Category Archives: Writing

Must Read New Blog

Posted on by

Genreality is a new blog that I’ve really been enjoying lately because of its great information for new writers.

It’s staffed by midlisters, including Lynn Viehl, author of Paperback Writer, which I’ve mentioned here before. Others are Alison Kent, Joseph Nassise, Carrie Vaughn, Sasha White and Jason Pinter.

They discuss various topics of interest to new writers, particularly those looking to be published. This last week, the theme was “First sale,” and reading how each author landed their first sale was interesting and inspiring.

I think this blog has real potential to provide lots of great information and entertainment. This is definitely one you’ll want to add to your RSS reader!

Seven to get started with

Posted on by

I hope you’ve had a great holiday and New Year’s. I’ve been doing a lot of work on the novel and thinking about where I’d like to go with the blog this year. I’ve committed myself to finishing the novel and starting to approach agents by the spring, so I’m obviously going to be busy.

To kick things off, how about some links to get started.

  1. Lynn Viehl’s work on Scribd is a good place to look for novel outlining help. She also has the text for last year’s online writer’s workshop she did there. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, then she also has some short stories there as well.
  2. Writer’s Digest’s 101 best sites for writers is a good place to go for both inspiration and information.
  3. Ponoko is a site that’s new to me. Think cafepress, but you can design whatever you want here. So if you’ve ever had a great idea you’d like to market, here’s one place to look.
  4. The snowflake method is one of many ways to lay out your novel.
  5. Need some medieval inspiration? How about an interesting torture method? Check out Medieval Castles.
  6. Need a quick ancient history refresher? See the ancient history timeline.
  7. And if you’ve ever thought your job was good fodder for a book. Read The Tribulations of a Checkout Girl.

Writer Reactions, Responses

Posted on by

In my last post I asked about how people react to you when you tell them you’re a writer. Below are the responses I got. I was surprised that no one gets the odd responses that I seem to, but maybe it’s just me.

Moneybites

When I say I’m a writer the response is usually, one of surprise but then one of interest.

DebMc

Most people think it is a cool profession. I’m already known as an artsy creative type from my former career as a photographer. A few people, very few when I think of it, ask me what kind of writing I do. Those that do, also write in some form or fashion.Fun question. Now that you’ve asked it, I’ll be paying more attention in the future.

Abhishek 

I don’t think I am a writer just expressing my words, not a pro B. Well people found my blogpost useful/ Entertaining. few say I go rude in case of linking to officials but well that’s something subject to Officials popularity !!

Les Becker 

They are impressed… until they realize I’m not making my living at it. Then, I can almost see myself being slotted into the “deadbeat” category of their minds. LOL! Thankfully, I’ve grown a thicker skin of late.

Simon 

I’ve revealed my blog to several of my friends and family and they were all shocked.

They often say:
“Wow, you do not seem like the author behind this blog”
“You write more than you do for your classes!”
“I don’t believe someone like you can write this professionally”

I often say, “Yeah, right??”. It seems as if I don’t even believe I can write like I did.

It is a great hobby and very productive. I have found myself to procrastinate much less when it comes to writing papers for class.

Michele 

I’m not a writer. I’m a librarian. We love writers.

Me

  • Blank stares. I think sometimes people just don’t know how to react, so they just don’t.
  • “Romances, right?” First off, I have nothing against romances or romance writers. It’s not the comment, it’s the tone that puts me off. This one tends to come from guys. I’m not sure why they assume a woman writer does romance, but that seems to be the case. The fact that they usually say it with a little sneer gets my goat though.
  • “You mean like….” (insert whatever movie is popular at the time). This comes from people who know that I do speculative fiction, so they’ll plug in anything from Harry Potter to a Stephen King.
  • And then they’re the diggers. “What do you write about?” “What’s your novel about now?” “Can I read something?” I don’t talk about a novel in progress, and some people just can’t seem to accept that. They push like a gossiping teenager.

I think being a writer is exotic enough to elicit oddball responses, and I’m sure other artistic jobs are more or less the same.

