To all those wonderful Moms out there who have chosen to rip themselves from the characters and settings and plotlines of their current WIPs and spend time with their "real" families, I hope your day is well spent!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
all we do is give give give...and we like it!
Autographed copy of your favorite author's latest novel.........$50
Query critique by a real live uber agent...............$50
Phone conversation with a different but equally real uber agent...............$50
Knowing you beat out your writing peers in an online auction to win all this AND helped out your fellow
brothers and sisters in Nashville?..................
ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!
Go here and check out the really awesome auction raising mad money to help flood victims in Nashville, TN. Pick your fave, vote to win, then sit back and let the good feelings roll in!
Query critique by a real live uber agent...............$50
Phone conversation with a different but equally real uber agent...............$50
Knowing you beat out your writing peers in an online auction to win all this AND helped out your fellow
brothers and sisters in Nashville?..................
ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!
Go here and check out the really awesome auction raising mad money to help flood victims in Nashville, TN. Pick your fave, vote to win, then sit back and let the good feelings roll in!
Giveaways!
Hey guys check out this awesome blog and even awesomer (huh?) giveaways! Click here to check it out...and good luck!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
last things first?
So I've made it to the point of my WIP where it's time to actually start writing.
Did he just say start?
Yeah, I did. I guess I should explain.
I begin my stories with character work. I flesh out what type of person each character is going to be - things like mood, mindset and motivation - and their backgrounds. I have to know where they're coming from before I can see where they're going.
Once I'm done with each character's profile (and the minor characters get one, too!) I make it to the point where I am now. And this is where a question popped into my head:
What if I wrote my synopsis first?
Kinda crazy, I know, but I thought about it and it kind of makes since. Of course I don't know exactly everything that's going to happen - I like to leave myself some surprises - but I have a fairly detailed idea. So, I gave it a shot and quess what? I like it! Somehow, writing out a generic synopsis before writing the actual story seems to make beginning said story much easier.
The basic plot of my WIP hit me all at once, like I'm sure a lot of writers' ideas do, so what better way to salvage all that info than to put it down on paper? (I mean, that is what we do!) I took those ideas and sparks and worked them out into my version of an outline - very loose and free-flowing and definitely subject to change. But, it gives me sort of a quick reference to peruse when my muse is in the shop!
So I ask...Do you think writing a synopsis before you write the actual novel/story/whatever makes sense? How would you begin?
Happy writing all!
Did he just say start?
Yeah, I did. I guess I should explain.
I begin my stories with character work. I flesh out what type of person each character is going to be - things like mood, mindset and motivation - and their backgrounds. I have to know where they're coming from before I can see where they're going.
Once I'm done with each character's profile (and the minor characters get one, too!) I make it to the point where I am now. And this is where a question popped into my head:
What if I wrote my synopsis first?
Kinda crazy, I know, but I thought about it and it kind of makes since. Of course I don't know exactly everything that's going to happen - I like to leave myself some surprises - but I have a fairly detailed idea. So, I gave it a shot and quess what? I like it! Somehow, writing out a generic synopsis before writing the actual story seems to make beginning said story much easier.
The basic plot of my WIP hit me all at once, like I'm sure a lot of writers' ideas do, so what better way to salvage all that info than to put it down on paper? (I mean, that is what we do!) I took those ideas and sparks and worked them out into my version of an outline - very loose and free-flowing and definitely subject to change. But, it gives me sort of a quick reference to peruse when my muse is in the shop!
So I ask...Do you think writing a synopsis before you write the actual novel/story/whatever makes sense? How would you begin?
Happy writing all!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
hell week(end)!
I'm sure everyone has seen or heard of the horrible storms that ripped through the south this weekend. If not, come back to Earth.
Unfortunately my little town was part of that carnage. Luckily we had no reported tornadoes, though some of us here believe we may have experienced a few, but we had enough wind and rain to hold its own against some of the hurricanes I've been through. I mean, it was rough.
My yard has several large trees in it - 16 to be exact - and thankfully none of them fell during the nearly 24 hour deluge. Just a couple of small limbs and about a million pinecones now litter my drowned lawn. Overall my little parcel faired well.
