Website Yesterday, I had the privilege to sit in the front row in the Aspen Leaf Room at the Colorado Springs Marriott as Donald Maass gave a one-day presentation on topics from his upcoming book, Writing 21st Century Fiction, for the Thursday programming session at the Pikes Peak Writers’ Conference. Donald Maass is a literary agent at the Donald Maass Literary Agency and the author of a few books on writing: The Career Novelist, Writing the Breakout Novel, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, The Fire in Fiction, and The Breakout Novelist:…

  • Review: KIN by Kealan Patrick Burke

    Kari Wolfe
    14 Apr 2012 | 4:10 pm
    KIN by Kealan Patrick Burke I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Mr. Burke and his work, but this was the first time that I have read one of his novels. His novel, The Turtle Boy, won a Bram Stoker Award in 2004 and you can get a copy of it at the above Amazon link for FREE.  After reading KIN, it is definitely going on my TBR shelf. Burke’s newest novel, KIN, has been described as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Deliverance.” It’s the story of a girl who escapes from being kidnapped by a deranged family who tortured and brutally murdered the friends…

  • Insecurity & Mistakes

    Kari Wolfe
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:11 pm
    Insecurity is a very hard thing to get over, but I’m learning I don’t have to be insecure.  About anything. We all make mistakes in life and I’m beginning to believe that the way you deal with your own mistakes and your reaction to the mistakes of the people around you shows your character in a way that nothing else does. P.S. Nevermind that I learned this yesterday when I was kicked in the nose by a horse I was grooming… Strangely, I’ve been slightly proud of this — as if it’s some type of badge of honor.  I just really need to sit down and figure…
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    Flogging the Quill

  • Flogometer for William--would you turn the page?

    Ray Rhamey
    16 May 2012 | 11:54 am
    Call for submissions: the end of the queue comes next week. If you have a chapter or story that could use some outside eyes, please see the submission directions below. Thanks. The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 or 17 lines on the first page (first pages of…

  • Flogometer for Heather--would you turn the page?

    Ray Rhamey
    11 May 2012 | 11:03 am
    Call for submissions--I'm down to a couple of weeks of opening chapters to flog, so if you'd like some fresh input on yours, please see the directions below and send me yours. The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 or 17 lines on the first page (first pages of…

  • Flogometer for Pete--would you turn the page?

    Ray Rhamey
    10 May 2012 | 8:52 am
    Sorry that I missed Wednesday morning--I got wrapped up in creating the materials and shopping cart and web pages for an upcoming offer of my four novels for the price of one. Stay tuned. The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 or 17 lines on the first page (first pages of…

  • A shout-out for Molly’s memoir

    Ray Rhamey
    7 May 2012 | 9:25 am
    I want to tell you a little about--and encourage you to read--a fascinating memoir titled Entering the Blue Stone, written by a client and friend, Molly Best Tinsley. Full disclosure: I designed the book cover and interior, and I have designed several other books for Molly’s company, Fuze Publishing. But that’s not why I’m advocating her book. It’s because it’s a wonderful read, and a window into life that is worth the trip. Here’s the summary from the back of the book: The General battles Parkinson's; his wife manifests a bizarre dementia. Their grown children embrace what…

  • Flogometer for Glenda--would you turn the page?

    Ray Rhamey
    4 May 2012 | 10:30 am
    The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 or 17 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. A word about the line-editing in these posts: it’s “one-pass” editing, and I don’t try to…
 
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    Fritinancy

  • On the Visual Thesaurus: Presidential Campaign Lingo

    Nancy Friedman
    16 May 2012 | 9:26 am
    In my latest column for the Visual Thesaurus, published today, I consider some buzzwords and catchphrases of the current U.S. presidential campaign, which is entering the general-election phase. It’s the first of two columns, organized alphabetically, so if you don’t see one of your favorite words or phrases, check back in a week or so. Here’s an excerpt from this week’s installment. You’ll need to subscribe to read the rest! Forward. The Obama campaign's slogan — “Forward” — made its debut in late April. Pundits immediately parsed it as if it were the Rosetta Stone.

  • In the Tank

    Nancy Friedman
    15 May 2012 | 10:04 am
    Alliteration—check. Brevity—check. Memorability—check. Appropriateness? Uh… I can’t tell you what the owners of Tot Tank, a children’s store on Alameda’s Park Street, were thinking when they named their business. But I can share my own negative associations: Tank (noun): Slang for jail cell. Tank (noun): A large container for liquid or gas. Tank (noun): An armored combat vehicle. Tank (verb): To plummet; to suffer a sudden decline or failure. Tank up (verb): To drink to the point of intoxication. I had one additional association: “Shark Tank,” the ABC reality show in which…

  • Word of the Week: Grasstops

    Nancy Friedman
    14 May 2012 | 11:07 am
    Grasstops: The leadership in a community or organization. First documented in 1992 in a Public Relations Quarterly article, where the word was spelled “grassTOPS” to emphasize the coinage. Usage has increased since 2007, according to a Google Insights graph. Here’s a recent sighting, in a May 5, 2012, job listing posted by California Right to Know: Experience and qualifications: Minimum 2-5 years experience in grassroots and grasstops organizing … The Word Spy entry for grasstops provides some historical background: This term is a play on grassroots, the ordinary people of a community…

  • Mean Trees

    Nancy Friedman
    9 May 2012 | 9:05 am
    Is this where Angry Birds build their nests? Seen at Piedmont Grocery, Oakland. From the Angry Orchard website: Once upon a time hard cider was the drink of choice. We’ve been making ciders for decades… Now we want to share them with you. Branch out and experience our Angry Orchard. “Hard” cider has about 5 percent alcohol. According to a press release, Angry Orchards ciders are “artisanal” (of course) and gluten free. The brand was introduced earlier this year in New England, Colorado, Maryland, and New York; last month it made its nationwide debut. I couldn’t find an…

  • Snacks and Violence, Cont'd

    Nancy Friedman
    8 May 2012 | 9:21 am
    I’ve added a new category to the blog, “Aggression,” to cover what looks to be a mini-trend: overt hostility in snack-food advertising. Last year, you may recall, I reported on the Cheetos “Headbutt Your Mouth’s Face” campaign and on Ruffles’ Double-Fisted Bacon Cheeseburger chips. And now, thanks to the intrepid eaters over at Impulsive Buy (“Putting the ‘ew’ in product reviews”), I’ve learned the brand promise of Blue Ox Jerky: “Our jerky punches gas station jerky IN THE FACE.” Photo enhanced from the original at Impulsive Buy. Impulsive Buy contributor Adam…
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    Inkygirl: An Illustrated Guide For Writers

  • Comic: Clown Writer

    Debbie Ridpath Ohi
    15 May 2012 | 2:40 pm
    I'm posting some of my older comics here as I catalog and tag them in prep for a print book compilation. You can find my comics for writers on Inkygirl (http://inkygirl.com), Tumblr (http://inkygirl.tumblr.com) and Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/inkyelbows/comics-for-writers-inkygirl-com)

  • Comic: The Obsessed Writer

    Debbie Ridpath Ohi
    15 May 2012 | 2:18 pm
    I'm posting some of my older comics here as I catalog and tag them in prep for a print book compilation. You can find my comics for writers on Inkygirl (http://inkygirl.com), Tumblr (http://inkygirl.tumblr.com) and Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/inkyelbows/comics-for-writers-inkygirl-com)

  • Writing & Illustrating A Picture Book For Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (Part 2: Brainstorming, Story Pitch, Thumbnail Assignment)

    Debbie Ridpath Ohi
    15 May 2012 | 9:39 am
    Continuing my series on working with Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers on two new books... POSTS SO FAR: Part 1 - Part 2 (Summary: After I finished illustrations for I'M BORED, Simon & Schuster BFYR offered me two blank contracts. This series is about my own experience working with S&S BFYR on my two new books; if you're interested in how I'M BORED was created, please see my I'M BORED Scrapbook. Neither of these series are meant to The Definitive Guide of how a picture book is created. Your own publishing experience may differ, depending on your situation and people…

  • Writing & Illustrating A Picture Book For Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (Part 1: Intro)

    Debbie Ridpath Ohi
    9 May 2012 | 12:57 pm
    I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new series of blog posts: POSTS SO FAR: Part 1 - Part 2 As some of you may already know, I'm writing and illustrating my very first picture book for Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers: I'm going to call this Picture Book X until I have an official title. I'm going to be blogging about the process of creating Picture Book X, from start to finish, in Inkygirl. An aside: if you're curious about my blog posts about the creation of I'M BORED, new picture book by Michael Ian Black that I was asked to illustrate, I recommend you follow…

  • Interview with Holly Thompson, editor of TOMO: Friendship Through Fiction (Stone Bridge Press) plus a giveaway

    Debbie Ridpath Ohi
    9 May 2012 | 9:57 am
    As I've mentioned earlier, I'm very excited to have my first YA short story included in Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction, a new teen anthology edited by Holly Thompson and published by Stone Bridge Press. Part of the sales proceeds will go to help teens affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. Post a comment below for a chance to win a copy of the book! Holly Thompson was raised in New England and is a longtime resident of Japan. She is the author of the YA verse novel Orchard (Delacorte/Random House), which received the APALA 2012 Asian/Pacific American Award for…
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    www.publetariat.com

  • How Amanda Palmer Built An Army Of Supporters: Connecting Each And Every Day, Person By Person

    Publetariat
    15 May 2012 | 8:00 pm
    This post originally appeared on techdirt on 5/4/12. Following the massive success of her Kickstarter experiment, we asked Amanda Palmer if she wanted to write a quick guest post about why she thought the offering was so successful. Here's what came back, including a bonus bit from Sean Francis, who has helped Amanda for years on the tech/social side of things.   read more

  • When Publishing Goes Wrong...Starring Undead Press

    Publetariat
    15 May 2012 | 8:00 pm
    This post, by Mandy DeGeit, originally appeared on her blog on 5/14/12. You all know I’ve been ranting about my first ever publication coming out for the last little while… “She makes me smile” was picked up by Undead Press (Anthony Giangregorio) to be published in their anthology called Cavalcade of Terror and the book was released May 1st 2012. [Publetariat Editor's note: strong language after the jump] read more

  • How Do Daily Ebooks Sold Figure into Amazon and Barnes and Noble Sales Rankings? Theresa Ragan Has The Scoop!

    Publetariat
    14 May 2012 | 8:00 pm
    This post, by D.D. Scott and Theresa Ragan originally appeared on The Writer's Guide to E-Publishing on 5/14/12. Happy Monday, WG2E-Land!!! Gosh, I sooo wish I’d come across this superfab scoop when I’d first started out in Indie Epublishing, but since I came across it this past week, I just had to share it with y’all!!! read more

  • Plan a Book Launch Party for an Ebook

    Book Marketer
    14 May 2012 | 8:00 pm
    Recently an author asked me "How do you stage an in-person book launch with a novel that's published as an ebook? How do you autograph a computer screen?" Here are some suggestions for doing a live book launch event for an ebook: read more
 
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    Self-Publishing Review

  • Review: The Shadows Touch by R. Scott VanKirk

    tbmarkinson
    15 May 2012 | 2:57 pm
    The Shadows Touch, by R. Scott VanKirk, is the sequel to the fantasy novel, The Dryad’s Kiss.  The opening pages of The Shadows Touch picks up right where the first novel left off. I had the privilege of reviewing the first novel and I enjoyed it immensely so with great anticipation I opened to the first page of the sequel.  Ian Finn Mortgenstern’s, the hero in the first novel, life has not improved much since we last saw him in The Dryad’s Kiss.  His father is residing in the mental institution, Shady Oaks, and so is his best friend’s sister, Jen.  And Finn feels responsible for…

  • Review: The Dryad’s Kiss by R. Scott VanKirk

    tbmarkinson
    10 May 2012 | 2:56 pm
    They built the mound layer by layer, with each layer accepting more of the bones of the fallen. Finally, on top, facing the south and east, they interred the remains of Wahkoceethee the Eagle and Sheshepukwa the Cougar. They buried the fallen warriors with ceremonies of respect and thanks along with their totems. When Anakthepeuke the Rattlesnake died, he would be buried facing the west and the strongest of them all, Mactequeta Bear, in turn would be buried facing the terrible north.  They would take their totems with them so their spirits could tap the power of their totems in death to…

  • Review: Eyes Behind Belligerence by K.P. Kollenborn

    Elaine L. Orr
    3 May 2012 | 1:54 pm
    Eyes Behind Belligerence by K.P. Kollenborn is an ambitious book about complex subjects.  The Yoshimura and Hamaguchi families of Bainbridge Island, off the coast of Washington, endure the bigotry of the 1940s and are forced into the Manzanar Internment Camp, but their stories transcend any location. Eyes Behind Belligerence is essentially a story of families and how they come to terms with loss — whether of people, life as they knew it, or the ability to make their own choices.  Americans whose ancestry is not Japanese may look at Japanese-American families and see homogeneity.  The…

  • The God Within by Martine Racine

    BlueInk Review
    29 Apr 2012 | 12:52 pm
    Author Martine Racine is a Jungian psychoanalyst and ordained minister. In The God Within, she describes how the divine lives in all of us. Racine posits that our center of power, creativity, and morality doesn’t come from extrinsic sources. Rather, they reside in our being and are tapped into when we feel from our hearts. All of the destruction in the world, according to Racine, comes from the unhealthy imbalance of putting too much emphasis on the mind. The mind is a tool that should be used only through the guidance of heart because our heart is what is connected to our inner god. Our…

  • Review: Murder Takes Time by Giacomo Giammatteo

    tbmarkinson
    26 Apr 2012 | 3:40 pm
    What would you do if you thought one of your two best friends from childhood was wanted for murder and you were the cop in charge of the investigation?  Would you be able to put your feelings aside and do your job?  In Giacomo Giammatteo’s debut novel, Murder Takes Time, he explores the power of friendship and honor. Right from the start, the reader is thrown into the bloody world of mobsters.  The opening pages depict a horrific killing.  The murder scene is not for the faint-hearted.  At first I was uncomfortable.  But fear not, this is not a novel that centers primarily on acts of…
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    George Angus, Tumblemoose Writer

  • When Grammar Gets In The Way Of Style

    george
    1 May 2012 | 11:02 pm
    One of the early posts I wrote for this blog was about a writing service that was different from the typical “bid for work” sites. When I first started freelance writing they were a great way to cut my teeth. Even as recently as a few months ago I was going on about using them as an income source. Well, the honeymoon is over. Screw them. They are not the same place that they used to be. In short, they have become too big for their britches. When I first started writing over there, I worked hard to increase my ratings. They were easy enough to work with and I soon received the…

  • The Slippery Slope Of Writing Fanfiction

    george
    19 Mar 2012 | 9:03 am
    Image from Guardian.co.uk Over the past few months, I’ve become a huge fan of a TV series. The season finale was broadcast a few weeks ago and I have admittedly been suffering from withdrawal. Dang it. The idea of continuing the story came naturally to me as a writer I suppose. As the idea rolled around in my head, it came to me that engaging in Fanfiction may be a way for me to keep the series alive during the off-season. I’d heard of Fanfiction but had never engaged the process. Honestly, I didn’t know very much about the process. Here is what I’ve found out:…

  • 25 Inspiring Biographies For Aspiring Writers

    george
    1 Mar 2012 | 12:45 pm
    25 Inspiring Biographies for Aspiring Writers Republished with permission from http://www.onlinecollege.org/25-inspiring-biographies-for-aspiring-writers Before setting off in pursuit of literary and intellectual greatness (or at least goodness), it behooves the journeyman author to learn a few things from those that came before. Don’t get bogged down in fantasy. Take the time to read up on how successful writers — no matter their chosen genres or mediums — generate ideas and inspiration, process them, then bestow them life on paper or screen. Painting teachers often request their…

  • Is Writing Advice Helpful?

    george
    27 Feb 2012 | 1:34 pm
    Image from vworkernews I was thinking about the changes that have happened on my blog over the past few years. When I first started Tumblemoose, I approached topics from the standpoint of inspiring other writers. To some extent that is still my hope, but how this is accomplished has admittedly changed. The first year or so was filled with advice that was probably standard but given from my own unique perspective. I’m still fairly proud of those posts. The last year or so has seen less “advice” posts and more “posed questions” posts. Reflecting on why this is, it…

  • What’s Your Take On Self-Publishing?

    george
    16 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pm
    Image from alibaba I was going through my email inbox the other day when I noticed two emails that came in one right after the other. The first one was admonishing self-publishers to be aware. Really a great article by someone who I respect a great deal. The next email was from someone who posted a link to a news article on some new tools to make self-publishing easier. I chuckled and thought Heh. What a co-inkydink.  I have self-published. I have some collections over at Smashwords and I have two titles over at Amazon. All of my self-published works are e-books. A decade ago,…
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    The Write News

  • Newsweek Calls President Obama The First Gay President

    13 May 2012 | 9:00 pm
    Newsweek has decided to declare President Obama as "The First Gay President," following his decision to support gay marriage earlier this week. The issue includes an article by Andrew Sullivan. The cover includes a photograph of President Obama with a multicolored halo above his head. Newsweek is likely hoping reader's remember Toni Morrison's description of former President Bill Clinton as the first black president in 1998. President Obama made the announcement that he now supports gay marriage on Good Morning America. You can see the video clip here. The cover is for the May 21, 2012 issue…

  • Bloomberg to Double Frequency of Bloomberg Pursuits in 2012

    9 May 2012 | 6:00 pm
    AdWeek reports that Bloomberg is doubling the frequency of its luxury lifestyle magazine, Bloomberg Pursuits. Doubling means the publication will go from two issues in 2012 to four issues in 2013. Strong ad sales helped motivate Bloomberg to publish more issues. Some of the subjects the magazine covers include art, luxury cars, travel destinations, real estate, fashion, watches, wine and luxury services. It is targeted at ultra-affluent readers. Bloomberg says it has a global circulation of 375,000. The editor of the magazine is Vince Bielski. He also edits the Wealth section of Bloomberg…

  • Time Wins Magazine of the Year at 2012 National Magazine Awards

    4 May 2012 | 9:00 pm
    Time magazine was named the Magazine of the Year at the ASME's 2012 National Magazine Awards. You can see photographs of the winners here. Here is a list of the winning titles in each category. Magazine of the Year: Time General Excellence Active/Special Interest: Inc. General Excellence General Interest: Bloomberg Businessweek General Excellence Lifestyle: House Beautiful General Excellence Thought Leader: IEEE Spectrum General Excellence Women's: O, The Oprah Magazine Design: Gentlemen's Quarterly Feature Photography: The New York Times Magazine Fiction: Zoetrope: All-Story Leisure…

  • Chantal Restivo-Alessi Named Chief Digital Office of HarperCollins Publishers

    2 May 2012 | 9:00 pm
    HarperCollins Publishers has announced that Chantal Restivo-Alessi has been appointed to the position of Chief Digital Officer. Restivo-Alessi will report to Brian Murray, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, and will sit on the company's executive committee. Restivo-Alessi will be responsible for leading the overall global digital strategy for the company. Leslie Hulse, Senior Vice President, Digital Business Development, will report to her. Restivo-Alessi said in a statement, "I am thrilled to be joining HarperCollins at such an exciting time of change. HarperCollins has…

  • Anderson Family Taking Books a Million Private

    30 Apr 2012 | 3:00 pm
    Clyde B. Anderson announced plans for the Anderson family to take Books-A-Million, Inc. (BAMM) private. Mr. Anderson is the Executive Chairman of BAMM. He and his family own approximately 53 percent of the common stock of the Company. Under Anderson's plan, existing shareholders will receive $3.05 per share in cash. This represents a 20% premium over the stock's closing price on April 27, 2012. The proposal estimates the equity of BAMM to be $48.8 million. BAMM would be merged with a new company that the Anderson family will control. The stock repurchase will be funded using BAMM's existing…
 
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    Writing Forward

  • From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Moral Dilemmas

    Melissa Donovan
    15 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    Creative writing exercises: Moral dilemmas Today’s creative writing exercise comes from 101 Creative Writing Exercises, my recently published book on the craft of writing. This book guides writers through an adventure in writing. You’ll explore different forms and genres of writing, including freewriting, journaling, memoir, fiction, storytelling, poetry, and article or blog writing. 101 Creative Writing Exercises imparts proven writing techniques while providing writing practice and creative inspiration. Today, I’d like to share an exercise from “Chapter Nine: Philosophy,…

  • Genres in Fiction Writing: Literary Fiction vs. Everything Else

    Melissa Donovan
    10 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    How do you classify creative writing, or do you? In creative writing, we talk about form and genre. Form is what we write: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Genre is how we further classify each of these forms. In fiction writing, there’s literary fiction and everything else. In fact, literary fiction and all of the other genres are so at odds with each other that some writers simply say they are either literary fiction writers or genre writers. But what does that mean? Isn’t all fiction considered literary? Yes and no. What is Literary Fiction Anyway? Let’s start…

  • Proofreading and Editing Tips to Improve Your Writing

    Melissa Donovan
    8 May 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Proofreading and editing will help you improve your writing. From the archives… The best way to achieve better writing is through daily writing and reading, but proofreading and editing are near the top of the list too. If you want to improve your writing, it’s imperative that you review each piece to check for typos, mistakes, context, and tone. Creative writing tips often fail to mention the mechanical side of writing. It’s fun to focus on language, plot, characters, and rhymes, but polishing your work diligently will make you a better writer. And once you nail grammar and…

  • Writing Tips: Write What You Know

    Melissa Donovan
    3 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    Writing tips: write what you know. If there’s one piece of writing advice that took me years to truly understand, it’s write what you know. When I first heard this instruction, I thought it was odd. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I do remember thinking that as far as writing tips went, it was absurd. What about writing from your imagination or your feelings? How do genres like science fiction and fantasy fit into the idea that you should only write what you know? It all seemed rather limiting. Was I supposed to write about American suburbia? Because…

  • Creative Writing Prompts from Far-Off Places

    Melissa Donovan
    1 May 2012 | 3:00 am
    Creative writing prompts for travelers and dreamers. Travel and adventure are the themes behind some of the greatest poems ever written and best stories ever told. Blockbuster movies like Star Wars andthe Indiana Jones franchise, TV shows like Lost, and books such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn all use adventure as a premise to telling a riveting tale. Today’s creative writing prompts are designed to get you out of the house and away to a far-off place. You can go anywhere you want — some of these places are fantastical while others can…
 
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    Show Some Character!

  • The three worst words in fiction

    15 May 2012 | 2:47 pm
    Making Sandwiches This morning I asked Twitter what the three worst words in fiction are. I got answers like suddenly, something happened, tall, dark, and handsome, purple, throbbing, and manhood, and my favorite of those submitted, only a dream. Those are good answers. I mean really, I would hope an author can be more specific about what happened than “something,” and when it does happen, I certainly hope it doesn’t turn out to be a dream. But for my money, the three worst words in fiction are: The chosen one. That’s it. I can’t stand it when a character is the…

  • Everything you wanted to know about editing but were afraid to ask

    30 Apr 2012 | 2:21 pm
    image by Sybren A. StüvelMaybe there’s something in the water, but in the past few days I’ve encountered a lot of confusion over the question of editing. I’ve seen it from prospective novelists, on blogs, and even on a nascent freelancing website. So let’s just answer what kinds of editing there are, when you need them—and most importantly—what they can and cannot do for you. I can’t stress that last point enough. You wouldn’t hire a painter when you need a plumber; in like fashion, it pays to know what kind of editing to ask for. Developmental Editing What is it?

  • Writer's guide to working with freelancers

    27 Feb 2012 | 6:45 pm
    This is a departure from my usual material, but one which I hope will be helpful not only to independent writers, but also to freelancers like myself. Having been a book doctor for a few years now, I’ve assembled an informal list of dos-and-don’ts for working with the people who will help you bring your book to market. If you have an agent who can land you a traditional publishing deal, none of this is likely to apply; chances are, the publisher will handle all of these things for you. But if you don’t, the burden of producing a professional-quality book that holds its own…

  • Reading roundup 2011

    31 Dec 2011 | 4:32 pm
    I started 2011 on a mission: read ten million words of fiction. I got to wondering what it would be like just to blast my brain with words, words, words, for a whole year. So I bought a lot of books and went to work. In the end, I didn’t make it, which is just as well because the stack you see here pretty well pushes the limits of what I can read and still get enough sleep to be a functional human being. And besides, if I had reached ten million, I’d never have been able to stack them all up. But still, I did pretty well. The stack you see is 70 books, and about 5.1 million words.

  • Does your denouement murder your characters?

    21 Dec 2011 | 4:54 pm
    Cause of death: denouementI have a confession to make. I’m a murderer. Only in the third degree—I didn’t mean to—but murder is murder. You know what I remember most about writing my first manuscript? Writing the ending. I’d had such a wonderful time writing that whole manuscript. I loved those characters. When I wrote what I knew was the last scene, I became so choked up the lump in my throat literally hurt. The story was done. They were done. But I wasn’t ready to let those characters go. So what did I do? I wrote an epilogue. It’s a sweet epilogue.
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    Write4Kids!

  • Two New Tools Help Self-Publishers Create and Sell Enhanced EBooks

    Laura
    10 May 2012 | 4:40 am
    Self-publishing enhanced eBooks gets easier every day. One new advance is the Vook publishing platform, a comprehensive, cloud-based tool that allows authors and publishers to turn any document into a professionally styled eBook, complete with embedded images, videos and other multimedia. Vook's platform then makes it easy to distribute the finished e-book to Amazon, iBooks and BN.com. Another is Demibooks Storytime, a new e-reader app for the iPad  that offers a multipublisher retail marketplace for interactive children’s books created using the Demibook Composer eBook…

  • Forget About Impressing Your Readers When You Write

    Laura
    9 May 2012 | 7:26 pm
    "Write to express, not to impress." These six words are the backbone of mystery writer Bernadette Pajer's advice for writers in a recent blog post. It's brilliant in its simplicity, and it works. Writing for young adults? Write to express, not to impress. Otherwise you'll come off as an out-of-touch adult trying to sound cool. Writing for preschoolers? Write to express, not to impress them with your silly-billy, goofy-woofy word play. Clever is good, condescending is not. Creating a blog post? Write to express. Don't pile on the five-syllable words plucked from the…

  • Simple Tips to Get Started Writing for Children

    Laura
    3 May 2012 | 7:17 pm
    According to book industry experts, the hottest trend today is the young adult and children's market. Just look at the popularity of the Twilight series and the more recent Hunger Games trilogy. As a parent or adult, you have a wealth of experiences on which to draw making the children's book market the perfect place for you — the author — to make your mark.   Mining the Field As an adult you have you have the unique ability to look back on the wonderful world of childhood. From your perspective you can use your writing to help children negotiate the fine line between…

  • Taming the Fairy Tale

    Laura
    20 Mar 2012 | 4:14 am
    In this recent article from the UK, one in five parents has scrapped traditional fairy tales in favor of kinder, gentler versions. While we've long been used to Little Red Riding Hood hiding from the wolf with her grandmother in the closet (rather than being eaten and then cut out of the wolf's stomach by the woodsman who rescued them), parents are now seeing less-obvious dangers lurking in classic stories: Rumblestiltskin has themes of kidnapping and execution, Goldilocks and the Three Bears condones stealing, and Cinderella sends the outdated message that young women should stay…

  • Social Networking Tips for Writers

    Laura
    15 Mar 2012 | 4:57 am
    We all know that it's now mandatory that writers do the lion's share of their marketing, regardless of how they get published. We also know that social networking is one of the easiest, and cheapest, ways to get the word out. But how much time do we really need to spend on blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc.? The Skinny on Social Networking, a terrific article by Rob Eagar, the founder of WildFire Marketing, offers blogging do's and don'ts, tips on the frequency and content of your posts, and tells when you should use Facebook and Twitter. It's a great blueprint for a busy…
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    Letters of Note

  • Love, Dad

    Shaun Usher
    16 May 2012 | 7:41 am
    In June of 1971, just days before his 26-year-old son, Michael, got married, future-U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent him the following letter of advice. It really is quite stunning. (Source: Reagan: A Life In Letters; Image: Ronald Reagan, via.) Michael Reagan Manhattan Beach, California June 1971 Dear Mike: Enclosed is the item I mentioned (with which goes a torn up IOU). I could stop here but I won't. You've heard all the jokes that have been rousted around by all the "unhappy marrieds" and cynics. Now, in case no one has suggested it, there is another viewpoint. You have entered into the…

  • The real heroes are the parents

    Shaun Usher
    15 May 2012 | 9:29 am
    In July of 1918, whilst serving as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I, Ernest Hemingway was seriously wounded in a mortar attack that resulted in both legs being "riddled" with shrapnel and a six month stay in a Milan hospital. Three months after the incident, as he recuperated, 19-year-old Hemingway wrote the following letter to his family and reflected on his situation. (Source: Ernest Hemingway Selected Letters 1917-1961; Image: Ernest Hemingway in Italy, 1918, via Wikipedia.) 18 October 1918 Dear Folks: Your letter of September 24 with the pictures came today, and,…

  • Ought women not to be abolished altogether?

