Hey, all–
Try your flash fiction skills on over at Writer Unboxed.
This link will tell you how it works, and they’ll supply the prompts. A fun way to hone some writing skills, read other contributions, and maybe win a mad awesome prize.
Go on. Check it out.
Happy writing!
Hey, folks–
I read a lot of different stuff, all the time. Part of my regular reading material is nonfiction, not just because it’s interesting but because real life provides a lot of interesting story ideas. Especially since I write genre fiction. So here are a few articles I’ve recently read that maybe you’ll find give you some ideas. Especially if you write genre fiction, too.
“The Vanishing,” by Bob Briel, Outside (July 2012)
In the stunning and remote wilderness along northern British Columbia’s Highway 16, at least 18 women — by some estimates, many more — have gone missing over the past four decades. After years of investigation, authorities still don’t know if it’s the work of a serial killer or multiple offenders. BOB FRIEL drives into the darkness for answers.
I’m also a huge fan of travel writing. Try this one (winner of the bronze Solas award, by the editors of Travelers’ Tales):
“Letting Go on the Ganges,” by Kristin Zibell
A recently divorced woman finds endings and beginnings in India.
“Mexico Feeds Me: Exploring Mexico’s Culinary Heritage,” by Javier Cabral (Saveur, first published in issue #138)
In rural Zacatecas, Mexico, a young writer explores his heritage by cooking the rustic, boldly flavored dishes of the region.
I’m also a westerner born and bred, so I’m a sucker for a western-flavored essay.
“West to East, and a world away,” Charles Finn (Writers on the Range, in High Country News, February 17, 2012)
After 20 years in the West (and he’s come to love it), a writer has to go back East.
And maybe something you didn’t think you’d ever WANT to think about: Jailhouse food.
“An Insider’s Guide to Jailhouse Cuisine,” by Sean Rowe (Oxford American [the Southern Magazine of Good Writing], originally appeared in Issue 61, The Oxford American Best of the South issue, 2008)
The author spends time in jail, and offers us this slice of life in the big house and the role of food therein.
So there you are, peeps. Maybe you’ll find some…ah…food for thought in some of these pieces and BOOM the next plot for your next novel will hit you.
Happy writing, happy reading!
I might officially be an anachronism.
I’m still using a flip phone, and I don’t use it to access the web. I actually dial people’s numbers and TALK to them. Oh, sure, I’ll text as well and send a few photos. But I mostly use it to TALK.
I’m Gen X, which means I’m an immigrant to the digital world. I grew up without the interwebs, without voicemail (or answering machines), without cable, without cell phones, and without DVDs. VHS came along in the late 70s/early 80s, but most of us saw movies at the theater when they were released. (Oh, want more info about how primitive and weird things were for my generation? Here.)
I spent most of my summers outdoors with friends, or we got together at each other’s houses. We’d call each other on landlines and if nobody answered, we figured he or she was busy and we’d call back later. Or, if they did have answering machines, we’d leave a message. Eventually, we’d catch up with each other. No big deal if it took a few hours. Or a day or two. We all had other things to do. We’d meet up at various hangouts and get caught up on rumors, gossip, and plans for the upcoming days.
Point being, we TALKED. Face-to-face and on the phone.
That, I think, is becoming a lost art.
Want more? Keep reading…
Hi, folks–
Some cool stuff I ran across. For those who are not in the know, there’s a new professional organization out there for indie authors. The Alliance of Independent Authors can be checked out HERE.
Jane Friedman, guru of many things publishing, is one of the advisors, as is Mark Coker of Smashwords, Joanna Penn of Creative Penn, and Victoria Strauss of Science Fiction Writers of America.
Jane offers a video discussion about publishing, self-publishing, marketing, and groovy things like that at this link.
I’m a fan of professional organizations, because they offer networking venues, workshops, advice, and other benefits (some writers’ organizations can offer health insurance). So if you’re an indie author who’s looking to benefit professionally, the Alliance of Independent Authors might be for you.
Having trouble keeping with the writing? There’s an app for that. Write or Die is designed to encourage you to keep writing. Download the app and start typing in the box provided. There are 3 settings. The gentle mode provides a kind reminder to keep writing if you’ve stopped and haven’t written after a few seconds. It’s a pop-up box. The second, or “normal” mode, emits an icky sound if you’ve stopped writing that doesn’t stop until you start tapping away again. And the “kamikaze” mode starts erasing what you’ve typed after a few seconds. Whichever mode you choose, the app will dole out “prods” until you’ve met your word count and/or time goal.
