tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281583212024-03-14T03:59:42.481-05:00Inky PixelsIt's About Writing and PublishingDarlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-28648095864228051842008-03-01T14:33:00.008-06:002008-03-01T19:40:06.710-06:00Failing WellHello Again,<br /><br />I've been ignoring the call of my computer all too well recently. Life takes my attention elsewhere, but that's not really a valid excuse. So why exactly am I failing to make my own deadlines? Linda Formichelli at <a href="http://therenegadewriter.com/?p=452">The Renegade Writer's Blog</a> asks us how well we are failing, and chimes in with another inspirational post encouraging us to fail as well as we possibly can. Must fail better.<br /><br /><br />Also, here's an unusual contest tip from <a href="http://www.pw.org/content/submission_calendar">Poets and Writers</a> for the next couple of weeks:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Symphony Space<br />Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize</span><br />A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a short story on a theme. The theme for this year's contest is "Are We There Yet?" The winning story will be read by an actor as part of Selected Shorts, a literary performance series at Symphony Space in New York City. Amy Hempel will judge. Submit a story of up to four pages by March 14. There is no entry fee. Send an SASE or visit the Web site for complete guidelines.<br /><br />Symphony Space, Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize, Selected Shorts, 2537 <br />Broadway, New York, NY 10025. Mac Barrett, Contact.<br />shorts@symphonyspace.org<br /><a href="http://www.symphonyspace.org">www.symphonyspace.org</a><br /><br />Over at the <a href="http://www.poewar.com/category/short-story-writing/">Writer's Resource Center, the last several short story posts</a> have been questioning some of the conventions of the the form and I'd love to know what some of you think -- particularly about the Twilight Zone ending.<br /><br />That's all I have for now. If anyone has any tips or questions, let me have 'em. <br />DarleneDarlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-37362177146207701792008-02-05T21:14:00.000-06:002008-02-08T15:17:35.783-06:00Writing Group this week and a couple of linksMy writing group is this week and I'm debating what to bring. I'm often shy about bringing work to the group. The irony here is gross -- I lead the group most of the time and try to put other people at ease to read their materials on a monthly basis and yet I find it really intimidating to bring my own writing to workshop. Theirs is truly okay, but mine is truly crap. It's a mental trap that I have to work myself out of. Certainly I have brought work in the past and all was fine, and it will be fine again. I'm just nervous. [Addendum: I took in 6 pages of <span style="font-style:italic;">Shelter</span> and it went just fine. They didn't laugh me out of the room after all.]<br /><br /><a href="http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/01/13/cassie-edwards-copies-words-from-pulitzer-prize-winning-novelist/">Given the recent Cassie Edwards scandal</a>, we all need to know what is and isn't <a href="http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/">plagiarism</a>, but we also need to know about copyrights. <br /><a href="http://www.writing.com/main/info/about/copyrights.html">Here's a link from Writing.com with several articles dealing with different aspects of the matter.</a>Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-17902964446169762302008-01-30T12:10:00.000-06:002008-01-30T13:04:10.420-06:00A few links for todayHello again,<br /><br />Today I have a couple of recommendations of useful links.<br /><br />The first comes from a colleague from my writers group, Lee Lyons. Here's what she wrote to me: <a href="http://writingformoney.com">Writingformoney.com</a> <br />"Take advantage of this website and writing guru, John Clausen, who runs it. (Clausen wrote the book "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal" about freelance writing several years ago) Helpful tips and intros to different forms of freelancing are available always. A very nominal membership fee ($7.95) enables writers to post their own Portfolios to attract freelance work. It's a great site and I highly recommend it!"<br />____________________________________________<br />I'd also like to plug a contest for our local Romance Writers of America chapter, so here are the details straight from the chapter president:<br /><br />"February 14th is the deadline for NW Indiana Chapter 89 Romance Writers of America's annual Grand Beginnings Contest for unpublished authors. Trained judges will critique the first five pages of a participants manuscript. Entrants need not be RWA members, but submissions must be women's fiction with romantic elements. Entry fee is $20 and we accept electronic submissions as well as hard copy. All entries are critiqued by two judges and will be returned, along with those judges' comments, by April 30th.