    Shaun Usher
    14 May 2012 | 6:46 am
    On March 28th of 1912, an eminent bacteriologist named Almroth Wright wrote a lengthy, pompous letter to The Times in which he argued that women should not be allowed to vote, and in fact should be kept away from politics altogether, due to their supposed psychological and physiological deficiencies. Unsurprisingly his opinion generated many responses, the best of which was the following witty letter from "One of the Doomed," printed in the paper two days later. Unbeknownst to all, its sender, "C.S.C.," was 26-year-old Clementine Churchill — the wife of future Prime Minister,…

  • Thank you, Mr. Hitchcock

    Shaun Usher
    11 May 2012 | 9:08 am
    In March of 1962, Alfred Hitchcock took a break during filming of The Birds in Bodega Bay and visited a local school to greet the pupils. Soon after, the school's principal wrote the following letter of thanks to the filmmaker, and described the visit's positive effect on one particular child. Transcript follows. (Source: Hitchcock, Piece by Piece; Image: Alfred Hitchcock, via.) Transcript WILMAR UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT 3775 Bodega Highway PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA April 3, 1962 Mr. Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock Productions Bodega Bay, California Dear Mr. Hitchcock: I wanted to take…

  • DO NOT be so bloody vulnerable

    Shaun Usher
    10 May 2012 | 10:21 am
    Here's some sound, stern relationship advice from the great Noël Coward, in the form of an invaluable letter he sent to his good friend, Marlene Dietrich, in 1956. He was replying to a recent, downbeat missive from Dietrich, in which she had detailed the latest in a long line of depressing "episodes" involving her on-off lover of a few years, Yul "Curly" Brynner. Coward clearly couldn't bear to see her suffer any longer. (Source: The Letters of Noël Coward; Image: Dietrich and Coward in 1937, via.) Firefly Hill Port Maria Jamaica B.W.I. Oh, darling, Your letter filled me with such…
 
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    Mysterious Matters: Mystery Publishing Demystified

  • The Biggest Challenges

    Agatho
    8 May 2012 | 4:20 pm
    Back in my university days, I remember reading sources from ancient Babylon and Ur in which writers complained that children are becoming increasingly unruly, and that the downfall of society would certainly result therefrom. (Come to think of it, those cities did fall...) My point is that people have been foretelling the downfall of society, industries, models, methods, and theories since the beginning of time. When I started in this business decades ago, I remember one of my mentors bewailing the state of the industry and how books were getting worse and and worse. (He would spin in his…

  • What the Heck Is Going On?

    Agatho
    23 Apr 2012 | 8:08 pm
    It's simply impossible to keep up with the mystery genre and its permutations. But I do try.... One doesn't have to follow blogs, read listservs, and attend conventions to hear writer's frustrations. The smarter ones don't inveigh against the industry and its quirks in public; though I'm sure some have wisely chosen to vent under screen names/pseudonyms. Sometimes I understand their frustrations; sometimes I want to tell them to grow up. No one ever said a career in a creative discipline is going to be easy. Several years ago one of my daughters, enrolled in a Ph.D.

  • Action - Camera - Lights!

    Agatho
    11 Apr 2012 | 2:17 pm
    I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to lately because it's been a good season for manuscripts. (I wonder if this has anything to do with NaNoWriMo.) As always, there are many submissions, few contracts. The submissions tell me that, despite all the dire prognostications, as well as the pomposities of the self/vanity-published, there are still a good many aspiring writers who understand that a publisher can do many things that the average person can't - and that the publisher will actually pay to have all of this done because it believes in their work! Imagine that…

  • Bill Pronzini: An Appreciation

    Agatho
    30 Mar 2012 | 2:56 pm
    Bill Pronzini:An Appreciation I always knew, but was recently reminded, that the longest-running series in mystery fiction is Bill Pronzini's Nameless series. It began in 1971 and continues through today. The most recent title is BETRAYERS, and I understand that the next installment, HELLBOX, will be published this summer. Over the years, we've watched Nameless age and take on partners in his San Francisco-based detective agency, including the stoic Jake Runyon, the enterprising Alex Chavez, and the sassy computer expert, Tamara. While I haven't read every book in the series…

  • Rant to Department of Justice: Get a Life

    Agatho
    19 Mar 2012 | 1:50 pm
    OK, so let me get this straight. The airlines just get bigger and bigger. Continental merges with United to create the world's largest airline. Ticket prices go up. Services goes down. WAY, WAY down. Banks keep getting bigger and bigger, with colossi buying up independent state or regional banks. Fees go through the roof while interest rates on savings go through the floor. Investment firms are declared "too big to fail" (as a result of merger after merger) while hard-working people lose their retirement funds. Mrs. See's candies, those wonderful San Francisco chocolates,…
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    Just Effing Entertain Me

  • Homicide School for Writers!

    JulieGray
    15 May 2012 | 8:44 am
    Hi everybody! I saw this class, presented by my dear friends Andrew Zinnes and Genevieve Jolliffe, and I had to let you know about it! Filmmaker Junction is pleased to present: Writer’s Homicide School. Police dialogue and protocol is highly specific – so much so that if you don’t get it right, your story or [...]

  • Competition Season Tips

    JulieGray
    26 Apr 2012 | 8:07 am
    Every spring, just like birds returning to their native habitat or the migrating butterflies of San Juan Capistrano, screenwriting competitions open their doors for yet another season.  And what a flurry it is! Every year, it seems there are more and more competitions available! So – what’s good about competitions? Well, aside from the prizes, [...]

  • Julian Rigby & the Keepers of Time

    JulieGray
    21 Apr 2012 | 5:12 am
    Just a shout out to my client and friend, the talented John Grammatico (interviewed on Just Effing a few weeks back, on shifting from screenwriting to novel writing) whose book, Julian Rigby & the Keepers of Time is selling like hotcakes on Amazon! John is grateful and amazed at the sales the book is receiving [...]

  • Your Script Is Done: Now What?

    JulieGray
    21 Apr 2012 | 4:54 am
    A Just Effing reader emailed me recently and asked a very simple question that doesn’t have a short answer. So I thought I’d answer it here. After weeks and months of the frustration, joy, hard work and amazing moments, you have finished your script. Now what? Here is what I recommend. First, you must ask [...]

  • Just Effing Competition for 2012

    JulieGray
    8 Apr 2012 | 7:55 am
    Well – it’s not been easy to gain the momentum necessary to get the 2012 competition off the ground, but I’ve finally done it. We were supposed to open our doors on March 30th but that didn’t happen. In fact, I was this close, really close, really, really perilously close to not doing the competition [...]
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    The Sound and Fury of Kristopher A. Denby

  • ‘Hustletown’: An original short story

    Kristopher A. Denby
    22 Apr 2012 | 9:16 pm
      Houston, Texas: Winter, 1984 The lecturer’s voice is a chainsaw. Sawing logs for sheep to jump over. One after another they fling themselves into the air, vaulting single file over the downed trunks. 1, 2, 3, 4 they prance and pirouette and fall out of sight on the far side. When I wake, the auditorium is empty. A janitor in a chambray work shirt and dark blue trousers is sweeping up flyers with a short handled broom and dustpan. I blink in the harsh glare of the overhead lights, stretch, and begin to collect my things from the seat beside me. I wonder what the other attendees were…

  • ‘Lockout’ trailer promises nothing new

    Kristopher A. Denby
    7 Apr 2012 | 1:09 pm
    Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, The King’s Speech) has roles in two science fiction films this year, one you’ve probably heard of already, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, and one that you might not have heard of. And if I was going to judge the film based on its trailer (which I will), I’m not sure that you’ve been missing anything. Lockout, written by French filmmaker Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), doesn’t seem interested in pushing any new barriers, or answering any new questions. Actually, the filmmakers behind Lockout seem pretty content to squeeze in every action film cliché and…

  • The Sound and Fury visits bonnie Scotland (sort of)

    Kristopher A. Denby
    5 Apr 2012 | 10:43 am
    Giddy. Tickled, even. Not words I would usually use to describe my emotional state of being, but today, dear readers, these adjectives are perfectly apt. Because, you see, my guest post, a review of Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, has landed on the shores of Scotland’s most terrificest genre blog (of ever), Nial Alexander’s The Speculative Scotsman. If you’ve never been, I suggest you hurry on over there now and soak up some of the amazing content that this man puts out on a regular basis. There are a lot of great guest posts up on the site right now that you can read while Nial tours the…

  • ‘Total Recall’ gets a makeover

    Kristopher A. Denby
    3 Apr 2012 | 8:55 am
    On August 3rd, 2012, Len Wiseman’s (Underworld) adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s short novel, We Can Remember it for You Wholesale, will hit theaters. In case you’ve forgotten or are too young to remember, this isn’t the first time Dick’s sci-fi story has done time on the silver screen. Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Starship Troopers) had first crack at it back in 1990 with the venerable Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role of Douglas Quaid. The two films, although sharing the same name, Total Recall, (an obvious attempt by the studio to capitalize on name recognition)seem to take…

  • A few things…

    Kristopher A. Denby
    29 Feb 2012 | 12:24 pm
      1. I’m really enjoying this Russian Sci-fi in Lit and Film class. A whole new world has opened up before me. I am currently reading We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin for this class. Apparently it was the inspiration for Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World. The prose in this book is outstanding. I highly recommend it. 2. The Academy Awards=lame in every possible way (where were the nominations for Take Shelter?). Lame. 3. Ron Paul leads President Obama nationally in a new Rasmussen poll. 4. Birthday coming up. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my 40’s are nearer than my…
 
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    Unmemorable TitleUnmemorable Title | Unmemorable Title

  • Please Stop Verbing Your Nouns

    Andrew
    24 Apr 2012 | 6:10 am
    I'm part of the generation that was never formally taught English grammar. I don't know what adverb means, I think pronouns sound slightly seedy, and that conjunction is something that happens in a car park outside a prison.

  • The Worst Call-to-Action of 2012

    Andrew
    12 Mar 2012 | 8:46 am
    Not only is the "Top 10 Scams of the Year" infographic featured on Mashable today dull, by-the-numbers fare; it manages to undermine trust in the company that commissioned it it

  • Five Suffixes That’ll Make you Look Like a Moron

    Andrew
    7 Mar 2012 | 4:00 am
    Suffixes are superb inventions. They can take a boring, humdrum word and turn it into something wonderful. Using the right suffix will help you create unforgettable portmanteaus that hook the reader and don't let go. But if you use the wrong suffix, you can come across a a pretentious, preening pillock with no grasp of the English language and a penchant for pointless buzz-words.

  • Why I’m Seriously Losing Pinterest

    Andrew
    29 Feb 2012 | 6:47 am
    Last week, I was confronted with something horrible. Somebody that I follow on Twitter had re-tweeted a blog post by a mutual acquaintance. Someone whose posts I love to read... I clicked. I took one look at the post, and hammered the back button. Then hit unfollow.

  • The Seductive Art of Blog Commenting

    Andrew
    14 Feb 2012 | 3:30 am
    It's that time of year when everyone's thoughts turn to hooking up, getting together and making a sweet, sweet partnership. For bloggers, that means only one thing...
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    317am.net

  • At 317am, Time to Dim the Lights

    Kaze
    2 May 2012 | 12:01 am
    Today’s post–and trust me, it was no easy call–is my last for 317am.  It’s the last for any of us—whether Kaze, Ras, or Ted the Cat—till  who knows when.  We may be back someday, but we just don’t know. On … Read more »

  • Keep Smiling Through

    RasoirJ
    1 May 2012 | 4:12 am
    Here’s the big news this week, gang: 317am will go on an indefinite hiatus after Kaze’s valedictory post tomorrow. Call it a sabbatical, call it a vacation, call it what Mark Twain would call an extended period of letting the … Read more »

  • Go Ahead Bird, Go Ahead and Sing

    Kaze
    30 Apr 2012 | 12:01 am
    Spring has officially sprung around here and on the lawn the robins hunt worms.  The sight of the first robins has been positively mesmerizing to our Ted for many an April morning going on 18 years.  These days I have … Read more »

  • Take Back Your Fingertips: The Seven Habits of Web-Balanced People

    RasoirJ
    27 Apr 2012 | 4:30 am
    Yesterday’s post on MIT thinker Sherry Turkle’s warnings about the perils of over-connectivity got me to thinking about a fundamental question. How do you limit usage of social media, smart phones, and the Internet generally in ways that enable you … Read more »

  • Connectivity and Its Discontents

    RasoirJ
    26 Apr 2012 | 4:28 am
    I’ve borrowed the title for this post from a clever line in Sherry Turkle’s 2011 book Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Turkle, a clinical psychologist who is director of MIT’s Initiative on … Read more »
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    The Sixty Second Writer

  • How Does a Bird Chirp?

    Shirley Bragg
    3 May 2012 | 8:32 am
    I had the window open last night and this morning I awoke to the sounds of several birds chirping their little hearts out. If your window isn't open, go and open it right now and sit on your bed for a minute listening the the morning sounds. Take the next sixty seconds to write down your thoughts... where ever they may lead you. And most of all, enjoy every second of it!

  • Good or Evil?

    Shirley Bragg
    16 Mar 2012 | 12:07 pm
    Sunlight... Darrell Gulin Allposters.com Who is wandering through that forest and why does it look like that? What happened there? What do you hear??

  • A Character With Odd Taste Buds!

    Shirley Bragg
    16 Mar 2012 | 12:02 pm
    You are going to have to take a look at all of these milkshake recipes and then tell me which one you would use for one of your strangest characters. They are all at Woman's Day and they are indeed... unusual! Also Available... 60 Second Writer For Kids What We Are All About When I was little, I loved to stretch out across my bed and write stories. Give me a blank book of paper and a pencil and I was in heaven. Sometimes I think that we forget all about the fun part. I hope this blog brings a little of it back! :) You have one minute to write down anything that comes into your head! Starting…

  • Would You Open the Door??

    Shirley Bragg
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:38 pm
    What do you think is behind that door?? Source: photo.net via Lisa on Pinterest Also Available... 60 Second Writer For Kids What We Are All About When I was little, I loved to stretch out across my bed and write stories. Give me a blank book of paper and a pencil and I was in heaven. Sometimes I think that we forget all about the fun part. I hope this blog brings a little of it back! :) You have one minute to write down anything that comes into your head! Starting now :)

  • Writing Prompt For Today... The Magpie

    Shirley Bragg
    3 Jan 2012 | 4:54 pm
    The Magpie, 1869 Claude Monet Buy This at Allposters.com Who lives in the house in the distance and what would they say if you knocked on the door? And did you spot the magpie? What is his story? Also Available...60 Second Writer For Kids What We Are All About When I was little, I loved to stretch out across my bed and write stories. Give me a blank book of paper and a pencil and I was in heaven. Sometimes I think that we forget all about the fun part. I hope this blog brings a little of it back! :) You have one minute to write down anything that comes into your head! Starting now :)
 
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    Pro Copy Tips

  • Are you actually “paying” for business subscriptions?

    Dean Rieck
    27 Apr 2012 | 12:22 pm
    I was talking to a fellow copywriter a few weeks ago and he complained that he spent over $300 a year on various subscriptions. When you think about it, that’s not that much to keep up with industry news and the latest tips and technologies. It’s easy to pay even more. However, I told him I do the same thing for free. For many publications, especially in business niches, there aren’t enough subscribers to make subscription fees profitable. The real money comes from advertising space. So publishers frequently employ a strategy called “controlled circulation.”…

  • The Copywriter’s Guide to Procrastination

    Dean Rieck
    29 Mar 2012 | 7:00 am
    Sleep in. You work hard. You’re tired. You deserve a few more minutes of shuteye. Break your alarm clock. You know you’re sleeping in. You don’t need that thing to keep beeping at you. Fix a healthy breakfast. You’ve promised yourself you’ll stop munching on half a box of donuts and chugging a gallon of coffee every morning. Oatmeal, grapefruit, orange juice. That’s what you need. Look for the donuts. You don’t have any oatmeal, grapefruit, or orange juice. Make a grocery list. Include oatmeal, grapefruit, and orange juice. Oh, and a new alarm clock.

  • The OTHER skills you need to be a great copywriter

    Dean Rieck
    1 Mar 2012 | 7:00 am
    Since I get so many inquiries about copywriters and copywriting, I created a Copywriter Information Center on my business website. Here’s one of the many articles and resources you’ll find there. I’m often asked what copywriters do. So I tell them, in a nutshell, a copywriter writes copy for advertising and marketing materials, such as print ads, direct mail, and brochures. Oh, great, they say. I’m a pretty good writer. I got good grades in English class. I should get into copywriting. Well … it’s not just about writing. In the real world, a copywriter must…

  • Why copywriting is like reality TV

    Dean Rieck
    2 Feb 2012 | 7:00 am
    Hmm. I’ve use a lot of analogies over the years to discuss copywriting, but never reality TV. But Tiffany Markman brings up some good points and gives us all a different perspective as she wades into the swamp of today’s most popular TV genre. I say ‘reality TV’. You think of several good-looking people eating earthworms for money, a family of motorbike manufacturers fighting with each other, a chubby guy baking multi-storey cakes, or a nice family with several adopted kids getting a beautiful new house. Whatever your impression of reality television – and whether you like…

  • Information Overload: A copywriter’s worst enemy and 8 ways to avoid it

    Dean Rieck
    20 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    We live in the information age. And boy do we get blasted with information. It’s dumped on us by the truckload. Three pounds of stuff in the mailbox a day. 507 TV channels to flip through to find the weather report. 623 email messages selling male enhancement pills. And that’s only a fraction of the information that bombards us. There are billboards along the highway, news broadcasts on the radio, memos and telephone calls at the office, instruction manuals for office equipment that won’t work, family schedules to remember, bills, books, seminars, random conversations at lunch time,…
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    EPUBBING with NICOLA FURLONG

  • Early Garden Delight: First Poached Eggs

    Nicola
    15 May 2012 | 8:59 pm
    Spring is rockin’ here on southern Van Isle with our first poached eggs sizzling on the back step. Poached Eggs

  • Publish Your Own E-Book Course – Camosun College

    Nicola
    27 Apr 2012 | 11:41 am
    I’m again teaching a full-day course on e-book publishing at Camosun College, Victoria, BC. The course is on Saturday, April 28th. Here’s the blurb and a link to Camosun – Publish Your Own E-book to register. Thinking about publishing your writing but struck out with traditional publishers? Don’t fancy the headache of self-publishing in print? Then it’s time to join the latest publishing sensation. You can publish your magnum opus (or cookbook, or romance, or…) in an electronic book format, sell it through major online booksellers and receive above average…

  • A Hemorrhaging of Souls Free Ebook on April 6 & 7

    Nicola
    5 Apr 2012 | 4:17 pm
    Cover for A Hemorrhaging of Souls My psychological mystery thriller ebook, A Hemorrhaging of Souls, is free Friday and Saturday, April 6 & 7,  on Amazon.com. “…draws you in compellingly from the opening page…a gripping story of death and family secrets …The characters are quirky and sympathetic.” The Paper Chase  

  • Church Choir Mysteries Showcased at Sidney/North Saanich Library

    Nicola
    29 Feb 2012 | 9:27 pm
    Church Choir Mysteries display   Just a quickie note to thank my friends and co-workers at the Sidney/North Saanich Library for showcasing my Church Choir Mysteries series in their display window this month. How cool is that? Church Choir Mysteries series Great little library…why not visit us?    

  • Saving Grape-Jelly Cheeks Featured on Digital Kids Author

    Nicola
    7 Feb 2012 | 10:59 am
    Karen Robertson, the creator of the amazing interactive children’s app, Treasure Kai, kindly features our winding road to the creation of Cheeks today on her excellent blog, Digital Kids Author. Karen’s also being interviewed today by Publishing Insider’s online radio show. Well worth a listen!
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    Jess C Scott :: Author, Non-conformist, Artist

  • Poet Interview, Edward G. Brown

    Jess C Scott
    14 May 2012 | 2:17 pm
    Interview #56, with Edward Giles Brown, who wrote a Sonnet every day for a year in 2005! Describe yourself in 5 words: Patient Industrious Stubborn Impulsive Curious Share a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words): (365 Days of Verse: Volume II | Book Cover) From Volume 1: Good it does breathing the provincial air, While wet bullets plunge from the well-armed line, And spent shells run slick under foot, downhill; Canopies of green hover on ridges When no mist grows thick around their borders, In every season, envious they bloom; And when no white eclipses heaven’s edge,…

  • ‘Women’s Magazines’

    Jess C Scott
    9 May 2012 | 2:29 pm
    “But it is not the average, twenty-something and up woman that is the most affected by these images and articles. It is the teenage girl who scans the page of Jeans To Fit Any Body Type yet fails to find her own, it is the middle schooler who finds a role model in the likes of the Kardashian sisters and their vapid, materialistic drivel, simply because they are portrayed as the definition of beauty, albeit completely void of character, and it is the young adolescent who sees food as an enemy, gobbling up any advice she can get on how to shed just a few pesky pounds, while keeping a…

  • Poet Interview, Kezia Jones

    Jess C Scott
    9 May 2012 | 1:48 pm
    Interview #55, with poet and preacher’s daughter, Kezia Jones! Describe yourself in 5 words: Loyal, Humble, Loving, Sensitive, and God-Fearing. Share a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words): Labels, Tags what is it all 4 2 show the world you aren’t poor status symbol of the struggle a product of your time proof to the world that u can shine bright yes u a star Gucci, Louis, Prada is your light the label of success growing up juicy couture we find our true religion in jeans and we rock our republic while our world is falling apart at the seams but at least we are somebody…

  • Poet Interview, Lisa Taylor

    Jess C Scott
    9 May 2012 | 1:48 pm
    Interview #54, with poet, Lisa Taylor! Describe yourself in 5 words: Intelligent, imaginative, perceptive, reclusive, open-minded. Share a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words): It wasn’t revenge It was only pretend. The gun at my temple, True, it’s the end, But just of the story Just of the game. I’ll pull the trigger But I’m not to blame. (Last stanza of “I’m Not to Blame” by Lisa M. Taylor, part of Book of Dreams and Nightmares) Share an excerpt of your favorite poet’s work: Astrophobos by H.P. Lovecraft In the Midnight…

  • Teen Guide: Blog Tour

    Jess C Scott
    7 May 2012 | 9:36 pm
    The Teen Guide blog tour kicks off today! I will add the blogs Matt and I have been interviewed/reviewed/hosted at, along the way. If you’d like to interview me / have me contribute a blog post and/or article, just contact me at missfey[@]gmail.com * Teen Guide to Sex and Relationships (info + author bios) @ jessINK * ===Teen Guide: Blog Tour (2012)=== Jess’s Blog Tour April 30 — Interview at Unwritten May 1 — Official PR Release (PR Log) May 8 — Guest Post at Maria Savva’s Blog (on the word “fag” + the mixed messages young people are receiving) May 9 —…
 
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    meryl's notes blog at meryl.net

  • Are You Memorable?

    meryl
    2 May 2012 | 7:40 am
    Ask anyone between the ages of 13 and 30 who knew my dad to share something they remember about him. Most will reply with “talking like Donald Duck.” Walk in to the office in my mother’s house and Donald Duck greets you from every direction beginning with the large bright yellow latch-hook picture of Donald Duck on the wall. I don’t know how Dad started this Donald Duck talk business, but it’s one of those things many people remember about him. His wife, three kids, and friends showered him with Donald Duck gifts for years. Accidentally Memorable I also have one…

  • Connect with Clients and Prospects with a Well-Designed Email Newsletter

    meryl
    25 Apr 2012 | 2:50 pm
    Image from sxc.hu user mmagallan A 2011 MerchantCircle.com survey of over 8,000 US local business owners found email marketing cited by 35.8% as a “Top three most effective marketing or advertising method.” Likewise, the 9th Annual Merchant Survey (2010) conducted by The E-tailing Group asked merchants to list which initiatives they would be using to improve website performance. 79% chose “send more targeted email” as the top answer. No other marketing tool gives you direct interaction with clients in a platform that incorporates graphic design, valuable content, web…

  • Chynna’s Top Ten Writing Tips

    meryl
    16 Apr 2012 | 7:38 am
    Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Chynna Laird’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. About Chynna Laird: She’s a psychology major, freelance writer and multi award-winning author living in Edmonton, Alberta with her partner, Steve, and their four children. Her passion is helping children and families living with Sensory Processing Disorder and other special needs. Laird has authored an award-winning children’s book (I’m Not Weird, I Have SPD), two memoirs (the multi…

  • Research Redefined

    meryl
    3 Apr 2012 | 8:56 am
    You may have heard that Encyclopædia Britannica no longer sells a print edition. It now only offers a paid subscription to its online edition. Why pay a few bucks a month for information that’s available free? Ah, yes, Encyclopædia Britannica entices prospects by saying, “There’s no such thing as a bad question–but there are bad answers.” Wikipedia vs. Encyclopædia Britannica Resources like Wikipedia and infographics have been known to produce incorrect information. Besides, even if Wikipedia managed to produce perfect entries — it still has a human…

  • The Secret to Writing about a Popular Topic

    meryl
    27 Mar 2012 | 10:25 am
    Image from sxc.hu user rhythms Before reading Margie Clayman’s Avoid the temptation to write something popular, I saw articles on how to get ideas for blogging and how to write a bunch of blog posts quickly. These tired topics introduce nothing new. Same outfit, different color and style. Blog there, done that. I’d rather not blog than rehash something that others have said many times, many ways. Like Green Eggs and Ham — these articles have been delivered so many ways possible … on a boat, with a goat, in the rain, on a train. Is there any hope for writing about…
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    Mike Fook Books - Ebooks | Fiction Thrillers | WTF

  • I’ve Got About 300 Months Left…

    MikeFook
    3 May 2012 | 5:11 am
    I had a birthday the other day. Forty-six years. Most times I think that’s entirely too long to live – and I think, let’s just get this over with – and go to the next level. I’m not suicidal – at all – I guess I’m just hoping that whomever is in charge will give [...]

  • Working from Home

    MikeFook
    23 Apr 2012 | 10:55 pm
    I’ve been working at home for about 8 years now. Writing mostly. I have ADD/ADHD, I’ve mentioned probably 165 times here at this blog, and at other blogs – another 900 times. ADD/ADHD means I cannot break my train of thought – or I’m fucked. When in work mode, I must remain focused at all [...]

  • Early 1990′s – I Was a Photographer…

    MikeFook
    22 Apr 2012 | 10:36 am
    I’ve been thinking… this ebook thing is working out pretty well. I’ve done far better than I would have predicted. Other stuff is going well-enough too. I’m successful in some small way. I could take off for a year and have enough that we’d not starve or have to move out of our rental. Of [...]

  • Google Blows

    MikeFook
    28 Mar 2012 | 8:18 pm
    Fuck Google and their ridiculousness… I’m through playing their stupid “jump through the fucking hoops” game. I don’t even know if I’ll get penalized in their latest “Over-optimization Penalty” – but, fuck them anyway. For years they’ve been helping us figure out how to optimize our sites for Google. In the next couple weeks they’ll [...]

