CornerScribe

Archive for December, 2004

Link: Daypop - a current events/weblog/news search engine.

Another blog indexing site you may want to look at. Again, if you’re maintaining a writing blog, you might as well promoote it. This site looks very Google-like and allows you to quickly add your site to their index. One bad point — they take up to two weeks to add your site.

Link: blogdex - search - writing.

If you’re looking for other writer blogs, here are some that you might want to take a look at.

Also, remember to register your own blog with blogdex and check out their front page.

Tis the season… Will you be making any writing related resolutions?

As you think about next year, what will your resolution be? I know some of you have participated in NaNo, and you’re looking to publish that novel. Others will be planning to do NaNo again this year. What of your daily writing goals? What do you want to accomplish?

Here are a few suggestions…

1. Set a goal to write a certain number of words per day, or a certain amount of time per day.
2. Plan to send out at least one short story or poem a month (if you write them).
3. Plan on spending at least some time every day doing something creative other than working on your major project.
4. If you do nonfiction, then plan on getting out at least one query a month (or a week), etc.

And here are mine…

• I’ll write at least 1000 words per day.
• I’ll spend at least half an hour a day on revisions (once the novel’s rough draft is complete).

If you’re like me, broken resolutions are nothing new. How about making a commitment to keeping these this year?

For those of you planning on publishing a novel — whether it was part of NaNoWriMo or not — will you choose the traditional publishing route or a self publisher or print on demand publisher?

I don’t agree that POD or self-publishing are strictly vanity presses. I think they also have benefits to offer serious writers as well. From my readings, here’s what I’ve gathered about the alternatives.

1. Time. It may take a year or more to find a traditional publisher, and then you’ll need to go through their publishing process. Your book won’t see the bookshelves any time soon with a traditional publisher. If you choose POD or self-publishing, you can have something ready in a matter of days.
2. Money. A traditional publisher won’t charge you anything, and you may get an advance. Depending on the route you choose for self-publishing, you may have to pay set up fees. You might want to check out Lulu . They seem like a reputable POD publisher, and you won’t pay to set up your book.
3. Promotion. Many traditional publishers will expect you to do some of your own marketing, but you’ll certainly need to plan on doing even more if you self-publish.
4. Prestige. Obviously, being published traditionally offers more clout, but self-publishing doesn’t have to mean a vanity press. If you market your work and achieve respectable sales, you can do a lot to offset that impression. Of course, there’s always the chance that you’re self-published book will be successful enough that a traditional publisher will want to pick it up.

In my opinion, it all boils down to time. If you think the work is marketable, then it’s worth a shot at a traditional publisher. However, you may not want to wait for months (or longer) to find a publisher. If that’s your situation, then self-publishing might be a better choice.

Either choice you make, you’ll want to put your best writing forward. If you self-publish, you may want to pay someone to edit your book. If you’re looking for a freelancer to do just that, check out elance . I’ll give more information on elance and choosing a freelancer in another post.

I’m leaning toward making at least a few overtures toward a publisher and/or agent. If things don’t go well, then POD is always an option.

Good luck everyone, and keep writing!

over 60,000  words

Okay, so it isn’t where I wanted to be by now. I had hoped to finish the novel by the end of this month, but that isn’t looking very promising at the moment.

To complicate matters, I seem to have written myself into a pretty interesting situation, but I have no idea how to get out of it. No, I don’t outline before writing. To be honest, I’ve never finished anything that I outlined first, but that’s a different story.

So… my character is in a pretty tight spot. Lots of loose ends are being tied up, questions answered, etc. But the major conflict remains, and I don’t see any way to resolve it at the moment.

I’m asking Santa for a big stocking full of inspiration this Christmas. Let’s hope that I’ve been good enough to get it.

…creativity. What did you think I was going to say?

As the holidays approach, we’ll likely be spending less time at writing and more time with other things. So, in that spirit, why not take some time to exercise your writing muscles?

