Category: Inspiration

Writing Tips: the importance of craft

Hi, kids–

I have a spiel I use with new-ish authors with regard to the craft of writing. I tell them that there are certain rules that apply to writing. Rules of grammar, rules of spelling, rules of sentence structure, paragraph structure, story structure. Back in the day when public education was actually education all over the country, I learned all of these rules in both elementary school and high school. I diagrammed sentences out the ying-yang, and took courses in high school that delved into the origins and roots of words (in the English language).

These are things everybody should be learning at least in high school English.

Want more? Click on!

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by Categories: Inspiration, Things that make you think, Writing, Writing tipsTags: , ,

Go check out my chat with Faith Hunter!

That’s right, peeps. NYT bestselling urban fantasy author Faith Hunter sat down for a chat with me over at Women and Words.

You can catch that HERE.

And please do leave comments or questions for her. She’s more than willing to respond. Don’t be shy. I know, I know. NYT bestselling and all. But seriously. She’d love hearing from you.

Happy reading, happy writing!

by Categories: Cool stuff to read, Inspiration, Interviews, Paranormal, Urban FantasyTags:

Portland has all the cool stuff

SRSLY? Zombie apocalypse training? Are you freaking kidding me???

No, I am not. Portland is offering seminars.

Here’s the link, for reals.

There’s a vid at the link, too.

And once you get that training, Portland is the perfect place to write something about it!

The city sports the Attic Institute, a creative awesome-spot for writers.

and
The Willamette Writers.

And cool writers’ conferences like this one. And this one. And go here for even more listings.

So for those of you there, I’m a tad envious. Let me know how the zombie apocalypse training goes.

by Categories: Announcements, Disaster preparedness, Inspiration, WritingTags: , , , ,

The productive writer…

is the writer who writes. I know, I know. You’re thinking: DUH. But there’s a lot that goes into writing, and putting your butt to the chair and clicking away at your keyboard doesn’t necessarily mean you’re productively writing.

I caught Ann Aguirre’s blog over at Writer Unboxed the other day, and dang, she’s right (or write, as the case may be).

She offered 5 productivity tips. I’ll paraphrase here:

1) Don’t multitask
2) Know your next scene
3) Writer’s block could indicate a problem
4) Set goals, be accountable
5) Turn off the interwebs

What does it all mean? Come with me, Grasshopper…

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by Categories: Cool stuff to read, Inspiration, Things that make you think, Writing, Writing tipsTags: , 3 Comments

Turn it off, take a break

Hi, all–

I don’t really do resolutions, because I’m constantly setting schedules and goals based on my publishing contracts and other stuff going on. I tend to “shoot for a realistic goal” rather than make a list of resolutions, because I’ve gotten much better at figuring out how I work and what really is doable given my schedule and day-to-day. Which is not to suggest I don’t sometimes overreach. I do. But I don’t beat myself up about it if I don’t quite make the goal. Instead, I assess what the hang-up might have been, and adjust my schedule accordingly.

I know a few writers who feel guilty if they’re not writing every day. To them, I say, make a schedule. If you’re balancing family, work, and daily time, pick a day and a set time and make that your “for sure writing” time. Or try every other day, for an hour before bedtime or wake up an hour earlier. Keep in mind that your writing time is YOU time, and it’s always important to carve out YOU time.

One of the things, though, that I absolutely recommend for writers is to get away from the interwebs. Author Anne Lamott had a great piece recently in Sunset Magazine about making time. One of the things I completely agree with in that piece is turning things off. Stop obsessing over Twitter and Facebook. Get away from the interwebs and go sit yourself in your writing place and have at. Really. Twitter will be okay without you for a few hours. So will Facebook. It’s important for you to get away from those things and immerse yourself in your writing, even if it’s just an hour a day or an hour every other day. That said, it is okay, as well, to take a break from it.

Writing, like, say, a sport or a musical instrument, requires daily attention and/or as much practice as you can get in. Also like a sport or a musical instrument, I’ve found it’s okay to take a break from it for a day or two or even a few days because otherwise, I start to look at it not so much as a joy, but as a chore, and when I start feeling that way, I know it’s time for a break. Or if you’ve got personal stuff that comes up that needs to be dealt with, it’s okay to put that ahead of writing for a bit, though some of us do use writing as a way to balance stress of dealing with whatever else is going on in our lives. Just remember — it’s okay to take some time off from writing so you can get things back in balance. The muses will understand.