  • Amazon, Paypal, Erotica, and Censorship

    MikeFook
    7 Mar 2012 | 8:40 pm
    There have been some high profile instances of censorship for written works sold over Amazon and paid for with Paypal recently, that deserve comment. Here’s Fook on That. I’ve read some literotica that would turn your head. Some I read for purely prurient interest, and some just to see – how far can writers go? [...]
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    About that Writing thing.

  • A dirty story.

    Shannon Barber
    16 May 2012 | 3:31 am
    I’m not posting the whole thing but here’s a bite of what I’m working on. I want this gentleman to be an echo and mirror of another narrator (I know I’m being vague)  he is her mirror etc etc. A bad boy for a bad girl. A scene. A thing. I’m not totally making sense I realize this but I do have a purpose. With notes from my dearest RG I have been playing with the oppositional voice in this erotic novella scrap I’ve been diddling. I need to know in a visceral readable way how this man reacts and hear his voice in my head before I can continue with the…

  • What Had Happened was.

    Shannon Barber
    14 May 2012 | 6:39 pm
    Do you ever have one of those days when the shit people say to you or around you is so crazy and stupid you can’t even be mad? I kind of feel like the whole internet is that today. Between the crazy fucking racists proclaiming they aren’t racist whilst they are making Trayvon’s death into a meme a la planking, to the Trayvon shooting range targets to a friend of mine getting countless baseless bizarre racist messages from some self confessed suicidal pretend skinhead, I want to try putting heavy doses of Lithium or something into the internet because I am either way too…

  • Rejection Farm: The Everyone Ignores me Month.

    Shannon Barber
    10 May 2012 | 7:07 pm
    Actually to be more precise this is not Rejection Farm this is LALALALALA I CAN’T SEE YOU FARM. I have not recieved any new rejections or news since 4/8 and I have 7 pieces outstanding. I am 98% sure that the most delayed (42 and 55 days past those zines usual rejection times) are going to be marked as lost/never responded on my Duotrope thingy. I will do that while I sit and go through the fifteen minutes of Anger, Butthurt, Hurt feefees and finally acceptance that no, no those stories really are probably awful and the editors were actually personally offended at having to read that…

  • Hustlin. Grindin..y’all know how I do.

    Shannon Barber
    8 May 2012 | 9:07 pm
    Okay. So I am still crazy exhausted. I should confess this means I am about 40% more crazy than I am usually which is really fucking crazy. That being what it is I’m trying to make enough $$ on Smashwords to make having my book up useful. To that end I’m running another coupon code through June 7.  Go here, drop my book into your cart and then use this code to get it for 3$, ZM25R. What else? Last night I started reading The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I read Flaubert’s Parrot when I was in high school and loved it. I was really happy to get a copy of this…

  • You are ruining writing.

    Shannon Barber
    1 May 2012 | 7:17 pm
    On Sunday I got an anonymous note about my collections. The writer of said note stated they didn’t read them but, they are really angry about them. This person said verbatim that I am ruining writing, that I am part of what makes all of “us amateurs” look stupid. Ahem no. See here is the thing. I did not present unedited work as being edited work. Being that this person didn’t read my collection here’s a pro tip. I made a point to introduce the work the way I did. I deliberately did it this way. It was not after the fact, it was not done as a way to hide my…
 
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    robertbruce.com

  • An Actor Prepares

    robert@robertbruce.com (Robert Bruce)
    9 May 2012 | 1:28 am
    The pinging started five miles north of Bakersfield. She was a red 1984 Nissan 200SX, and she’d seen better days. Every run up to 80, 90, 95 mph on that endless stretch of straight desert Interstate blacktop brought heavier pinging, and by the time we reached the Grapevine it had turned into all-out knocking. I was about to be an actor without a transmission. We somehow got up and over, coasted down through Valencia, past San Fernando, and rolled into a transmission shop in north Burbank. If the guy’s driveway hadn’t been sloping downward, I wouldn’t have made it.

  • Remember Your Analog Life

    robert@robertbruce.com (Robert Bruce)
    8 May 2012 | 12:33 am
    There was a time not too many years ago when, if you were out, you were unavailable. Nothing could reach you. Emergencies had to wait. You found out what happened when you got home, and you dealt with it. That world is, of course, gone. The demands of digital are relentless. The demanders claim their right to break in at any (and all) hours. To update. To DM. To poke. To email. To message. To reach you, on their clock. My generation straddled the old world and the new. We grew up dialing the rotary phone. We leaned in to middle age swiping and tapping the iPhone. We made the transition…

  • The Pepper Spray Kid

    robert@robertbruce.com (Robert Bruce)
    29 Nov 2011 | 2:01 am
    “Come on Randy, we’re gonna be late.” “Dude, I can’t go, I’m gonna be up all night studying as it is. If I fail another Critical Approaches to Art Historical Study test, I’m screwed,” Randy said. “All those guys are dead man, dead. The protest is alive, and we need you to defeat el Corporate Diablo.” Three years earlier, Randy Bunch discovered he had a very special gift. A friend had dragged him to a protest – something about the basic human rights of spinach plants everywhere – and the cops showed up. Randy’s pal…

  • The Graveyard Shift

    robert@robertbruce.com (Robert Bruce)
    15 Nov 2011 | 3:00 am
    They gave you the choice to be there at 7 am or 7 pm. I worked best at night. It was a massive warehouse in the middle of the high desert. The place stored, cleaned, maintained, and shipped all the equipment used by Federal Firefighters and Smokejumpers getting it done out in the forest. The job everyone wanted was driving a forklift. You could sit in one of those all night, whipping around the place, grabbing pallets. And, if you didn’t feel like actually working, you could do a few leisurely laps around the tarmac outside and nobody would know the difference. I didn’t get onto a…

  • The Copywriter

    robert@robertbruce.com (Robert Bruce)
    1 Nov 2011 | 3:17 am
    “I’m leaving,” he said. The dog stared at him, ears flat. “I’ll be right back buddy, you’re a good boy, be right back.” John got to the sidewalk and took a left. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he was on track. 112 steps to the convenience store for smokes, 432 to the Post Office, 23 to Giorgio’s Trattoria for takeout meatballs, then the 567 back to the apartment. “Oh hello John, what a lovely day!” Mrs. Cranberry said. “Right,” John said, keeping his head down, moving forward. There just wasn’t enough time. 110,…
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    Writing from the twelfth house

  • On toads, work – and writing….

    annewhitaker
    11 May 2012 | 12:35 pm
    The poet Philip Larkin memorably asked : “Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life?” That toad –WRITING – has squatted on my life more or less since I was born. The golden thread of consistent attachment to writing, or writing’s consistent attachment to ME, has run through the whole of my life. I have always been true to it, in my fashion, during the promiscuous twists and turns of my vocational quest. Anne and Friend compose the latest blog post…. At school, whilst other kids seemed to dread their composition ink exercises, I looked forward to mine. It was an…

  • Places of Healing – the Orkney Isles

    annewhitaker
    2 May 2012 | 1:26 am
    “ Scratch Orkney, and it bleeds archaeology!” The Orkney Isles (http://mappery.com/Orkney-Islands-Map) History This vivid phrase – from an energetic, silver-haired Orcadian tourist guide on an enchanting early evening visit to the tiny island of Eynhallow off the Orkney mainland many years ago – has always remained in my mind as summing up a defining feature of the Orkney Isles. This scattering of 67 lush, fertile green islands lying off the north coast of Caithness in Scotland has a remarkable history whose early traces continue to surface. The world-famous Neolithic Ring of…

  • My Favorite Things

    annewhitaker
    24 Apr 2012 | 11:44 am
    Reblogged from Integrative Thought: Every once in a while I am asked about “my favorite things”.  At one point a year or so ago, I did a blog on some of “my favorite things” and I was asked to do it again…so…why not? I received an iPad as a gift several months ago and although I have not been a MAC user, I love my iPad.  Read more… 614 more words This year, via a comment left on one of my posts, I met Kris Kennedy whose blog I've been following ever since. She has just been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award - read this post, browse her…

  • How astrology works: you, me and the Bigger Picture

    annewhitaker
    17 Apr 2012 | 2:37 pm
    One of the many fascinations of astrology is how it shows the ever-changing patterns of the planets symbolically reflecting different kinds of energies in our collective life. If you as an individual are strongly plugged into collective patterns – which you can assess through comparing the natal horoscope with prevailing planetary positions in the here-and-now – it seems as if you are given a tiny chip of the current pattern to work with in your individual life. Here is a specific example. From the end of 1992 until the beginning of 1995 there was a particularly difficult combination of…

  • What is my job as an astrologer? Where do I stand?

    annewhitaker
    12 Apr 2012 | 10:56 am
    My  job as an astrologer is to help other people understand themselves more clearly. I don’t know what the balance is between fate and free will any more than any one else does. But the Birth Chart or Horoscope suggests strongly that we come into this world, not as tabulae rasae ( blank slates)  but with certain characters on the stage poised to live out a complex drama as the process of our life unfolds from birth to death.  Example Horoscope: Charles Dickens What astrologers cannot do is describe the whole range of possibilities of expression which arise from each core character on…
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    Every Person Is a Philosopher

  • NWA Wench Virtual Book Club, Part 2

    Madeleine
    16 May 2012 | 9:54 am
    The Neighborhood Writing Alliance’s 2012 Every Person Is a Philosopher Annual Benefit is just around the corner on June 7! Our featured speaker will be Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of the New York Times Bestseller Wench. For the first time ever, we’re hosting a virtual book club in the weeks leading up to the event! Each [...]

  • “The opportunity to express myself in a safe environment”: Meet the Philosophers with Barbara Banks

    Madeleine
    15 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Today in our Meet the Philosophers Series we hear from longtime NWA writer Barbara Banks! Barbara’s piece, “Soup Anyone?” inspired the title of the most recent issue of JOT, “I Believed Every Word.” What is your name? Barbara Banks If you had to give yourself a title, what would it be? World traveler How long [...]

  • Raw Voices Recap

    Madeleine
    14 May 2012 | 1:43 pm
    Two weeks ago, former NWA intern Maggie and I had the good fortune to participate as workshop leaders in Raw Voices 2012: Teens in the Media Arts Festival. This festival is hosted by Columbia College Chicago and celebrates the work and opportunities available to teens in the growing media arts industry with contests and special [...]

  • JOT Celebrates Mother’s Day

    Madeleine
    10 May 2012 | 8:41 am
    Mother’s Day is this Sunday. To celebrate, we’re posting four different pieces honoring the important roles mothers have played in NWA writer’s lives. In “Mama” Ron Yokley writes about the devotion of his mother’s love and his resolve to live his life in a way that honors the care his mother put into raising him. [...]

  • The NWA Virtual Wench Book Club, Part One!

    Madeleine
    9 May 2012 | 2:33 pm
    The Neighborhood Writing Alliance’s 2012 Every Person Is a Philosopher Annual Benefit is just around the corner on June 7! Our featured speaker will be Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of the New York Times Bestseller Wench. For the first time ever, we’ll be hosting a virtual book club in the weeks leading up to the event! [...]
 
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    Working Writers

  • Why Isn’t My Book Selling?

    Cherie
    16 May 2012 | 6:49 am
    It’s a question I get asked a lot: “Why isn’t my book selling?” This question isn’t reserved for the author who is clueless about marketing. I’ve been asked this by savvy authors, even business people who can’t seem to figure out the system for selling. Sometimes the reasons why a book isn’t selling are easy: the cover is poor, the content is not edited or the topic is unappealing. But in most cases that I’ve seen, you need to dig deeper. So, overlooking the obvious, let’s go a step further because the mysteries of selling might be a…

  • Interview: HL Carpenter

    Cherie
    14 May 2012 | 6:06 am
    Ever wanted to write as part of a team? It’s a completely different process, as Helen and Lorri Carpenter will tell you in this interview. Enjoy. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and how long have you been writing? We’re Helen and Lorri Carpenter, a mother/daughter writing team. We write together as HL Carpenter. We’ve lived in a lot of different states, and loved time spent in all of them, so we like to say we’re from everywhere. We live in Florida now. Though native Floridians believe you’re not a true southerner unless you were born here, we’ve been Sunshine…

  • Writing Links and News for May 12, 2012

    Cherie
    12 May 2012 | 6:35 am
    I’ve been under the weather most of this week, so working has been difficult. How has your week been? I’ve noticed more and more of you are posting your links to the Working Writer Facebook page. Make sure when you’re promoting your links they are to your own writing, and do be sure to visit another’s writer’s link and give them some support when you do. Here are some of the new articles I’ve posted elsewhere this week: Happiness Quotes Review of Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking Honoring the Other Women in Your Life…

  • The Power of a Pin: Why Pinterest is a Game Changer

    Cherie
    10 May 2012 | 6:46 am
    About 10 months ago, I listened to Gary Vaynerchuck talk about this new site called Pinterest. He was really excited about it, though at first I didn’t get it. “Get on Pinterest now!” Gary encouraged. I didn’t listen, thinking “oh, dear, not another social network!” But Pinterest has proven to be anything but another social network. First, its growth has been extraordinary. According to several reports, including a blog post shared on Mashable, from September 2011 to December 2011, unique visitors on Pinterest increased by 429%. That kind of growth has…

  • How to Keep Motivated as a Freelance Writer

    Cherie
    8 May 2012 | 7:24 am
    Freelance writing is a career that can be difficult to get into initially, and even harder to maintain an income. After all, it is filled with rejections and uncertainty. Even the most experienced of freelancers can get frustrated by the continual search for work and dealing with client’s objections.   As with every other area of life, attitude is everything with freelancing. How can freelancers keep motivated to continue? Here are some thoughts. Writer’s Groups Can Help Freelancers Stay Upbeat and Positive Writers typically work alone, so having other likeminded people…
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    Letters to Breathe

  • Dear Carlos

    Anon
    7 May 2012 | 9:35 am
    She can live without you. I cant She wouldn’t fight for you. i would go through war for you. She thinks your “alright”. i think your perfect. she listens to music that WE don’t like. She doesn’t like to have fun. WE always have a blast together. Shes holding you back. Im letting you go. i always tell you that im not ganna wait for forever. you understand. and you said that’s why you love me. as much as i joke around im the most reasonable person you have known. Why are you with her? and on the last day of school i will tell you how i feel. how i really…

  • Dear Rapist

    Anon
    7 May 2012 | 12:29 am
    Dear Rapist, The incident happened six months ago. One month before my father almost died after falling out of his 25 ft tree stand and being lost in the woods for hours with two shattered ankles. And two months after I was hit by a Ford F-250 truck at college. Thankfully, my father and I both survived. You were my friend. I heard bad things about you, but I defended you. My other friends warned me about you because you did bad things to other girls. But I didn’t believe them. Until the night I saw you at the party. We started kissing. I was so confused, and so surprised. After you…

  • To the person I love the most

    Anon
    6 May 2012 | 7:29 pm
    Dear Girlfriend, I’ve tried so hard. You know I have. I’ve stuck by you through a months long sickness when we’d only been together for a matter of weeks. I stuck by you through years of stress, studies and competition when you often only had time for me in the odd corners and gaps in the week (or month). I endured a year apart on opposite sides of the globe. I have tried everything I can think of to make your life easier when you’ve been against the wall and fighting to simply stay afloat. I put aside anything I wanted to do in order to make sure you didn’t have…

  • A day in the life of Emily.

    Anon
    6 May 2012 | 2:32 pm
    A boy changed my life. He amazes me everyday. He’s a foster child. There’s obviously a reason for that. His parents are both drug dealers. So his life is a mess I don’t even know where to start. So when he was six years old he was raped by some man. He doesn’t know him, he told me that we would run away together and that one day he would find the guy and beat him up or kill him. I said I’d probably kill him myself if I found him. When he was seven he started smoking weed. So he was in grade 3. How terrible is that. He has been in 17 cop cars by the age of nine.

  • To Me, From You

    Anon
    6 May 2012 | 10:11 am
    I’m writing this to myself. Because I need to get these things out of my head. Because you never said goodbye, or sorry, or even gave me warning that we were done. Because I wish I could hear any of those things. I wish you would talk to me. But I can’t sit around and wait. And I can’t pretend that I’m not thinking about you. So here goes, I’m sorry that I stopped talking to you. I’m sorry I dragged you along and made you fall for me. I’m sorry that I couldn’t explain what was going on. I’m sorry I left you stranded in the middle of a…
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    Sara Dobie's Blog

  • I Want to Live in a Tim Burton Film

    saradobie
    16 May 2012 | 1:25 pm
    My longing to live in a Tim Burton movie goes back years. I guess it started with Sleepy Hollow. Oh, to live in a spooky world where pumpkins glow and thunder rumbles above trees of autumn orange … which lead me to The Nightmare Before Christmas and Halloween Town: a place where I would fit in quite well, I think. I fantasize about these movies in October and wish, wish I could live in Tim Burton’s world. I was most recently reminded of my fascination via Dark Shadows, released this past weekend. Little did I know, Dark Shadows was first a 70s soap! My mom filled me in. When she…

  • Belize: Welcome to Paradise, Part II

    saradobie
    11 May 2012 | 12:04 pm
    Continued from yesterday … From Xunantunich, Robin took us zip-lining and cave-tubing. Jake doesn’t like heights; I don’t like closed spaces. Therefore, it was another day of conquering fear. Once we got started, Jake loved the feeling of flying through the air (as did I). Once I got over the pitch-black water, cave-tubing wasn’t all that bad either. I was sort of proud of myself: snorkeling, bike-riding on the edge of the ocean, and cave-tubing. Things I never would have expected myself to do, and yet, I did all of them. For the drive home, Jake and I were given a gargantuan…

  • Belize: Welcome to Paradise, Part I

    saradobie
    10 May 2012 | 2:09 pm
    The view, flying to Ambergris Caye, Belize.Belize, Central America, is not an easy place to get to. A whole day of travel and three planes later (including a puddle-jumper to our resort on Ambergris Caye), we were there … and we were sticky. Amazing how you forget about humidity living somewhere like Phoenix. Our resort, the Capricorn, had Rum Punches and snacks waiting for us in our ocean-side cabana. Needless to say, that helped. We quickly realized Ambergris Caye was not an island with white, sandy beaches. Strange, considering the shockingly turquoise water, but Belize is a smart…

  • Gone on Honeymoon. Be Back Later.

    saradobie
    27 Apr 2012 | 12:25 pm
    Swimming in Belize.

  • Published in Canyon Voices: Here but Fading

    saradobie
    24 Apr 2012 | 12:03 pm
    Tonight, I will attend my very first magazine launch party at ASU-West for their literary magazine Canyon Voices: Journal for Emerging Writers and Artists. A non-fiction essay I wrote entitled “Here but Fading” made the cut for their spring 2012 edition. Although this may have been the hardest essay I’ve ever written, they’ve asked me to read it at the launch party tonight. Idiot that I am, I agreed. Wish me luck. For your consideration, an excerpt from my most recently published work. Here but Fading My grandfather turns ninety this year. As usual, the family will take him out to Red…
 
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    Mystery Writing is Murder

  • The Who, What, and Where of Characters and Story--By Sandra Gardner

    15 May 2012 | 11:01 pm
    by Sandra Gardner Since character and story are major elements in a novel, your primary concern as a novelist is to figure out who your characters are, what their motivations are, and where your characters – and your story – want to go. Exactly how they get there can be dealt with later. For me, it began with a vision of my mother standing over me while I was sick, lying on the couch. Without worrying about whether I was hallucinating, I dragged myself to my computer and ended up with 20 or so pages. So far, I had a mother, about age 70, in a contentious relationship with a daughter, who…

  • A Random Act of Kindness Blitz

    13 May 2012 | 11:01 pm
    Today, many writers are participating in a special event, created by Becca and Angela at the Bookshelf Muse.We're all focusing on writers who make a difference in the writing community--either on a small and personal scale (a supportive critique partner, a writing mentor), or on a larger scale.The online writing community is very tight-knit and supportive....probably because the writing life can be so isolating. Most of us have someone in this community who we find especially inspiring and helpful.To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The…

  • Twitterific

    12 May 2012 | 11:01 pm
    by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week. The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 15,000 free articles on writing-related topics. Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook Don't' forget the new release blogfest that Hart Johnson and I are hosting on June 5th—find more information and sign up here. The best entries get signed…

  • The Importance of Editing

    10 May 2012 | 5:04 pm
    by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’m thankful for the rise in dystopian fiction (my son’s favorite genre and one that was difficult to find before the Hunger Games gained prominence) and e-readers. Believe me, we’d tapped out our county library system before getting a Kindle. In fact, I was sending purchase requests weekly to the acquisitions librarian until they instigated a limit on the number of requests a patron could make. Before ebooks, I ordered books online, drove across town to the bookstore, visited the second-hand store—and we still kept running out of books. We got…

  • How Much Should We Take Readers into Account as We Write?

    9 May 2012 | 4:42 am
    by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Social media has made it possible for readers to find out more about and connect with their favorite authors. Authors interact on Twitter, Facebook, and through blogs and websites with their readers. And readers know how to find them. Author “contact me” links are prominently displayed on sites (or they should be, if they aren’t.) I’ve noticed a good number of readers getting in touch with me—mostly through email, but also through my Facebook inbox (the second most popular method I see) and through Twitter direct messages. The interesting…
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    Aleshia Robinson

  • DREAM BIG!!!

    Author, Publisher
    14 May 2012 | 6:14 am
    This morning I visited The Creative Penn's blog and her post for the day read, "Who Says Your Dreams Have To Be Sensible Or Realistic?" She candidly exposed her dreams as an author and asked us to do the same and that got me thinking. I do have dreams as an author that I believe God placed on the inside of me as I've traveled along this path. I haven't shared them with too many people simply because most people aren't visionaries and believe the worst about you. Yes, including Christians. Because you walked through the church door one way five years ago, doubt and…

  • Born of God Series

    Author, Publisher
    10 May 2012 | 1:26 pm
    Born of God 1 Born of God 2 Born of God 3

  • Nothing Can Stop God's Blessing

    Author, Publisher
    8 May 2012 | 12:34 am

  • You don't need a test in order to have a testimony!

    Author, Publisher
    13 Apr 2012 | 6:58 pm

  • Telescript Inspiration

    Author, Publisher
    6 Apr 2012 | 9:21 pm
    So as most of you know I am an author of literary fiction but for the past couple of days I've been dabbling with telewriting (writing television shows). I am an extremely visual person. Even though I write books, TV and film is eventually where I see myself. When I sit down to write, I hear live voices, witness live action with my third eye, see faces and body types, feel the ambiance of the atmosphere, cry at character emotions (I promise I'm not going crazy) but I think that's because I'm supposed to write for the screen, maybe even the stage. I…
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    WinePress of Words

  • Plotting Your Novel: Organic or Outline?

    Janice Robeson
    16 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    One thing many of us “wannabe” writers are curious about is what process an author actually uses to imagine, write and keep track of the storyline in a novel. I am dumbfounded by people who can see the whole thing in their mind and just write it down. I’m oversimplifying here . . . but you get the idea. There are two camps, people who outline and people who do free form or as I learned—“organic” writing. Then there is everyone in between who dabble in both. How does it work? An author working with an outline does a painstaking construction of their plot, characters and scenes.

  • Market Your Ebook Like a Pro

    Josiah Williams
    14 May 2012 | 3:20 pm
    Marketing your e-book is not at all unlike marketing your print book. It is just another format. Authors need to write a quality book. Make certain your book is edited, professionally typeset, and has content people want or need to read.  In other words, conduct your market research and see if there are enough readers interested in your topic. When it comes to promoting your ebook explore the power of internet marketing. Here are some tips for marketing your ebook on the web. First, design a landing page  dedicated to selling your ebook. This is essentially a  single page mini-site.

  • PubToons #26: Book Design Dentistry

    Editorial Team
    11 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Ever wondered what would happen if typical design requests were made in a medical field? Most likely not, nevertheless, today’s comic features this precise scenario. This comic serves as an example of the importance of professional design and more importantly, to seek a designer’s knowledge on the book design/marketing industry. Enjoy!

  • On Writing Well: An Essential Resource for Writers

    Janice Robeson
    10 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Here’s a “textbook” of sorts, a book that teaches how to write non-fiction. On being asked to read this book, my gut reaction was “Oh no, a boring book about grammar and syntax and diagramming sentences.” I was never so happy to be so wrong! Zinsser is the kind of teacher who makes you want to learn. I was hooked from the first page. He starts off by mentioning E.B. White of Elements of Style fame and Charlotte’s Web. White was a major influence on Zinsser and someone he wanted to emulate. Zinsser describes how he wanted to write a book to complement Elements of Style not…

  • My Most-Detested Hundred Dollar Words

    Laura Christianson
    9 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    The owner of a car lot narrated the following radio ad: “…These cars are heavily incentivized…” Incentivized? I’ve heard of “offering incentives.” But incentivized? I had to check it out. Sure enough, it’s in the dictionary, and it means “to give incentives to.” Another form of the verb is incentivizing (what a mouthful!). I stand corrected. Incentivized really is a word. But is it the appropriate word to use when advertising cars — or anything, for that matter? I hate it when people use big, impressive-sounding words when…
 
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    Fuel Your Writing

  • ‘Murder 101′: 7 Reasons to Kill your Characters

    Robert Smedley
    16 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Advertise here via BSA You may have seen the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. It’s a beautiful thing, but it’s also has an unusually lugubrious tone. A tone that suggests that Batman might not make it through to the credits. For any other film this may be dramatic hyperbole, but if you’re a fan of Christopher Nolan’s take on the Bat, then you may know that he might well just kill the man in the cape and cowl. Why would he do that? Because sometimes killing a main character makes perfect sense for the story you’re telling. **Be warned: literary SPOILERS lie…

  • The Secret To Earning Absurd Money from Your Writing?

