Last night was memoir class night, and it was a particularly good one. There were a number of absentees. As a result, the discussion felt like it was not only more intimate, but on a higher level. I left feeling good about the class, and more importantly like I was going to go home and write.
I had a buzz of ideas floating through my head and couldn’t wait to get home to start getting them on ‘paper’.
One step out of the car changed all that. Continue reading
As I sit here tonight, mulling over the first chapter of the memoir piece I am working on, I wonder how exactly I have managed to rework it eight or so times, only to decide to go back to the original piece. I realized that somewhere in all the revisions I lost my voice. Continue reading
What an amazing opportunity!
Early this morning, just after I stumbled out of bed, decaffeinated and bleary-eyed I sat down in front of the computer. You know, the one I borrowed since the untimely demise of my own – may she rest in peace. Continue reading
After having seen many writers/authors discuss the importance of note-taking, I was so pleased to stumble upon this free application which allows you to make notes (even from your phone)and store them in different notebooks.
Evernote links up through Twitter and possibly Facebook too, if you like, so it will store all status updates and tweets and you can easily sort them into specific notebooks. Very convenient.
I am thinking of all the times I am out walking, and have a thought… a gem of an idea really… and have nothing to jot it down with. It’s seems to me it is a good solution, and well worth checking out if you need a bit more organization in your life.
This is a blog site put together by writers, for writers. It is full of tips and links, seminars and conferences. There is so much good stuff here, I will just give you the link to Fuel Your Writing and let you see for yourself!
The paranormal novel I am working on, Lineage (working title), has me so intrigued and enamored with it. I am really enjoying sitting within it and writing it out, exploring my characters and shaping them.
There is just one problem. One of my characters keeps interrupting me. I will be happily typing along, describing a scene with great intensity, when suddenly Michael will start telling me about a conversation he will have with my main character. Just like that. Out of the blue.
By some amazing miracle, though saturated with my favorite magic elixir, (coffee), my hard drive and all the documents, stories, pictures, memories, ideas – you know… my EVERYTHING – survived the ordeal. Thanks to a member of the Geeks-On-Call, it is now sitting comfortably, encased in a protective hard shell, and wired in to the computer I have been fortunate enough to borrow. Continue reading
As a part of my ritual tweeting, I stumbled across a great article today, called “Do I need an agent?“, written by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary. This article had me laughing from the outset, with its lighthearted yet helpful look at the agent-writer relationship. Chip shares his insight into what an agent does, and doesn’t do, as well as a well thought out list of questions a writer should be asking of an agent when seeking representation.
He writes: What should an agent NOT do for me? Write your books. Be your mom. Handle your personal finances. Vacuum.
As I took a look around the rest of his blog, I found a treasure-trove of information. I quickly added Chip’s blog to my list, and as soon as I post this, will head back there to soak up some more knowledge.
Last night, I was so focused on my work that I didn’t notice my coffee cup steadily leaning over, and subsequently pouring itself onto my keyboard. When the “fizzlePOP!” sound happened, accompanied by the untimely demise of everything I have created in the last 3 years, all I could do is stare in abject horror at the black screen. Continue reading
One of the blogs I follow is consistently giving me new and useful information about the world of writing and getting published. Bubblecow is a publishing business out of the UK, who you can also follow on Twitter and Facebook. I have found so many helpful and often inspiring thoughts running through their site daily and I highly recommend the follow.
Their site also has a live help feature, but I have not used it so can’t say whether it is worth trying.
Find the Bubblecow blog here
I’m a tosser. I get snippets of ideas, accept them into my mind and toss around the idea, watching it blend in with the other ideas, often turning itself into a bigger concept, or even a plan of action. Throughout my life I have said “I’m tossing the idea around”, and this past year or so have come to see it as part of my writing ritual, my process. I actually have a mental picture of me taking two spoons and tossing the ideas around like one would a salad. Continue reading
They have subtitled this site “Unmissable articles on writing”, and I would have to agree. There is a lot of information here, helpful hints and facts.
Click here to check it out!
Here is a helpful tool that analyzes your writing sample and gives you the readability level. Very helpful for writers of children’s books, just to give you a general idea of you targets as far as age group and such go.
The analyzer is brought to you by Blue Centauri Consulting, operated by Sarah K Tyler. To go directly to the Analyzer, click here
I think Cynthea Liu’s site is one of the first sites I found, and I have found it so incredibly helpful I just had to pass it on. She has all sorts of tips for writers of children’s books, ranging from help with the synopsis writing to how you should dress to attend a writers conference. She has a great sense of humor and makes you feel welcome on her site right away.
I highly recommend you visit Writing for Children and Teens
What can I say? This site is fabulous! Offering many insights into the world of self publishing and platform building, Joanna Penn has a site worth bookmarking. I highly recommend downloading “Author 2.0” to everyone.
I found myself re-potting my tomatoes the other day, and chuckling as I realized that every time I have gotten a rejection letter, I find myself up to my elbows in dirt. Tomato therapy. For some reason, I need to balance the life-killing rejection letters by nurturing and giving life to my plants. Another interesting correlation perhaps, is that this year marks the first I have had a garden (which is surviving my decidedly NON ‘green-thumb’!), and also the first in which I have taken something I’ve written, and sent it on, in hopes of being considered for publishing. Continue reading
Magical things. Beautiful things. 