Ultimately, what writing requires is not just discipline and scheduling, but also self-awareness. You need to figure out what works best for you, and you need to apply a schedule (practice time) in accordance with your own rhythms. So if you’re running around all day every day and making excuses not to write, then maybe you’d better have a look at the reasons you’re writing in the first place. Could be you need a break from not just writing, but from the pace of your life, and maybe you should think about a retreat for yourself. Even just a day or a half-day of YOU time can help recharge your batteries and give you new perspective.

To that end, turn off the interwebs for a day during the week. Get away from the constant stream of information (which often proves unfiltered and useless) and get back to yourself. You just might find that doing so frees up some writing time and helps you make even more YOU time.

Happy reading, happy writing, and happy Saturday!

by Categories: Inspiration, Writing, Writing tipsTags: 2 Comments

Urban Fantasy

Hey, kids–

I’m always encouraging people to read outside their comfort zones and to read across genres. That’s something I do all the time. I have some genres that I enjoy more than others, but for the most part, I’m all over the map. Reading widely and reading often makes us better readers and, for those of us who write, better writers. Why? Because reading widely exposes us to new ways of expressing ourselves, and different stylistic elements that we can analyze and think about and perhaps incorporate into our own writing infrastructures. As readers, we get a feeling for the different formulas for different genres, and we can become better gauges of what works in a genre and what doesn’t.

Along those lines, I suggested over at Women and Words a couple weeks ago that readers try out some steampunk. So here, I’m going to suggest you try out what’s called “urban fantasy.”

You’re already aware of that genre, though you may not know that it’s sometimes referred to in that terminology. Basically, “urban fantasy” is set in a contemporary “real world” setting, usually “urban” (hence the name) with a main character who has some kind of paranormal or supernatural power and has to deal with those elements within the story. I found this over at Genteel Black Hole (cheers!), and I think she nails it:

To me, to class a book as being of this Fantasy subgenre, it needs to contain the following ingredients: contemporary setting, set in the real-world and with a real sense of place, city-based, with a male or female lead who has supernatural powers and uses them to kick ass and help people, detective/crime plot, humour, and set in a slightly alternative ‘now’ as humans are usually aware or becoming aware of the existence of certain supernatural beings. These beings include, but are not limited to: vampires (new and old mythology), were-creatures (from wolves to coyotes), wizards/witches, and the fae.

This definition is subject to change, but authors whose series/titles currently fall in this category include: Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files), Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires), Kim Harrison (The Hollows/ Rachel Morgan), Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld etc), Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels), Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere), Karen Chance (Cassandra Palmer) and Rachel Caine (Weather Warden). Here’s a great place for more information.
source: Genteel Black Hole

GBH also sends us over to this, at Goodreads, which provides a list of urban fantasy titles from which to choose. GBH notes that there is some crossover between urban fantasy and paranormal romance (which is, yes, romance that involves characters with paranormal inclinations/supernatural powers), but there’s crossover in virtually every genre. And generally, if you prefer a paranormal romance to urban fantasy, the synopsis will probably let you know whether the drive behind the book is romance or, say, mystery or thriller or something along those lines.

Here, let me help if you’re still confused. Stephanie Meyer‘s stuff (Twilight) is considered urban fantasy in some circles. So, too, is Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse. And Jim Butcher‘s paranormal mystery series is also considered urban fantasy.

And not all urban fantasy deals with vampires and werewolves (though those are popular characters in the genre). Jim Butcher’s work, for example, includes witches, ghosts, and demons. Gail Cerriger, I’d argue, melds elements of at least two genres to write paranormal steampunk.

So go on and check out those authors’ websites. If you’ve never read urban fantasy, give it a try. You might just like it.

Happy reading!

by Categories: Books, Inspiration, Paranormal, Spec fic, Urban FantasyTags: , , , , ,

Gratitude

Hi, folks–

I know, Thanksgiving has come and gone. But I’m one of those people who doesn’t really think about the historical context of Thanksgiving so much as the spirit of it, and the time to think about the winding down of the year and the things for which I’m grateful.

