"Handy" Writing Advice

The purpose of the IWSG is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

IWSG is hosted by Alex Cavanaugh. Stop by and check out the other participants or join in yourself.

Cruising around the internet, I found a page of "handy" writing advice.

Speculative fiction writers, artists and editors were asked to write a piece of writing advice on their hand and take a picture of it. I'm always fascinated by open ended assignments and the interpretations that each individual comes up with. Some people used post-it notes, some people used fancy lettering, some folks were straight-forward. Some of the advice is the same, but all of them are unique.

You can check out the gallery here. (The gallery scrolls horizontally in your browser window. I'm embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to figure that out.)

This collection of images was sponsored by Shared Worlds, a summer creative writing program for youth grades 8-12, held at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. During the program, students design fantasy worlds together and share them through fiction, art, and game design. You can find details about them here.

What matters is that your voice is unique to you. Tell the story the way you see it.

Which one was your favorite? I'm partial to Garth Nix's photo, or maybe I just liked the idea of a magic ring--but only if it'll do my laundry and clean my house so I can write.

Why? Because.

So, I've been working on this blog post for about a week. Well, not THIS blog post, but another one which still isn't done yet.

The amount of time I spent rewriting, cutting, adding new words, pasting back in the old words, looking for images, staring at the ceiling, changing the theme, and chucking the whole thing and starting over is probably equivalent to me getting 8000 words done on my WIP.

Frustrated, I finally asked the question: Why am I obsessing about a blog post for days on end?

Because my stupid blog post was just a distraction from the real problem--my WIP.

This is me when I open my WIP

   

Honestly, sometimes I surprise myself with how clueless I am when it comes to my motivations.

But, my stupidity reminded me that "WHY" is the most important question in my writers toolkit to banish writer's block. Because the answer to every "WHY" starts with a "BECAUSE" and every "BECAUSE" can lead to another "WHY." It's a brilliant question.

Why is this scene stupid and boring?
Because the characters are talking but not connecting. I feel disconnected.

Why are you disconnected from the characters?
Because their conversation feels fake. Forced. I wanted them to talk for the first time, but it's not working.

Why did they go out there in the first place?
Oh, uh. Because they wanted some alone time.

Then why are they talking at all?
Because I said they had to?

Why don't you try writing the scene using actions driven from their motivations instead of yours?
*bangs head on desk* Duh!

Hey, look at that. I finished a blog post and solved a problem in my WIP in less than two hours. It's a miracle.

*throws confetti*

How long does it take you to write a blog post? Do you agonize over them like I normally do, or do you just pound it out and post it? More importantly, who is your favorite Muppet?

So many self-published books, so little time.

How do you fill up your TBR or Goodreads queue these days? How do you decide what to spend your time and money on when it feels like there are so many more choices now than there have been in the past? These days, more than ever, there are so many books, and so little time. 

Like many people, at first I was skeptical about picking up a self-pubbed novel. I'd heard too many stories about novels riddled with errors and gigantic plot holes, but with so many showing up on e-reader sites, it was inevitable that I would eventually succumb to the temptation and buy one. 

Last year, roughly one-third of the 100 books I read were self-pubbed. About half of those were in the adult romance category, the other half came from the YA and the budding NA genre, which suddenly seems to be spreading through the ebook world like wildfire. Did you see this Nightline segment?

I guess I wasn't surprised when several ebooks landed on my favorites list. Here are my top self-pubbed reads so far in the YA or NA genre: 

#3 THE TRUTH ABOUT FAKING by Leigh Talbert Moore

From Goodreads:
Jason just wants a date with Harley.
Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth? 

Psst. I have to mention that Leigh just released THE TRUTH ABOUT LETTING GO, a companion novel to TTAF. It is set in the same town, with different characters. I haven't read it yet, but I am so excited to dive in when I get the chance. More details on Goodreads.

#2 EASY by Tammara Webber

From Goodreads:
Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.

