tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223699142024-03-06T21:29:47.776-08:00WriteriousExploring the mysteries of the writing life.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-48259614092372690052007-09-27T19:56:00.000-07:002007-09-27T20:00:45.138-07:00There is an agent in the family!Not for me yet -- I still have to finish that novel -- but my husband landed an agent for his supernatural thriller. Hoo, hah! I can take some credit because I wrote the query for him, since the one he'd written kind of rambled all over the place. After studying 700 hooks on Miss Snark's blog, I had a better idea of how to compose a query for him, and the first mailing to 10 agents resulted in Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-5440964178861852932007-09-25T19:46:00.000-07:002007-09-25T19:50:00.459-07:00Get your NaNo engines in gearThe National Novel Writing Month forums just closed for renovations prior to the October 1 opening date for registration. NaNo addicts like me are waiting with fingers poised over the keyboard, ready for NaNo pre-plotting during October, and the race to 50,000 words in November. If you've never tried it and always wanted to, how about this year?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-43898846230529641942007-06-15T10:25:00.000-07:002007-06-15T10:30:10.349-07:00Ah, neglectA pity when one gets too busy and blogging falls by the wayside. It's not like I haven't been writing these past months. I have, indeed -- an entire dissertation's worth of writing (which can be read here, in case, you know, you have insomnia or something). A novel-length piece of work that was probably the most difficult writing task I've tackled yet. But it's done, and I shall march in Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-31337702560285431062007-01-17T20:14:00.000-08:002007-01-17T20:59:39.796-08:00Critique Circle - So far, not badThere was a time, in the golden long-ago of publishing, when a fresh new author who showed sufficient talent might be nurtured along by a good editor who, in those halcyon days, actually edited.Times have changed.Editors fret about it, but there's no denying that actual editing is only a small part of what editors do any more. Much of what they do is manuscript acquisition, and the expectation isUnknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-57260269947113087392007-01-14T22:41:00.000-08:002007-01-14T22:56:40.164-08:00Publishing: Where Men are Men and Women are Wives and DaughtersThe other day I was on some discussion boards, talking with Momisafan, reading comments from Momofagreatkid, trading ideas with TiffanysMom and BradsGurl. And ya know, I didn't notice anyone going by BradsDad, TiffanysBoy, or Dadofagreatkid.You know what I'm saying here? I see a lot women online who identify themselves not as themselves but as their relationship to others. I don't see a lot of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1157082669369768832006-08-31T20:48:00.000-07:002006-08-31T20:51:09.390-07:00How NOT to pitch to an editorThis article from the Publisher's Weekly website shows the sales pitch from the other side of the desk -- or funeral, examination table, operating room, and other highly inappropriate places where aspiring but oh-so-clueless authors have pitched their manuscripts to hapless (and sometimes helpless) editors: Weddings and Funerals and Everywhere in Between.Consider yourself warned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1156307832774941502006-08-22T20:47:00.000-07:002006-08-29T22:51:51.836-07:00How to get published, part 4: Send it off, start afreshAt last, we reach the final installment of this series. So far we've covered creating an actual piece of work (a factor that a surprising number of would-be writers tend to never get around to doing), editing the work, and finding someone to send your work off to.Now, it's time to send your work off. But first, you must put it into a format that an agent or an editor wants to look at. You need toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1153279975159247252006-07-18T20:23:00.000-07:002006-07-18T20:32:55.180-07:00Movie ClichesOur household subscription to Netflix brings a regular round of digital video entertainment to suit our eclectic tastes. What, I wonder, can be said about a couple who enjoy Jane Austen movies, samurai movies, film noir, Buster Keaton, and the entire Hercule Poirot series?Yet in movie after movie, the same cliches turn up with tiresome regularity. Maybe it's just the storyteller formula showing Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1152908631811448532006-07-14T13:14:00.000-07:002006-07-14T13:23:51.826-07:00Friday FindsA few cool writing finds from across the web: Language is a Virus: Some cool word scramblers and random word generators. Fun n' games for chronic procrastinators. Common Errrors in English Usage: Finally a quick, online reference to solve the that/which and who/whom questions. Booktrust: A U.K. charity that supports literacy, and gets books into the hands of kids. What writer wouldn't want Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1152897294851881262006-07-14T10:13:00.000-07:002006-07-14T10:14:54.853-07:00New lookWere you tired of reading white text on a black background? Black does make a statement, but white on black makes your eyes cross, doesn't it? Tan looked okay, but was a bit dark and didn't fit the color scheme. Let's try deep blue for a while, shall we?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1152896807807229042006-07-14T10:02:00.000-07:002006-07-14T10:16:57.293-07:00A Publisher from HellAuthors for this small press:Better Be Writerecently received this charming email from the publisher:What the hell is wrong with some of you? First of all, those of you that have books out are acting like you are on a damn vacation. You came to me wanting a career in writing. Was it all a farce? You just wanted to see your one book in print and I, the sucker, fell for it? Everyone of you told me Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1152154830755790862006-07-05T19:53:00.000-07:002006-07-14T10:23:51.623-07:00English LessonsIf you haven't seen this bit of internet lore, that used to be photocopy lore, that used to be ditto sheet lore, here again in all its glory: Rules for Writing Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1152046550960524782006-07-04T13:54:00.000-07:002006-07-14T10:27:36.986-07:00Happy 4th of JulyToday, U.S. citizens gather to celebrate the day that these men:gathered to sign this document:which proclaimed the radical liberal notion that all people are equal in the sight of God and should have equal access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that governments should uphold and not take away said rights, and not