    Christopher Jackson
    15 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Advertise here via BSA Last month, Neil Gaiman interviewed Stephen King for the UK’s Sunday Times Magazine. You can read the unedited version at Neil’s blog. It is a fantastic article, with some interesting insights into what it means to be pigeon-holed as a writer, with a hilarious anecdote from King about when he was once approached in the street by an old woman. The article is also wonderful because it is so nice to see two brilliant, successful writers talking together. The mind of a creative is an interesting one, and so it’s always fascinating when a writer, singer, or…

  • Your Workspace Might Be The Wrong Color

    Shyxter Tagapulot
    14 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Advertise here via BSA Your workspace can greatly influence your work quality so you have to exert some effort to make a stimulating working environment. Budget and room restrictions are understandable, but you can always apply simple means to achieve your dream workspace. All the following things can enhance your creativity and productivity, with one of the most important things being something you might not have thought of: color. Here are some things you you should bear in mind: Have a Dedicated Workspace You need to have a dedicated place to work. The flexibility of being able to work…

  • What Gun-Toting Pandas Can Teach You About Writing

    Eric Kuentz
    9 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Advertise here via BSA Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss Ok, pencil’s ready. You have my permission to write on your screen to correct my punctuation (but do so at your own risk). “The standards of punctuation in general… are indeed approaching the point of illiteracy.” I’ve fallen victim to this axiom, and, after reading Eats, Shoots & Leaves, I’m appalled at myself. How could I let this happen? I knew the basic rules of grammar and punctuation… didn’t I? It’s such a basic that I took these rules for granted. My inner-editor was never the stickler that I should…

  • The YA Genre Is Killing Itself

    Robert Smedley
    23 Apr 2012 | 5:25 am
    Advertise here via BSA The Young Adult genre has never been more popular, with publishers, producers, and writers, all eager to unleash the next Harry Potter, Twilight or Hunger Games onto the page and then the screen. Sci-fi blog io9 has noticed the trend, beginning an article last month with: “In the wake of The Hunger Games dominating the box office, studios are rushing faster than ever to find more young-adult books to turn into movies.” Producers and execs are panning through the dirt of a thousand similar plots and angst-ridden protagonists, all in the hope that they’ll find…
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    Polon - Notebook

  • Why learning French can make you a better copywriter

    contact@polon.co.uk
    1 May 2012 | 7:03 pm
    When it comes to writing copy that feels right, there’s no substitute for being a native speaker. But could learning a foreign language improve your English? Lost in translation: a good dictionary will improve your writing. It can sometimes seem as though everyone speaks English, so there’s no point in learning anything else. But learning a foreign language is still worthwhile, even if your profession depends only on your grasp of English. In the 1980s, teaching English grammar in schools started to go out of fashion. So it became the job of German, French, Latin, Spanish and even…

  • How to write about science (or anything else)

    contact@polon.co.uk
    19 Apr 2012 | 5:43 am
    Have you seen the videos on science storytelling that the Wellcome Trust has posted as part of its 2012 science writing prize? We particularly enjoyed Bill Bryson’s thoughts on popular science writing. Around three minutes into this video, Bryson makes what I think is a really important point. He’s talking about how he wrote A Short History of Nearly Everything, winner of both the Aventis Prize for science books 2004 and the Descartes Science Communication Prize 2005. He says: “Just because something’s important doesn’t mean people are going to read it. And…

  • Our copywriting for responsive web design has won an award

    contact@polon.co.uk
    10 Apr 2012 | 5:38 am
    Our writing for Pepper Digital’s responsive web design demo site has been recognised at the 2011 Digital Media Awards. Pepper Digital’s site encouraged people to explore responsive web design by playing Designed with adaptable layouts for different screen sizes, responsive websites change to suit your browsing device – from desktops and netbooks to tablets and smartphones. They’re ideal for today’s browsing habits, where someone might access the web on a number of different devices each day. And they’re less expensive than designing lots of different…

  • Social media tone of voice: on the right track

    contact@polon.co.uk
    27 Mar 2012 | 6:09 am
    Train operator London Midland’s personal approach to social media mixes timely information with a good sense of humour. London Midland brings humour to its Twitter page It’s an approach that’s won them lots of followers and a customer service award. I’m not surprised. London Midland is my local train company and I’ve been impressed with the way they write for Twitter – mixing updates, interaction and a sense of humour. The London Midland Twitter profile @LondonMidland is corporate but a named person signs on for each shift, giving them the chance to make…

  • Dear brand, you’re not my best mate

    contact@polon.co.uk
    8 Mar 2012 | 5:09 am
    Quirky smoothie labels started it and social media has made it worse. When will brands learn I don’t want to be their mate? These days, every brand wants you to be their friend. They seem to think you’d like nothing better than to spend time hanging out with them or helping them flog their stuff to your friends. Am I the only one who’s sick of this?  It seems not. You may have read the excellent An Open Letter To All Of Advertising And Marketing From A Fairly Normal Bloke on the equally excellent Sell Sell blog. The fictional author of the letter, Brian, captures…
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    expresswriterteam

  • 4 SEO Must-Reads: Why You MUST Join Google Plus, Google Panda’s Replacement Penguin, & More

    Julia S.
    15 May 2012 | 9:55 am
    He’s only scary if you’ve avoided quality website content. SEO MUST-Read #1: Google Plus Matters.   Could your Google Plus account potentially be the key to achieving better traffic and a preferred placement with Google?  Harvard Professor Ben Edelman has some very interesting comments to say regarding Google Plus—comments that have created a buzz in the blogosphere.  Even CNET’S SEO blogger, Larry Dignan, had a featured post about what Professor Edelman had to say.  What was his comment?  “I perceived that Google would grant my site preferred placement–more…

  • A Look At SOPA & PIPA: Battle For The Future Of The Internet

    Julia S.
    16 Mar 2012 | 9:36 am
    The Internet is a huge, growing business industry, social hub, knowledge base, available to anyone free of use.  But earlier this year, the U.S. government came an inch away from gaining absolute power to shut down any part of it they wanted to.  The debut of the SOPA and PIPA bills proposed in Congress earlier this year impacted everyone in America, from big business website owners and simple Facebook users, YouTubers and Twitterers.  SOPA and PIPA were introduced to the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively.  As we watched and waited for the bills to be approved or rejected,…

  • 3 Secrets of How to Rank Your Website Content On Google’s First Page

    Julia S.
    1 Feb 2012 | 4:24 am
    Getting ranked on the first page of Google with your website content for your keyword is a huge accomplishment.  It could mean unlimited new visitor (and if you’re a business, potential sale) opportunities.  The task of getting to Google’s number one page with your website content, for your keyword, varies according to your competition, website age, popularity (PageRank), and SEO investments. If you search online, hundreds of self-proclaimed “gurus” are announcing that they have the key to get your website content on Google’s first page…within the hour.  While it IS…

  • 5 Secrets For A Successful Website In 2012: Google Panda 3.0 and Other Things

    Julia S.
    2 Jan 2012 | 10:29 pm
    When Google announced changes to their search engine that were eventually known as “Panda” last February, thousands of website pages crashed.  People lost 60-100% of their income.  The changes were so serious that webmasters, site owners, internet business gurus, and even internet writers faced a decision: change their thinking on SEO, or get a new job. In 2012, Google will be implementing more Panda changes.  There’s a Panda 3 on the horizon.  And for your website to succeed this year, it’s time you get familiar with the changes. We’ve listed the top five…

  • Google Panda 2.5: What It Is, & Why You Need Quality Web Content Now More Than Ever

    Julia S.
    21 Oct 2011 | 10:07 pm
    The Google Algorithm update is the subject of conversation in the SEO world of web content these days.  And it’s no small talking matter.  Named Google Panda 2.5 by the Google engineers, the Google Algorithm change has affected both positively and negatively large websites and their businesses.  It has profited those who were using quality web content without too many repeated keywords; and it has negatively impacted those who were using recycled, perhaps even plagiarized web content packed full of SEO terms on their website.   But What Exactly IS Panda 2.5? If you’re the average…
 
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    Blog for Writers in Los Angeles and Beyond: The Official LAwritersgroup.com Blog

  • Our writing craft book club selection

    Nicole Criona
    4 May 2012 | 1:15 am
    This May / June we are reading How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish.  Read and discuss with us online or in person at our Meetup Group:  http://www.meetup.com/Los-Angeles-Books-About-Writing-Book-Club/ Get email updates here ---- Posted on the official LAwritersgroup.com blog, at http://lawritersgroup.blogspot.com. Visit our website at http://www.lawritersgroup.com where we run writers groups / creative writing workshops in Los Angeles, CA.

  • Hermosa Beach writers group starts Tuesday night

    Nicole Criona
    6 Apr 2012 | 5:57 pm
    This is just a quick reminder that the Hermosa Beach writers group starts on Tuesday, April 10th (7:00pm - 9:30pm).   Sign up or get more info here Also the next Writer Monkeys! show is Sunday, April 22nd at 7:00pm at M.i.'s Westside Comedy Theater. ---- Posted on the official LAwritersgroup.com blog, at http://lawritersgroup.blogspot.com. Visit our website at http://www.lawritersgroup.com where we run writers groups / creative writing workshops in Los Angeles, CA.

  • Hello, Santa Clarita!

    Nicole Criona
    20 Mar 2012 | 8:34 pm
    We wish our Santa Clarita, California charter writers group participants a fabulous and creative first night! Thank you and wishing you many creative writing nights to come!! ---- Posted on the official LAwritersgroup.com blog, at http://lawritersgroup.blogspot.com. Visit our website at http://www.lawritersgroup.com where we run writers groups / creative writing workshops in Los Angeles, CA.

  • Article on how to be funny when writing comedy

    Nicole Criona
    17 Jan 2012 | 7:56 pm
    It's not very often I come across an exceptional blog article that helps aspiring comedy writers improve their craft. Comedy writing often presents as easy to write because usually the writer or speaker makes it look so damn natural and easy.  It seems like magic. On more than one occasion, I've found myself gazing admiringly into a writer's eyes who just wrote something that lead my writers group into unexpected gasping and snorting fits of laughter. My many stand-up comedian friends used to say, "Comedy is serious business." So naturally, comedy writing must be REALLY serious…

  • Our February Writing Craft Book Club Selection

    Nicole Criona
    7 Jan 2012 | 7:13 pm
         Many thanks to everyone who showed up to our writing craft book club meeting today at NextSpace in Culver City to discuss:  Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.). We were lucky to have a fantastic and intelligent group of writers attend, making the discussion both informative and interesting.  If you read the book but were not able to attend you can visit the message board and participate in an online discussion about the book. Our February writing craft book club selection is: Self-Editing for…
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    Litopia

  • Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

    Litopia Writers Colony
    14 May 2012 | 3:57 am
    How do you feel about the future? Fifty years ago, most views would probably have been rosily optimistic: our faith in science to solve the most pressing problems was mostly untarnished, and our belief in politicians to take wise and beneficent decisions not quite threadbare. Today, the clouds of doubt assail us from every quarter. Not, though, as far as Bálint Szent-Miklósy is concerned. An unreconstructed optimist, tonight's guest is a distinguished futurist; formerly president of the World Future Society, and the founder of Futurific Leading Indicators Magazine. His forecasts are upbeat…

  • Nigel West - Spies, Lies & Chocolate

    Litopia Writers Colony
    8 May 2012 | 3:52 am
    This special video edition of Litopia After Dark features acclaimed espionage writer and expert, Nigel West. "His information is so precise" writes The Sunday Times "that many people believe he is the unofficial historian of the secret services." Nigel's controversial books invariably hit the headlines. His greatest coup was tracking down the wartime double agent GARBO, who was reported to have died in Africa in 1949. In fact, Nigel traced him to Venezuela, and they then collaborated on the bestseller GARBO. Topics covered include the Profumo affair, the bizarre death of MI6 employee Gareth…

  • The Porn Supremacy

    Litopia Writers Colony
    5 May 2012 | 4:49 pm
    In the week that Microsoft bought a fifth of Barnes & Noble’s digital businesses, and we learned that e-books sales grew 360% in the UK last year, we thought at The Naked Book we’d ignore all that - and focus on 'mummy porn'. Why? Well, it was the public wot did it. Four pence in every pound spent on a book last week went on the adventures of Anastasia Steele and the manipulative billionaire Christian Grey: whose dangerous couplings take place in E L James' Twilight-inspired trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. The erotic hits are revitalizing a…

  • Said The Cabbie To Jeremy Hunt...

    Litopia Writers Colony
    30 Apr 2012 | 11:53 am
    What with Leveson, Hunt, Murdoch... to say nothing of a double-dip recession... there's way too much bad news around... so enough already! When life gets excessively glum - it's time for us to dig out Litopia's infamous Ant Game... which is exactly what we've done tonight, for your aural bliss. We're delighted to be joined by Anna Raverat, whose first book Signs of Life is impressing everyone... and Simon Cheshire, too - author of the bestselling Saxby Smart private detective series, and the just-published and highly-recommended You've Got To Read This: A Beginner's Guide To Great Writers And…

  • Philip Reeve: Spike & Spook Go To The Moon

    Litopia Writers Colony
    28 Apr 2012 | 12:18 pm
    Philip Reeve is one of the godfathers of steampunk (although today he's somewhat allergic to that word) with his massively successful Mortal Engines series. One of the most enduringly popular of all YA authors, Philip's fans are everywhere - especially in our chat room tonight, as they bombard him with questions! His most recent book, Goblins, has just been published - and has been snapped up by Hollywood. If you love Philip's books or love steampunk, sci-fi or indeed write it - this show is a classic. Presented by Peter Cox with Dave Bartram and featuring the beguiling Ali Gardiner in the…
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    Nitpickers' Nook

  • Grammar instruction (or lack thereof)

    Catherine Ahern
    16 May 2012 | 11:09 am
    Have you ever received a report or an email from a co-worker that is full of mistakes? Sometimes it seems like the person didn’t learn basic grammar in school, but is that even possible? Unfortunately, it is entirely possible. I can’t speak for all school systems, but I do know that grammar instruction was removed from the curriculum of the northern Virginia school I attended as a child. Geography was too. The idea was that we’d learn those subjects through our other studies. Did it work? I don’t think so. I went to public school for third and fourth grades, transferred to private…

  • When one word isn’t enough

    Amy Beth Miller
    14 May 2012 | 8:29 am
    After four days of agonizing over a complicated project, working extra hours to complete it on time, my friend finally finished the file and sent it to the head of the division (her boss’s boss’s boss’s boss.) In response she received a one-word reply: “Thanks.” She was demoralized. As she told me the story, I noted a key detail: The executive was traveling. “I’ll bet he saw your email on his smartphone and just sent a quick reply to let you know that he received it,” I assured her. A few days later she received feedback through her boss that made all the difference. The top…

  • Does anyone understand what you do?

    Amy Beth Miller
    9 May 2012 | 8:50 am
    “Dr. Hoenikker used to say that any scientist who couldn’t explain to an 8-year-old what he was doing was a charlatan.” —Kurt Vonnegut in Cat’s Cradle I have a couple of brilliant family members who have very impressive jobs, but frankly, no one in the family is quite sure exactly what their work involves. They are successes at their jobs but failures at communicating their work to outsiders. I don’t think that being an editor is complicated, but my own mother never quite understood my work. When I saw a challenge last year for people to describe their work life in six words,…

  • Should you apologize when you don’t think you did anything wrong?

    Catherine Ahern
    7 May 2012 | 8:19 am
    I mentioned recently that I tend to be an over-apologizer. But I stubbornly resist offering an apology when I feel pressured into making one that I don’t feel is deserved. Have you ever been in that position? It’s an uncomfortable feeling. The other person feels that you’re in the wrong, and you don’t. There wasn’t a miscommunication that can be worked out. There’s just a difference in opinions. Maybe the two of you follow different social conventions. Maybe you think the person is being overly sensitive. Whatever the reason, you see the situation very differently. Should you…

  • Dress for success

    Briefings Media Group
    2 May 2012 | 8:36 am
    By Kendall Martin An easily forgotten aspect of effective workplace communication is appearance. Yes, your words and your actions should ultimately define your successes and growth within an organization, but how you project yourself can also play an important role in how superiors and clients perceive you and your work. Follow these guidelines for appropriate workplace appearance: Avoid dressing too casually.  Many companies offer a casual Friday dress code or the opportunity to wear jeans in exchange for a charity donation. That doesn’t mean, however, that any pair of jeans is…
 
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    Memoir Writing Blog

  • Memoir Writing Prompts: Joseph Campbell and Apotheosis

    Matilda Butler
    16 May 2012 | 1:00 am
    Women's Memoirs Examines a fourth phase of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey -- matching it with memoir author Gail Straub's description of her five phases in writing and publishing her memoir. These phases may help you in your journey to write your lifestory.

  • Memoir Writing Prompts: Joseph Campbell and Atonement with the Father

    Matilda Butler
    15 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    Welcome back as Women's Memoirs continues with our third day of exploring Joseph Campbell's stages of the Hero's Journey. In this third of five days this week, we look at Atonement With the Father, the stage that best matches the one memoir author Gail Struab called Descent into the Darkness. Straub uses five Campbell stages to explain her mythic memoir journey.

  • Memoir Writing Tip: Joseph Campbell, The Supernatural Aid, and Road of Trials

    Matilda Butler
    14 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    Today Women's Memoirs continues with our second day of exploring Joseph Campbell's stages of the Hero's Journey. This is the second of five days this week when we investigate the five stages that match with the five that memoir author Gail Straub uses to explain her mythic memoir journey.

  • Memoir Writing Tip: Joseph Campbell and The Call

    Matilda Butler
    13 May 2012 | 2:01 am
    Today Women's Memoirs begins to explore the stages of the Hero's Journey as researched by Joseph Campbell. This week we'll look at five of his stages, the five the memoir author Gail Straub uses to explain her mythic memoir journey.

  • Writing Alchemy and the Element of Time

    Kendra Bonnett
    12 May 2012 | 4:11 pm
    Kendra wraps up her week of blogging about the five essential elements of writing with a discussion of time. It's role in our lives and the power it brings to our writing.
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    How To Write A Book | Joel Trains Authors

  • Painting with Numbers

    Joel
    16 May 2012 | 12:56 pm
    “Presenting financials and other numbers so people will understand you.” That’s the subtitle of “Painting with Numbers,” a book by my client, Randy Bolten, that’s just out from Wiley. It’s getting enthusiastic reviews from sources as diverse as academics, bankers, politicians, and IT professionals, and its initial sales are gratifyingly strong. From the book’s introduction: “This book is not about numbers. This book is about presenting numbers, and doing it clearly, concisely, elegantly, and, most of all, effectively.” And it…

  • The best thing to happen to my writing

    Joel
    26 Apr 2012 | 1:34 pm
    Susie Brown wrote this guest post: There I was, in the middle of writing a very important article, and the craziest thing happened. My laptop’s keyboard, which I had always been so trusting of, failed me. At first, the “backspace “ button just started looking a little bit out of place. But then the right side actually started sticking right up in the air above all the other keys. Saying that it “stuck out like a sore thumb” sounds just too cliché, but it is so fitting. The right side of the backspace button seemed to protrude just a little bit higher each time I pressed it. Until…

  • What’s your “why”?

    Joel
    18 Apr 2012 | 6:54 pm
    Unless you know why you want to write a book, you are unlikely to produce one. If you know why, you have a good chance of knowing who your readers will be. And if you know that, you can figure out how to reach them. There are lots of reasons to write a book: To bring your message to the world To record your life for posterity, or at least for your family To teach something To entertain To draw attention to yourself, your company, your product To organize your thoughts and knowledge about a subject To establish yourself as an expert All0w yourself to invest time in discovering your…

  • It’s coming! Get ready!

    Joel
    1 Apr 2012 | 4:59 pm
    Click on the picture for the whole story….

  • Tell a story. But how?

    Joel
    23 Mar 2012 | 8:24 pm
    Humans love stories. “Once upon a time…” immediately engages us. I don’t know why; I’m not sure anyone does. But if you just list facts or events, you will lose your audience quickly. If you tell a story, in which one thing leads to another, reveals a conflict, and ultimately resolves in one way or another, you hold their interest. This is easier to do in a blog post or a short story than in a book. Plotting a story “arc” is more difficult when you want to fill 150 pages than if you are trying only to fill one or two. Of course, the short story is an…
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    The Write One Blog

  • Are you a writer? Well here’s why you’re a business!

    Stefanie
    15 May 2012 | 6:27 am
    Last week, I told you guys I wanted to talk more about the business side of writing and why I’ve chose to put more of my focus there. Now in no way am I suggesting that writers should stop writing and only focus on the business side. To the contrary… Write! Write! Write! If you don’t write you have nothing to market. However with three books [...]

  • The Life Of A Writer – TheWriteOneBlog.com, LABBX, and Pinterest!

    Stefanie
    7 May 2012 | 6:18 am
      Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel.   Related Posts:The Life Of A Writer – Introduction VideoThe Life Of A Writer – A birthday celebration and a yacht cruiseThe Life Of A Writer: Writer’s block. That feeling I get. And the business side.The Life Of A Writer – Running ErrandsThe Writer’s Rap Share [...]

  • Breaking Down The Manuscript – Editing your manuscript

    Stefanie
    3 May 2012 | 6:30 am
    Republished by Blog Post PromoterSubscribe to The Life Of a Writer YouTube channel for regular updates! Editing in my opinion is the most important part of the self publishing process, aside from good content. It can make or break a reader’s perception of your book, so money should definitely be allotted for editing. I’ve heard [...]

  • GUEST BLOG: Using critiques to improve your writing

    Stefanie
    3 May 2012 | 6:30 am
    Republished by Blog Post Promoter  Learning to write well is more than just picking up a grammar book and studying. Crafting an engaging story is much more than knowing the elements of a plot and executing them. Practice, hard work, and dedication are the foundations of writing a good story or book. However, it is [...]

  • The Life Of A Writer – Even though writing was my passion, I went into finance.

    Stefanie
    3 May 2012 | 6:30 am
    Republished by Blog Post Promoter Despite the fact that writing has always been a passion of mine, I had no idea that my life would turn out as it has. In highschool, I was enrolled in work study. So part of my day I worked at Northern Trust Bank. I was a 17 year old [...]
 
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    Blogito Ergo Sum

  • The Suburbs - A Poem

    James Kiester
    6 May 2012 | 6:05 pm
    -Due to my battle with headaches, I haven't blogged as much as I've wanted to lately.  However, I've been taking a number of strolls through my neighborhood, just to relax my head & lungs a bit, and the following free verse poem essentially wrote itself.   Note: this poem DOES CONTAIN 2 WORDS WHICH MAY BE CONSIDERED AS SWEARING; PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.The SuburbsMillions of wooden dwellings,Garnished with brightly manicured green lawns, Rest along side common gray streets of cement and black tar.Cars and trucks,Too numerous to fit within their owners’ pearly…

  • An Essayist's Responsibility To The Facts

    James Kiester
    7 Apr 2012 | 5:00 pm
    -A few weeks ago, I was listening to  On The Media, when they aired a story about essayist John D'Agata.  Apparently, in 2005, The Believer Magazine bought D'Agata's essay on suicide rates in Las Vegas.  When the publisher learned, via D'Agata's own admission, that the essay wasn't entirely factual, the magazine hired fact-checker Jim Fingal to correct what needed correcting.Fingal found multiple misstatements of fact, from misattributed quotes to altered forensic details, such as the height of a suicide jump.   While D'Agata admits to fictionalizing certain…

  • Eye Of The Beholder

    James Kiester
    28 Mar 2012 | 5:39 pm
    -In my last newsletter, I said this blog would feature my thoughts on an essayist's responsibility to the facts of a given topic, in response to a recent segment of On The Media.   That blog is still on the way.  However, an issue has arisen, which I feel I must address first.Now that my mother has retired, she's filled her time with a few new hobbies, including membership in a monthly book club.  Since, April is her month to host, she asked me to recommend a good book.  I confidently recommended Tina  Fey's humorous biography, Bossypants.  She asked if it…

  • I'm Back + Comics As Pop Lit

    James Kiester
    27 Feb 2012 | 7:00 pm
    -Before anything else, I want to say, it really feels good to be blogging again, after so many listless weeks.  The trouble started when I began the year on a weight loss diet, while simultaneously trying to maintain my low sodium regimen, in order to reduce my mid-life ponch.  It didn't work.   Well OK, I MAY have lost a pound, but my energy level pretty much bottomed out.  I spent days playing online SCRABBLE and drawing fictional characters, but my "step" certainly didn't have enough "pep" for me to write, or be productive in any meaningful way.I didn't really…

  • Literary Traditiions Have To Begin Somewhere

    James Kiester
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:18 pm
    -When one thinks of traditions & observances, one typically thinks of religion based holidays; Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Easter, etc...; or a national observance; Independence Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, and so on. One usually doesn't think of the literary realm as a source of inspiration for annual traditions. Yet, there are many traditions centered around honoring significant authors and their works. Readers of The Bard flock to the Annual Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations in Stratford-upon-Avon each April. Mark Twain enthusiasts from around the world congregate at the Mark…
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    Stories To Tell Books

  • Fonts Are For Fun

    Nan Barnes
    15 May 2012 | 5:55 pm
    This one's just for fun - geeky fun. As you know, part of book design is having an eye for fonts. How do we learn about fonts? If you're of an academic mind, the best book on the subject, ever, is The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst. You can learn about the history of type, structural forms, shaping the page, and much, much more. Bringhurst writes with such passion that you find yourself deeply engaged with the rules of acronyms and ellipses, ligatures and page proportions. No? OK, then, how about playing a goofy game online instead? Check out www.typeconnection.com, a…

  • Not All Facts Are Equally Important

    Biff Barnes
    13 May 2012 | 8:44 am
    I am reading an excellent sci-fi novel, The January Dancer, by Michael Flynn. In describing Brigit Ban, one of his characters, Flynn says, “…she was the sort for whom a well- constructed narrative is worth a thousand detailed facts, and on occasion she was known to discard a fact or two to save the narrative.” Great description! Also, important advice for memoirists and family historians. Whether telling your own story or that of your family you have a mass of facts at your disposal. Creating a book involves choosing which of those facts to include and which don’t make it into the…

  • Don’t Pay the Ransom! We Escaped From Technology Hell.

    Biff Barnes
    11 May 2012 | 3:54 pm
    Since you’re reading this, you know that the Stories To Tell website is back up. The site was down for parts of the last two days. We apologize if you couldn’t find us! We are in Cincinnati this week for the National Genealogical Society’s annual conference. We are having a great time meeting new family history enthusiasts and talking with them about books. We are encouraging them to go to our website to explore the variety of resources that will help them to get their family history books written and into print. We are happy to suggest that they use the new interactive downloadable…

  • Why Does an Author Need an Editor?

    Biff Barnes
    9 May 2012 | 2:47 pm
    Authors published by traditional publishers counted on and received quality editing before their manuscript went to press. A self publishing author must make sure that his book receives no less professional attention before publishing it. Harriet Evans, author of the novel Love Always, said recently in a piece in The Guardian, “It is vital that an author has someone willing to be tough with them. It's in their best interests.” Why?