<br /><br />The top 5 finalists will be ranked by published author and Wild Rose Press editor, Michelle Witvliet.<br /><br />For more information and a look at the score sheet, go to our website at <a href="http://www.nwinrwa.org">www.nwinrwa.org</a><br /><br />Joanna Waugh<br />President<br />NW Indiana Chapter 89 RWA"<br />___________________________________________<br /><br />Finally, as promised, the Indiana Writers Consortium Yahoo group is now up and ready for business. If you're interested in joining this group, head over to <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indianawriters">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indianawriters</a><br /><br />That's enough for one day I think. Happy hunting.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-62541800760202528232008-01-21T14:54:00.000-06:002008-01-21T15:13:01.410-06:00I'm backHello again.<br /><br />It's been a long seven months or so. What have I been doing? All sorts of things, but not a lot of writing. Only in the last couple of weeks have I been cracking open Word again. There are lots of reasons, most of them inadequate, but sometimes we just need a break, and a few months ago I decided to stop beating myself up about it and just take my rest. I had faith that the urge to write would come back and slowly it is.<br /><br />Among the other things I've been up to, I've been involved in the creation of the Indiana Writers Consortium -- a sort of umbrella group spanning seven counties which hopes to act as a resource for writers to network and support one another. There will eventually be themes and programs but for now we're just working out the details. I'm on the web committee, and we're just putting together a Yahoo group for now. As soon as that's set up, I'll post the link. Shouldn't be but a few days.<br /><br />One other midwest resource I wanted to mention is the <a href="http://www.poetrycenter.org/reading/index.html">14th annual Poetry Center Juried Reading and Awards</a> out of the Poetry Center of Chicago. There are some lovely prizes and there were only 266 entries last year -- so there's <span style="font-style:italic;">relatively</span> low competition. <br /><br />I'm hoping to post once a week or so again, but bear with me if that's a bit out of reach right now. I'll do my best to ferret out some useful and interesting writing links for you every week. If anyone has any tips they'd like to pass along, I'd love to have them, so feel free to email me or post them in a reply.<br /><br />Thanks for your patience, everyone.<br />DarleneDarlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-79348383708760098752007-06-11T08:29:00.000-05:002007-06-11T08:35:52.724-05:00I'm Not SleepingI'm just resting my eyes.<br /><br />Thrown for a loop by a death in the family and an illness, I've been more or less away from my writing for a couple of months. I'm slowly getting it back together, but honestly the blog is (gasp) low on my list of priorities. So I do hope to be back at this eventually, but for now, I don't expect to update any time soon. I'll leave it up for the list of links. Happy writing everyone!Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-80595088910297885192007-04-17T10:38:00.000-05:002007-04-17T11:02:03.753-05:00What are you doing this summer?Got summer plans yet? Any of them writerly? I am taking a trip to <a href="http://www.nps.gov/archive/zion/home.htm">Zion National Park</a> in June to celebrate my brother & sister-in-law's marriage. Never been to Las Vegas (where we're flying into) or Utah. I shall do my best to gather inspiration.<br /><br />For those of you without plans, <a href="http://writersconf.org/cal/fulllisting.php">here's a link to the Writers Conferences and Centers' list of writing conferences and retreats</a>. If you've never attended a writers conference, I completely recommend one. Of course the quality varies from program to program, but the ability to immerse oneself entirely in writing for a whole day or week or month... it's fantastic. I attended the <a href="http://ucollege.wustl.edu/summerwr.php">Washington University Summer Writer's Camp</a> in 2000 and I loved it. I met lovely people and was so grateful just to talk so much about poetry for two whole weeks! (I just pulled up the program's home page and was amused to find a quote from me on their sidebar. Name's misspelled though.) One of my favorite poems was written during this conference. I can't wait to attend another. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/cougar.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/cougar.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Maybe I'll round up some mountain lions in Zion and we'll compose sonnets to the arches.