tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58841867123496352582024-03-18T23:32:16.784-05:00Pens and Pages Writer's GuildWelcome to Pens and Pages! We enjoy learning how to write, and it is a pleasure to associate with other writers. Please look around, and we hope that you will enjoy the fun exercises here, the samples from other writers, and the fellowship. Only a few of us are published (and self-published at that) so don't be embarrassed to try. Please look around and...enjoy!DJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16355897990550161884noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-44352618252945067782016-10-11T13:22:00.001-05:002016-10-11T13:22:25.586-05:00Author platforms and self-marketing... oh my!Three years ago I decided I wanted to self-publish a novel. I'd heard all the chatter about how difficult a process it could be, but I felt like I wanted it because I didn't want to just get published. I wanted to share stories with others, stories that I hoped they would want to read, and I thought that was the best way to go about it. Easy enough right?<div>
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I was wrong. There is nothing easy about self-publishing, and there shouldn't be. When I delved further into the mess that is being an indie author I immediately thought, holy crap! What've I gotten myself into? Not only did I need to have a completed project to put out there, but I also needed to learn the ins and outs of self-marketing, and building an author's platform. Both of which by the way can be very daunting.</div>
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What have I learned in three years? You have to be willing to put the time and energy not only into your writing but also into learning to build your author's platform. It doesn't happen overnight, and neither,unfortunately, does self-marketing. </div>
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Where am I going with all of this? Well, today I managed to stick my neck out there and start building my newsletter list. Do I have that elusive finished project? No. But, I realized that I'm closer now to my goal than I was three years ago. So, I started plugging away at my platform. </div>
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For me, making myself accountable to my writing isn't just about consistently writing. It's about putting ALL of the efforts that I can into it, to make it work. So that my writing is something I can do and hopefully share with a fan base for years to come. </div>
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Will this make me the next Stephenie Meyer (god I hope not) or J.K. Rowling? No, but it will help me attain my goal, and in the end, that's all that really matters. </div>
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So, don't let yourself get bogged down with the overwhelming sense of it all. Make small attainable goals, and step by step, smash them into whimpering little bits!</div>
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-Write on! </div>
TL Negretehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08755850483711162968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-39922464141555685802016-09-09T21:45:00.002-05:002016-09-09T21:45:52.034-05:00Greetings!<br />
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Writing seems to draw me in with intriguing temptations to explore on paper. Writers groups call my name. Pens and Pages Writers Guild (http://pensandpages.blogspot.com/) has held me captive for over eight years. People ask me what I write, but I have no answer. It always seems like something I will do in the future. Maybe when I’m sixty-five, like Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie), I’ll publish my first set of books. Until then, this blog will be a fine start.<br />
Dealing with issues like depression, anxiety or ADHD have always been a challenge. These, and other mental issues, prevail across all boundaries of human beings regardless of gender, race or economic status. Successful and well known people are no exception. Often creative types suffer needlessly today.<br />
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Juhie Bhatia writes,"Television journalist Jane Pauley made her network debut on NBC's Today Show at the age of 25. She went on to work for the network's Dateline and later had her own talk show. At the age of 50, Pauley began experiencing episodes of depression and mania. It is thought that steroids used to treat hives kick-started her symptoms, which were diagnosed as bipolar disorder. She describes her experiences in her bestselling memoir, Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue.<br />
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'If we're lucky, the next generation won't drag around that personal stigma,' she tells bp Magazine. 'They also are going to grow up with a wider array of medications that addresses whatever causes this malady of ours.'<br />
Pauley shows that mental challenges do not have to keep a person from living life to its fullest. Receiving professional help is a blessing that makes it easier. Through the years, famous authors have told of their struggles," (http://www.everydayhealth.com/bipolar-disorder-pictures/famous-people-with-bipolar-disorder.aspx#12).<br />
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You would think that fame would calm some of the anxiety issues but Julie Zelinger tells, “Rowling, one of the most successful authors of all time, has spoken about the clinical depression that consumed her while she wrote the first Harry Potter book, even creating a fictional representation of her struggle in the form of Dementers — evil creatures that feed off of human happiness. But it was her rise to fame that prompted her to continue treatment despite her great success. Rowling told the Daily Mail in 2012: You don’t expect the kind of problems that [fame] brings with it. I felt that I had to solve everyone’s problems. I was hit by this tsunami of demands. I felt overwhelmed. And I was really worried that I would mess up ... I had to do it [therapy] again when my life was changing so suddenly — and it really helped. I’m a big fan of it, it helped me a lot.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/31/famous-women-therapy_n_3683419.html).<br />