And that’s why I’m giving you this link to The Rumpus, and the amazing-ness of people offering their thoughts about what’s made them grateful. I guarantee, you will not be unmoved, whether by the stories themselves or the gorgeous prose that some of these people use to tell them.

Go. Read. And find within yourself that which makes you grateful.

Happy Monday, and many thanks to Kelley Eskridge for the link.

by Categories: Cool blogs, Cool stuff to read, Inspiration, Things that make you thinkTags: , , 2 Comments

Yvonne “Miss Dixie” Fasnacht

Hi, all–

I came across this piece today via Twitter and The Advocate magazine. It’s a write-up by Dianne Anderson-Minshall about the death of Yvonne “Miss Dixie” Fasnacht, at the age of 101. I love stories like this, because I’m a history geek, but also because it’s characters like this that provide inspiration for writers like me.

Anderson-Minshall bills her as a legendary New Orleans gay bar owner. And it’s a great story. So read on…

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by Categories: Cool stuff to read, History, InspirationTags: , , 5 Comments

NANO NANO!

Hi, folks–

So some of you, I’ll bet, are doing NaNoWriMo. That’s National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every November. I’ve participated twice, and each time completed it, much to my pleasure. It’s a great opportunity to set a writing goal for yourself, and to achieve it. Plus, you’ll meet lots of other people who are also engaged in it, and established authors offer pep talks and advice throughout.


source: NaNoWriMo

It might be just the thing you need to get off that idea you’ve been sitting on and commit it to paper.

Need some inspiration? Check with author Chuck Wendig. He posted The Inkslinger’s Invocation to provide just that. Check it here. Note–if you are of a more “delicate constitution,” Mr. Wendig may not be for you. Too bad. He’s a veritable smithy o’ words.

Want more, ah, staid inspiration? Here’s Lynda Barry from last year.

The point is, NaNoWriMo is a vast cornucopia o’ anxiety-ridden, excited, jump-on-the-document authors, whether established or not, whether you’ve been dreaming about putting your idea to words or you’ve just been trying to work out the next plot for your next novel. It’s a circus of writing delirium, the kind of milieu that only those who engage in this absurdly profound (profoundly absurd?) pursuit can understand. It’s a slap-happy, punch-drunk commiseration festival, and should you crank out your 50K words by the end of November, it’s a silly, grinning, drink-raising toast to the mighty you, who conquered the demons at the door to your muses’ private quarters.

So if you are an aspiring writer, and you’ve been looking for the opportunity to finally get that manuscript written, NaNoWriMo might be just the ticket for you.

So good luck, word bandits! May your drafts flow effortlessly from your fingertips.

Happy Wednesday!

by Categories: Inspiration, Writing, Writing tipsTags: , , , 4 Comments

Steve Jobs changed the way we think

Hi, folks. Yes, I know. Mr. Jobs died last week, but tributes, I don’t think, are ever late. We all know that he’d been battling various illnesses, from pancreatic cancer to something that required he get a liver transplant in 2009 (not sure if it was related to the cancer or not). So I think a lot of us suspected he was living on borrowed time, but what I’ve discovered in reading all the articles about him after his death is he was as driven before his illness(es) as he was after. The man was a true visionary, and he changed the way we relate to technology and how we incorporate it into our lives. And yes, for the record, I’m writing this on my MacBook.

Here are some links that’ll provide you insight into his life and legacy, and also show you the evolution of Mac/Apple products:

Rolling Stone has a slideshow of some of his products here, from the 70s on.

The New York Times did a great write-up of his life and legacy here.

And Huffington Post on his death, life, and complicated relationship with fame.

Regardless of what you think about Mr. Jobs or Apple/Mac, he was an innovator, and he did push his industry to do the same. Even if you don’t own a Mac or Apple product, chances are you’ve heard of them and someone in your circle of friends owns at least one (and constantly tells you how you should get one, too). Here’s hoping that his legacy will continue, and that we as a culture continue to strive to innovate and develop products that are more environmentally friendly but on the cutting edge of computing technology.

Happy Monday.

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