• Spend a few minutes to write down a family tradition. Don’t just describe it, write it as you would a scene in a short story or novel.
• While shopping, take a few minutes to sit somewhere quiet (well, relatively quiet) and watch the people around you. Choose someone and write a detailed description of him/her.
• Talk to some older members of your family and find out about when they were children. Write down some of their stories. You may want to turn these into short stories later. Who knows? This may provide inspiration for a longer work.
• Make up a silly Christmas story for your kids — or for yourself.
• Make yourself a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the evening. Sometimes a little time off can do a lot for that creative spirit.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

If you’re like me, you often find yourself feeling as if you have little time to write. What do you do to "steal" writing time?

• Write anywhere, any time. Don’t feel that you have to have a block of time set aside to work. Can you manage 10-15 minutes over lunch? Maybe a few minutes alone before you leave for work? If you practice making use of that time, you’ll find it easier and easier to be productive in short bursts of writing.
• When you do have a longer period of time, use it wisely. Tackle more difficult scenes first and then use any remaining time for simpler tasks.
• Try to make a list of things you need to research and tackle all your research at once. Don’t research while writing! Skip that section or make your best guess, and then make a note that you need to do a fact check later.
• Allow yourself to write in different ways, in different places, at different times, etc. Don’t assume that you always have to use your laptop, or your notebook, or write only in the mornings, and so on. Try to keep an open mind and try new things. You’ll get more writing time, and a boost to your creativity as well.
• Make writing a habit. Promise yourself that you’ll write each day, even if it’s only for five minutes. The simple act of sitting down to write will reinforce the writing habit. When you do have more time, you’ll be able to put it to more effective use.

I hope that some of the techniques I use will help you as well.  Happy writing!

What is everyone reading? What genre(s) do you prefer? What do you read while writing?

Let me start off. I read just about everything, from classics to pulp, fiction and non-fiction. I enjoy horror and fantasy for fun and Tolstoy when I want something a lilttle more serious. As for non-fiction, I enjoy reading about stone-age cultures and general science.

What writing books do you read? I highly recommend the workbook, Writing the Breakout Novel, in the reading list at the bottom of this page.  It’s a very good way to edit scenes and examine characters’ motivations and conflicts.

When I write in a particular genre, I do tend to avoid reading books within that genre. I’d prefer not allowing the author’s approach and voice to influence my own. Anyone feel the same?

There seems to be a lot in the news lately about writing and how people just don’t do it so well. To do my part, I thought I’d take a moment and point out a few simple rules that might help you (or some writing-challenged friend) improve their own scribblings just a bit.

• A lot or alot? This one would seem simple at first, but when I taught I was surprised (and appalled) at how many times people get this one wrong. Yes, I still see it, unfortunately.
  • This one is easy. Would you ever say alittle? Of course not. So don’t say alot. Got it?
• Insure, ensure, assure? HUH?? This one drives people crazy, but it isn’t as tough as it looks.
  • Insure is to buy insurance.
  • Ensure is to make sure.
  • Assure is to make someone feel better, as in offer assurance?
• Further or farther? Once you understand, you’ll never get it wrong again.
  • Farther is used when you can measure the distance. You might walk farther.
  • Further is used when the idea is simply "more." There’s nothing to be measured. You might talk further.
• Fewer and less? This is another simple one, once you know the rule.
  • Use fewer if you can count it, as in fewer people.
  • Use less if you can’t count it, as in less time.
    • Okay, a lot of people complain about that last one. You can count time, as in one hour, two minutes, etc. Right? Well, almost. You have to take this rule very literally. Did I say less hours? Less minutes? Nope. Both of those would use fewer. Got that one?

Okay, I think that’s enough for one evening. Anyone interested in seeing more of this type of entry from time to time?

I’m not sure how many of you work in a cube or similar environment. I do — take a moment to pity me, please.

I wanted to point out the Dilbert  website for those of  you who aren’t already frequent visitors. One of my favorite parts of the site is the Newsletter. As luck would have it, Scott Adams just published a new edition about a week ago, so take a minute to check it out. I promise it’s worth quite a few good laughs.

P.S. I love the "animal magnetism" blurb.