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Thankfully, Rowling sought help for her difficulties. Many readers, young and old, would be awfully upset if there was not a follow to “Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets.” The world will never know the deep and thought provoking poetry it missed when Sylvia Plath took her own life, as she suffered greatly from mental issues as displayed in her character’s breakdown in, “The Bell Jar.” Point being, reaching out for help is a good thing. Sometimes a life-saving thing. <br />
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Making the first move to ask for help can feel like the biggest leap ever taken. The first phone call was more than important in my life, it was critical. This was a call I needed to make. It was a call for help.<br />
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Listen to the internal dialogue from that call.<br />
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I want help! I need help. I want to make the call. I’m so afraid. <br />
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Should I? Is it okay? Am I defiling or betraying the people I will talk about by talking to a counselor? My heart is beating out of my chest. I feel like it is wrong. Like it is even wrong to look up the number. I feel so guilty. But I need help.<br />
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What will she be like? Will she be friendly? Will she know I am scared out of my wits?<br />
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Can I afford it? What if I offer to pay cash?<br />
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This is too hard! But I need help. I have wanted this for years and years. I have tried to make the call many times before.<br />
Just make the call. You do not have to spill your guts on the phone, right here, right now. Things will not get better if you do not make the call. It will be okay.<br />
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Heart pounding, palms sweating, feeling light-headed, I pick up the phone and dial the number I’d tried to dial a hundred times.<br />
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“Hello. Hi. Uh . . . this is Brenda . . . I . . . need to, want to see if I can . . . no, I <i>need</i> to set up an appointment. I would like to pay cash and not go through insurance. Is that possible? <br />
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The appointment was made with ease with the therapist’s kind-hearted approach.<br />
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As difficult as writing a synopsis or making your first pitch to a New York editor you met at a conference, connecting with a counselor and asking for help was my first step in being a better me and so, a better writer. As soon as I ended the call, my breathing returned to normal, oxygen began to flow to my brain and calm returned to heart. I had lived through the experience of making a most important phone call of my life. I didn’t die. In fact, hope began to stir from deep within. I was going to change my life and it all began with a simple phone call.<br />
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Was I anxious on that first meeting with the counselor? Check back soon for the next blog post! See you then. <br />
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Tootle-oo!<br />
Brenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03829573018563427386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-50058211002504955502016-08-26T10:35:00.000-05:002016-08-26T10:35:40.263-05:00Query Letter Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCGCY0YZIE-2400LBXPL3WDCwnPBsmyOJJPjQjhy7lib9BqT8_1QfA65dhlJPwvbz_F0zQXo1VNyWbNvj2GJUWhbejZlraJHnAxyTpboRrB6-u63Y2dYotHPMVwiqqDo5SrlgqJB0H3U/s1600/2_writers-destined-to-be-depressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCGCY0YZIE-2400LBXPL3WDCwnPBsmyOJJPjQjhy7lib9BqT8_1QfA65dhlJPwvbz_F0zQXo1VNyWbNvj2GJUWhbejZlraJHnAxyTpboRrB6-u63Y2dYotHPMVwiqqDo5SrlgqJB0H3U/s320/2_writers-destined-to-be-depressed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve all been there— staring at the screen, reading then re-reading our attempts at the dreaded query letter. Every writer has to write them, and every writer seems to hate them. I myself loathed my recent foray into the seventh circle of query letter hell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My journey started simple enough: a homework assignment from an RL writing group. My mission: to write a first draft query letter for critique. No problem right? Wrong. Many problems, and drafts later (I think I got up to version 9.2) the query letter had me beat (500) to my (0). I was lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s not that a query letter is confusing. It’s not. No, really— it’s not. The problem with query letters is that they are subjective. There is no right, or wrong way to write a query letter. There <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> good query letters and bad query letters. Mine fell into the latter category for many reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thanks to Writer’s Digest resources which can be found </span><a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/online-exclusives/oct-16/elements-of-a-successful-query-letter"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">HERE</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> I