  • You - The Subject of Your Family History

    Biff Barnes
    6 May 2012 | 2:25 pm
    There’s a branch of the family tree that a lot of family historians ignore – themselves. People often express frustration about not being able to discover interesting stories as they research ancestors. They say, “I wish I’d asked ________to tell me more family stories before he/she died.” When future historians in your family look back, will they say that about your generation? They won’t if you preserve your own personal history.
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    Scribophile

  • Make Your Opening Count

    Nina Munteanu
    10 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    When I began marketing my short stories and novels, I was often puzzled and close to affronted by the request to just see the first page of my work. “I only need to see the first page to know whether your book is good or ready to publish,” they would say. I was aghast. How presumptuous! Surely, that wasn’t enough! Surely they were just putting me off and not really interested in the first place! That couldn’t be enough. No, no, no… I was wrong. It often is. As a seasoned writer of over a dozen published books and many more short stories and a writing coach and writing teacher, I can…

  • Author Interview with author, editor, and poet Erin Bow

    Stewart Ah Sing
    3 May 2012 | 11:40 am
    Physicist, author, poet, mother—Erin Bow wears a lot of hats, all of them successfully. Her poetry—published under her maiden name, Erin Noteboom—has won the CBC Canadian Literary Award, among major prizes. Her first novel, Plain Kate, just won the TD Canadian Children’s Literary Award for best book for kids published in 2010. In this interview, Erin shares her thoughts on poetry, YA fantasy, and the connections between physics and poetry. Special thanks goes out to Scribophile member Peregrine Holmes for initially contacting Erin on our behalf. Scribophile: Before you were a…

  • Parallel Plotting: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…

    Nina Munteanu
    3 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    “The common definition of plot,” says Ansen Dibell, author of Elements of Fiction Writing: Plot, “is that it’s whatever happens in the story.” But, “it doesn’t tell you how to make one,” he adds. “Plot is built of significant events in a given story—significant because they have important consequences.” Dibell describes plot as a tapestry of pattern, form, shape and color that share recognizable meanings. And subplots are the threads that make up the story’s fabric. Parallel plots, braided plots … even the terms reflect a flowing river. This is an apt metaphor,…

  • Pearls Before Breakfast

    Nina Munteanu
    26 Apr 2012 | 10:00 am
    Some years ago Washington Post staff writer Gene Weingarten decided to experiment on the hypothesis: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend? Weingarten asked internationally acclaimed virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell to play anonymously as a street performer at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station in Washington DC. It was 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, the middle of the morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by; and virtually all of them kept walking. Bell’s performance was an experiment in…

  • An Artist Lost in Paris

    Nina Munteanu
    19 Apr 2012 | 10:00 am
    On my third day in Paris, I got lost. I didn’t mean to; it just happened. I’d started early and joined the morning crowd at the Musée d’Orsay. After a breathtaking journey through the visions of French Impressionists, I ventured by bus to the Champ du Mars and climbed the Eiffel Tower to see Paris from the perspective of the Gods: a wheeled mosaic of art, magic and scene. Then I decided to walk home from there. I thought my adventure was over; in truth, it had just begun… As I wound my way down a tree-lined street, the flower blossoms rained down with the fragrant breeze, painting…
 
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    The GrammarPhile Blog

  • Janus Words

    Phil Jamieson
    15 May 2012 | 5:30 am
    A word with several meanings is polysemous. One of the more interesting forms is the Janus word, also sometimes called an autoantonym or a contranym, in which two of the meanings of the word are opposites of each other. A Janus word is so named for Janus, a Roman god that is identified with doors, gates, and all beginnings and that is depicted with two opposite faces. Examples of Janus words are: CLEAVE to divide by or as if by a cutting blow or to adhere firmly DUST to make free of dust or to sprinkle with fine particles OVERLOOK to look past, to miss or to look over: INSPECT ROCK something…

  • Word Breakdown or Politics as Usual

    Julie DeSilva
    8 May 2012 | 5:30 am
    In America, the political season is fast descending on our daily routine. The news programs are replete with candidates posturing, posing, and preening. Listed below are some of the vacant phrases we may hear in the coming months. Here's hoping that some of those running for office would heed Mark Twain's advice about keeping quiet instead of speaking. Cannot help but. This expression is a confusion of two others, namely, can but and cannot help. I can but try. (Better: I can only try.) I cannot help feeling sorry for her opponent. (Not: cannot help but feel.) Bad - badly. Use the adjective…

  • Vertical Lists (or Bullet Lists)

    Phil Jamieson
    1 May 2012 | 5:30 am
    Sometimes it’s easier and clearer to convey important information in the form of a vertical list, sometimes also known as a bullet list. There are several forms, and the form you choose is up to you. Be consistent, though, and follow the general guidelines here. It is best to introduce a vertical list with a complete grammatical sentence ended with a colon. We’ll discuss an exception later in this article. The list elements need not always be bulleted. Only end list items with punctuation if they form complete sentences. All items in your list should be of similar format, i.e.,…

  • Possessives - Proper Nouns

    Phil Jamieson
    24 Apr 2012 | 5:30 am
    Last week, we gave you some general rules on possessives. This week, let's focus on possessives of proper nouns. General Rule: The possessive of singular nouns is formed by the addition of an apostrophe and an s, and the possessive of plural nouns (except for a few irregular plurals) by the addition of an apostrophe only. The general rule for the possessive of nouns covers most proper nouns, including most names ending in sibilants (a definite "es" or "ez" sound): Kansas's Texas's Dickens's novels Ross's land For names ending in silent s, z, or x the possessive, unlike the plural, can…

  • Possessives - General Rules

    Phil Jamieson
    17 Apr 2012 | 4:30 am
    To make singular nouns possessive, add an apostrophe and an s. For plural nouns (except for a few irregular plurals), add an apostrophe only. the horse's mouth the puppies' tails the children's desk There are, of course, exceptions. In the following notable case, tradition and euphony dictate the use of the apostrophe only: for appearance' (conscience', righteousness', etc.) sake In another instance, the possessive singular of such uninflected nouns as series and species is also formed with the apostrophe only, although the more usual way to express possession with such nouns is by the…
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    Writing a Book? You can Self-Publish!

  • Friday Author Interview: Delin Colin

    Lisa Shultz
    11 May 2012 | 7:39 am
    “Edit, edit, then edit some more.  I can’t stress this enough.” – Delin Colon How did you get started writing your book? Or what inspired your book? My father had always told me that my great-great uncle was Rasputin’s secretary, but it wasn’t until I was in my 40’s that I began to research him and found that my ancestor had published his memoir about Rasputin, in French.  Fortunately, that was my major in undergrad school.  Upon reading Simanovitch’s memoir, I was intrigued to discover that Rasputin’s image had been tarnished by the anti-Semitic aristocracy…

  • Friday Author Interview Series: Teresa Funke

    Lisa Shultz
    4 May 2012 | 7:23 am
    “One of the most helpful things to me has always been having my husband or my children read my work out loud to me. When they do that, I can HEAR my mistakes and can see when they look confused.” -Teresa Funke How did you get started writing your book? Or what inspired your book? My first book, Remember Wake, was inspired by a true story. I was working for a PBS series and was sent out to interview the man who inspired that book. He had been a civilian construction worker on Wake Island, which was attacked by the Japanese the same day as Pearl Harbor. His story of the battle and…

  • Friday Author Interview: Cindy Rakowitz

    Lisa Shultz
    27 Apr 2012 | 7:03 am
    “This book summarized the extraordinary experience that I gained from my 30 years in communications management.  I love the opportunity to share this experience with the world.”- Cindy Rakowitz How did you get started writing your book? Or what inspired your book? This is a unique story.  In 1986, my employer RKO General (now GenCorp) sent me to take a Crisis Management Seminar.  A man by the name of Alan B. Bernstein ran these seminars across the country. All attendees received a loose leafed bound book as a part of the curriculum called The Emergency Public Relations…

  • Friday Author Interview Series: Matthew Sloane

    Lisa Shultz
    20 Apr 2012 | 7:40 am
    “I had to cultivate something in myself to decide to write my book, then something else to do it, then something else to finish it, self-publish, and yet another thing to start promoting it. And I’m glad because I keep learning about myself, sharing myself with others along the way and that’s what I feel I’m meant to be doing for this life.” -Matthew Sloane How did you get started writing your book? Or what inspired your book? Let me answer that by way of a story… Today, I’m in an awesome relationship with a woman I adore and who adores me, however, a long time ago, I…

  • Friday Author Interview Series: Bill Hubiak

    Lisa Shultz
    13 Apr 2012 | 7:27 am
    “Writing is fun and I deserve to have fun.” – Bill Hubiak How did you get started writing your book? Or what inspired your book? Black Ice is my third novel. The demands of my consulting business required writing and relying on storytelling to keep my audience interested. With most of my evenings spent on the road in hotel rooms and only books and the television to keep me company, I needed a creative diversion. This particular novel developed out of an automobile accident that I thought would be the end of me. In Black Ice, Marcie, the protagonist, loses control of her car…
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    commenteri.com

  • Stress and Good Music

    Teri
    2 May 2012 | 12:27 am
    That would be the theme of the past couple weeks. I get stressed when things are up in the air.  We don’t definitely have the house yet, only have attained “conditional approval”.  I don’t know how much the homeowner’s insurance payments will be.  Things like this get me stressed and fantasizing about worst case scenarios [...]

  • Area Woman Finds House, Excitement

    Teri
    20 Apr 2012 | 11:06 pm
    For those readers that may not have seen my Facebook or Twitter updates, we have found a house.  We made an offer, the offer was accepted, we have had the home inspection (there is an electrical problem which the seller is in the process of fixing), and we will close on June 4th, assuming all [...]

  • The search continues

    Teri
    4 Apr 2012 | 10:42 pm
    Mr. W and I have looked at a fair number of houses — some not so good, some not so bad, and almost all containing at least one wood-paneled room.  Seriously what is wrong with these wood-paneling people?  I am not a middle-aged man from 1955 who smokes cigars and drinks cognac.  I do not [...]

  • You have the Right to Remain Silent

    Teri
    21 Mar 2012 | 9:06 pm
    Where the hell do people get off demanding others to turn over their Facebook user names and passwords?  This is a violation of privacy in one of the grossest forms. I’m sorry, but if I apply for a job and they demand access to my private Facebook information, they can kiss my ass.  A company [...]

  • How to Make Housing More Affordable

    Teri
    17 Mar 2012 | 1:16 pm
    While Mr. W and I were checking out house listings online: Me: “I will get a map and we can do drive-bys on Saturday.” Mr. W: “Well, that would definitely bring housing prices down.” Me: “I mean, we will drive by them…”
 
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    Ideas, Footnotes & Revelations

  • Enough

    James Shelley
    14 May 2012 | 9:46 am
    The following quote is from my Foreward for Patrick Rhone’s most recent book, Enough: Some folks decry the collateral damage wrought by progress. They pronounce a return to the earth, free of modernity’s inventions and values. They urge us to disconnect and unplug from the apparatus of technology. They say the only way forward is to go back. On the opposite end of the spectrum you will find people who want to push the throttle of progress ahead to its logical extreme. They preach salvation through invention and technology. Consumption drives innovation, they tell us, and to embrace our…

  • Fully Off

    James Shelley
    10 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    This is the paradoxical thing about channeling your connectivity to the whole world through a single device in your pocket: as easily as you can be “always on,” you can equally choose to be “fully off.” An “always on” culture affords us the opportunity to disconnect in deeply rejuvenating ways. Never before have we been so crazed by the speed of communication — but never before have we had the opportunity to turn it all off with a single button. “Fully off” is instant, immediate, and full escape. Perhaps one of the biggest advancements technology can make in our lives comes…

  • Civics and Citizens

    James Shelley
    28 Apr 2012 | 10:30 am
    According to Etymology Online, the word engage comes from the Old French en gage, meaning to “make pledge.” The root word has been used to for love and war — for engagement in marriage to engaging in battle — and also to “attract the attention of” a person or group (“he was a very engaging speaker”). What then do we mean by the term civic engagement? I am hearing this phrase countless times this morning at the ChangeCamp event in my city, and it’s apparent that there is no universal working definition. Does citizen engagement mean commitment to the governance of your city?

  • Time is Existence

    James Shelley
    26 Apr 2012 | 9:53 pm
    Time and seasons are simply ways by which we measure the tenure of existence. We can’t “manage” time any more than we can stop the seasons; we can only make decisions about what we do while swimming in time’s relentless current. Try replacing the word “time” with the word “existence.” Or think of “time” as a linguistic scapegoat, sacrificed in substitution of this truth: we can not spend time, waste time, or invest time … We can only spend, waste, or invest our existence.

  • The Witchcraft of Job Creation

    James Shelley
    12 Apr 2012 | 3:00 am
    When did we collectively come to believe that it is the responsibility of our government to create jobs and spur innovation? This thought has been stuck in the back of my head for a couple weeks now. It was provoked again on Tuesday when Mike Moffatt posted: I’d love to have a clip of every poll that claims the government created X thousand jobs. I’d put them all together then underneath have the subtitle ‘Governments don’t create jobs, entrepreneurs do.’ It’d be mind exploding.1 Although Moffatt’s original thoughts referred to the political right’s propensity to declare…
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    drmstream[writing]

  • The nothing I feel now: An imagining

    DRM
    4 May 2012 | 2:02 pm
    This is how I would describe the darkness to you. What you see is in front of you, filled with hues of light and shadow. I see out the back of my skull through pinholes. Nothing moves. If you ask me how I feel, I will want to tell you that I am suspended in the air above a black void. I don’t know what is holding me up but I know what it will feel like to be dropped. I don’t feel frightened anymore. Now all I can hear is a muted roar that startles me with the sound of my own voice. You want to talk about despair? That is something that you feel in the absence of hope. I want to talk about…

  • The night walk

    DRM
    21 Apr 2012 | 10:41 am
    Sinister Night Sky by rakkasan60 on Flickr When I was young, I was in the habit of lying in bed in the falling night. I was waiting. When I would rise from the bed, my body stayed behind. This room of my childhood was no different from any other room, in any other house, in any other place. My bed rested below a long window that looked out on a pine grove. To the right, the grove opened onto the empty yard. When the wind blew, the dark and light night shades flickered riotously through the room. I could feel the sound. If I sat up in my bed, the pillow scrunched against the pine headboard, I…

  • Ice-cold diner milk

    DRM
    16 Apr 2012 | 7:03 am
    When I was a little boy I would sit at the counter in my grandfather’s diner and spin around on a stool top. I would drink a glass of ice-cold white milk. The cold would punish my teeth and I would swell with joy. Our six-year old son did that yesterday when we went for breakfast and he didn’t even know what it meant. When the world gives us glimpses into who we once were, what does it mean? I am always caught unawares. It’s a nice symmetry, to see echoes of yourself, and it’s a second chance, knowing that your blood is mixed in with another’s and rushing off innocent into the…

  • Witness at a moment of discovery

    DRM
    1 Mar 2012 | 9:26 pm
    When I grew up there were no straight lines. My mother is an artist.  She taught me every line has life.  A drawing doesn’t represent, it breathes. When I was a teenager my mother went through a creative transition.  She didn’t paint as much.  She learned printmaking and produced a series of aquatints and etchings.  This was a period of transition and turmoil in our family life — although none of us realized that this turmoil was just the harbinger of days of destruction. This is one of the most vivid memories of my adolescence and I don’t know whether its an accurate…

  • A Haunting

    DRM
    21 Feb 2012 | 6:30 am
    The man who built the house was killed in the bent south bedroom by a woman who was not his wife, but who moved in with the widow to console her. A dark chasm stretched beyond the window. Generations later Tim put his red soldiers in a line at the horizon’s fold and dreamed of a firefight. The soldiers wreaked chaos in his crowded neighborhood. He climbed out of the dream in fear to find a man standing beside his bed with blood running from an empty eye. He thought, “I have to be brave.”
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    YoungPrePro - How to Write for Traffic and Money

  • 12 Quality Job Boards Every Freelance Writer Should Check Out Today

    Bamidele Onibalusi
    15 May 2012 | 2:42 pm
    I wrote an article on 30 websites that pay writers a few months ago, and the response to that article has surprised me. The article not only became one of the most popular articles on this blog instantly, but it also gave me great insight into what you really want from this blog; it made me realize that you want solutions, not just tips. As a result, I’ve been making a lot of changes to this blog lately, and one of those changes is to be giving you the exact resources you need to take your online writing career to the next level. This article will be sharing with you 12 quality…

  • 10 Real Ways to Beat the Beast that is Writer’s Block

    Bamidele Onibalusi
    7 May 2012 | 3:46 pm
    This is a guest post by Gregory Ciotti of Sparring Mind. Writers of all types will deal with writer’s block, this we know to be inevitable. Where things change is exactly how you’ll deal with things. Will you let writer’s block eat up your productivity, and come back for seconds to devour more free time? Fear not, if you’ve ever have the displeasure of running into writer’s block (and haven’t we all…), I’m serving up some fresh ideas. (Image Credit) 1.) Talk it out No, I don’t mean make a white-flag truce with your future post (don’t…

  • 5 Guest Posting Strategies you can Steal

    Bamidele Onibalusi
    30 Apr 2012 | 2:45 pm
    This guest post is written by Grant Hensel Guest blogging is quite literally taking the world by storm. The model makes perfect sense: the host gets free content and the guest gets exposure. If you already knew that, congratulations! You’ve mastered Guest Posting 1.0…and it’s time to take your game to a whole new level. The following 5 guest posting strategies have been implemented successfully by some of the best bloggers in the industry. Each approach by itself will make your guest posts far more successful, but used together they can provide a quantum leap in effectiveness.

  • How To Write An Article That Sells

    Bamidele
    27 Apr 2012 | 1:00 pm
    This is a guest post by Anne You’ve done the hard part. You found a brilliant idea for your article and you know exactly what your keywords are going to be. Now all you need to do is to put together an article that makes sense, one that gives all the information you want to share, in a way that is readable and succinct. You want to write an article that will be accepted by your editor or client – one that’s so impressive they’ll keep coming back to you for subsequent jobs. How do you do this? How do you write an article that makes your writing stand out above all the other brilliant…

  • 106 Powerful Quotes to Inspire Your Writing Today

    Bamidele
    24 Apr 2012 | 2:00 pm
    Writing can be lonely sometimes. You write and write but can’t get results, or you just can’t shake off the feeling that you’re inadequate. You’re not alone. We all feel the same way, and even successful writers and philosophers who were the best of their time couldn’t shake of these feelings either. No matter how much you achieve, it isn’t enough. And no matter how successful you are, that feeling of inadequacy will still be there. The solution to this, however, is motivation. Instead of worrying about perfection or inadequacy, why not get inspiration…
 
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    Florida Writers Conference Blog

  • Exercise Wednesday: What Scares You? (Part II)

    Chris Hamilton
    16 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    In our last thrilling writing exercise, we wrote something about the things that scare us. Not the snakes or bugs or the idea that idiot kid down the block, the one who once rode his bike off the roof, would someday get a driver’s license. I mean the real stuff. The fears like abandonment, or having people think you’re stupid. The fear of having people find out that you’ve been faking it for decades and you really don’t have your crap together. The trust issues–the crap you’ve been carrying around since someone did something to you when you were a kid.

  • A Social Media Cleanse

    Chris Hamilton
    15 May 2012 | 10:28 am
    Come on. You KNOW you want one. Or two. No more than a handful… This morning, I walked past an open bag of those kettle-cooked potato chips–heaven in a white bag. And I walked past them again. And again. And again. They’re on the counter between me and the washer and I’m doing laundry today. And each time I walk past, they talk to me. Not like David Berkowitz’s dog. Instead, they say, “One chip isn’t bad for you. And you know they’re good. And you can stop at one.” Like all good lies, the voice’s call contains a strong element of…

  • Why 50 Shades of Grey Might be Offensive (It’s not why you think)

    Chris Hamilton
    14 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    In case you aren’t familiar with it, 50 Shades of Grey is the newest, hottest thing in the book market. It’s effectively Twilight with whips and chains–almost literally. The series started out as online fan fiction about the Twilight characters, moving them to Seattle and adding some…umm…accessories to the torrid love affair between Edward and Bella. It grew wings on the Interwebs fan fiction sights and got the attention of a lot of people via word of mouth. Through a series of developments, the author, EL James, withdrew the fan fiction and reworked it,…

  • If it’s Free, it’s for YOU (if you register before July 31)

    Florida Writers Association
    13 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    (Written by conference marketing chair Chris Coward) Recently I discovered an article, purportedly based on a study by Yale University, listing fourteen words guaranteed to draw readers to your books, articles, blog posts, promotions, and Tweets. Words proven to get results. Words to use at work—and with those you love. Easy words about new ideas. Words that tap into our desires for, oh, money, savings, health, safety, and … um, sex. Hmmm. I dug some more. Some folks said the study was bogus, but interestingly, few argued with the list itself. So what the heck. I tried it. In the…

  • Industry News: AAR Opposes e-Book Collusion Settlement, 50 Shades Banned in Some Libraries; Oprah Bigwig Jumps to Amazon

    Chris Hamilton
    12 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    AAR Opposes DOJ Settlement on Suit Against Apple, Five of the Big Six Saying that the proposed settlement for Apple ultimately restricts competition, the Association of Authors Representatives (AAR) Board of Directors has written a letter to the Department of Justice, urging it to reject the settlement with three of the five publishers that were named in the suit. The letter says that rather than encouraging competition, Amazon’s below-cost pricing will ultimately drive all major competitors out of the bookselling business and create a de facto monopoly. In addition, the AAR sent a…
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    ontext.com

  • Business of Writing – How to Make a Living as an Author or Writer

    Maryan Pelland
    8 May 2012 | 11:41 am
    So You Want to Write for Money? (This is a special guest post by one of our favorite writers. Grant will visit once or twice a month and explain the business of writing. His articles are spot-on for authors and writers interested in developing business sense or refining the way they run their writing businesses.) By Grant McDuling Don’t you find it strange that so ...(there's more) Continue reading →

  • Selling Ghostwriting Why You Don’t Close Every Deal

    Maryan Pelland
    2 May 2012 | 9:50 am
    Why in the world would anyone want to be a ghostwriter? Your name does not appear anywhere on the ghostwritten book or project. You get no royalties. There’s very little fame or fortune involved in ghostwriting. Well, maybe fortune — if you’re good at it and your business runs properly, this is a lucrative field. The best reason to be a ghostwriter, the one that ...(there's more) Continue reading →

  • Hire a Ghost, But Don’t Pimp the Process

    Maryan Pelland
    28 Apr 2012 | 11:33 am
    If you  expend energy and money on a talented, professional ghostwriter to make your book shine, you must have a reason. Ghostwriters — good ghosts, skilled ghostwriters, don’t come cheap. Writing a book is never quick or easy. My company just failed on a ghostwriting project and the moral of the story is, the author pimped herself trying to micromanage. She had no experience. No ...(there's more) Continue reading →

  • Stephen King’s 11/22/63 Does Not Enhance Kennedy Era History

    Maryan Pelland
    24 Apr 2012 | 9:24 am
    11/22/63 by Stephen King My rating: 3 of 5 stars 11/22/63 is a better read than many of King’s middle-era works, but it should have been edited to 50%. The plot, which revolves around a time-traveler’s hope to prevent John F. Kennedy’s assassination, rambles all over. The read feels like Mr. King had like five books in his head that he had to get out ...(there's more) Continue reading →
 
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    The Story's Story

  • Life: The writer edition

    Jake Seliger
    16 May 2012 | 2:24 am
    In speculating “as to why anyone embarks on the adventure of writing” Bernard-Henri Lévy (BHL) says in Public Enemies that you write to find out not so much who you are as who you’re becoming. I believe that what is at stake in a book is not being yourself, finding yourself, coinciding with your truth, your shadows, your eternal child within, or any of that other idiotic stuff, but rather changing, becoming other than the person you were before beginning and whom the book’s own growth has rendered obsolete and uninteresting. Do we write to retreat into ourselves or to…

  • Product Review: The Leuchtturm 1917 notebook

    Jake Seliger
    13 May 2012 | 12:08 am
    The Leuchtturm 1917 is perfectly competent. It’s slightly larger than a Moleskine, when a notebook should be, if anything, slightly smaller. This is a small point. The paper quality is, to my eye and hand, indistinguishable from Moleskine’s, which in turn is very similar to Guildhall and most of the other non-Rhodia notebooks I’ve tried. It has one other annoying feature: the last 30 or so pages are perforated; this is another way of saying, “They’ll eventually fall out.” If you’re the kind of person who wants to desecrate your notebook by tearing out…

  • The new notebook stack:

    Jake Seliger
    13 May 2012 | 12:03 am
    In “Eight years of writing and the first busted Moleskine,” I posted a picture of the notebook stack on one of my bookshelves. It has expanded since: The orange notebook is a Rhodia Webbie, and I discovered why notebooks should be black the hard way. The notebook was originally a lovely orange color. But riding in cargo pockets, jeans pockets, backpacks, car seats, purses (occasionally), and various other means is a sure way to attract muck. Within two weeks, the notebook simply looked dirty. The next notebook I bought was black. Notice, however, that despite the Rhodia’s…

  • Conversation: Typographers and fontists

    Jake Seliger
    13 May 2012 | 12:01 am
    Girl: “The guy who did it was a typographer.” Me: “Notorious perverts, certainly.” Girl: “Exactly. You understand.” I mean, have you seen the movie Helvetica?

  • The Sun Also Rises and meaning through action

    Jake Seliger
    12 May 2012 | 11:51 pm
    Almost none of the characters in The Sun Also Rises and have jobs. Jake Barnes works as a journalist, but during most of the novel he’s on the sort of vacation that makes one long for the office. Bill Gorton writes too, but we don’t see much evidence of his writing. Pedro Romero is a bullfighter who apparently loses his magical bullfighting essence (or “aficion” in the language of the novel, but “magical bullfighting essence” makes it sound sillier) due to Brett. The rest—Mike, Brett, Robert—don’t do much of anything beyond drink. This might be…
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    Productive Writers

  • Are Freelance Writers Introverts?

    John Soares
    14 May 2012 | 2:10 am
    Since I was a little kid I knew I was different. Yes, I had a few friends, but I preferred to spend most of my time exploring outside by myself, or sitting alone reading. As I continued in school, I got really good grades. I was the “smart kid.” I socialized with others, but I [...]

  • What Freelance Writers Must Know About Inbound Marketing

    John Soares
    30 Apr 2012 | 2:02 am
    Marketing is a key task for freelance writers: the quantity and pay of the assignments we land determines how much we earn. However, too many freelancers spend too much time contacting potential clients and filling out applications online. In recent years,  my best clients have found me, and they found me through inbound marketing. But [...]

  • How to Eat Your Way to Freelance Success

    John Soares
    23 Apr 2012 | 2:10 am
    Do you want a successful career as a freelance writer? Then you must be very careful about what food you put in your body. What you eat determines how much energy you have and how much work you’ll get done, and potentially how long you’ll live  — as a healthy writer you have the best [...]

  • Nine Key Steps to Freelance Success on LinkedIn

    John Soares
    16 Apr 2012 | 2:10 am
    You know that I’m a strong advocate of freelance writers using LinkedIn. I’m back beating the drum again — if you’re not making the most of LinkedIn, you’re missing out on some quality writing assignments. That’s why I’m sharing great graphic from the sharp folks at mindflash. It gives you the nine  key steps you [...]

  • New Freelance Writer Community: About Writing Squared

    John Soares
    9 Apr 2012 | 2:11 am
    Freelance writers really benefit when they share their knowledge and experiences with colleagues and get both positive feedback and constructive criticism. Today I’m honored to share an interview I did with Anne Wayman and Lori Widmer, the founders of About Writing Squared: The Supportive Community for Freelance Writers and Other Creatives. It only costs five [...]
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    Mike Fook Books - Ebooks | Fiction Thrillers | WTF

  • I’ve Got About 300 Months Left…

    MikeFook
    3 May 2012 | 5:11 am
    I had a birthday the other day. Forty-six years. Most times I think that’s entirely too long to live – and I think, let’s just get this over with – and go to the next level. I’m not suicidal – at all – I guess I’m just hoping that whomever is in charge will give [...]

  • Working from Home

    MikeFook
    23 Apr 2012 | 10:55 pm
    I’ve been working at home for about 8 years now. Writing mostly. I have ADD/ADHD, I’ve mentioned probably 165 times here at this blog, and at other blogs – another 900 times. ADD/ADHD means I cannot break my train of thought – or I’m fucked. When in work mode, I must remain focused at all [...]

  • Early 1990′s – I Was a Photographer…

    MikeFook
    22 Apr 2012 | 10:36 am
    I’ve been thinking… this ebook thing is working out pretty well. I’ve done far better than I would have predicted. Other stuff is going well-enough too. I’m successful in some small way. I could take off for a year and have enough that we’d not starve or have to move out of our rental. Of [...]

  • Google Blows

    MikeFook
    28 Mar 2012 | 8:18 pm
    Fuck Google and their ridiculousness… I’m through playing their stupid “jump through the fucking hoops” game. I don’t even know if I’ll get penalized in their latest “Over-optimization Penalty” – but, fuck them anyway. For years they’ve been helping us figure out how to optimize our sites for Google. In the next couple weeks they’ll [...]

  • Amazon, Paypal, Erotica, and Censorship

    MikeFook
    7 Mar 2012 | 8:40 pm
    There have been some high profile instances of censorship for written works sold over Amazon and paid for with Paypal recently, that deserve comment. Here’s Fook on That. I’ve read some literotica that would turn your head. Some I read for purely prurient interest, and some just to see – how far can writers go? [...]
 