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-71013598509708509182007-03-31T16:41:00.000-05:002007-03-31T17:17:51.073-05:00Tom's naming questionOne of the men from my writing group posed the following question to me via e-mail. Naming techniques are always a hot topic. Anyone have any feedback for poor Tom?<br />___________________________________________________________________________________<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dvdfuture.com/images/upload/brosnan_remington-steele.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.dvdfuture.com/images/upload/brosnan_remington-steele.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Darlene,<br /><br /> I need some help. I'm looking for names for some of my characters. Mainly; Lois Lane, Mary Jane Simpson (MJ) and the protagonist, Darryl Mark Steele, in my stories - Do you have any good and/or bad ideas? (In the best tradition of brain-storming; Even seemingly bad ideas can sometimes spark something that might workout.) <br /><br /> Perhaps you could pass this along to the members on the e-mail list and they might have some ideas too. It might be nice to get some discussions going between members through e-mail. What do you think? <br /> <br /> I named Steele's secretary Lois Lane and had a little joke with that in the first novel, but the consensus now seems to be that the people who hold the copyrights to Superman will not look kindly on me using that name. Even if I add an “e” (Loise) to her name, as someone suggested at the last meeting, I think it may cause copyright problems. The joke, with her name and the reference to Superman, was funny at the time, in the first book, but doesn't seem worthwhile if the name is going to cause problems now .... Got any brilliant ideas? I'm very open to suggestions.<br /><br />Ha - Ha ... Just had a funny thought ... how about I name her “Darlene Cohn”? <br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">There you go again, assuming I won't sue you!</span>]<br /><br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://freakytrigger.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/maryjane.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://freakytrigger.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/maryjane.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />As for "MJ" - You yourself pointed this out last year when I first read parts of the first book at a Blank Slate meeting. (I'm sorry ... you read it for me - and I thanks you!) Anyway, your comments then are still valid now, especially with the release of the latest Spiderman movie upon-us. I took your advise and re-named this character in the new book ... her new name is Penelope Anastasia Simpson. She goes by the name of "Poppy", still just to annoy her snobbish mother. It's a little joke that I really haven't had time to develop yet - perhaps in the third novel. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/15/MPW-7766"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/15/MPW-7766" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Anyway after reading through my current work the nick name of Poppy seems a<br />little to modern (Remember the story takes place in 1954) Now, I'm looking for something a little more traditional. I still want to develop the thing between her and her mother further, so I want her to have a name that will lend itself to some sort of nick name . The more traditional being: "Sam" for Samantha or "Charlie" for Christine or even Cathrine. In V. I. Woochcoski (I don't think that's spelled correctly, but I hope you get the idea) the author used “Cat”, for Cathrine, as one of the leading characters.<br /><br /> I have also had some misgivings about the detectives name. I am considering changing it from Darryl Mark Steele (The Steele part of which I must say, I appropriated from the TV show Remington Steele. Also a detective – which may also cause copyright problems later on) and replace it with “Darryl Mark Falcon”. <br /><br /> So if you have any suggestions I am completely open to any ideas you might have. Even if you don't have any input, Thanks for listening in any event.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />TomDarlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-75697034543563734812007-03-20T10:29:00.000-05:002007-03-20T10:50:28.853-05:00A Glorious Link DumpThis week, I have another link dump for you. I've been saving up some tasty treats in the hope I'd find a few minutes to post. This dump is dedicated to Tom, who likes to read concrete methodological approaches to writing. Must be an engineering thing. :)<br /><br /><a href="http://toberead.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-of-writing.html">Here's an article</a> Tom himself drew my attention to discussing the use of "how-to" books by amateur writers who are no longer novices. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.teresciaharvey.com/hea/articles.html">Terescia Harvey</a> has an impressive list of links to practical articles discussing everything from plotting techniques to query letter writing.<br /><br /><a href="http://thediagram.com/contest_f.html">Here's a contest</a> worth checking out if you're fond of experimental fiction. <a href="http://thediagram.com/">The Diagram</a> is a very cool little mag.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/if_romance_novel_conventions_were_venereal_diseases/">A funny blog posting</a> comparing lame romance novel plot twists with venereal diseases. (Rated PG-13 for obscene language. Gasp!)<br /><br />That should keep you busy for a week or so. Get to it!Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-71732610218368889032007-02-28T08:47:00.000-06:002007-02-28T09:18:42.639-06:00ConundrumThe girls at the Renegade Writer blog have posted a <a href="http://therenegadewriter.com/?p=250">great interview with Michelle Goodman</a> who's book <i>The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube</i> surfaced last year. <a href="http://www.anti9to5guide.com/">(Here's Michelle's blog.)</a> In the interview, Goodman addresses the question of how to make the jump from small, low-paying assignments to more rewarding work. I've been mulling this one myself recently. I've now written nearly 20 articles for the <i>Post-Tribune</i>, and I like the work well enough, but it's not what I want to be doing. I take the assignments because, hey, at least they're assignments! But they take up time I could be using to pursue more challenging work. Do I keep working for peanuts or suck up the money shortage for a couple weeks to push out some queries? What do you think?Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-77358204613435173642007-02-23T07:31:00.001-06:002007-02-23T07:33:35.254-06:00NapkinsA quick link today, for I have stories to write before I blog, stories to write before I blog.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.esquire.com/fiction/napkin-fiction/napkinproject">Everyone go write a story on a napkin. Right now.</a>Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-46680293755399257482007-02-09T08:42:00.000-06:002007-02-09T09:31:44.337-06:00ToysI'm back after a jaunt to St. Louis and a bout of illness. I take my writing with me when I go to St. Louis, but I almost never get any work done. I can't concentrate! Plus, my DH was in Manchester, England having a great time at a conference, and I was livid with jealousy. (No, not really. Well, just a little. Maybe.)<br /><br />Today's post: writing toys. How I love toys! While I am skeptical that using toys can help you write anything truly inspired (that's what your own damn brain is for!) I like messing around with electronic generators. Good for practice.<br /><br />So, first up is <a href="http://www.rhymezone.com">RhymeZone,</a> not actually a toy but a respectable and proper rhyming dictionary which is impressively thorough. The challenge, write a poem using a truly odd collection of rhyming words. Mine: through, peacock blue, taboo, pas de deux, hullabaloo, epoxy glue, blink 182. That poem practically writes itself!<br /><br />Next, for the truly lazy, the <a href="http://www.storybase.net/index.php">Story Base Online</a> plot tool. Pick a few architypical characters, choose an emotion or conflict, and presto -- a bunch of potential plots.<br /><br />Finally, <a href="http://dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources">an enormous list of writers tools at DMOZ</a>. Some useful stuff, mostly not, but it's fun to sort the wheat from the chaff.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-10297965657095801452007-01-23T07:22:00.000-06:002007-01-23T07:26:14.330-06:00Fan-cee!All I can say is "Wow!"<a href="http://www.overduemedia.com/blog.aspx?post=745">Check out the groovy bookcarts from around the country.</a> Absolutely silly. Makes my Sauder composite board bookshelves look downright sad (sadder than they already did, the poor saggy things.)Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-62869325939272660582007-01-19T08:11:00.000-06:002007-01-19T09:10:19.013-06:00You know you wanna lookAges and ages ago, I promised to set up a <a href="http://del.icio.us">Del.icio.us</a> account so I could post links to my clips. I did that quite some time ago and never posted the link. <a href="http://del.icio.us/drmcohn">Here you go</a>. Mind you, everything on here right now is for the <a href="http://www.post-trib.com">Post Tribune</a>, but I'll keep posting clips as I have them.