had lots of advice on how to craft my query. But something was still missing. What I had was a lifeless letter that didn’t represent my voice, the tone of my novel, or even its characters. My problem was that my query letter lacked the punch my novel had, but why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a query letter, you have one page to sell your writing, and your novel idea to an agent, or editor. The piece I decided to do my letter on wasn’t even a completed project! I realized that I had to boil my query letter, and my project down to the bones, then pick the bigger plot question, and that would become the basis for my query letter. Sounds easy right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then why did it take me four days to figure that out? Because I got so tied up in trying to find the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">right</i> way to do it, that I forgot to step back and look at the bigger picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Query letters are a pain in the neck. There is no magical way around that, but knowing what I now know, I would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">strongly </i>recommend authors write a query letter regardless of where they are with their particular work in progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you’re looking for a place to workshop your query letter, there are several online forums that were of great help to me. The first is <a href="http://www.writingforums.org/">WritingForums</a>, I’ve been a member here for years, the people are polite and extremely helpful. Kevin Hearne also recommends <a href="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forum.php">AbsoluteWrite’s</a> water cooler forum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I hope this post helps fellow writers remember to take a step back (and a deep breath) before the query letter blues get to you! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
TL Negretehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08755850483711162968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-47783886596604362112013-09-11T14:51:00.003-05:002013-09-11T14:51:44.924-05:00Where Writers Get Their IdeasGiven Carol's question at our last meeting, I thought some she and maybe some others might be interested in this post on the Books And Such blog. The comments section is as good as the article itself.<br />
<a href="http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/how-do-you-get-your-book-ideas/"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/how-do-you-get-your-book-ideas/">How Do You Get Your Book Ideas?</a>MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-49018375303213680892013-02-06T08:08:00.000-06:002013-02-06T08:08:25.711-06:00Useful Blog - Books and Such Literary AgencyI've recently started following the Books and Such Literary Agency's blog. Different agents take turns blogging, and it's giving me a lot of insight into how the publishing industry works. I thought it might interest some of you all, too.<br />
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<a href="http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/favorite-writer-resources-and-tools/">Books and Such Blog</a> MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-35044595745963103932012-10-22T10:44:00.004-05:002012-10-22T10:44:38.605-05:00Final Blog Homework Found!Okay, I went back to Bernice Simpson's blog and came across the one post I couldn't find last time I was there:<br />
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<a href="http://bernicesimpson.blogspot.com/2012/10/format-for-critiques.html">Manuscript Format for Critiques</a>.MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-9856492952842634932012-10-03T08:50:00.002-05:002012-10-03T08:52:33.152-05:00Links to Bernice Simpson Blog "Homework"Here are links to the blog articles that Bernice Simpson wanted us to read before next week's meeting. Since I had to find them I thought I'd save everyone else from having to do it the hard way.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bernicesimpson.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-keep-writing-momentum.html">How to Keep Writing Momentum</a><br />
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Manuscript Format for Critique (I couldn't find this one)<br />
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<a href="http://www.bernicesimpson.blogspot.com/2012/08/dont-shout-at-me.html">Don't Shout at Me</a>
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<a href="http://www.bernicesimpson.blogspot.com/2011/11/hang-tough-november-is-more-than-turkey.html">Hang Tough</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.bernicesimpson.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-deliver-thoughtful-critique.html">How to Deliver a Thoughtful Critique</a>MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-43244115789227312172012-10-03T08:43:00.003-05:002012-10-03T08:43:46.280-05:00Another Way to Use My NookThought this might be helpful to those with E-readers (I assume something similar could be done with a Kindle).
Before I start the line-by-line editing on Queen's Mouser, my 2010 Nanowrimo novel, I want to read the whole thing and find the large structural things that need fixed. Then I can fix them in Liquid Story Binder, and print out the chapters one by one when I'm ready to start line editing.
To avoid printing the whole thing out, and also avoid reading it on my computer, I built a manuscript in Liquid Story Binder that had all the chapters, and exported it as a rtf file. Then I used Open Office (my free alternative to MS Word) to convert it to PDF, and downloaded the PDF to my Nook.