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    Aberration Nation

  • Irving and Teledildonics: Michael Olson

    1 May 2012 | 4:06 pm
    "Humanity has this indomitable urge to surround ourselves in elaborate fantasy worlds." On the day I finished reading a review copy of John Irving's new novel, In One Person (launching on May 8th), I received guest blog content from author, Michael Olson. Olson's debut novel, Strange Flesh, is about sex and games. Publishers Weekly describes Strange Flesh as a "head-spinning thriller" that "takes us down a rabbit hole of kinky cybersex and multilevel mystery."  It's a "complex, cutting edge debut."  Irving's book, on the other hand,…

  • Alan Katz: Last Man Standing

    29 Mar 2012 | 5:16 pm
    "The good times are extremely good. The hard times – daunting. But I honestly can say I wouldn’t have done it any other way."  Last week a talented artist said to me, "You don't really care about your art. You don't have to careabout it because you have kids, a husband, a home, three jobs ... you paint for fun."  Excuse me?  (The nice alternative to yelling, "WTF?" which is what I wanted to do at the time, steam exploding from both of my normally easygoing ears.)  Must one be homeless and starving without a job or loved ones to be taken seriously in the creative…

  • I Done Tousled with a Whale: Mojo Perry

    9 Mar 2012 | 7:03 pm
    It’s easy to feel that you're getting lost in a fruitless effort when you're pursuing your art."My guest today, musician and singer/songwriter Mojo Perry, is an amazing guitarist.  He's spent the majority of his life with a guitar in his hand, and as he puts it, "a pocketful of dreams."  He's a dynamic guy who equates music with art in what seems to be a refreshing and unique way. Rather than talking about music, he speaks of art. Listen to some Mojo tunes while you read:In a recent discussion, Mojo talked about some of the difficulties he's had over the years dealing with…

  • The Artist

    28 Feb 2012 | 6:23 pm
    In progress, 38" x 40" Acrylic on CanvasThe ArtistSelfishness plagues me,I am an odd sort of stupid,Unable to settle for treasures found,And prizes won, The grass goes unwatered,The well not filled,Pandora's lid flaps in my breeze,The Earth moves beneath me,And I fall, dizzy, for notions that fadeOne by one, like countless others.The only dream that lives is art.But art cannot caress me,It cannot cradle in strong arms,Smooth brittle hair,Feel dry lips,Yet it grasps the truth I need to give,It renders me weak, dumb, and numb,For it, I take chances and thumb my noseAt those who love me,Yet I…

  • 12 Paintings and a Blog: An Update

    10 Feb 2012 | 12:13 pm
    I've been extremely busy since the holiday season.  I thought I'd take some time to let everyone know some of the exciting things that are going on with regard to my art and Aberration Nation.In the last few weeks, I've sold three pieces!  I'm currently working with a few other collectors so if you have interest in my work, contact me.Paper Doll, No. 216" x 40"2010SOLDBefore the Fall22" x 32"2011SOLDHeaven Help Me16" x 20"2012SOLDMy work has been selected for the Barebrush calendar for the last four months in a row.  Barebrush focuses on art of the nude; however, they are…
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    Byzantine Roads

  • Jamie’s Newest Animation: “Reaching Respite”

    Lou
    3 May 2012 | 8:34 pm
    Click here to view the embedded video.

  • Daughter’s New Videos

    Lou
    8 Mar 2012 | 7:14 pm
    One of the neat things about having a daughter going to art school is the experimental videos she shares with us. Enjoy. The First one is a video portrait. I’m always amazed at her sound  design and editing. Look quick and you can see all of us: Click here to view the embedded video. A cute animation. Love the concept: Click here to view the embedded video. And an experimental short.  A big, “Huh?”: Click here to view the embedded video.

  • WordPress App on my Nook Tablet

    Lou
    18 Feb 2012 | 12:07 pm
    Probably better suited to a tweet than a post, but I’ve downloaded the WordPress app for the nook and can’t (couldn’t) wait to use it. With the dolphin browser also added in the last couple weeks, the tablet has finally gotten a few decent productivity apps. I find myself using both My Writing Nook and Evernote at work, and hope B&N finally gets their act together. As far as the Nook device goes, I love it. Battery life is great- I listen to podacasts all day at work, and with the wireless off and brightness turned down, it uses about 50%. Calibre converted most of my…

  • A Look At the New Markets

    Lou
    1 Feb 2012 | 10:59 am
    Image via Wikipedia Books are like zucchini. Imagine this: You’ve set aside a nice corner of your garden to grow some zucchini. You’ve never grown zucchini before and overplanted. You’ve got zucchini growing everywhere. The neighbor keeps tossing it back over the fence. The freezer is full of shredded zucchini. You’re actually searching epicurious for a new chilled zucchini soup recipe. You need to sell your zucchini. You can’t go to your local grocery store- they have their own buyers. The local restaurant owner looks at you like you’re mad. You…

  • Coming Soon: Teddy Roosevelt and the Lost World

    Lou
    28 Jan 2012 | 10:45 pm
    The Year is 1886. Young Theodore Roosevelt finds himself a cattleman in a west once ruled by great herds of dinosaurs. But there is a monster loose in the Yellowstone Caldera,  one of the last of the fearsome carnivores. Teddy mounts an expedition to rid the land of this great beast, and confronts his own past and, perhaps, his great destiny in this altered landscape. 20%
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    HelenHeath.com

  • Off she sails...

    Helen
    8 May 2012 | 9:46 pm
    Graft was launched well and truly, with much love and many friendly faces in attendance, both in Wellington at Unity Books and in Paekakariki. You can now purchase copies either from good independant booksellers or online from me or from VUP. You can read a wee write up about the Wellington launch here and the Paekakriki launch here. You can even see my launch speech below! I am feeling very humbled and elated by it all, thank you kind readers for your support! And thanks to the fab Jane Harris for her excellent photos!  

  • An invitation

    Helen
    17 Apr 2012 | 1:24 am
    I’m really excited to announce the launch date for my book of poetry. If you’re in Wellington I’d love you to come along and say hi. As you can see the cover design has been finalised and it is heading to the printer this week. I feel a bit like a book bride and my launch is probably the closest I’ll get to a wedding! You're most welcome to the launch but if you can't make it you can order a copy from me and I'll send it out. The Launch details >> VUP & Unity Books warmly invite you to the launch of Graft by Helen Heath to be launched by…

  • 2012 begins

    Helen
    2 Apr 2012 | 10:43 pm
    Filed under:  Poetry PhD Robert Crawford Rachel Blau Du Plessis technology hypertext epic poetry Yeah, yeah, I know, 2012 began a few months back now. Well, yes, I guess it did but the academic year just began a few weeks ago, so I’m going with that calendar. Now that I’ve had a few weeks to settle in I’m really getting into my research. I can’t believe I’m allowed to just read and write about what I love for 20 hours a week! I keep looking over my shoulder to see if someone is getting ready to tell me off. My research to date has been about Robert Crawford. I’ve been doing…

  • Merry Christmas!

    Helen
    24 Dec 2011 | 1:41 pm
    Wishing you all a wonderful 2012.

  • New year, new project

    Helen
    20 Dec 2011 | 4:46 pm
    Filed under:  Writing PhD So I have some news. I feel very happy and nervous abut it but I also feel keenly aware that while I have good news some friends, who are extremely talented, have had bad news or are unable to take up the offer due to damn financial constraints. So the news is that I have accepted an offer of study towards a PhD in creative writing at the IIML to start in March 2012. It will be part-time study so I can continue to work part-time. The PhD has two componants; creative and critical. For my creative component I intend to write a collection of poetry exploring the…
 
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    Karen Ranney

  • You Know You Want One…

    Karen Ranney
    16 May 2012 | 7:11 am
    You know those Magic 8 Balls we all had as kids?  Well, this is The Sarcastic Ball.  You ask it a question and it says things like: “Yeah, and I’m the Pope.” “Ask me if I care.” “Oh, please.” Yes, I am a toy nut and a gadget nut, and this seemed like a combination of both. I found another one that looks even better . This one says things like, “Nice hair,” (and I really, really need that one). They also have a Dr. Freud ball that analyzes your questions. Aren’t toys fun? Even toys for adults? Okay, so maybe some of the toys I buy aren’t strictly…

  • Sweet Blooms of Patience

    Karen Ranney
    15 May 2012 | 7:11 am
    Baronne Prevost Rose If there was anything that I wish I could do, that I’ve exhibited a decided inability to do, it’s grow roses. I love roses. I love everything about them. One of the most fascinating things about roses is their history. The rose featured above, the Baronne Prevost, dates from 1842. I see generations of women and men tending their roses, carrying on a tradition. At the end of it, they furnish the world with these blooming and fragrant bits of history. No, it’s no use telling me what to do. I’ve spent years attempting to cultivate a green thumb. The…

  • Origami and All Things Oriental

    Karen Ranney
    14 May 2012 | 7:11 am
    From: http://www.happyfolding.com/ When I was a month old, we moved to Okinawa, where we lived for five years. I learned Japanese before English, and had a Japanese nanny who abducted me during a typhoon, hiding me where I couldn’t be harmed. Of course, my family was frantic. Okay, my mother was frantic. My father was off doing some pilot thing and my brother probably was grateful for my absence. For years I had a love affair with all things oriental. I once had a Japanese Tea Garden (way, way too much maintenance) and a gravel garden for reflection (which the cat used as his litter…

  • Happy Mother’s Day

    Karen Ranney
    13 May 2012 | 7:11 am
    If your mother is with you, I hope you get a chance to hug her. If your mother isn’t with you, I hope you get a chance to remember her. My mom and me If you’re a mom, bless you because it’s the hardest job in the world. My son’s note to me Filed under: This Blog Tagged: Personal

  • Flash Has Got a Lot of Training To Do

    Karen Ranney
    12 May 2012 | 10:57 pm
    This video requires you to click through to YouTube. Pudsey won Britain’s Got Talent 2012 – the first dog to ever win! Filed under: This Blog Tagged: Flash, Funny Stuff
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    Drawn To The Deep End

  • Drying out

    4 May 2012 | 1:00 am
    On the drive home I feel a little faint, and maybe a little hungover too. I pull into the retail park that is roughly equidistant from Tom’s house and mine. On a whim, I head into the gargantuan BuyLo where I often do my weekly shopping, and make my way to their café. Sliding my scratched plastic tray along the counter towards the till, I lean forward to read the menu on the wall. After a moment’s squinting in which I remind myself I’ve been meaning to go to the optician’s for some time, I make my choice. At the till, I am greeted by an acne-studded teen with what my Dad used to call…

  • Delaminated

    9 Mar 2012 | 3:00 am
    By the time I get back to bed I am, of course, wide awake. With morbid curiosity I check my phone again but there is still nothing to report. I stretch out on the spare bed, enjoying the momentary coolness of the linen. As I stare at the ceiling, the room dark save for the faintest glow of moonlight from a gap in the curtains, I know that thoughts of Emma will soon meander their way into this insomnia. Even that precognition is a thought of Emma, damn it. I try to block her out with other images – I replay my appointment with Laura over and over, concentrating hard on the precise recall of…

  • This is just a dream

    2 Mar 2012 | 12:10 pm
    I am woken by a tightening of my bladder that confirms, even before a swimming head and furry tongue get the chance, that I definitely had too much wine last night. It's hot, and I'm unsurprised to find the thin duvet  is thrown back, pooled at my feet. Reaching for my phone, I squint at the screen and focus enough to see that I have no messages. No texts, no voicemail, no missed calls. Jen has not even tried to get in touch.The mobile fades to black and I lay there in the dark for a moment, trying to decide how I feel. Seems I'm in too minds - equal parts relieved and annoyed.

  • The otherwise

    3 Feb 2012 | 4:21 am
    Dinner is outstanding, even by Sophie’s high standards and, miracle of miracles, my off-license wine really does complement the dish. When a key lime pie is produced for dessert, I know it is for my benefit and am oddly touched.Right young lady, Sophie says. In response, Lucy favours us all with a beautiful smile, scrapes the last crumb of pie (or pud-pud, as she calls it) from her bowl and climbs down from her chair.Night-night Uncle Pete, she says, and launches herself at me in a tiny ball of hugging limbs. I am forgiven, it seems.Night-night Lucy Lou.Soph watches from the doorway as Lucy…

  • Whichever way you cut it

    6 Jan 2012 | 4:56 pm
    I realise I’m chewing my lip – this makes me annoyed with myself too.Okay. Let’s assume, just for a minute, that you’re right. I feel guilty. I’m consumed with guilt. It’s been eating me up for four years. Let’s assume that’s all true. Why, oh wise one, why is it so necessary that Jen knows why?Tom leans forward in his chair and adopts a tone that I wonder if he uses at work. Or when explaining things to Lucy.Because, my young apprentice, if she understands she can deal with it. Until it goes away.He stays perched on his edge of his chair like that, holding a very deliberate…
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    Write It Sideways

  • 5 Things All Writers Can Learn From Taylor Swift

    Guest Contributor
    14 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Today’s post is written by by Jennifer Blanchard of InkyBites.com. As if you don’t already know, Taylor Swift is a country music sensation, with numerous hit songs, a growing fan base and even more on the horizon. But the reason she’s made it this far isn’t just due to her vocal and songwriting abilities, but also to her knowledge of what it takes to be successful. She’s a marketing genius and an inspiration to all writers, whether she knows it or not. Here are five things all writers can learn from Taylor Swift and her massive success: 1. Have A Story to Tell…

  • Excerpt Critique: “If: An Allegory”

    Suzannah
    11 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Please welcome today’s aspiring author, Jonathan Byrd, ready for a peer critique. Take a moment to read the excerpt, then please leave some thoughtful feedback in the comment section below. If you are a writer whose excerpt has appeared anonymously on Write It Sideways, and now you’d like your name to appear on your piece, contact me. If you’d like to submit your own writing for critique, keep an eye out for future calls posted on the blog. If: An Allegory Literary Fiction Please note: This excerpt is not taken from the beginning of the story.  The southern United States, like most…

  • In the Beginning: How to Draw in Your Reader

    Susan Bearman
    7 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Today’s post is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman. A story either leaps off the page or it doesn’t. Beatriz Badikian-Gartler once told our writing group that “Titles are a kind of promise you make to the reader.” Certainly, titles are important, but I think her point applies even more to the beginning of your story than to the title itself. In the beginning, we establish our voice, invite the reader into our world, and tempt them to come along for the ride. We make a promise that the story to come will be worth their time and emotional energy. And, attention spans being…

  • Working Past Wordiness For Fresher Writing

    Sarah Baughman
    3 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman. I’ll give you twenty seconds to skim these paragraphs and tell me which one exhibits stronger, more engaging writing: Paragraph A The hottest month in Ayemenem would certainly have to be May. Each and every day is long and exceedingly humid. The river starts to dry up and black crows, which sit in trees that are a dusty-colored green, eat golden, sun-ripened mangoes. It is a time when red bananas as well as plump, yellow, odd-smelling jackfruits are starting to get significantly riper. Flies buzz around and around in the…

  • Excerpt Critique: “Follow Me,” YA Suspense

    Suzannah
    27 Apr 2012 | 7:00 am
    Please welcome today’s anonymous aspiring author, ready for a peer critique. Take a moment to read the excerpt, then please leave some thoughtful feedback in the comment section below. If you are a writer whose excerpt has appeared anonymously on Write It Sideways, and now you’d like your name to appear on your piece, please contact me. If you’d like to submit your own writing for critique, keep an eye out for future calls posted on the blog. Follow Me YA Suspense Please note: The excerpt is taken from the beginning of the work.  When Great-aunt Aida started trying to feed me cat…
 
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    Corinne Bowen

  • Weekend Wins: First Mama’s Day

    Corinne
    13 May 2012 | 9:42 pm
    My first Mother’s Day weekend began with the arrival of Lori Portka‘s gorgeous prayer flags. I love looking up at them and soaking in their messages and beauty–the perfect addition to my office corner. We also had the joy of bringing Audrey to a wedding. She was a gem (as you can see). But really, [...]

  • Weekend Wins: Tacos, Maps & More

    Corinne
    7 May 2012 | 10:07 pm
    Weekends slip away quickly, especially when preparing for a summer filled with milestones and travel. Audrey turns one, I turn thirty, and my marriage turns five!  My oldest friend is returning from a year in France and my little family is joining our in-laws for a week in Bar Harbor, ME. Throw in two weddings [...]

  • Two Places to Call Home

    Corinne
    30 Apr 2012 | 10:16 am
    I wasn’t sure what to expect when Audrey and I boarded a plane for Rochester last week and said goodbye to Steve. We were off to visit her grandparents and he was off to a conference. It was our first week apart since Audrey was three weeks old. Luckily, I had the joy of spending [...]

  • Woodstock Recap: Reunion & Renewel

    Corinne
    15 Apr 2012 | 7:46 pm
    Last weekend, I was overjoyed to wake up in a gorgeous farmhouse in Woodstock, NY. We stayed two nights at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary B & B. Since Audrey decided to keep the whole house up the night before, we were awake bright and early to meet our furry and feathered friends. Sidenote: I [...]

  • Growing My Self | Creating My Life | Building My Bliss

    Corinne
    9 Apr 2012 | 10:47 pm
    At least once a day I give thanks for the life that I’ve built (with a whole lot of help). I smile. I snap a photo. I make a mental note for the moments when stress piles up and I want to throw my hands in the air and fall asleep on my laptop. It’s [...]
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    Words on a page

  • Creating a list of blogging topics, redux

    Scott Nesbitt
    14 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    A while back in this space, I wrote a post about the joys (and sometimes necessity) of creating a list of blogging topics. My experiment with doing that was fairly successful. There were a few hiccups here and there, but … Continue reading →

  • A few links for the end of the week

    Scott Nesbitt
    11 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Some tips for clean manuscripts Anne Wayman on why you don’t need experience to be a freelance writer 15 ways to write tightly 40+ tips to improve your grammar and punctuation When was the last time you used a typewriter?

  • Focus on writing, not features

    Scott Nesbitt
    7 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Features in and of themselves are not a problem. It’s about adding the right features and only the right ones. – Patrick Rhone, in Enough I receive a lot of criticism for a number of my opinions and for some … Continue reading →

  • A few links for the end of the week

    Scott Nesbitt
    4 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Eight business skills for the profitable writer Create smarter content using semantic keyword research A look at the hallmarks of a good writing idea Good thoughts on how to write personal essays and opinion pieces Writing content can be real … Continue reading →

  • Five books every writer should consider reading

    Scott Nesbitt
    30 Apr 2012 | 8:00 am
    Anyone who calls themselves a writer is also a reader. We read not just for research, but to expand our horizons and to learn more about our craft. In many cases, writers focus heavily on the latter — books and … Continue reading →
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    Magic Jar Publishing

  • Rift of Askrah Book 1 Free Today! (05/14/2012)

    Benjamin Andrews
    14 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Rift of Askrah Book 1: Fracture is available for free download today. You can check out the description below or download the book here.Nihlen Draven lives what most would consider the perfect life of royalty. As heir to the throne of the nation of Draven, he has been groomed for his future since birth. But as he approaches adulthood, his heart yearns for the freedom to choose his own destiny.In the neighboring nation of Rinh, a young street thief named Marina does her best to survive the mean streets of the city with her best friend Cal. When a questionable contact from their past offers…

  • Amazon Glitch - Memory of Inferno Should Have Been Free

    Benjamin Andrews
    12 May 2012 | 1:09 pm
    Just wanted to throw out a quick blog post letting anyone who tried to download Memory of Inferno from the US Amazon website is not crazy. Amazon is glitching out today, and many freebies that were scheduled for today did not go free.The book is free in the other markets, but for some reason the US website is glitching. I've contacted Amazon, and will reschedule or redo the promotion once I've heard back from them.I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  • Short Story Number 2 - Memory of Inferno

    Benjamin Andrews
    12 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    The second of two short stories I've released over the last couple of days is the featured post of today. You can check it out below.Product DescriptionTwenty years ago, Karen Stone suffered a devastating event. Her home burned away, and her parents with it. She was the sole survivor of what was ruled to be an accidental fire. That was never enough for Karen though, and she always felt there was something more. When she reads a report about a similar case in her home town, she returns to try and find the truth.Memory of Inferno is a short story following Karen as she unravels what really…

  • Two New Short Stories! Number 1 - One Thousand Deaths Before Dawn

    Benjamin Andrews
    11 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    I've been putting together a couple of short stories I've had lying around. Both are available for sale, but I'm going to announce them one day at a time so everyone can have a chance to get them for free. So here's the first one:Product DescriptionIn the early days of man, the only thoughts of war are ones of fighting to survive against nature. Inevitably though, there comes a time when more than one group will desire something, and that desire leads to fighting against their fellow man.One Thousand Deaths Before Dawn is a short story that offers a brief peek into two groups of people facing…

  • Trying to Emulate Publishers - That's Not the Road for Independent Publishing

    Benjamin Andrews
    1 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    Fighting obscurity is one of the biggest battles the independent author faces. Dropping your book into a sea of other books, trying to make your voice heard over the thunderous roar of all the other titles around you. That obscurity has to be defeated though if any author, traditionally published or independently published, wants to become a best-seller.However, like most things in life, that is certainly easier said than done. So as writers we approach it from as many angles as possible. We write our books, reach out to book bloggers, reach out via social media, and anything else we can…
 
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    From Meredith Allard

  • An Interview With Author P.T. Dawkins

    Meredith Allard
    7 May 2012 | 8:10 pm
    What books did you love as a child? Why? I remember loving all of the Dr. Seuss books.  I suspect it was because of the animations combined with the story. Who are your favorite authors? How did they influence your writing? I read a lot of John Grisham and Michael Connelly because it is their genre (modified somewhat) I am trying to emulate. My favorite book of all time is probably One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey because of the incredible imagery he creates just using words. I try to do that if I can. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? Why did you decide to write?

  • Change is Good

    Meredith Allard
    4 May 2012 | 9:22 pm
    I’ve been so busy working on The Copperfield Review the last three weeks I’ve hardly had time for anything else. You’d never guess I had a book come out two weeks ago. Good thing it’s nearly summer so I’ll have some real time to work on everything that needs working on. I wanted to share my Dear Readers post from The Copperfield Review here. If you haven’t visited Copperfield for a while, check it out. I think you’ll like our new look. Have you ever had a time when there just weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done? I have to admit, I…

  • Showers of Books Giveaway Winners

    Meredith Allard
    26 Apr 2012 | 8:00 pm
    Thank you to everyone who participated! Here are the winners for this round of giveaways: E-Books: Raelena Nata Stacey Jo S. Darlene Doodle Bug (I just love that name) Paperbacks: Amy S. Meredith J. (love that one too) Maegan M. $10 Amazon.com gift certificate: Karen W. I’ll be back on May for the Love in Bloom Giveaway. Hope to see you then! Filed under: Giveaways Tagged: Giveaways, Her Dear & Loving Husband, Her Loving Husband's Curse

  • The Las Vegas Writers Conference–The Craft and the Business of Writing

    Meredith Allard
    24 Apr 2012 | 9:03 pm
    I spent this past weekend at the Las Vegas Writers Conference. It was my first conference as either a writer or an editor, and what a thrill to be there as an invited faculty member. I had my presentations about writing historical fiction (no great surprise here) and about e-zines (even less of a surprise there), and I had the opportunity to slip into a few of the other presentations and learn from other industry professionals. I had a number of writers pitch their historical novel ideas to me since Copperfield Press will be accepting submissions again this summer, and I loved hearing what…
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    Game On! Crafting Believable Conflict

  • Conflicts of Stress Part 3 of 4

    IndyWriterGirl
    11 May 2012 | 8:43 am
    Let's continue our examination of responses to stress: Joss is a man of action and few words. He may never talk about the problem or what needs to be done about it. Stress can make him impulsive. He may attempt things that were better left alone. He may drag in a few other maverick loners like himself. They can drive each other to ridiculous lengths.Kelly is a one-man show. He’s wild and crazy. Stress makes him more impulsive than usual. He has no trouble confronting people or tasks. His efforts won’t be focused and the results are iffy. He will probably charm someone else into taking a…

  • Conflicts of Stress Part 2 of 4

    IndyWriterGirl
    4 May 2012 | 10:16 am
    Let's examine four additional characters' response to stress: Blair is responsible and practical, but highly emotional. His natural inclination is to become passive and withdrawn when anxious. Getting him out the door to take the necessary action requires a very seductive carrot or a very large stick. He sneers and turns subversive in the face of opposition. His opponent may not know that Blair is actively working against him in the background.Dallas is fanciful and free-flowing. He hates being restricted and limited. His natural inclination is to become passive-aggressive when stressed.

  • Conflicts of Stress, Part 1 of 4

    IndyWriterGirl
    27 Apr 2012 | 8:03 am
    Stress is usually a bad thing. Stress encourages people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. Deadlines and obstacles inspire some of your characters to push harder and some of them to fall apart.SBB II introduced sixteen mannequins. We will pan away from Sally, Dick, and Jane to explore this topic more thoroughly. Each character has a natural tendency to deal with things. Natural tendencies can be shifted by life events from balanced to severely unbalanced.Stress can stem from a mild annoyance, such as delayed traffic. It can stem from a direct, perhaps mortal, threat. Whether…

  • Conflicts of Jealousy

    IndyWriterGirl
    20 Apr 2012 | 1:21 pm
    Jealously is not reserved for romantic relationships. It affects the relationships between siblings, coworkers, and total strangers. Jealousy works as a great motivational tool in fiction. It is normally an ugly thing, inspiring good people to do, or at least, think bad things. It could inspire your character to try harder to succeed. Dick could be jealous of the time Jane spends at work, with their kids, with her best friend, or with her co-workers.Jane could be jealous of the leggy blonde the guys at work jokingly refer to as “Dick’s work wife.” Sally could be jealous of Jane’s five…

  • Dick as a New Adult

    IndyWriterGirl
    13 Apr 2012 | 7:27 am
    As a young adult, if Dick wanders the wider world, he is exposed to influences that are dramatically different from what he has known. Although high school is the time of life explored in most Young Adult fiction, the college years offer more fertile ground for conflict and transformation. A new genre of fiction is targeting “new adults.” For Dick, like most North American children, at the end of high school comes the nudge to leave the nest. He must support himself financially. This leads to additional education in the form of technical school, local community college, the move to a…
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    StoryBlog

  • How to Share a Family Collection

    Tami Koenig | Your Story Coach
    11 May 2012 | 3:41 pm
    Photo by andrevanb on Flickr In The Hare with Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal traces the heritage of his family's netsuke collection through 1870s Paris, 1930s Vienna, 1990s Japan and finally to his own home in England. His journey brings him closer to the ancestors who chose, cared for and protected the collection, and gave him a better understanding of his own heritage along the way. Does your family have a collection of any kind? It doesn't have to be an expensive art collection to be valuable. In fact, it doesn't have to be valuable to anyone but your family. The memories the collection holds…

  • 11 Writing Tips to Give Your Travel Tale a Boost

    Tami Koenig | Your Story Coach
    3 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    We all love to share stories of our travels and adventures! Today's guest post by Donna Hull of My Itchy Travel Feet will help you take your travel stories from Blah to Wow. After months of planning, you're about to walk out the door on that trip of a lifetime. You've checked and double-checked the items on your packing list including camera, computer and assorted paraphernalia. But have you thought about how you'll communicate to friends and family back home about this epic travel adventure?Of course, you could send emails but that's a cumbersome way to go about it. My guess is that you've…

  • Introducing Share-a-Story

    Tami Koenig | Your Story Coach
    26 Apr 2012 | 1:59 pm
    I've always wanted to create a website where people can share stories from their lives. And now I've done it! See the "Share-a-Story" button in the menu bar above? Just click it and it will take you directly to Share-a-Story, a separate website dedicated entirely to your stories. All you have to do is click one of the "Submit Your Story" buttons on the site to email your story directly to me and I'll post it on the site. I've written up a set of story guidelines to help you tailor your story for submission. For example, stories should be 750 words or less and you may include one image per…

  • Diane Ackerman Says...

    Tami Koenig | Your Story Coach
    16 Apr 2012 | 10:42 am
    “We tend to think of memories as monuments we once forged and may find intact beneath the weedy growth of years. But, in a real sense, memories are tied to and describe the present. Formed in an idiosyncratic way when they happened, they're also true to the moment of recall, including how you feel, all you've experienced, and new values, passions, and vulnerability. One never steps into the same stream of consciousness twice.”

