Author Sarah Prineas wrote a guest blog-post I appreciated on Shrinking Violet Promotions. It's called I Will Be Your Friend But I Will Not Be Your Fan: A Rant About How Authors Use Social Media Promotion. I took time to read through the comments as well as the post, as they provided some good counterpoints to the rant. Prineas follows up that post with Solutions: One Way to Deal With the Self-Marketing Frenzy, Plus a Shout-Out to Publishers.
I am reticent to do self-promotion for my online shop because I am easily overstimulated, and operate from the assumption that you are easily overstimulated as well. Still, I would like for people to find my shop easily through internet searches when what I offer is what they want. I've considered a paid ad, but as one who doesn't often click on ads, I wonder how prudent the expense would be.
Enough about promotion! I am happy that I now have a childhood favorite book called Little Witch, by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. I plan to read it to my daughter after slogging through the rest of The Road to Oz. I enjoyed rereading the first few books as an adult, but despite the presence of Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter,I realized I was Done With Oz when we came to the chapters with the head-throwing Scoodlers.
Showing posts with label writing life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing life. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Building a world in less than 4.5 billion years*
I often get so caught up in the background research for stories that I can easily allow that research to eclipse the true task, which is to write. As I work on creating a believable landscape for my current story, I need to figure out weather patterns, seasons, agriculture and technology so that I don't inadvertently create an equatorial desert next to an arctic tundra. Whatever I make up, I want to be plausible. I just ordered this book in the hope that it is useful: World Building, by Stephen Gillett. World Building is part of Ben Bova's series called Science Fiction Writing.
*In this case, 4.5 billion years is 4.54 × 109 years ± 1%. An American billion is a thousand million, whereas a British billion is a million million. To quote Lone Star Ma, "Grrf."
*In this case, 4.5 billion years is 4.54 × 109 years ± 1%. An American billion is a thousand million, whereas a British billion is a million million. To quote Lone Star Ma, "Grrf."
Friday, January 01, 2010
The Scullery Boy Remembers
Happy New Year! I'm pleased to announce that my short story, The Scullery Boy Remembers, is now published in Enchanted Conversation, an online journal of fairytales. The theme of the premiere issue is Sleeping Beauty. I was inspired by this passage from the Grimms' version of the story:
The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep.
The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Good News for My Short Story
Now that I've signed the contract, I can tell you the good news about the short story I periodically mentioned I was editing. It's going to be published in Enchanted Conversation, a new online journal of fairytales. The first issue will be published online in January 2010, and the theme will be centered around "Sleeping Beauty." I wrote a short story called "The Scullery Boy Remembers," inspired by the following passage in the Grimms' version of the story:
The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep.
I'll let you know when Enchanted Conversation debuts. In the meantime, take a look at the submissions guidelines and topics for future issues.
The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep.
I'll let you know when Enchanted Conversation debuts. In the meantime, take a look at the submissions guidelines and topics for future issues.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Lost-o-Rhyme-o
I am not going to participate in NaNoWriMo, but I've included the link in this post in case it's useful to you. As the website explains,
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality.....Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
I am convinced I write the worst drafts in the world. (Just kidding! I'm sure yours are just as bad.) Still, I don't wish to attempt to produce volume. I like stories that don't waste words. In theory, I could winnow the words produced by a month of NaNoWriMo. I suspect that after the winnowing, I wouldn't have much left with which to work.
I want some sort of short-term writing goal, though. With that in mind, I shall start LoStoWriMo, pronounced "Lost-o-Rhyme-o." It stands for Local Story Writing Month. Every day in the month of November, I will post an original short story. Each story may be five paragraphs, two paragraphs, six words long-- who knows? I'll do it. Last weekend, when I attended an all-day storytelling workshop with Nancy Mellon and Ashley Ramsden, I found that I could tell an extemporaneous story if someone else gave me a few nouns to work with. A few years ago, I had a regular feature by which readers would give me words, and then I'd write stories inspired by them. (You may read some of them here, here, and here.
For LoStoWriMo/Lost-o-Rhyme-o, I invite you to fill the word bank for my stories. I ask that the words you submit be solid, flavorful nouns. (Nouns that are ideas are welcome, but please try to avoid the "Stump the Storyteller" mentality.)Please don't feel any obligation to leave critiques or feedback on the stories. However, if you felt compelled to leave a calling card along the lines of "Marked as read," I'd know that you stopped by, and I'd be glad.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality.....Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
I am convinced I write the worst drafts in the world. (Just kidding! I'm sure yours are just as bad.) Still, I don't wish to attempt to produce volume. I like stories that don't waste words. In theory, I could winnow the words produced by a month of NaNoWriMo. I suspect that after the winnowing, I wouldn't have much left with which to work.