It all seems rather complicated (it wouldn't be so bad if I could export as PDF from LSB, but that's not an option) but it saves a lot of paper, and will allow me to do the initial read-through without being sidetracked. I will be unable to fix the glaring typos even if I want to. I'll just keep my notebook with me to note the structural things that need fixed so I can go back to them.
If you write your first drafts entirely in Word (since most of you don't use LSB), it would be even easier, since you wouldn't have the whole first step of building a manuscript, etc. There are some real inconveniences in the way LSB is set up for that, which I won't go into.MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-90115724120023223242012-01-18T09:52:00.002-06:002012-08-29T15:25:23.082-05:00Poetic Asides -- April 1 -- Plan On It!You think you can't write poetry. Think again! Poetry is not always perfect verse and rhyme. Poetry can take many forms. I wrote one and mentioned this might not be a form but was fun to do. Another poet said, "It is now!" <br />
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Try this April Poetry Challenge by Robert Brewer found at <br />
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides. <br />
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You will be amazed at what comes out in your poetry!Brenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03829573018563427386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-39471538732311364082011-11-08T17:22:00.000-06:002011-11-08T17:24:13.426-06:00Novembermcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-83378748001002779862011-11-08T11:38:00.002-06:002011-11-08T11:52:55.152-06:00GreetingsGreetings to those that are new to eBlogger Pens & Pages Writers Guild page! This is a great site. Thanks to our facilitator who maintains it for us. Hope your session on the Library Computer Lab went well and you can visit the site often and add your own unique wisdom!<br /><br />Go! NaNoWrimo-ers, go! Check out http://www.nanowrimo.org/ to see the fun members are having. Hope you can join the fun next year! If you get the bug before then you can participate in April's Script Frenzy sponosored by the same kind people.<br /><br />One other way to motivate yourself to write is join a poetry challenge in February. This is a little less hectic month for many than November. Be watching for more info.Brenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03829573018563427386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-53957509104149125692011-11-08T11:33:00.003-06:002011-11-08T11:44:35.539-06:00Time Management ExerciseAt the library meeting (Nov. 8) of Pens & Pages, our Fearless Leader suggested that we just maybe might need to work on the most important stuff first. She had us list five things that we felt were most important that needed doing this week. Then as we looked over the list, we put a star beside the thing that should get done first. Before the end of the meeting we had established three lists: "Things to do this Week," "Things of Writing Importance," and "Things to improve my Writing." Some of these overlapped, but it made us more aware of how to accomplish more in less time. In my case, "Straightening up the mess around my desk" seemed to end up as more important than anything else. That should take up the rest of this week. Who knows --- I might actually get some writing done NEXT week. I hope the rest of you are more efficient.Grannie Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088987502426679040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-89655724257378899582011-11-08T11:22:00.004-06:002011-11-08T11:33:01.726-06:00Free Ebooks from Writersdigest.comI haven't tried this, but just found out about it this morning:<br /><br />There are 6 or 7 free e-books available in various formats (Nook, Kindle, I-Tunes, etc) on writersdigest.com until the end of the week (November 12), in honor of Nanowrimo. As far as I can tell, they are the full versions of these books, and though it is in honor of Nanowrimo, you don't have to be a participant to get the free e-books.<br /><br />Link is: <a href="http://writersdigest.com/nanowrimo">http://writersdigest.com/nanowrimo</a>MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-57766095257386324322011-09-28T10:05:00.000-05:002011-09-28T10:06:37.728-05:009/28/11<div>Total today</div><div>8880</div>mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-56404752687767536462011-09-27T15:22:00.003-05:002011-09-27T15:25:47.751-05:00Keepin On Keepin OnSept. 