Whew. Scary. Anyhoo, I’ve also posted a teaser from book 3 in my space opera series, the Far Seek Chronicles. You can check that out RIGHT HERE.
All rightie. Hope everybody’s having a great week!
Happy writing, happy reading!
I was reading the latest issue of Writer’s Digest (I highly recommend you try a subscription to this mag — it usually contains good writing and promo tips for authors plus interviews with authors) and came across an interview with Andre Dubus III, who wrote The House of Sand and Fog (among many others). The film based on that book was an Oscar nominee. The book itself was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Dubus is a larger-than-life kinda guy. Boston brawler born, who looks like the literary love child of John Mellencamp and Kurt Russell (that’s Zachary Petit’s description and I agree), he’s comfortable sharing a laugh and a pint as well as writing these intensely dark and poignant stories that leave us wrung out, alone, and wondering where the good is in being human. He taps the deep and lives his truth, which may be why his writing resonates with so many.
How does he do it? I like to find out about other writers’ processes. That is, the actual mechanical things they do to prepare for a writing session. Here’s Dubus’ process, from the article in Writer’s Digest:
“Andre Dubus III is both artist and businessman. It’s methodical: Every morning, Dubus wakes up and takes his kids to school (he lives in Massachusetts with his wife, who is a professional dancer, and two of his three children). He returns home. It’s empty of everyone except the dog. He takes a cup of black dark roast coffee down to the basement, where he’s built a 5-by-11 sound-proofed room. He sits at a desk in front of a blank wall, types the previous day’s longhand writing into the computer, then turns the machine off. He sharpens a pencil with a knife, reads three or four poems — for ‘the high bar of language that poets always give us prose writers’ — and then stares at the page.
‘I try to put myself in a state of openness and receptivity and not try to say anything and not think it, but dream it. And then I pick up where I left off.’
He writes for two to three hours, goes to the gym to clear his head (he still works out ‘like a demon’), and that’s it.
When it comes to creating a piece of writing, Dubus believes the story has to percolate in our mind — and that you shouldn’t write it too early.
‘There’s a profound difference between making something up and imagining it,’ he says. ‘Imagining it instead is falling into your psyche, your imagination, and finding some aspiring writer asks him a career question, he says he gets uncomfortable — he’s happy to help, but wants to know if the person has done the real work first: painstakingly crafted the words.”
From “Meet the Real Andre Dubus III,” by Zachary Petit (Writer’s Digest, July/August 2012), p. 43.
The interview itself is not available on the Writer’s Digest site unless you’re a subscriber (it’s in the print version, though), but you can get some of Dubus’ other words of wisdom from the site HERE.
So, writers. What’s your process? Does it seem to work? Would you change it if you thought it would open new windows for you? Just curious.
Happy Sunday.
Hi, kids!
OMG before I get into some really common spelling/grammar boo-boos, I simply must share with you my latest snack craze. Holy cow, these things are good:
source: Blue Diamond (re-sized here)
Serious yum-yum.
Anyway. Where were we? OH! I’m going to list a few of the most common boo-boos I see in writing. Care to see? Well, carry on!
I was thinking about the song “The Gambler” today. Specifically:
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.”
And I realized that’s a writing life.
How? Go see.
Hi, kids–
Got some groovy linkage here you might find useful for your writing and publishing selves.
Keith Cronin tells us: DARE TO SUCK! Great advice, because all writers (at least all the ones I know) go through a phase where everything they write or try to write feels like it’s no better than drunken monkey poo thrown liberally across greasy burger wrappers. That’s okay! Write it anyway! Or skip the scene that’s giving you nervous hives and write another one. The important thing is to keep writing, because you need that momentum (and if you want to find out more about Keith, click here).
Lydia Sharp says: It’s okay to watch movies and TV shows! Cuz you can learn cool things that translate into fiction writing! I agree. Catch her post about 5 ways novelists can benefit from doing that. And find more Lydia here.
Meg Wolitzer at the New York Times gives us some food for thought about the state of women’s fiction and women writing fiction. Go see. And find out more about Meg Wolitzer here.
The problem of knock-off ebooks at Amazon (that is, copy-cat books based on legitimate titles that Amazon posts). Check the comment thread, too, on that one. I guess my question on that one would be: If you know the title and author of the book you want, why would you buy a knock-off with a slightly different title/author? Hmmm.