become a burden to those governed.If you've never read this Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1151971754610883742006-07-03T16:29:00.000-07:002006-08-30T21:24:37.556-07:00How to get published, part 3: Finding an agent or publisher without getting burnedSo you followed step one. You wrote something. Then step two: you polished your writing to a high gloss. Now you're ready to send it out, right?Okay, fine, you probably are. But hold on to your horses, cowboy, because there are a whole lot of bad guys out there who'd like nothing better than to hold up your literary stagecoach and take all of your cash. But they won't do it with guns and evil Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1151523548284934752006-06-28T12:04:00.000-07:002006-08-22T21:42:25.466-07:00How to get published, part 2: Self-editing "Re-Vision"In part 1 of this series (How to get published, part 1: You must write something) I stated what ought to be obvious: you have to write something to get published. What's more, you have to write something that is publishable.Now and then a discussion comes up on writer's boards about whether one should write for one's own pleasure and damn the consequences, or if one should write for the market. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1151174805032117552006-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:002006-08-22T21:40:15.990-07:00How to get published, part 1: You must write somethingOnce people around you know that you're a writer and that you've been published, inevitably the question comes up, "So how do you get published?" Or the variants: "How much does it cost?" (answer: nothing) "Is it hard to get published?" (answer: Depends. Usually it's easier than unicycling across Siberia in the dead of winter, but not always.) "I've always wanted to write a book." (answer: politeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1151003791057303712006-06-22T12:16:00.000-07:002006-06-22T12:16:31.070-07:00The most-used word in the English language...... is "time." Read all about it here:BBC NEWS | UK | The popularity of 'time' unveiledNow, overhearing conversations on public transportation, one might be led to believe that the most-used word in spoken English is an entirely different four-letter word. But the Oxford University Press is referring to printed English.Even still... some of the blogs I've stumbled into...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1151000759133723962006-06-22T11:07:00.000-07:002006-06-22T11:25:59.150-07:00"Anything you write may be held against you..."Ah, poor Edwin Kane. On trial, accused of defrauding the government to the tune of about $700,000, Kane attempted to get himself off the hook by presenting as evidence 35 letters written by friends and family members, all saying what a swell guy he was.But the power of the pen didn't help, as Kane's own pen was about to betray him. Along came the prosecution with some other writing as evidence. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1150652302645322092006-06-18T10:36:00.000-07:002006-06-18T10:38:22.670-07:00Happy Father's Day!When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874To all those who still have dads to talk to, argue with, and get fed up with, please take the time to visit or call today. Wish I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1150329260915162452006-06-14T16:47:00.000-07:002006-06-14T16:54:20.936-07:00Wouldn't these make great writing prompt pictures?Check out this blog post: Seamless Pictures. Shades of Escher, but in color and... well, you just have to see.I've used pictures from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by the amazing illustrator Christopher van Allsburg (of Jumanji and Polar Express fame) with kids as picture writing prompts. In a summer writing session, we challenged kids to come up with captions for the pictures. Young kids, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1149742341976855642006-06-07T21:39:00.000-07:002006-06-07T21:52:21.990-07:00And now can we get back to real issues, congress?It's over, for the moment, at least until the would-be theocrats bring it up again in a pathetic effort to get their fellow theocrats to the polls by whipping hatred up to a furious lather.Iraq is a mess. Afghanistan is a mess. Osama bin Laden, the fellow who was really in charge of the 9/11 attacks, is still at large. Military personnel are stretched to the breaking point in every sense. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1149624536632058992006-06-06T12:54:00.000-07:002006-06-06T13:08:57.253-07:00Publishing through Vanities is Not Self-Publishing, Says Kansas CourtIt's official now. A vanity publisher that stamps its name on someone's book is the publisher of record. Authors who use the services of vanities and "POD publishers" (note: POD is a technology that many publishers use, not just the vanities) are not legally self-publishing, in spite of advertising claims.Publishers themselves have known this for a long time. He who buys the ISBN number directly Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1149400408033738952006-06-03T22:45:00.000-07:002006-06-03T22:59:21.410-07:00Early Writerious: Pencil, Pen, and Crayon YearsMy mother has been cleaning house and getting a lot of old stuff out of the house. Invariably that means I end up going home with a box of stuff that she no longer wants, but doesn't really want to get rid of, just doesn't want to see again. Sometimes it's things I don't want to get rid of, either. In this latest transfer of unwanted goods was a small brown paper sack with a lot of old letters inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1149094726778309612006-05-31T09:58:00.000-07:002006-05-31T09:58:46.826-07:00A Rejected Writer's Rejection (Video)If you haven't seen this one yet: Black Books - Bernard's Letter have a look. Every writer who has experienced the pain of rejection can sympathize with Bernard's despair -- and his darkly humorous response to the editor who rejected his novel.The video begins playing when the page opens, so have your headphones ready if you don't want to disturb others in the room.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369914.post-1149046716919195782006-05-30T20:13:00.000-07:002006-05-30T20:38:36.933-07:00Want Your Book to Be a Bestseller? Fork Over £50,000Or in American dollars, that's $94,137.That's how much it will cost in the U.K. for your publisher to get your books placed prominently in the large chain stores, according to an article by The Times Online, and prices in the U.S. are in the same ballpark. Think those tables of books sitting out in plain view when you walk into Borders were chosen by the staff? Or that the face-out books on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2