Author: Andi Marquette

Andi Marquette once wanted to be a seafaring pirate. But she realized that could be a problem, growing up in the Rocky Mountain West and Southwest. So she became an editor, anthropologist, and historian instead. But that, too, didn't satisfy her weird cravings for stories and strange realms. Now, she's a writer ensconced in Colorado and when she wants to go pirate-ing, she just makes something up.

Monday writing tips

Hi, folks. Howsabout these greats from the greats?

I’m particularly enamored with Mark Twain’s:

Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain

That’s from tip 2, “eliminating unnecessary words” like “actually,” “very,” and “really.”

Checkov’s exhortation to SHOW, don’t tell:

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov

That’s tip 4: “Simply stating something is fine, but when you need to capture attention, using similes, metaphors, and vivid imagery to paint a picture creates a powerful emotional response.”

Good one from Ray Bradbury: You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.
Lesson? “Learn to thrive on criticism. Writing means putting yourself at the mercy of anonymous hecklers and shameless sycophants. Learn to make the most of the insults and distrust the praise.”

Check out the rest of the list here.

Happy writing!

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Sunday Readin’ Tip

So I don’t always post info about books I read that I think are groovy. I also read a lot of magazines, and when I come across an article I think is cool/provocative, I’ll post a link to it. And that’s exactly what I’m doing now!

Here’s a link to Henry Shukman’s “Chernobyl: My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden,” published in the March, 2011 edition of Outside Magazine.

Here’s the intro:

Twenty-five years after the Soviet-era meltdown drove 60,000 people from their homes in the Ukraine, a rebirth is taking place inside the exclusion zone. With Geiger counter in hand, the author explores Europe’s strangest wildlife refuge, an enchanted postapocalyptic forest from which entirely new species may soon emerge.

This is a fascinating journey through an area that nature is slowly reclaiming, but we still don’t know the price we’ve paid for that. Shukman’s narrative style sucks you right into the story and his descriptions are superb. He really captures the weird vibe that this off-limits area exudes, and the questions that linger about it. For those of us who remember the meltdown, it’s a reminder about the impact it still has, and what could ultimately come of it. Give it a read, and see what kinds of comments it generated.

by Categories: Cool articles, CoolnessTags: , , 1 Comment

Random Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tips

Okay, folks. Last tip was basically “get the hell out of urban areas ASAP.” Let’s talk about the nuances of that, shall we?

Yes, you want to get out ASAP because the more time you stay in the city, the more zombies that develop. So get out ASAP. Let’s talk about what that entails. Start thinking about it now, friends, so you can 1) have fun stuff to talk about at cocktail parties and 2) you really are prepared.

Flee! Flee to the “more” button right now!

Continue reading →

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Win a copy of a cool book!

Hey, aspiring/perspiring writers of lesfic. I’m having a little groovy contest over at Women and Words to win a copy of Lavender Ink: Writing and Selling Lesbian Fiction, ed. by Fran Walker. It’ll walk you through writing tips, putting together a query packet for a publisher, and the contracting process:

  • how to create vivid characters and realistic dialogue
  • what an editor looks for in a well-crafted story
  • tips on researching publishers of lesbian fiction
  • how to work with an editor
  • how to write query letters and synopses
  • how the publishing industry works
  • how to read a book contract clause by clause
  • marketing strategies for your book

(full disclosure–I have a chapter in here)

So come on down to Women and Words and play in the contest to win yourself a copy!

by Categories: Books, Coolness, Free BooksTags: , , ,

Intriguing writing tip: how police reports teach narrative voice

Hey, all–

I’m a member of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, and they put out this fab publication called Writer’s Chronicle. I bring this up because in a recent issue, there was a super-cool essay about how police reports can help earn the craft of writing. The piece is called “Inflection and the Narrative Voice: the LAPD Teaches Creative Writing,” written by fiction writer Ellen Collett.

I write crime fiction — specifically the books in my New Mexico series that star Albuquerque homicide detective Chris Gutierrez (State of Denial and the forthcoming 4th book, whose title is secret at the moment) — so Collett’s article was like an interrogation lamp shining on an aspect of craft I hadn’t considered.

For more info on the article, go to this short piece at Utne Mag. At the bottom there you’ll find a link to “Inflection and the Narrative Voice.” It’s a .pdf that Utne’s posting. Otherwise, you can’t really access the piece readily because you need to be a member of AWP to access certain materials from the magazine, like this piece.