My lawn furniture, however, did not. Now I know that most of you are saying "why didn't you put it away before the storm hit?"...and you would be fair in saying it. But in my defense, we have had storms as severe as this one where my outdoor furniture survived. So I honestly had no idea things would get as bad as they did. I didn't really watch the weather beforehand, but from the bits and pieces I did see I don't recall mention of the tropical-storm force winds we would experience. But I digress.
So needless to say that my lawn furniture is no more. The chairs are still intact - though bruised and beaten - but the poor table didn't survive. It fell victim to the fury that is Mother Nature. I fell victim to the fury that is Home Ownership. I spent an hour picking up about a million tiny glass fragments out of my grass. Yeah, fun.
As if the storm wasn't enough, someone very near and dear to me - and someone under 40 - suffered a mini stroke yesterday and is now left with a paralyzed face. Luckily he didn't lose the ability to speak or walk, but he now has to live (for 3 weeks to possibly 6 months!) with a face that is half out of commission.
The condition is known as Bell's Palsy. I consider myself to be somewhat intelligent, but I can honestly say that I had never heard of this until yesterday. The doctor told us that it is facial paralysis, and that it's part of the broad spectrum of the stroke family. Basically the nerve running down the side of his face - from his forehead to the bottom of his neck - has "died" due to what they believe to be a viral infection. So he's on steroids for the next ten days until the virus clears so the nerve can begin to rejuvenate. That's where the 3wk-6mo period comes in. I pray his recovery time is much closer to the 3 week mark.
So there you have it. Definitely going into the books as one of the worst weekends I've ever had. But, life moves forward and so do we. Now I have to go...for some strange, unknown reason this weekend's tribulations has opened the flood gates of my creative mind and story ideas are pouring through faster than water through a broken levee.
Happy Writing all!
Unfortunately my little town was part of that carnage. Luckily we had no reported tornadoes, though some of us here believe we may have experienced a few, but we had enough wind and rain to hold its own against some of the hurricanes I've been through. I mean, it was rough.
My yard has several large trees in it - 16 to be exact - and thankfully none of them fell during the nearly 24 hour deluge. Just a couple of small limbs and about a million pinecones now litter my drowned lawn. Overall my little parcel faired well.
My lawn furniture, however, did not. Now I know that most of you are saying "why didn't you put it away before the storm hit?"...and you would be fair in saying it. But in my defense, we have had storms as severe as this one where my outdoor furniture survived. So I honestly had no idea things would get as bad as they did. I didn't really watch the weather beforehand, but from the bits and pieces I did see I don't recall mention of the tropical-storm force winds we would experience. But I digress.
So needless to say that my lawn furniture is no more. The chairs are still intact - though bruised and beaten - but the poor table didn't survive. It fell victim to the fury that is Mother Nature. I fell victim to the fury that is Home Ownership. I spent an hour picking up about a million tiny glass fragments out of my grass. Yeah, fun.
As if the storm wasn't enough, someone very near and dear to me - and someone under 40 - suffered a mini stroke yesterday and is now left with a paralyzed face. Luckily he didn't lose the ability to speak or walk, but he now has to live (for 3 weeks to possibly 6 months!) with a face that is half out of commission.
The condition is known as Bell's Palsy. I consider myself to be somewhat intelligent, but I can honestly say that I had never heard of this until yesterday. The doctor told us that it is facial paralysis, and that it's part of the broad spectrum of the stroke family. Basically the nerve running down the side of his face - from his forehead to the bottom of his neck - has "died" due to what they believe to be a viral infection. So he's on steroids for the next ten days until the virus clears so the nerve can begin to rejuvenate. That's where the 3wk-6mo period comes in. I pray his recovery time is much closer to the 3 week mark.
So there you have it. Definitely going into the books as one of the worst weekends I've ever had. But, life moves forward and so do we. Now I have to go...for some strange, unknown reason this weekend's tribulations has opened the flood gates of my creative mind and story ideas are pouring through faster than water through a broken levee.
Happy Writing all!
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