<br /><br />The Post Tribune has already given me 7 articles this month, which is fantastic. I have four to do next week, but it's definitely keeping me from focusing on more ambitious work. The money is not a small consideration, but still, I can't help wondering how I can be more focused on preparing a query. I want to accomplish at least one query for a national mag this month. <br /><br />I miss <a href="http://www.zulkey.com/index.html">Claire Zulkey</a> at the <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/mbtoolbox/">MBToolbox</a> blog. It's still a great place for info about queries, but she brought a lively, personable presence to the blog which is now a little dry.<br /><br />I finished reading <a href="http://www.dykestowatchoutfor.com/index.php">Fun Home</a> by Alison Bechdel last night. It was so brilliant. She broaches some incredibly sad and fraught topics (her disfunctional family, her lonely, anxious childhood, the suicide of her father and her coming out) with humor and beauty and love. It's very literary and sophisticated. Yay! I highly recommend it. She is the author of the Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip, which is also fantastic, if you've never seen it.<br /><br />Lastly, here's a blog I've recently discovered: <a href="http://writerunboxed.com">Writer Unboxed</a>. Tom, one of the members of my writing group, is always looking for new ideas about plotting, and <a href="http://writerunboxed.com/2007/01/18/plot-aholism/">one recent post</a> features links to a couple of methods. Nice tone, well organized, thoughtful.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-50993768008180515742007-01-12T19:53:00.000-06:002007-01-12T20:33:50.941-06:00SkinIf you haven't heard of Shelley Jackson's work of human literature, <i>Skin</i>, yet, check this out. Here's her page: <a href="http://www.ineradicablestain.com/skin.html">The Inderadicable Stain</a>. Here's the <a href="http://www.pw.org/mag/0701/newswrittenimage.htm">Poets and Writers Magazine write up</a>.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-31341498805412437492007-01-05T07:29:00.000-06:002007-01-05T08:32:43.672-06:00Get up and danceThis morning I'm listening to 12" remixes of 80's music on iTunes radio -- Erasure, right now, for the curious -- to help me stay awake. It's confusing. I don't know whether to get up and dance or put my head on the table and sleep. (And thus, the inherent conflict of the bipolar.) I'm not wearing anything sequined or see-through, though, so I suppose I better just write. <br /><br />I am free of the university now, and significantly calmer, and once again ready to tackle the serious responsibility (smirk) of the blog. I was disappointed by how easily I fell off the wagon last semester. But now there are no more semesters for me, and I couldn't feel more relieved. So I'll just get on with it...<br /><br />First up, <a href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1979924,00.html">a beautiful excuse</a> for poets to skip the gym and stay home with a notebook. I'm not lazy, I'm dwelling in Possibility. Anyone have any great 2006 poetry recommendations?<br /><br />There's truth in <a href="http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/terrifying_writing.htm"> this piece</a> by Jenna Glatzer, encouraging us to write about what terrifies us. It's marvelous advice, and certainly, for me, some really important stories have come out this way -- not necessarily publishable stories, but important. I also think that I shrink from it at times: my fiction tends towards the very dark. These stories are essential to me -- they are the terrifying stories I need to tell, but sometimes I just can't face them.<br /><br />And one contest link for midwest poets: <a href="http://www.poetrycenter.org/reading/index.html">The deadline for the Poetry Center of Chicago Juried Reading</a> is January 27, 2007. Get on it.<br /><br />Until next week...Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1164121160222594612006-11-21T08:54:00.000-06:002006-11-21T08:59:20.533-06:00NaNoWriMo authors beware!<a href="http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2006/11/ac-crispin-66-nanowrimo-write-in.html">This post from Ann Crispin</a> on <a href="http://www.writerbeware.com">Writer Beware</a> is a great point. While I don't believe anyone reading my blog would be silly enough to sign a contract without doing some research about the publisher, I do think it's a great point. Ever since my days as a CRM at B&N, I've been cringing about self-publishing companies which take advantage of writers' frustrations and aspirations. One woman told me she'd paid $10,000 to a publisher to produce a self-published elementary-level handbook for sign language. Don't be that silly. Writer Beware is a great site.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1163085574700604052006-11-09T09:04:00.000-06:002006-11-09T09:19:34.920-06:00Would you like sour cream with that?