  • 1940 Census Surprise: Saburo Maruyama

    Tami Koenig | Your Story Coach
    7 Apr 2012 | 11:12 am
    This is "Sabie." This is the photo I'd look at as a child and ask my mom, over and over, to "tell me about Sabie." Mom would tell me that Sabie was her high-school friend and that they worked together at the Toot-n-Tell drive-in restaurant in Medford, Oregon. At 17, she was a waitress and he was a dishwasher. Sabie disappeared in 1942, taken with his family to an internment camp. Mom never saw him again. I never knew his last name or any name other than "Sabie." But Sabie became my steadfast imaginary friend. He and Bob Wilson (my more cantankerous imaginary friend) traveled far and wide with…
 
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    Grant Writing Confidential

  • A Day in the Life of a Participant is Overrated: Focus on Data in the Neighborhood

    Jake Seliger
    14 May 2012 | 1:07 am
    I’ve seen a lot of proposals from clients and amateur grant writers that include something like, “A day in the life of Anthony” in their needs assessments. This is almost always a mistake, because almost anyone can include a hard-knocks anecdote, and they convey virtually no information about why your hard-knock area is different from Joe’s hard-knock area down the street, or on the other side of the tracks, or across the country. These stories are staples of newspaper accounts of hardship, but newspapers know most of their readers aren’t thinking critically…

  • Making it Easy to Understand Who’s Eligible for HRSA’s School-Based Health Center Capital Program

    Jake Seliger
    11 May 2012 | 12:05 pm
    The Affordable Care Act has made it especially hard to figure out who’s eligible for a program. This week, the “Affordable Care Act: Grants for School-Based Health Center Capital Program” is our star. The announcement says that eligible applicants must “Be a school-based health center or a sponsoring facility of a school-based health center as defined in 4101(a)(6) of the Affordable Care Act [. . .]” Once you track that section down, however, you find this: “(6) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection, the terms ‘school-based health center’ and…

  • Why does the Seliger Funding Report Sometimes Lack Key Data? Examples from the Small, Rural School Achievement Program and the Portable Assistance Program

    Jake Seliger
    6 May 2012 | 7:14 pm
    Readers occasionally ask why our e-mail newsletter lacks key data about funding, like the maximum size of a grant or the amount of money available. We always have the same answer: we present whatever information we can find from the funding source. When we write “N.A.,” it’s not because we’re trying to hide data—it’s because we don’t have it. Take, for example, the Small, Rural School Achievement Program, which you might have seen in last week’s newsletter. The Federal Register notice offers almost no information. The Grants.gov synopsis is little…

  • April Links: Education and Jobs, The Rent is Too Damn High, Health Care in Its Many Forms, Food Deserts, and More

    Jake Seliger
    23 Apr 2012 | 9:17 pm
    * Chicago’s plan to match education with jobs; this is long over-due. * Is charity a major source of deadweight loss? Notice the linked column: “Increasing evidence shows that donors [to charity] often tolerate high administrative costs, fail to monitor charities and do not insist on measurable results — the opposite of how they act when they invest in the stock market.” * What an awesome office! Uncomfortable chairs, though. * Affordable housing and hilarious cognitive dissonance. * Good legal news: Fifth Amendment Right Against Self Incrimination Protects Against Being…

  • Grant writing is long-form, not fragmentary

    Jake Seliger
    15 Apr 2012 | 9:07 pm
    In The Millions, Guy Patrick Cunningham* says that: More and more, I read in pieces. So do you. Digital media, in all its forms, is fragmentary. Even the longest stretches of text online are broken up with hyperlinks or other interactive elements (or even ads). More and more, people are also writing in pieces. This isn’t intrinsically bad—this blog is a blog and not a book—but it is the kind of thing you should be cognizant of, because grant writing embodies the opposite tendencies: it’s about long-form, deliberate writing and cohesion. It rewards people who can sit down,…
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    Help for Authors (Write a Book Before You Die Blog)

  • Successful Author Secrets

    Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC
    12 May 2012 | 9:41 am
    Authors (published and not-yet published), here's a great resource for you. Check out Successful Author Series, a fantastic series from the dynamic Lynne Klippel, who in the past year has presented a number of exciting programs featuring bestselling authors, who share tips galore.  What's wonderful about her new Successful Author Series,  is that that you can listen at any time, at your convenience. (This is a unique concept in the teleseminar field.)  Lynne's guest today is Lisa Steadman, author of If He’s Not The One, Who Is? She shares “The WooHoo Guide to Social…

  • Authors: Focus & Devote Time to Your Book

    Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC
    12 May 2012 | 9:09 am
    Dear fellow authors -- published or not-yet published, I apologize for my lengthy absence delivering new for-authors-only content (although I have been giving you other occasional content). You see, since I'm an author, as well as a  certified health coach and life coach, I needed to walk my talk. That means for the last one to two years, I needed to focus in on my important professional goals: I was determined to write and edit my next book, Beyond Sugar Shock.  Therefore, despite many great temptations to do otherwise, I've stuck to my deliberate decision -- which is that my…

  • Get Your Sweet Success Gifts Now

    Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC
    4 May 2012 | 2:17 pm
    via www.sugarshockblog.com If you're an author or wanna-be author, much of what you want to do is promote your book as I'm now doing for my second book, Beyond Sugar Shock.

  • Sugar Shock Blog Has New Banner/Logo to Include Beyond Sugar Shock

    Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC
    6 Apr 2012 | 6:15 pm
    I'm pleased to announce that the Sugar Shock Blog just got a new banner. via www.sugarshockblog.com

  • 14 Ways to Get Reporters to Delete Your Pitch from Keith Yaskin

    Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC
    5 Apr 2012 | 4:25 pm
    If you're an author, naturally you want the media to write about you and your book. But it's easy to make reporters say, "Forget it! Not interested!" Check out this interesting article from Keith Yaskin on 14 Ways to Get a Reporter to Quickly Delete Your Pitch. Also learn about some Pitches to Ditch.
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    Thomas Wilson Story Teller

  • Submersible Aircraft Carrier

    Thomas Wilson
    15 May 2012 | 4:22 pm
    Submersible Aircraft Carriers were predominantly used during the Second World War although most people have never heard about them.  The most famous was probably the Japanese I-400 class boat.Several other countries have experimented with Submersible Aircraft Carriers during WWII and since.  Germany was the first country to build one; the U-boat U-12 was a submersible aircraft carrier during World War I and actually used a plane from the submarine to bomb the out skirts of London in 1914.  Great Britain also built one, the HMS Submarine E22, which could launch two Sopwith Baby…

  • Your Immortal Soul

    Thomas Wilson
    14 May 2012 | 11:16 am
    I have alluded to some other stories that I would like to write in time once I get the current projects written, edited, and published.  Unfortunately writing a book takes a long time.  Not unlike meeting around the camp fire and hearing an epic tale related over the course of a few nights.  So the stories in my head that I want to tell keep smoldering, maturing, and matriculating until such time that I can release them into my word processer.One of the stories deals with re-incarnation.  I don’t necessarily believe in re-carnation but I do believe in the existence…

  • Wonder Woman – Super Mommy

    Thomas Wilson
    13 May 2012 | 11:52 am
    When I meet my wife she dressed in dress’s and business attire, had a good job at financial company.  She owned her own condo, she was a self made women.  She was into current fashions, shoes, shopping, and socializing.  Then she married me!Almost 12 years later, almost nine years of being married, my daughter is 21 and my wife is more of a mother to her than her own on most days.  We have two boys Hayden age four and Garth age two.  The house is a land of magic as it changes to the old west, Star Wars scenes, or strange worlds with a multitude of Super Heroes and…

  • Current Books – Coming Soon

    Thomas Wilson
    11 May 2012 | 12:19 pm
    Whisper-- Kindle BestsellerPraise for Whisper:"The concept of presented within the book– a new technology being created that can in a sense make people and objects invisible for a given set time and also transport an object or person to another time period–is pretty darn awesome! The author did a wonderful job of explaining how such a technology could be created and work effectively. " -- A.C."Really interesting concept that kept me intrigued throughout." -- K.K.** WARNING **Not for children or young teens.  Contains mature language and situations.Overview:The crew of the USS Whisper…

  • Book Series

    Thomas Wilson
    10 May 2012 | 3:00 pm
    Many authors write series of books using the same characters.  There are many reasons that support this approach to writing.For readers it is comfortable returning to characters you have gotten to know over time.  You get to continue the adventures with known good guys and bad guys, those you love and love to hate.For the writer you don’t have to invent an entire new cast of characters.  You can pick up with where you left off at and continue the grand adventure of the cast you have already developed and your readers have come to know.One of my favorite Science…
 
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    Morganti Writes

  • Characterization, Part I: Blue hair and cowboy boots

    Charlotte Morganti
    30 Apr 2012 | 1:53 pm
    There was a time when blue hair was the signature of many women in my hometown. Their hairdressers (the term …Continue reading »

  • Friday’s Itty Bitties — #16

    Charlotte Morganti
    27 Apr 2012 | 11:20 am
    Mae West knew a thing or two about characters and characterization. She said, “It isn’t what I do, but how …Continue reading »

  • Today’s Review: The Breakout Novel Intensive Week

    Charlotte Morganti
    25 Apr 2012 | 9:28 am
    Hood River, Oregon is a cool little town on the banks of the Columbia River, just an hour east of …Continue reading »

  • In which I contemplate being penniless

    Charlotte Morganti
    23 Apr 2012 | 10:16 am
    I’m about to become penniless. I’ll not be without means, mind you. My jeans will simply be without copper coins. …Continue reading »

  • Friday’s Itty Bitties — #15

    Charlotte Morganti
    20 Apr 2012 | 1:41 pm
    Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right and the nearly right word is the same as that between lightning …Continue reading »
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    Brenda Chapman » Blog

  • Stuck At the Wrong School for Animation: Now What?

    Brenda
    11 May 2012 | 9:10 am
    You’ve decided you want to pursue a career in the animation industry and you’re headed to a school that you think will prepare you for your professional journey. Yet what happens if you share Emily’s sad dilemma? She wants to get into storytelling in animation, and realizes that she has committed herself to the wrong [...]

  • How ‘A Mighty Girl’ Is Teaching Girls To Be Heroes

    The Brenda Chapman Team
    7 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    If you’re a parent, an aunt or uncle, a sibling, a teacher, or simply a person who loves children’s literature and movies, you might notice something—a good girl (character) can be hard to find. It’s not always easy to find female characters in books who actually take on leadership roles in stories—and fortunately, that’s where [...]

  • Subliminal Messages in Animated Films: Fact or Fiction?

    Brenda
    1 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    Subliminal messages in animated films–it sounds like a sinister topic! How do I respond to people who say that they exist? Well, it’s not a question I get very often, but luckily, I have an answer. So to those who wonder about subliminal messages, I say: “Yes, there are often hidden things in films I’ve [...]

  • How To Make Your Portfolio Stand Out

    Brenda
    26 Apr 2012 | 8:20 am
    Searching for a job in any creative field, you must know that your portfolio is a crucial tool for showcasing your work and sparking a prospective employer’s interest—and the animation industry is no exception. Because a portfolio is so important, I’m frequently asked about portfolio tips and best practices. Cassidy, a senior animation student, asks, [...]

  • Project Involve: A Great Opportunity for Under-Represented Filmmakers

    The Brenda Chapman Team
    20 Apr 2012 | 6:00 am
    If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or considering another career path in the film industry, you might just want to consider applying for Film Independent’s Project:Involve. The intensive nine-month program is “Film Independent’s signature diversity program, dedicated to increasing diversity in the film industry by cultivating the careers of under-represented filmmakers,” according to Film Independent. The [...]
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    A Blogger's Books

  • Inspirational Memoir: Sunday's Child

    Anne Lyken-Garner
    16 May 2012 | 10:13 am
    Sunday's Child is my memoir. It's the inspiring, true tale of a little girl struggling to rise above appalling living conditions, poverty, violence and abuse (published by Pulse Publishing). It's being released on May 22nd, 2012.   About Sunday's Child Sunday's Child tells of the harrowing systematic abuse of a little girl by her grandmother, while giving the reader a glimpse of the political and cultural climate of 1980's Guyana. In a desperate economic crisis, Guyana is forced to resort to food and energy rationing. Acclaimed author Anne Lyken-Garner's tale…

  • How To Stop Procrastinating And Get Writing

    Anne Lyken-Garner
    14 May 2012 | 7:05 pm
    How to stop procrastinating and get writing is a guest post by Samantha Gray. Research papers are a vital part of the dialogue that moves the scientific community forward, and an inevitable part of an online degree program — they can also be personally intimidating and a chore to write.  Just the thought of putting pen to paper can sometimes seem so gargantuan and so unpleasant that you will put if off and put it off until the pressure is on to complete your project.  Student researchers are often prey to needless delay, self-sabotage, and any number of other behavioral manifestations…

  • Build Your Blog's Credibility: For Beginners

    Anne Lyken-Garner
    8 May 2012 | 4:53 am
    No matter if you're a journalist, novelist, or blogger, there's one thing you must have in order to build a successful career as a writer: credibility. Credibility will help you make a name for yourself and acquire loyal readers. But credibility isn’t something that is obtained over night; it's something that's earned over time. There are some starting points that can help you earn that credibility however, especially if you're starting with the very basics: a blog. Build your blog's credibility: for beginners is a guest post by Jane Smith Build your blog's…

  • Promo Day 2012

    Anne Lyken-Garner
    8 May 2012 | 4:52 am
    THE event for the writing industry is back! Promo day is an annual event for people in the writing industry dedicated to promoting, networking and learning. This years event will take place on Saturday 19th May 2012 at the brand new website  The online event organized by Jo Linsdell has evolved since its humble begins on the writers personal website and grown into a world-recognized event attracting thousands of visitors from around the globe. The 2012 event promises to be the best yet with the launch of the new website and internationally renowned workshop presenters. The program is…

  • Ripper, My Love: A Novel By Glynis Smy

    Anne Lyken-Garner
    4 May 2012 | 4:41 am
    Today writer/poet, Glynis Smy adds author/novelist to her name. Her debut novel; Ripper, My Love, is launched in ebook format and paperback. The genre for this love story falls into the one of Historical Romance Suspense. Ripper, My Love Growing up in late nineteenth century East London, Kitty Harper’s life is filled with danger and death – from her mother, her beloved neighbour and the working women of the streets. With her ever-watchful father and living surrogate family though, Kitty feels protected from harm. In fact, she feels so safe that while Whitechapel cowers under the cloud…
 
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    Angie Go Boom

  • Music Heart Playlist — Hurt and Healing

    Angie
    14 May 2012 | 2:03 pm
    Healing by Angela Neal on Grooveshark “These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall This is the wonder of devotion – I see the torch we all must hold. This is the mystery of the quotient – Upon us all a little rain must fall.” – Led Zeppelin, The Rain Song Music is powerful medicine.

  • Art Heart 5.11.12 — Phoebe Wahl

    Angie
    11 May 2012 | 10:08 am
    Phoebe sketches with her paints and creates recycled fabric animals like you and I breathe. I love that her stuff is rustic and realistic in the way that she actually features things for what they are, instead of just trying to beautify them or leave them out completely. So much great stuff! Follow Phoebe on her blog or her gallery on Cargo Collective. The stop motion animations are so cute!

  • Crazy plant lady post, take one – Brown cactus isn’t really brown.

    Angie
    10 May 2012 | 11:14 am
    Droopy, brown cactus in a weird basket. Perky, plump and turning green! I was wanting a cactus for a long time, but since they don’t naturally grow here in the temperate and somewhat soggy land of Ohio, they’re kinda pricey. They are expensive for a little one, so imagine trying to get a big one. This guy is definitely from another land and I spent a whopping $4 to make him mine. We took a trip to Kansas at the end of February to visit my husband’s side of the family and our nephew (a little business man in training) was selling some cacti someone gave him for .15 cents…

  • About that time I went on an adventure and it was awesome.

    Angie
    5 May 2012 | 9:19 am
    I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my vacation to Virginia Beach back in 2004 and how I’d love to go there again soon (like this summer!). It can’t be a coincidence that there would be a program through Social Moms “Love the Moment”, which brings me to this post! Back in 2004, I saw the ocean for the first time. It was late August of that year and I had turned 19 a few months before. I was invited by my friend, whose family gave her permission to bring one friend along, and that very lucky friend was me. We got there after the sun went down and a storm was…

  • How being a parent changes you (the good and the not-so-good)

    Angie
    2 May 2012 | 7:23 pm
    This post isn’t about trying to talk anyone out of having a kid or trying to convince you that you should have a kid. It’s also not about what happens to your body, your sex life or your social life. You probably already knew about all that, anyway! As far as that goes, everyone’s life is different and parenthood effects people in varying degrees. These are all things from my own experience and from my friends who have navigated their way through the diaper years, preschool and beyond. It seems like everyone I know is getting married and having babies right now. A lot of my…
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    Write Edit Seek Literary Agent

  • Meet the Agents – Peter Buckman from The Ampersand Agency.

    Harry
    11 May 2012 | 7:46 am
    Peter Buckman, Ampersand Agency Peter Buckman was on the editorial board of Penguin Books, and moved to New York to be a commissioning editor with the New American Library. He then became a full-time writer, producing books, films, plays, and … Continue reading →

  • How to write a sentence by Hal Duncan

    Harry
    9 May 2012 | 10:46 am
    Hal Duncan has over twenty years critiquing experience as a member of the Glasgow SF Writers Circle, and a half dozen years writing for a living, mainly fiction and poetry but also a considerable amount of literary criticism and commentary. … Continue reading →

  • I wish I’d known that a year ago…

    Harry
    6 May 2012 | 10:51 am
    Those at the 2011 Festival of Writing will remember Claire McGowan’s instantly gripping opening page (from the Saturday evening competition awards.) She had in fact already just recently secured an agent and a book deal. Here’s what she wishes she’d … Continue reading →

  • Meeting Fiona

    Harry
    3 May 2012 | 9:42 am
    On June 21, Orion will be publishing my latest novel, TALKING TO THE DEAD. That book is the best book I’ve ever written and the one I’ve most adored writing. In the run up to publication, I’m going to write … Continue reading →

  • Announcing the Greenhouse Funny Prize

    Harry
    2 May 2012 | 7:00 pm
    We are thrilled, delighted & tickled every shade of pink to announce that the Greenhouse Literary Agency, in conjunction with the Festival of Writing, has created the Greenhouse Funny Prize for children’s writers. Greenhouse’s Julia Churchill loves every kind and … Continue reading →
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    The Vandal

  • 5 Months With Amazon KDP Select

    Derek Haines
    16 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Some months ago I wrote about my initial observations on using Amazon KDP Select. But now with five months of experience under my belt, I thought some may be interested in what my conclusions are. And for those using KDP Select, perhaps to compare experiences. Firstly, it is worth saying that Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is still the easiest platform by far that I have used for self-publishing an ebook. So without joining the Select program, it would still be my number one choice because of ease and speed of publication and of course, the distribution of Kindle ebooks worldwide (well…

  • I Write, Because I Want To

    Derek Haines
    15 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    There are many reasons to want to write but for me, but making a fortune, achieving fame, being awarded glittering prizes or even just being recognised as a half decent author are not. In fact, and you can believe it or not, I’m not even that concerned about book sales. I write because I want to and find immense pleasure in taking the weird, whacky, happy and sad thoughts from my mind and setting them down in text. If someone actually likes it, thats great. And if they don’t, well there are always other books to read. Now this is not to say that I’m not pleased when my books…

  • What And Who I Read

    Derek Haines
    10 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    As all writers do, I read a lot. So I thought it might be an insight for readers of my blog to know who I read and why. Perhaps another day I’ll post a list of the books and authors I read, but today I’ll give you a taste of the blogs I read regularly, if not daily. So here we go with an insight into my daily reading. Have We Had Help: I have to place my good mate Jack Eason at the head of my list. Not only do we both share a southern hemisphere upbringing, but we also share a love for science fiction. Not only this, but our love for this genre was born from similar reading when…

  • Your Final Draft Is Unacceptable

    Derek Haines
    8 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    After weeks, months or years, you have finally finished the last draft of your book. No doubt you have spent hours upon hours checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, plot errors as well as fixing formatting and style problems. You have probably read your final draft so many times by now that you are sick to death of it, but finally, you know it’s perfect and you’re ready to publish your new book. NO!  STOP! DO NOT HIT THE PUBLISH BUTTON! No matter what your level of expertise in writing, or your depth of acumen in English grammar and lexis, there is just no way on this planet…

  • Slap An Indie

    Derek Haines
    4 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    My post title may sound like a bit of self-flagellation but a recent post by Stella Deleuze titled ‘Indies, sometimes I just want to slap them!’ caught my immediate attention. It’s of course no secret that self-publishing has been a fantastic development for Indie Authors, but unfortunately there are many writers (I do however use this term loosely for some of them) now coming to self-publishing who have no idea about how to conduct themselves when promoting their book or books. Everyday without fail I receive emails, Twitter messages, Facebook messages and Goodreads…
 
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    Rosanne Dingli's Blog

  • Guest blogger Tom Kepler

    20 Apr 2012 | 10:33 am
    This week, guest blogger Tom Kepler keeps us enthralled with location.Welcome, Tom!Rosanne Dingli has published three works in which the island of Malta is of central importance: Counting Churches, The Malta Stories; Death in Malta; andher most recent work, Camera Obscura. Perhaps the old truism Write about what you know applies to Rosanne because she was born and raised on Malta, living there until she was twenty-seven years old. I'm guessing it's more than that, though. A familiar setting cannot only supply compelling detail for a story: a setting can also suggest compelling stories to a…

  • What does this painting mean to me?

    12 Apr 2012 | 4:05 am
    For years now this blue-grey painting of yachts in a marina has graced my blog.Many of my readers have asked, privately and not, where it's from, what it means, who painted it, and why I chose this painting to head my blog.The time has come to tell you.First, look at it for a moment: note the vague bank of buildings in the background. Note the hanging sky, which has just shed its burden of rain over the promenade, where afternoon strollers quickly take the daily air before another shower sends them scurrying to the cafes along the waterfront. Can you smell the fresh rainy scent that just…

  • Aspects of the human condition

    11 Apr 2012 | 4:40 am
    It is possible to watch oneself develop as a writer. One can see oneself mature. Even without a mirror, one can take a step back and see a kind of stream in one's writing that becomes predominant. A stream that seems to take over: perhaps it's the aspect of life that fascinates, that preoccupies that author most.That author is me: I take myself as the case in point and find some recurring themes in my writing - now that three of my novels are published, and a fourth is being written, it is certainly detectable. There are several aspects of the human condition I find fascinating, and they take…

  • The wisdom of others

    8 Apr 2012 | 3:01 am
    Where would we be without the wisdom of others? They might not think they are wise, but they lend us their experience. Listening to those who talk about fiction gives me insights into novels I haven't even read, gives me introductions to authors I had not heard of until then. Listening to other parents gives me a view on teenagers I did not see before. Hearing and reading about friends' adventures in the kitchen makes me write shopping lists that are a bit different from the staple "Carrots, cranberries, cabbage."Courtesy http://theelectricpanda.wordpress.com/2009/06/Few of us think we are…

  • Holding a new book

    22 Mar 2012 | 1:43 am
    We all like new books. There's nothing like holding a nice crisp edition in the hand. Everyone loves the feel and smell of a real book, and it's true - nothing beats the experience.In the hand! Camera ObscuraFor authors, this is doubly true. Ripping open the packaging the postman brings, to reveal your latest release, is something not everyone can do. Authors are special people and books are special objects. Riffling the 300-odd pages of a new book, knowing all those words were hard-won and took immeasurable time to put together, is not something everyone can feel.Ebooks too are special - we…
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    Indie Author News

  • Featured Indie Book: Aftereffects - Zombie Therapy (Zane Bradey)

    Alan Kealey
    15 May 2012 | 5:00 pm
    Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Psychological Thriller Aftereffects: Zombie Therapy by Zane Bradey. Aftereffects: Zombie Therapy (not only for Zombie fans!) is a different kind of zombie novel. The action takes place after the zombie apocalypse has already happened. The government has created a cure for those infected, and the fascinating aspect about the cure is that the people cured remember their zombie episodes. The Book has been self-published via Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, and CreateSpace and is available as eBook and Paperback (~230 pages / Released in February 2012). About…

  • Featured Indie Book: The Void (John Abramowitz)

    Alan Kealey
    13 May 2012 | 7:39 pm
    Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Paranormal Thriller The Void (Book 2 of The Weaver Saga) by John Abramowitz. This Article includes also an Interview with the Author. The Book has been self-published via Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble and is available as eBook (~190 pages / Released in May 2012). The Void is Book 2 of The Weaver Saga which is basically a fusion of the classic Young Adult coming-of-age saga and the X-Files style paranormal police procedural. Book 1 of The Weaver Saga can be downloaded for FREE (see link at the end of this post) About the Book The Zombie…

  • Indie Author Interview: Julia Madeleine

    Alan Kealey
    12 May 2012 | 5:44 pm
    Enjoy today's Interview on Indie Author News with Indie Author Julia Madeleine, Author of the Novels No One To Hear You Scream and Scarlet Rose. Home for Julia Madeleine is Mississauga (Canada), where she lives with her husband and teenaged (future tattoo artist) daughter. Julia is a Tattoo Artist and runs a Tattoo shop together with her husband. For a year she lived in the country on a 30-acre property in the middle of nowhere, which became the inspiration for her latest novel, No One To Hear You Scream. When she is not writing or sticking needles into people, Julia enjoys cooking,…

  • Featured Indie Book: Save My Soul (K.S. Haigwood)

    Alan Kealey
    10 May 2012 | 5:01 pm
    Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Paranormal Romance Save My Soul by K. S. Haigwood. The Book has been self-published via Amazon KDP Select and is available as eBook (~206 pages / Released in March 2012). The Book has been edited by Matthew Rush. Cover Photography by Jordan Sullivan. Save My Soul is a Paranormal Romance but it includes everything >> Action/ Thriller/ Suspense/ Mystery/ Horror/ Humor/ Guardian Angels/ Demons/ Soulmates/ Destiny/ Fate. About the Book Kendra Larkin had everything going in the right direction. Her life was seemingly perfect, and she wouldn't…

  • Featured Indie Book: The Coming Storm (Valerie Douglas)

    Alan Kealey
    8 May 2012 | 8:19 pm
    Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Epic Fantasy The Coming Storm by Valerie Douglas. The Book has been self-published via Amazon KDP Select and is available as eBook (~708 pages / Re-released in May 2012). The book The Coming Storm is for lovers of Epic Fantasy, not too dark - but very powerful. About the Book Elon of Aerilann, Elven advisor to the High King of Men, helped negotiate the treaty between Elves, Dwarves and men. He suddenly finds that fragile truce threatened from without by an unknown enemy and from within by old hatreds and prejudice. With the aid of his true-friend…
 
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    Yabot the Robot

  • Happy Mother’s Day

    Dan
    13 May 2012 | 5:44 am
    “Leonard, where is your hiking journal?” Lea asks. He hands his journal to her and takes hers off the table. Both journals are red, flimsy, and contain two-hundred pages. The kids took the journals with them on a weeklong hiking trip and each day wrote a two-sentence summary of plants or birds or food or friends. “Leonard, your handwriting is awful and your grammar is even worse. Listen to this, Dan.” “Give me my journal back.” “It’s just for fun. Let me read this one?” “Fine. But you’re a goat.” “Monday:…

  • Plagiarism

    Dan
    12 May 2012 | 11:34 am
    An excellent letter from Mark Twain to Helen Keller: Oh, dear me, how unspeakably funny and owlishly idiotic and grotesque was that “plagiarism” farce! As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written, except plagiarism! The kernel, the soul—let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances—is plagiarism. For substantially all ideas are second-hand, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources, and daily use by the garnerer with a pride and satisfaction born of the…

  • Frühling

    Dan
    11 May 2012 | 2:33 pm
    Throughout April the rain and sun in Dresden argue like divorced parents — you take every third weekend and I get Tuesday because that’s my day off and we’ll figure out the cat later — and it’s not uncommon to see people in shorts, T-shirts, and sandals sauntering alongside others wearing pants, coats, and boots; a few times a day they all take cover under awnings and umbrellas and look up at the sky, where blotches of black clouds are a heavy canvas being ripped apart by the sun, and the flashing lightning and howling thunder emphasize the drama and aptness of such a metaphor.