Writer Reactions

Posted on by

I’m putting together a post on how people react when they learn that you’re a writer. Leave a comment here, or send me a twitter– cornerscribe. Whether the comments are funny, dumb or absolutely rude, I want to hear them, and I’ll share a couple stories of my own.

I’ll link to your blog and/or twitter profile and post the results later this week.

Great Opening Lines

Posted on by

First off, here are some great examples of opening lines that you might want to review. While you’re at it, there are some terrific scifi novels listed here.

Here are some things I do to try to get a good opening line for my novels and short stories.

  1. I start in the middle of some action or conversation. I know some people like to start off with some description or back story, but I like to get right into the middle of things.
  2. I don’t read other people’s openers when I’m trying to work one out of my own. It’s too easy to copy the tone and style of someone else’s work.
  3. I cut as ruthlessly as I can bring myself to. I prefer sparse language for an opener, so no flowery adjectives or adverbs for me.
  4. I try to set the tone. If the piece is dark, then the opening should hint at that. Same for humor, horror, etc. This doesn’t have to go overboard, just give the reader a hint at what’s coming.
  5. I make it involve the main character, or one of them. I think you might as well get the reader involved immediately with the person/people he’ll be rooting for for the next few hundred pages.

And here’s what I think is the best tip of all…

Don’t sweat it early on.

I’ve done it, and I know other people do too. You work and worry and fiddle with the opener when you haven’t told the story yet. For me, it’s too easy to get bogged down on page one and get frustrated. Instead, I put down whatever for the opening line, no
matter how crappy it happens to be. I know that as I work, I’ll revise
anyway. Sometimes great openers just grow organically out of what I’m
doing, and if they don’t, I’ve got the whole time I’m writing to mull it over and see what I come up with.

Terrific Resources

Posted on by

If you’re not reading Paperback Writer, you ought to be. Her blog is witty and informative, but this compilation of questions and answers if really great.

I wanted to take this opportunity to invite you all again to post links that you’d like me to include on my resources page. The link can be your own or someone else’s. It just needs to be of good quality.

Post your links here, or email me at cornerscribe AT cornerscribe DOT com. Put “resources” in the subject line so I won’t miss it.

Link fun

Posted on by

Here in the middle of NaNo, I thought it would be fun to link to some other interesting sites.

Punctuation fun on flickr. Think about how you’d punctuate it, or simply read it aloud.

Design Your Life

What would you do if you could do whatever you want each day. Although this article isn’t specifically directed at writers, it certainly is something to think about. What would your writing day be like? Think about what you want your days to be like, and what do you need to do to make it so.

SEO Tips for Bloggers

This article gives some great tips, and some great advice for optimizing your blog.

How to Write Faster, Better, and Easier

That’s a great title, and a great post. ‘Nuff said.

Writing Tools

Posted on by

I’m looking for a new laptop, and I have been for some time. Here’s a run-down of what I’m looking at (with links). If you’re looking for something similar, I hope you find it useful.

HED has an article on the Alphasmart, which brought it back to my attention. Here is the official site where you can order one. What I like about it is the price (around $200), size, battery life, and durability. What I don’t like is the small screen and the inability to use software of your choosing. I’m concerned that I’d spend a lot of time converting my work and reformatting.

I’m seriously considering the Asus eee. It’s coming out in October, and it’s also a great price (about $200).  It’s more of a traditional laptop, but it’s a bit light on processor, memory and storage. It runs Linux, which is fine by me. It’s small (screen is 7 inches diagonal), so it’s the size I’m looking for. My biggest concern with this one is the reviews; many people have complained that the keyboard and trackpad seem very cheap. I’m worried that it’s not as sturdy as I’d like.

Another option is the Nanobook. It’s pricier than the other options (about $600), but it’s the right size for what I’m looking for. It also has a better battery life than the eee.

What I’m looking for is something smaller and lighter than the traditional laptop without the very high prices that usually accompany that size. This is going to be a writing machine, so I’m not as interested in the bells and whistles that come on laptops. I’m leaning toward something that lets me install my own software, so that puts the alphasmart line at a disadvantage, but they’re not out of the running yet.

If you’re using one of these, let me know how you like it. Also, if you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear it.