Quote from the Utne piece:

But let me back up: Ellen’s essay—and an essay it is—reveals what she’s learned in her day job in crime analysis at the LAPD. Monday through Friday, Ellen reads incident reports, required of every officer for every event to which he responds. “Surprisingly,” she writes in both versions of her piece, “writing is the one constant in a cop’s daily life.” Not only that, standards are high at the force. The LAPD prefers action verbs and insists that officers avoid modifiers, which Ellen explains are “slippery and subjective.” Adjectives are also out, unless they “pertain to direction, color, or amount.” But even within these constraints, some writers are more compelling than others; so it is, Ellen demonstrates, with Officer Martinez, because, though he conforms to the rules, his “choices are idiosyncratic.” Where his partner, Officer Brown, “offers a fact, Martinez paints a picture,” she writes, and she goes on to show us how.–Dinah Lenney

Anyway, I love stuff like this. New views on craft. Happy writing! (and reading)

by Categories: Coolness, Writing tipsTags: , , , , , 1 Comment

End of an Era: Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor died this morning of complications from congestive heart failure.

She was a classy, elegant woman who worked tirelessly outside her screen career to humanize the plight of AIDS sufferers.

See her here, in A Place in the Sun

Trailer, Cleopatra:

Check her acting chops in this scene from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Slide show from the fashion section of the New York Post available here.

Reactions to her death.

Most iconic screen moments.

The many lives and roles of Elizabeth Taylor.

Her work as a tireless activist.

God speed, Ms. Taylor. You will be missed.

by Categories: In Memoriam, MoviesTags: , , , , 1 Comment

Writing tips–need a quickie prompt?

Hey, all–feeling cranky and dispossessed? Just want a quickie little prompt to give you some writing oooomph?

Check in with Writer’s Digest bloggers, like Zachary Petit. Today’s prompt involves an author, an ocean, and a weapon.

Here’s the link to his blog.

And here’s the link to Writer’s Digest, which is a good resource for writers.

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Sunday readin’ tip

Just finished this book. I like a good political intrigue, and that’s what I got.

Poison, by Sara Poole.

Summer, 1492, and a whole buncha s*** is about to hit the fan in Rome. The brutal murder of an alchemist sets off a quest for vengeance and the uncovering of a dastardly plot. The dead alchemist’s daughter, Francesca Giordano, learned the arts of alchemy and poisons from him and thus becomes the poisoner for the Borgia family. As if all that wasn’t enough, the Pope is gravely ill, and the political battles and maneuvering begin to prepare for the next Pope.

First person POV, and Francesca directly addresses the reader in an intriguing intimacy that brings the reader directly into the story. Nicely done. Fast-paced, well-crafted, great characterization and descriptions of 15th-century Rome. So if you have some time and you like historical fiction, you might want to pick this one up.

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Random Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tip

Scenario–oh, no! You’re in a zombie apocalypse! First things first, GET OUT OF THE CITY ASAP. And in other random zombie apocalypse survival tips, I’ll discuss how to go about doing that.

I know this one seems obvious, but I’ve discovered in casual conversations with people who perhaps are not zombie apocalypse aficionados like myself that perhaps it’s not all that obvious. So here it is:

AVOID FORMERLY HEAVILY POPULATED AREAS, so if you’re in a city when there’s an outbreak, your first order of business is to get armed and get out.

But for now, let’s just focus on why you need to bail from a city.

Think about it. If you’ve been watching Walking Dead, you know our hero went to Atlanta in search of help/his family. Well, Atlanta was a heavily populated area, and sure enough, it stayed heavily populated in the apocalypse: with zombies. Oh, and with other non-zombies who maybe aren’t taking this apocalypse thing so well. You need to avoid them, as well.

Assuming you’re not in a city and you’re avoiding them, your best bet, to get more food and supplies, is rural areas with smaller former populations. If you must venture close to a city, stick to the outskirts (strip malls might be good for something, after all). Avoid structures with lots of windows. Zombies can see you, and they have this tendency to crash through said windows. Big warehouse stores are better bets for supplies (CostCo or Sam’s, e.g.) than stores with big windows.

And if you have an extreme apocalypse in general streak, check out Rudy Reyes, Apocalypse Man.

Next random tip: how to get out of a city in a zombie outbreak. Because if you’re already in a populated area, well, obviously, you can’t really avoid it. But you can go Boy Scout and Always Be Prepared! Just don’t help old ladies across the street. They might be zombies.

by Categories: Random WTF stuff, Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tips, Zombies