  • Resisting Catholicism

    Dan
    10 May 2012 | 3:20 pm
    I love this short essay by Nicholas Farrell, excerpted below: Carla’s mission (God bless her or perhaps God help her) is to get me to become a Catholic because otherwise there is no chance of me going to heaven because only Catholics go to heaven and time is running out because the apocalypse is due any day now, as we can so clearly see from what is going in Syria, and not forgetting Iran, but also those really weird tornados in America. And in those very few moments of life as we know it left to us on Earth she feels “only half a person” being married to a non-Catholic, which also…

  • Project 3six5

    Dan
    9 May 2012 | 6:32 am
    Yesterday I had the opportunity to write a post for Project 3six5, a blog that recruits 365 people each year to document one day in their lives. The result is a collective diary that chronicles worldwide events and describes the personal experiences of a diverse group of people. My post is below: “What’s your name?” “Farmer One. What’s your name?” “Pig One.” These simple sentences are the zenith of the third graders’ English at the school where I teach in Dresden. Today we are acting out the three little pigs: I say a line, the students…
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    Litopia Writers Colony - Site Feed

  • Talk To Alex Brummer on Litopia After Dark

    Agent
    15 May 2012 | 2:07 pm
    This week's Litopia After Dark features one of Britain's top financial writers, Alex Brummer.  In his new book Britain For Sale, Alex shows how great swathes of Britain's industrial base have now fallen into foreign ownership - and what that means for every one of us.  read more

  • Reflections

    J Katrin
    14 May 2012 | 7:52 pm
    What is it about the early hours of the morning that makes bad things happen? These reflections start an hour or so after midnight. I wasn't awakened by what happened: I was already up and quite active. "Ouch!" "You okay, baby?" "Um...maybe we'd better stop for a minute. I think we bruised something." Except the pain doesn't ease. It increases, and within minutes I'm crumpled and sobbing on the bed while my lover strokes my hair and asks what he can do. "Call my Mom!" read more

  • A Body in the Road

    Agent
    11 May 2012 | 2:51 pm
    Turning into my street yesterday evening after another stressed-out day, and there's a body sprawled across my path. At first look it's a pile of clothes, but no, there really is a human being inside. Even in London, you don't just step over a body on your way home (*). What to do? Is he breathing? Do I remember my CPR from a decade ago? read more

  • Role Play

    Wordsmith
    8 May 2012 | 1:17 pm
    I have finally decided to confess. I'm coming out of the closet. I am a thespian. Frankly, it's about time I came out, as acting in such a small space severely limits one’s potential audience - to hangers on. read more

  • When the dust finally settles...

    Richard Sutton
    6 May 2012 | 1:59 pm
    Fair Warning: Opinion & Old-School Reflection For the past few weeks between rewriting, I've been watching the antics of a group of motley trolls inhabiting some of the Amazon discussion forums. The bells, jingle caps and turned toe shoes really get me, every time. My special favorites are what author GRR Martin refers to as sock puppets.  When the old sock currently in use becomes too nasty and stinky, off it comes and there's always another one caught in the dryer vent. It makes for quick-chage double takes and other mirthful excesses. read more
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    How To Write A Book | Joel Trains Authors

  • Painting with Numbers

    Joel
    16 May 2012 | 12:56 pm
    “Presenting financials and other numbers so people will understand you.” That’s the subtitle of “Painting with Numbers,” a book by my client, Randy Bolten, that’s just out from Wiley. It’s getting enthusiastic reviews from sources as diverse as academics, bankers, politicians, and IT professionals, and its initial sales are gratifyingly strong. From the book’s introduction: “This book is not about numbers. This book is about presenting numbers, and doing it clearly, concisely, elegantly, and, most of all, effectively.” And it…

  • The best thing to happen to my writing

    Joel
    26 Apr 2012 | 1:34 pm
    Susie Brown wrote this guest post: There I was, in the middle of writing a very important article, and the craziest thing happened. My laptop’s keyboard, which I had always been so trusting of, failed me. At first, the “backspace “ button just started looking a little bit out of place. But then the right side actually started sticking right up in the air above all the other keys. Saying that it “stuck out like a sore thumb” sounds just too cliché, but it is so fitting. The right side of the backspace button seemed to protrude just a little bit higher each time I pressed it. Until…

  • What’s your “why”?

    Joel
    18 Apr 2012 | 6:54 pm
    Unless you know why you want to write a book, you are unlikely to produce one. If you know why, you have a good chance of knowing who your readers will be. And if you know that, you can figure out how to reach them. There are lots of reasons to write a book: To bring your message to the world To record your life for posterity, or at least for your family To teach something To entertain To draw attention to yourself, your company, your product To organize your thoughts and knowledge about a subject To establish yourself as an expert All0w yourself to invest time in discovering your…

  • It’s coming! Get ready!

    Joel
    1 Apr 2012 | 4:59 pm
    Click on the picture for the whole story….

  • Tell a story. But how?

    Joel
    23 Mar 2012 | 8:24 pm
    Humans love stories. “Once upon a time…” immediately engages us. I don’t know why; I’m not sure anyone does. But if you just list facts or events, you will lose your audience quickly. If you tell a story, in which one thing leads to another, reveals a conflict, and ultimately resolves in one way or another, you hold their interest. This is easier to do in a blog post or a short story than in a book. Plotting a story “arc” is more difficult when you want to fill 150 pages than if you are trying only to fill one or two. Of course, the short story is an…
 
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    Author Alden

  • The Versatile Blogger Award and the Sunshine Award

    J.W. Alden
    14 May 2012 | 8:40 am
    Okay, guys and gals. I'm going to be up front with you. I'm totally cheating on these awards. No, I'm not saying I awarded myself, I'm saying that I'm not going to be able to fulfill all of the stipulations that come along with them. Specifically, I'm not going to be passing them along. I know that's kind of the point of these things, to point your readers in the direction of fellow bloggers they'd enjoy, but on the last couple of awards I've received, I couldn't help but get the feeling that a couple of the folks I nominated were a little skeeved out by the whole thing. I think these…

  • The Kreativ Blogger Award

    J.W. Alden
    13 May 2012 | 2:23 am
    I was going to wait until Monday to post an entry, but thanks to the supercool Randi Lee, I've been named a recipient of the Kreativ Blogger Award. It is only with the utmost humility that I accept this award. And to be perfectly honest, it couldn't have come at a better time, because I had no idea what I was going to write about this week. So thanks, Randi! Here's how the award works: 1. Thank and link back to the person who presented you with the award.2. Answer the ten questions below.3. Share ten random facts/thoughts about yourself.4. Nominate seven worthy blogs for the Kreativ Blogger…

  • Looking Back on the A to Z Challenge

    J.W. Alden
    6 May 2012 | 11:00 pm
    When I began this experiment (only a few months ago, as crazy as that seems), I planned on coming up with a regular update schedule that wouldn't severely impact my writing time. My intention was to post once a week, occasionally twice. Less than a month later, I signed up for the A to Z Challenge on a whim, dooming those plans for the month of April. Now it's behind me, and despite the cut it made into my usual writing marathons, I'm glad I did it. It was worth it. It was nice to prove to myself that I could keep a breakneck blog schedule without much prep time beforehand. I made a…

  • IWSG: Take a Writing Break Without Breaking Your Writing

    J.W. Alden
    2 May 2012 | 2:36 am
    It feels weird to write an entry that's not alphabetical. I've become very accustomed to seeing that banner at the top of my entries. Those twenty-six days really wore a groove into my blog that I became pretty comfortable with, despite how demanding the whole thing was. I'm glad to have seen it through, though. One last reminder, I'll be posting an A to Z "reflections" post on Monday to tie a bow on it. In the mean time, we make our way back to normalcy. And since today is the first Wednesday of the month, that means it's time for drum circles and group hugs in the Insecure Writer's Support…

  • A to Z Challenge: Zombie Apocalypse

    J.W. Alden
    30 Apr 2012 | 3:00 am
    Today marks the end of the April A-Z Challenge, where I've been blogging (almost) daily about a different speculative fiction trope, one for each letter of the alphabet. The final entry is on the Zombie Apocalypse. I am so taking the easy way out on this one. I wonder how many A to Z entries posted today will be about this very trope? But, what can I say? I do like zombies. Richard Matheson's post-apocalyptic novel I Am Legend paved the way for what has become an iconic part of the horror genre. He called the creatures in his story "vampires," but his unique take on the undead had a…
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    The Drabbler

  • Wishes

    The Drabbler
    14 May 2012 | 11:02 pm
    Bang. The crowd began their nightly oohs and ahhs. They stared at the spectacle before them — a fairytale castle basked in firework flashes. Music crescendoed with the booms, and they held their breaths, drawing in the magic. Literally. Though few of us know it, Roy thought and extended his palm to catch the invisible magic motes falling from the sky. “We’ll make a wish,” the song blared, “and dare to do what dreamers do.” Roy held back tears and placed his magic-infused hand on the statue beside him. Don’t worry, Walt. We’ll bring you back, break the curse. Someday. Photo by…

  • Trespass

    The Drabbler
    27 Apr 2012 | 11:02 am
    A Friday Fictioneers photo-prompt,  from the lovely blog of Madison Woods The old man chanted like an eastern snake charmer, and the barbed wire rose from the ground. It swayed, undulated, then struck. It bit, piercing clear through Jeremy’s larynx. “That’ll shut yer screamin’.” More barbed wire coiled itself tight around Jeremy’s body, pinning him to the post. It shredded his flesh in a hundred places. “Ye’ll die eventually, maybe a week. Then I’ll chop ye up, coat yer limbs in resin and use ‘em fer more fence posts.” The man chuckled and walked away, glancing at the…

  • +2 to Endurance

    The Drabbler
    26 Apr 2012 | 1:18 pm
    The avalanche nearly toppled Khandar Steelmane from his ledge. Even an 18 barely made the saving throw. His companion, Faye Cloakswood, helped him to his feet and cast Minor Healing on him. One by one, they braved the Trials of the Godsmount—30,000 vertical feet of sheer cliffs, ice dragons, and countless other horrors from a capricious Dungeon Master. Many times, Khandar thought they’d die. But, finally, they reached it. The Summit. “Hey! Pudgy!” yelled Melissa. “What?” Derek clutched his side. “This is only the first hill on the trail. You really need to stop playing so much…

  • Outlier

    The Drabbler
    26 Apr 2012 | 12:24 am
    “We will be with you,” the mother duck says to the duckling. At least, that’s what I imagine it says. I watch as the duckling drifts away from its family. A loner. Different. Special. I hear the barbecue behind me. What will my mother say? What will my family think when I tell them I’m taking a vow of silence and traveling the world? Being the Starbucks-guzzling, IPad-toting herd they are, they’ll probably laugh. But it’s my destiny. Like the—eww. Now a falcon has the loner duckling in its beak. I sigh. An outlier’s life isn’t easy.   I extend my most sincere apologies,…

  • Splat

    The Drabbler
    20 Apr 2012 | 9:21 pm
    A Friday Fictioneers photo-prompt,  from the lovely blog of Madison Woods   “Whee! I feel so alive!” whooped the daredevil drop and leaped over the edge. Splat. “Oh my God, get me out of here!” screamed the hydrophobic drop and flung himself over the edge. Splat. “Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore splat thou Romeo?” bequeathed the star-crossed drop and swooned over the edge. Splat. “I splat, therefore I am,” mused the philosopher drop and — assuming he existed at all — went over the edge. Splat. “Freedom!” shouted the Scottish drop and charged heroically over the edge.
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    WordPress.com News

  • Stay In The Conversation

    Beau Lebens
    15 May 2012 | 6:01 pm
    It’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment…

  • Look at These Gorgeous Blogs

    Sheri
    15 May 2012 | 1:05 pm
    We’ve added a user showcase where you can view stunning customizations made by people just like you. From complete redesigns with CSS to adding pizzazz with Custom Fonts to clever use of options like background and header, this showcase will spark your imagination and inspire creativity. Discover details about what each showcase blog is doing with WordPress.com themes and customizations by clicking a thumbnail to see a colophon-style list of credits on the left. We’ve also updated footer links so blog owners can show off the types of customizations they’ve made and visitors can…

  • Photo Blogging 101, Part 1

    Erica V.
    14 May 2012 | 10:00 am
    Spring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here. Getting started Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including…

  • New Themes: Just Desserts and Oxygen

    Michelle Langston
    10 May 2012 | 8:11 am
    Happy Thursday! We’ve added some exciting new themes to our ever-growing collection, and we’re happy to tell you all about them. First out of the oven is…Just Desserts. Yep, that’s a theme! Designed by Andy Rutledge, Just Desserts is a deliciously stylish premium theme that’s perfect for blogs centered on food. With its responsive, single-column layout and unique presentation of images and posts on the front page, Just Desserts gives you a delectable canvas on which your mouthwatering photos and text can really shine — even when viewed on smaller mobile devices…

  • Find Friends Who Use WordPress

    Nick Momrik
    1 May 2012 | 2:32 pm
    Are you curious to see how your friends are using WordPress? Give the new and improved Friend Finder a try to connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and Google contacts who have WordPress sites! After authorizing WordPress.com to use your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to find your friends (don’t worry — none of this account information is saved!) you’ll see a list of people you know who have WordPress sites. Click Follow and each time your friend publishes a new post it will show up in your Reader under Blogs I Follow. If you have multiple blogs, make sure to set the…
 
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    Blog

  • My Epic Day of Writing

    Adam Lasky
    5 May 2012 | 2:45 pm
    I was looking forward to Saturday all week. A whole day dedicated to writing. Just me and Microsoft Word. No distractions or to do lists. Nothing would stand in the way of writing brilliance.

  • Ode to Pizza Rolls

    Adam Lasky
    2 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Awake, oh mighty pizza roll from your slumber. Come out of the freezer and into the fire.

  • Stop Thinking you're a Wizard

    Adam Lasky
    30 Apr 2012 | 7:00 am
    Deep down inside we all want to be wizards in the Harry Potter universe. We secretly hope that one day, a bearded giant will crash down our door and say those three magic words: “you’re a wizard!”

  • How to Prepare for the Dreaded Earworm Invasion

    Adam Lasky
    26 Apr 2012 | 6:13 am
    Every morning I wake up with a song in my head. It’s like my brain is some sort of jukebox with no “off” switch. It’s kind of annoying, actually, for a couple of reasons. I have virtually no control over what song I wake up to. One morning it’s Britney Spears and the next it’s Aerosmith.

  • When your Inner Monster Blitzkriegs

    Adam Lasky
    22 Apr 2012 | 9:03 pm
    The war to create is never over. There is never an armistice. There is no surrender. Creatives constantly battle inner monsters. And just when you think you might be on to something (like publishing a manifesto or a popular guest post on a heavy trafficked blog) the monster strikes.
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    Kat Collins

  • 100th Anniversary Commemorative Book

    Kat
    27 Apr 2012 | 3:59 pm
    Kat is helping develop a “through the years” commemorative history book for Sacred Heart Hospital’s 100th Anniversary in 2012.  She is creating all the black and white pencil sketches of history pictures for the book as well as assisting with the copy writing and layout. Filed under: Works in Progress

  • Bethlehem Juried Art Exhibition, 2010

    Kat
    27 Apr 2012 | 3:55 pm
    Painting, Acrylic “Seagull by the Sea” Bethlehem Juried Art Exhibition, 2010 Filed under: Art, Uncategorized

  • Christmas Card Design, 2005

    Kat
    27 Apr 2012 | 3:46 pm
    Black and white pencil Christmas Card created for Youth For Christ Lehigh Valley to send to over 500 of their financial contributors. Filed under: Art

  • Miles of Mules, 2003

    Kat
    27 Apr 2012 | 1:09 pm
    In 2003, Kat hand-painted a life-size fiberglass mule commissioned by the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce (PA). It was part of a larger project, “Miles of Mules,” which was a public art project designed to couple the beauty of art with the richness of history along the Delaware and Lehigh canals. Subsequently, the artwork and commentary was published in a coffee table book which you can purchase at the National Canal Museum Store Filed under: Art

  • Current Project Memoir

    Kat
    27 Apr 2012 | 9:30 am
    Credit: Laura “Pelick” Siadak Kat is working on a memoir about a story of an unlikely friendship and love between two women.  The story is one of immense heartbreak, emotional damage, destroyed relationships, and deeply wounding loss. Yet, there is redemption, healing, and love to be found in the most unlikely of places… Filed under: Works in Progress
 
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    Colors of My Soul

  • It is a Funny World

    Colors of My Soul
    16 May 2012 | 4:39 am
    Sometimes everything seems so messed up that even pretending it is fine does not do the trick anymore. But then out of nothing for a split second everything seems to make perfect sense. The only problem is… it is only for a split second. And then again darkness and denial, pretending that you are fine, fooling the world and yourself. It is funny how the world believes what you make it believe. It is surprising that friends can be fooled that easily. And it is painful when – even though you don’t want anyone to realize you are not alright – nobody actually senses a thing.

  • TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY: BOOK REVIEW

    Colors of My Soul
    10 May 2012 | 1:36 pm
    The New York Times best selling novel for 57 weeks, Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, has stirred up some controversy since being published in 2007.  The story is a dark one, revolving around Hannah Baker, a high school girl, who committed suicide prior to the opening of the novel.  This is not a plot with a happy ending.  It is not an attempt to save Hannah from suicide.  She is already dead.  Instead, the story is about Hannah’s desire to enlighten others about her reasons for suicide. Coming home from school one day, Clay Jensen discovers 7 cassette tapes waiting for him,…

  • I Never Sleep: Fiction

    Colors of My Soul
    8 May 2012 | 1:02 pm
    I never sleep. I mean it. Really. It is not insomnia or something of that kind. No. I just don’t want to sleep. Seriously, what’s the point in sleeping? You sleep – you peddle away your time. I’m better than that. I never sleep. They think I do. Fools. Every time I go forth into the night they believe I will be sleeping like everyone else. The only difference is that I am not EVERYONE. Stupid. They never get it. They even don’t know what they want. When I am there, they complain. When I am gone, they complain more. People, goddammit! I never sleep. Instead I go…

  • Ute Carbone: Author Interview

    Colors of My Soul
    1 May 2012 | 11:06 am
    Colors of My Soul is the place for writers to showcase their work. Every now and then we publish interviews with interesting people, most of them are published authors. We not only celebrate their success but learn from them. Today we introduce to you Ute Carbone, an incredibly talented writer who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. Ute, tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been writing? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to write your first book? I’m actually not one of those people who began writing as soon as she could pick up…

  • A Flower in the Wind

    Colors of My Soul
    26 Apr 2012 | 12:29 pm
    There was a flower, the wind once knew, That spread the fragrance of love. With her around, time – but rapidly – flew, For she was a gift, from above. There was a flower, the wind once knew, Vibrantly bright, yet plain. Dissipating freshness and happiness anew, She smelt of the Earth-drenching rain. There was a flower, the wind once knew, Distinctly apart from the rest! His liking for her but immensely grew, Ah! How cruel Fate doth jest! She left without notice; no trace or clue, The time he wish’d for, ne’er came. There was a flower, the wind once knew, Alas, he would…
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    MAD's Monday Muse (Redux)

  • Two Hats

    Mary Ann
    14 May 2012 | 2:00 am
    Photo Credit: maistora via Compfight “I have a strict controlling governor present during the first draft of a book. I write as if it were a rehearsal, I attempt to try out everything … I’m continually being fed and diverted … Continue reading →

  • Well-Dressed Writing

    Mary Ann
    7 May 2012 | 4:00 am
    “Everyone who writes strives for the same thing. To say it swiftly, clearly, to say the hard thing that way, using few words. Not to gum up the paragraph. To know when to quit when you’ve done. And not to … Continue reading →

  • Mistakes, Accidents & Obstacles

    Mary Ann
    30 Apr 2012 | 5:00 am
    “If the oyster had hands, there would be no pearl. Because the oyster is forced to live with the irritation for an extended period of time, the pearl comes to be … Mistakes and accidents can be irritating grains that … Continue reading →

  • Like Building Sandcastles

    Mary Ann
    23 Apr 2012 | 5:00 am
    Photo Credit: spacetrucker via Compfight “The best way of all for dealing with writer’s block is never to get it. Some writers never do. Theoretically there’s no reason one should get it, if one understands that writing, after all, is … Continue reading →

  • Your Own Ineptitude

    Mary Ann
    16 Apr 2012 | 5:00 am
    Photo Credit: Haris Awang via Compfight   “I sometimes think that I’m just one of the people who comes here every day and does it, even though I don’t feel like it, even though it’s difficult and I feel stupid … Continue reading →
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    Kathleen H. Wheeler

  • Alzheimer’s Association Forget Me Not Days

    Kathleen H. Wheeler
    12 May 2012 | 8:42 pm
    I’ve just received my marching orders to participate as a volunteer in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Forget Me Not Days annual fundraiser. On Saturday, May 19, I’ll be working at a local grocery store raising awareness of Alzheimer’s while collecting donations and handing out packets of Forget-Me-Not flower seeds to plant in honor of those currently suffering from this disease. I’m looking forward to helping with this national initiative in my own small way right here in my own hometown. Maybe I’ll see you next Saturday during the Alzheimer’s…

  • Thoughts on Chicken Soup Family Caregivers Book

    Kathleen H. Wheeler
    17 Apr 2012 | 5:55 am
      I’ve finished reading all the stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregivers now and really enjoyed this book, and not just because my story “Changing My Expectations” is included either! Here are a few interesting facts I’ve discovered: 101 stories are included from family caregivers dealing with a wide variety of illnesses and health problems of loved ones 12 stories deal with dementia/Alzheimer’s disease 3 stories are written by authors from Springfield, Illinois 12 stories focusing on dementia out of 101 total is a pretty high concentration on…

  • Film Provides Realistic Peek at Dementia

    Kathleen H. Wheeler
    7 Apr 2012 | 7:52 pm
    I just watched the one-hour film “You’re Looking At Me Like I Live Here And I Don’t” from director Scott Kirschenbaum on PBS with the Independent Lens series, and it provided as accurate a depiction of Alzheimer’s disease as I have ever seen presented anywhere. What an interesting perspective this film shows – no narrator, no commentary, no experts or doctors pontificating. Just one hour shown in the life of a woman named Lee Gorewitz afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease from the Alzheimer’s care unit in which she resides. Occasionally you can…

  • Dementia Film from the Inside Looking Out

    Kathleen H. Wheeler
    1 Apr 2012 | 4:48 pm
    Make sure you catch the new Alzheimer’s film “You’re Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t” by Scott Kirschenbaum. It is currently airing on PBS stations nationwide and shows dementia from the perspective of someone afflicted with the disease, specifically a woman in California named Lee Gorewitz. This is an unusual and startling perspective to witness this disease from, and the description of this film reminds me of the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova, although much farther along in the progression of the illness. I have this set on my DVR already to watch, check…

  • Family Caregivers Local Author Event at Barnes and Noble

    Kathleen H. Wheeler
    25 Mar 2012 | 3:37 pm
    It was such a treat to participate in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregivers book signing yesterday at Barnes & Noble as a contributing author along with Jean Ferratier. I want to thank the Springfield, Illinois Barnes & Noble for hosting this local author event, and I’d especially like to thank everyone who came by to see us over the two hours we were at the bookstore. Jean and I both had the opportunity to discuss and read excerpts from our stories. I feel so fortunate to have my story included in this book, and it was wonderful to talk with other caregivers and hear…
 
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    good words (right order)

  • How to Summarize Anything

    Patrick
    15 May 2012 | 10:30 am
    Writing a tight, logical summary is the most important business writing skill. Don’t agree? Then riddle me this: if they can’t make it past your summary, how can they approve the proposal you just submitted? Writing a summary will also help the writing process. To get the summary right (and if you are writing something that’s more than a page, you need a summary) you have to figure out the structure. Once you know the structure, the rest of the writing will be much easier. B.L.U.F. Bottom line up front. You’re not writing a mystery novel. In fact, you are writing the opposite…

  • Three ways to write a great presentation

    Patrick
    5 May 2012 | 12:36 pm
    There are plenty of tips about how to design a presentation. There are also plenty of tips on how to speak in public. But, for me, they all miss the point. Before a presentation can be shown or given it must first be written. So let it be written, so let it be done. To give a great presentation, you need to have something to say. And even if you have the topic, or even the kernel of the idea, you still don’t know what you are trying to say. You figure that out by the process known as writing. As William Faulkner said, “I never know what I think about something until I read what I’ve…

  • The Structure of Stories

    Patrick
    4 May 2012 | 3:19 pm
    Over at my personal blog I just did a nice post about the structure of stories. It’s kind of geeky fiction writer stuff, but it makes a point that is valid for anything you might write: It has an underlying structure. If you are producing any kind of regular content with any expectation of quality, having a sound structure is the only way. Visualizing the Hidden Structure of Stories — The Hunter  

  • Rewrite — Blog Post

    Patrick
    3 May 2012 | 11:19 am
    Rewriting a blog post about software development.

  • Right Order and the Passive Voice

    Patrick
    1 May 2012 | 4:00 am
    A standard bit of writing advice is, “Avoid the Passive Voice.” There’s nothing wrong with that, except that it doesn’t explain the passive voice. I have never used the term “passive voice” to describe a piece of writing. I know a few people who have, but they are no fun at parties. So what is the passive voice, and why avoid it? Bad writing uses too many words, and/or puts them in the wrong order. These are both contrary to how the language is designed to work. For an explanation why, see these posts: Right Order How the Language Works The passive voice is an…
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    Zen Copy

  • How to Find Your WIN – Your Write Idea Now

    Karen Daniels
    7 May 2012 | 7:36 pm
    How to get your best idea in 15 minutes or less. Decisions, decisions. Hard right? When faced with more than one choice, just how do you know you’re making the right one? Oy. What if you make the wrong decision and end up on some wayward path filled with pitfalls and no success? You probably have tons of ideas and not enough time to do them all. So determining which of your many great ideas are the best ones to act on right now is vital if you want to keep getting your best work out there and moving toward the success you crave. I’m going to show you a solution that allows you to…

  • Are You Missing Out on the One Word Advantage?

    Karen Daniels
    3 May 2012 | 12:21 pm
    Wouldn’t it be great if you knew just one word that could guarantee your success? A word that would help you give readers exactly what they want with every post or page or sentence so they run back to you for more? It would be awesome, right? But does such a word exist? Is it possible that a single word can generate a 7x increase in sales in just one year? The answer is yes. There is one word that can do that.  And shortly I’m going to tell you just what that one magic word is. In copywriting there are a lot of words called “money words.” Some of these include: Easy…

  • Lifehack Guestpost – How to Use those Noisy Creative Voices in Your Head to Succeed

    Karen Daniels
    23 Apr 2012 | 10:55 am
    My guest post at Lifehack.org… Many creative people, in an effort to calm the voices in their head so they can be more productive and find joy, turn to meditation only to find themselves face to face with instructions with works like “calm” and “clearing” their mind. For many individuals this method can work. But what if it doesn’t work for you? Read more at lifehack here. If you’re looking for ongoing creativity help subscribe to zencopy here.  

  • How to get Unstuck if You’re a Creative Freak Suffering from Creative Paralysis

    Karen Daniels
    13 Apr 2012 | 3:12 pm
    “Slow down” says your mom. “Sit and be quiet,” says your teacher. “Caution” says the wise man. You listen, yet you can’t truly obey, because the creative juices in your brain demand that you keep moving fast and furious. Photo Credit: Jerrycharlotte via Compfight Your brain has the need for speed that begs you to take action even when you’ve been told to slow down; to wait your turn.  And, over time this conflict renders you creatively paralyzed, which means your brain races on but you stop doing. And once that happens, as a creative freak (and…

  • How to Use Writing and JoyFear as Your Guiding Beacons to Success

    Karen Daniels
    4 Apr 2012 | 10:20 pm
    Today I was reading Tess Marshall’s post on zenhabits regarding fear – Joyfear actually, a term first coined by Leo Babauta, one of the world’s leading bloggers. Joyfear is that powerful combination of joy and fear which is often common during pivotal moments in our lives. Tess says: Make the decision to succeed. Once you decide on success you rarely allow doubt to enter your mind. Your persistence, dedication, and resilience are strengthened. You free yourself to do the uncommon and the impossible. The one thing that divides successful individuals from ones that have not…
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