And Stevie Carroll has a discussion about female friendships in fiction going over at Women and Words. Readers, you might want to check that out and offer suggestions to Stevie and others about books that have female friendships. Find Stevie at her LiveJournal here.
All right, friends. Happy reading, happy writing, and happy Tuesday! And please do feel free to provide links you think will benefit us here in The Situation Room in the comments. Cheers!
Hey, peeps!
Hope your week is treating you well. Mine’s outta hand, but no worries.
So I finally got around to reading the May/June 2012 issue of Writer’s Digest. Writers, if you buy one issue of this magazine this year, make it this one.
There’s a big ol’ piece called “The New Era of Publishing: Making It Work for You” by literary agent April Eberhardt. It’s a good primer for coming to grips with how publishing is changing, and what that means for you in terms of finding the right model for how you want to proceed as an author, regardless of where you are in your writing career.
There’s also an article by e-publishing guru Jane Friedman, called “The Basics of DIY E-Book Publishing,” which is another crash course in that subject, with Jane’s easy-to-understand info and tips. You can find her HERE, too, for more awesome-ness from her guru-ness. (No, SRSLY. Jane Friedman is considered an authority in e-publishing. She’s currently a professor in e-media at the U of Cincinnati and a former editor of Writer’s Digest.)
The next piece is called “Today’s Best Strategies for Savvy Self-Publishers,” by Joel Friedlander, author of a book on self-publishing and an award-winning book designer. Go see.
And one of my personal faves, WD’s best websites for writers. This is their 14th annual “101 Best,” broken down by category like “Creativity,” “Everything Agents,” “Online Writing Communities,” “Jobs & Markets,” and “Publishing Resources.” A couple that readers here might find intriguing include WOW! Women on Writing, an ezine that supports women through every step of the process. Go here. The current issue is about the art of storytelling. Novel Rocket offers tons of interviews and advice from published authors and literary agents. Grammar Girl (she is freaking supercalifragilisticexpealidocious) takes on grammatical quandaries that authors of all levels deal with. Check it out. And one more, to whet your whistle — Coalition of Independent Authors, a group of self-published writers who created the Coalition to gain exposure for their work.
That is just a taste of the 101 entirely useful sites in this list. The catch? You have to actually purchase the print copy of this mag, as these groovy tips are not available at the website. However, there are lots of cool things on the site for writers in terms of tips, writing prompts, exercises, and workshops to consider. So even if you opt not to subscribe or buy this issue, the Writer’s Digest site offers some good info for all kinds of writers.
Happy writing, happy reading!
Happy Friday, peeps!
I’ve provided links to author Chuck Wendig’s writing tips in the past, because I love his irreverent, often profane take on this nutty writing life.
He just released his novel Blackbirds, and it’s getting a ton of well-deserved praise and buzz. Check out the sexy-time cover:
source: Angry Robot Books
Here’s what it’s about, from Angry Robot:
Miriam Black knows when you will die. She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides.
But when Miriam hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim.
No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.
Here’s part of the buzz, all from Angry Robot:
“Trailer-park tension, horrified hilarity, and sheer terror mixed with deft characterization and razor plotting. I literally could not put it down.”
– Lilith Saintcrow, author of Night Shift and Working for the Devil
“A gleefully dark, twisted road trip for everyone who thought Fight Club was too warm and fuzzy. If you enjoy this book, you’re probably deeply wrong in the head. I loved it, and will be seeking professional help as soon as Chuck lets me out of his basement.”
– James Moran, Severance, Doctor Who and Torchwood screenwriter
“Gritty and raw, Blackbirds sports a unique heroine in the form of Miriam. Both sympathetic and pitiable, she dances through Chuck’s brilliant turns of phrase and crisp writing to an illuminating ending which begs the question: Are we truly masters of our own fate?”
– Allison Pang, author of A Brush of Darkness
That might not be the kind of book up your alley, but what I also dig about Chuck is how open he is with and about his process. Here’s part of the story BEHIND Blackbirds, done in his “25 Things…” format. It’s worth the trip over. CLICK THIS LINK HERE OR BE FOREVER DOOMED TO THE WALK-IN FREEZER OF MORDOR!
Happy Friday, y’all, and may we all find that “god I love this novel this is the one that will take me to the fire goddess Pelé and buy our way out of her wrath with a cocky grin and a song and make sure I have plenty of party favors” novel within us.
Andi Marquette 