<a href="http://www.webdelsol.com">Webdelsol.com</a> features a series of essays called Writers On The Job: Tales of Non-Writing. Even though I've been doing plenty of writing of late, I still find camaraderie in writers discussing what happens when they're away from their desks/cafe tables/zinc bars. <br /><br /><a href="http://webdelsol.com/f-onthejob.htm">Celia Woloch's</a> piece titled "I'm Really Not a Waitress (Or Am I?)" resonated with the former waitress in me. I, too, have blue-collar roots, child-bearing hips, and -- thanks to years of waitressing -- the ability to gracefully navigate a swinging door with a three-foot tray bearing thirty pounds of food and china. Once I left my last waiting job, I had a real sense of "God, I'll never do THAT again!" but Woloch's piece is a nice bit of nostalgia. It reminds me to appreciate my strength and resourcefulness. Luckily, I have no ex-husband, but in between publications, I <i>could</i> always waitress.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1162312777245733232006-10-31T10:34:00.000-06:002006-10-31T10:39:37.253-06:00Boo!Bear with me, faithful reader! I have been overrun with other work the past couple of weeks (Actual writing work, among other things!) and haven't done any blogging. In lieu of an actual blog of substance, let me direct your attention to <a href="www.nanowrimo.org">NaNoWriMo</a>. Just as last year, my days are far too packed to devote to something as irreverent and inspirational as this, but I sure wish I could. And remember writers, as my dear friend Ginger believes, there's always room for Zombies! Happy Halloween.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1160664200262175642006-10-12T09:34:00.000-05:002006-10-12T12:42:26.673-05:00Throbbing Members and Heaving BosomsWell friends, it's official. I quit my job teaching at the University, so as of December 22, I am exclusively freelancing. I'm free! (Yay!) I'm lancing! (Huh?) So, hey, World: please hire me to write stuff. Please Please Please.<br /><br /><A href="http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2006/10/swept-up-into-arms-of-clich.html">This post about romance cliches</a> from Agent Kristen made me laugh <i>and</i> cringe. Those of us who write genre fiction of all types (Kristen has a <a href="http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2006/10/clichs-unleashed.html">companion entry</a> about fantasy cliches) are always in peril of falling into cliche overuse. <br /><br />Now, to some extent it's hard to avoid them in genre fiction, because one is treading an exceptionally well-worn path. Still, there is nothing more infuriating than opening a book and finding the same tired plots and characters. (I'm not talking about the back-cover copy here -- I mean the actual writing.) I read a fair number of romances, and I prefer historicals, but I am SUPER picky about them. If I'm not impressed or engaged after 2 pages or so, I put the book down, or worse, throw it across the room. Flaccid writing and stale characters make me throw a book every time. (My husband likes to pick these books up where he finds them and make fun of them.) <br /><br />Even though cliches can be disastrous, ridiculous attempts to circumvent them can be worse. The most memorable metaphor I ever encountered in a romance novel described a man's, erm, equipment as a "fallen tree" with "two ostrich eggs." I swear! When I picked myself up off the floor and stopped laughing, I could only say "ewwww." Ostrich eggs? Get that thing AWAY from me! <br /><br />I kept that book for a while, but only so I could show all my friends!<br /><br />On another note, recently, someone asked me to post links to the articles I'm publishing in the <i><a href="http://www.post-trib.com">Post-Tribune</a></i>. The website doesn't keep the articles cached very long, so I'll have to set up a <a href="http://del.icio.us/">Del.icio.us</a> account and post those links. Give me a couple days to get that together, and I'll post them here.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1159277962353198932006-09-26T08:14:00.001-05:002006-09-26T09:02:33.380-05:00Unctuous Bromide<a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=110705">A very comical post</a> on the hokiness of poorly written obituaries on Poynter.org's Writing Tools Blog. It's funny, but it's got me thinking about how hard it is to write about (or even talk about) a person's death. Unfortunately, I've had the unpleasant task of buying "In Sympathy" cards twice recently. What a feeble gesture it is to send a card to the grieving, and what pap is to be found in sympathy greeting cards. We are rarely as tempted to resort to cliches as we are when dancing around fresh, feral grief. I found myself reading the cards and wondering, if my husband (father, mother, child, best friend) had just died, which of these cards would annoy me the least?