26 <br />780 words today<br />6670 approximate total word count<br />Wrote 14 daysBrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03829573018563427386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-83740048489734627072011-09-25T15:35:00.004-05:002011-09-25T15:36:34.935-05:00Sept. total through 9/25 is 7951mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-70552906524208236742011-09-25T15:35:00.001-05:002011-09-25T15:35:45.684-05:00mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-50066885882867712782011-09-20T20:14:00.000-05:002011-09-20T20:15:15.761-05:00September 20 word countWord count Sept. 20 365mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-69030190539310312252011-09-15T09:52:00.002-05:002011-09-15T09:55:54.750-05:009/15word count today: 284<div>total word count 5523</div>mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-65438885201530758212011-09-14T10:47:00.000-05:002011-09-14T10:48:17.838-05:00word count for Sept. 12 is 262mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-34122756706563497092011-09-14T10:45:00.000-05:002011-09-14T10:46:32.426-05:00word count for Sept. 13 is 299mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-44606399619402956442011-09-11T19:57:00.001-05:002011-09-11T19:58:00.032-05:00Sept. 11 <div>word count 274</div>mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-86751636329932364502011-09-10T12:35:00.000-05:002011-09-10T12:37:52.397-05:00word count for Sept.9 and 10 : 1103mcjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00368118467972201264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-33558186182359182162011-08-02T18:14:00.004-05:002011-08-02T19:12:45.921-05:00Some Thoughts on the SkeletonSo, at the meeting where I presented Angela Hunt's skeleton diagram for outlining a story, I said I wasn't sure that the part about the character reaching a point of despair and receiving outside help held true for all stories. I'm still not sure it does, but from watching movies, I've decided that part of the problem for me is that it may be presented much more subtly than Glenda's help to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.<br /><br />For example: in the movie <span style="font-style:italic;">Hidalgo</span>, the main character (an ex-cavalry soldier from the American West, whose name escapes me) is involved in an endurance race on a mustang named Hidalgo in the deserts of the Middle East, against all-purebred Arabian horses and Bedouin riders. Near the end, he reaches a moment of despair, and is about to shoot his horse, who has succumbed to the heat, lack of water, and injuries, and seems unable to go on. He is deeply attached to the horse, and can't, when the moment comes, bring himself to do it. At that time, the heat also begins affecting him, and he sees a mirage/vision of Sioux ghost dancers, his ancestors, one of whom may or may not have been the his mother. Seeing them allows him to embrace the Sioux half of his ancestry, which is his Hidden Need, and that decision, coupled with Hidalgo's near-miraculous recovery, allows him to finish the race bareback and win.<br /><br />When I was thinking of "help", I was not thinking of heat-induced hallucinations that gave no explicit advice. I've noticed in other movies that both the moment of despair and the "help" are even more subtle and hard to spot. However, this makes it easier for me in working on my current novel, where the outside help is similarly difficult to spot. At least, it makes me feel better. <br /><br />On an unrelated note: there is a great article by Holly Lisle <a href="http://hollylisle.com/creating-conflict-or-the-joys-of-boiling-oil/">here</a> about creating conflict.MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884186712349635258.post-70015774666843032852011-06-29T16:01:00.002-05:002011-06-29T16:04:22.970-05:00Notes on the Keynote Adress at the 2011 PPW BanquetJulia asked me to share my notes on Angela Hunt's speech with her, and I thought I'd just go ahead and post them here for everyone while I was at it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Writer's Toolkit</span><br /><br />Writing is like building -- a writer can write anything (any genre) with the right tools and blueprint.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tape Measure</span> - a love for reading. You need to love to read and do it often.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Screwdriver</span> -- for joining and prying. A willingness and ability to ask questions, both of yourself (what if? What next?) and of others (interviewing, listening) and to ask yourself what the reader needs to know.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hammer</span> - a drive to communicate - writing is hard work.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saw</span> - enables the builder to make things that fit - the writer must understand and adhere to genre guidelines; must check fact and do research.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stud-finder</span> (get your mind out of the gutter, romance writers!) -- you have to know where you can anchor -- how to be true to yourself in what you write -- don't prostitute your skill just to make a buck.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Vise</span> -- perseverance holds the writer together, especially at the beginning; there WILL BE a learning curve. You must have willingness to keep learning and working to improve. Learn to wait.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Level</span> - Someone who likes you and can give an honest critique of your work. The professional writer needs perspective - we can't see all the flaws in our own work.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A blank sheet of paper</span> - the builder can build whatever he can sketch (subject to skill and budget restraints). The writer can write whatever his/her imagination can create.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Glue</span> -- we need it to keep us in our chairs. Sit, write, repeat.MadeByAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15414284542330645222noreply@blogger.com1