#1 THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay
From Goodreads:
I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.   

You may have noticed that several of these books have subsequently been picked up by traditional publishers. I'm excited to see what the publishing world brings this year. Changes are definitely in the works. It feels like such an exciting time to be a writer seeking publication.

Since we are talking self-pubbing, I also want to take a moment to give a shout out for a fellow MNYA Writer (my local writer's group). Ryann Kerekes recently released her first NA novel, THE CIRQUE. If you collect book boyfriends and are especially fond of tall, dark and brooding, then you might want to consider adding Gabriel, the love interest in THE CIRQUE, to your collection.

From Goodreads:
A good girl trying to find herself.
A troubled boy running from his past.
The seductive allure of the cirque.
One summer that will change them both forever …

Eighteen-year-old ballerina Ariel is determined to experience life outside the dance studio. She auditions for the cirque on a whim, and though ballet training didn’t prepare her for dodging knives, she refuses to flinch and wins the spot of target girl alongside Gabriel, the mysterious knife-thrower. There’s something unmistakably dangerous yet tempting about Gabriel’s crystal blue eyes and tattoos. She’s determined to solve the mystery of his past after learning he’s on the run from the law. Especially since the distraction is just what she needs to avoid admitting to her parents she was dismissed from her ballet contract.

The more she learns about Gabriel, the scars on his body, the foster homes he grew up in, and his fascination with knives, she knows she should run the other way, but that boy’s like crack, oh so bad for you, yet addicting as hell. When he’s arrested and forced to deal with his past, she has to choose between putting her own life back together and dealing with her parents, or taking a chance on Gabriel, as no one else has.

The Cirque is a contemporary new adult romance.
THE CIRQUE is available at: Amazon | B&N

Ryann Kerekes writes young adult and new adult romance. She lives in Minnesota with a super cute husband and two puppies, one of which may be part monkey. Visit her at: www.RyannKerekes.com to learn more! She also writes adult romance as Kendall Ryan.




So, what books are you looking forward to reading this year? Also, can anyone recommend a good RSS reader? I heard Google Reader will be ditched this year.

Where I've Been and IWSG

It's been a while.

Too long, really.

To make a long story short, I've been ill. Like, miss a week of work and the doctor's can only guess what was wrong with me kind of ill, followed by the flu, two long-lasting colds, and finally a sinus infection. The old immune system has taken a beating this year. I've resorted to every home remedy I could get my hands on to knock the sickness out of my body. You'd laugh if you knew some of the stuff I tried.

Not a great way to start 2013. While I hear that this is a common story this winter, it's a hard pill for me to swallow because I don't get sick a lot. I feel like I survived five years worth of sickness in in the last three months.

But I'm still alive. I'm still writing (slowly). I've got a plan to finish the first draft of the WIP by April. I want to be able to query it by August, just in time for WriteOnCon. This is my line in the sand, folks. I'm turning 40 in June and determined to have something to show for it.

Being so physically ill over the past few months have done a real number on my head too. I'm sure some of that was just fatigue, but it's been hard to gather up the excitement to do the work I need to do on the WIP.

No doubt as a result of being ignored, the Muse seems to be on vacation and creativity has been hard to come by. Finding my groove again has been tough. Whenever I get so out of practice, I always start to wonder if I really am a writer. Wouldn't a real writer be able to pick up where they left off, pen at the ready? Creating the perfect storm of self-defeating doubt, there are things to fix in the WIP before I can move on and I'm not quite sure how to do it. Basically, I'm afraid I'm screwing it up. Will my brain ever be free of those damned fear vamps?

I know the only way out is through and if I quit now I'll just hate myself for it. So, fellow IWSGers, I leave you with this:

IWSG is hosted by Alex Cavanaugh.Stop by and check out the other participants or join in yourself.

The purpose of the IWSG is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!


Stay healthy, people. So, how are things with you? What have I missed?