I want some sort of short-term writing goal, though. With that in mind, I shall start LoStoWriMo, pronounced "Lost-o-Rhyme-o." It stands for Local Story Writing Month. Every day in the month of November, I will post an original short story. Each story may be five paragraphs, two paragraphs, six words long-- who knows? I'll do it. Last weekend, when I attended an all-day storytelling workshop with Nancy Mellon and Ashley Ramsden, I found that I could tell an extemporaneous story if someone else gave me a few nouns to work with. A few years ago, I had a regular feature by which readers would give me words, and then I'd write stories inspired by them. (You may read some of them here, here, and here.
For LoStoWriMo/Lost-o-Rhyme-o, I invite you to fill the word bank for my stories. I ask that the words you submit be solid, flavorful nouns. (Nouns that are ideas are welcome, but please try to avoid the "Stump the Storyteller" mentality.)Please don't feel any obligation to leave critiques or feedback on the stories. However, if you felt compelled to leave a calling card along the lines of "Marked as read," I'd know that you stopped by, and I'd be glad.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Enchanted Conversation: Call for Submissions
Enchanted Conversation, "a journal where lovers of fairy tales can write and read and find community" is calling for submissions for its first issue! The theme for the first issue is focused on the "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale. Guidelines for submissions can be found on the site and authors will be paid for their work. The deadline for this first issue is November 15, 2009, so you have some time to create and revise.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Stars and Stories
YA/Teen writer Justine Larbalestier's blog post Very Wrong Questions (which links to her fellow writer Ally Carter's blog post The Wrong Questions...) resonates with me and reminds me of why I quietly dropped out of my local SCBWI chapter. I enjoyed hearing the guest speakers, but the questions so often depressed me. I also didn't have a finished manuscript. I still don't.
However, now I'm ready to think again about working on a longer manuscript. There's a story I want to tell. It's the kind of story I want to read. It deals with space-travel, the longing to connect with beings on other planets in the universe, and the frustration of slower-than-light travel that currently stymies humanity's thirst for exploration and discovery even more than the money involved to undertake such ventures. It's character-driven.
It's altogether possible that you will never read it. I would be thrilled if I wrote and edited a manuscript that I felt was worthy enough for you to read. If it were also worthy enough of publication, that would be wonderful, too. However, I realize that all these years, my internal pressure to have written rather than to write has sabotaged my will to create stories.
I remember a moment years ago when I rode the escalator from one level of a bookstore to another. I looked down at the shelves and tables of books, and suddenly felt melancholy. "I'm so glad I don't have a book down there," I thought. The expanses of books that might never be brought home and read made me feel overwhelmed. How odd, then, that entering a library or looking up at the night sky brings exhilaration and excitement over the possibilities of discovery.
If after we die, we get to have our questions answered, my husband and I both know what our first question will be: "Is there alien life on other planets?" We'd really like to find out the answer to that question in our lifetimes, but we will take what we can get.
Now, if there is alien life, the next question might be, "Is it friendly?" And perhaps that answer would be, "It depends. How friendly are humans, anyway?"
Touché.
However, now I'm ready to think again about working on a longer manuscript. There's a story I want to tell. It's the kind of story I want to read. It deals with space-travel, the longing to connect with beings on other planets in the universe, and the frustration of slower-than-light travel that currently stymies humanity's thirst for exploration and discovery even more than the money involved to undertake such ventures. It's character-driven.
It's altogether possible that you will never read it. I would be thrilled if I wrote and edited a manuscript that I felt was worthy enough for you to read. If it were also worthy enough of publication, that would be wonderful, too. However, I realize that all these years, my internal pressure to have written rather than to write has sabotaged my will to create stories.
I remember a moment years ago when I rode the escalator from one level of a bookstore to another. I looked down at the shelves and tables of books, and suddenly felt melancholy. "I'm so glad I don't have a book down there," I thought. The expanses of books that might never be brought home and read made me feel overwhelmed. How odd, then, that entering a library or looking up at the night sky brings exhilaration and excitement over the possibilities of discovery.
If after we die, we get to have our questions answered, my husband and I both know what our first question will be: "Is there alien life on other planets?" We'd really like to find out the answer to that question in our lifetimes, but we will take what we can get.
Now, if there is alien life, the next question might be, "Is it friendly?" And perhaps that answer would be, "It depends. How friendly are humans, anyway?"
Touché.
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