<br /><br />Roy Peter Clark's <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780316014984&itm=4"><u>Writing Tools</a></u> was recently released and I had the opportunity to check it out at B&N. He has generously provided <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=103943">the text of the book online</a> as well. What a guy. Nothing revelatory here, but great tips for streamlining and strengthening writing.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1158068858389806922006-09-12T08:39:00.000-05:002006-09-12T10:43:38.180-05:00Writing Groups and Self-PublishingI'm a great fan of my writing group. I've been facilitating the group for nearly four years(!) now. It meets at our local Barnes & Noble: a convenient, well lit place which is very accomodating, if lacking nuance. Ironically, I contribute nearly the least amount of writing. I don't know why the group puts up with me! :) Nonetheless, I love it. Even if I don't share a huge amount of work, having the monthly discussion with fellow writers is invigorating. <br /><br />We have a mailing list of over 50 people, but for the most part, we are a pretty steady group of a seven regulars with occasional visitors. I think it is a good size for a group. We meet once a month, start off with a writing exercise, share our results, and then critique as many pieces as we can get to in an hour and a half.<br /><br />I have been a part of one other writing group (a local chapter of the <a href="https://www.rwanational.org/eweb/StartPage.aspx">Romance Writers of America</a>) which was quite large -- there were up 12 or so people at every meeting, and occasionally more.) I have also taken workshop classes, notably the <a href="http://ucollege.wustl.edu/summerwr.php">Summer Writers Institute</a> at Washington University in St. Louis. This was such a focused, nurturing environment! How I wish I could do that every day! (Sigh. Moment of silence for my place in <a href="http://fiction.colum.edu/">Columbia College's Fiction Writing Program</a>. I had to drop out -- and I did so enthusiastically -- when I discovered I was pregnant. Still...)<br /><br />But I'm wondering about other writing groups. What is their flavor? What successes do they have? What do they do? Why do people enjoy them? At least one of the regulars of my group has another group she attends as well. That group meets weekly (I think) and is a tight-knit group of about four women. I know that most of the people who have seen this page are members of my group (Hi Mel!) but I'm curious: what are other people's experiences with their writing groups? What do they like about them? Dislike?<br /><br />I'm also looking for recommendations of pod-casts about writing. Anyone got any?<br />________________________<br /><br />Another enduring question of mine is the role of self-publishing in the writing industry. <a href="http://misssnark.blogspot.com/2006/09/is-fan-fiction-pub-credit.html">Miss Snark</a> has a wonderful, very blunt (naturally) answer for anyone wondering if publishing online or with self-publishers "counts" as being published in the eyes of industry professionals. The answer is (mostly) No. <br /><br />When I was the Community Relations Manager at the local Barnes & Noble, I often fielded complaints from perplexed authors who had used self-publishing services (including, ahem, <a href="http://www.iuniverse.com/why-iuniverse/programs-awards/">iUniverse</a>, the one owned by Barnes & Noble, Inc.) When the local B&N won't carry them on the shelves, and won't host individual book-signings for them, the authors want to know why. Their publishers told them their books would "be available through Barnes & Noble." What those publishers should have made clear is that the books would be available <span style="font-style:italic;">to order</span> online and through the store for customers willing to pay in advance for a Print-On-Demand title. <br /><br />Personally, I understand the desire to do whatever it takes to put a book out into the world, but in terms of quality, a self-published book rarely carries the weight of a professionally produced book. From the editing to the binding to the cover art, self-published books rarely stand up to industry standards. That doesn't mean I think the industry standards are necessarily fair, but there are qualitative reasons to hold out for a known publishing house. There are exceptions, of course. <a href="www.ellorascave.com">Ellora's Cave</a> has managed to wedge itself into the canon of respected publishers. Borders even carries Ellora's Cave books on its shelves. iUniverse has answered this criticism with special programs like the Star Program, which will give authors willing to pay for a premium package <i>a chance</i> to be carried in B&N stores. Self-publishing is an unfair industry, I think, one which takes advantage of writers unfamiliar with the process of publishing and too impatient to market their work to publishers.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1157035779166992952006-08-31T09:44:00.000-05:002006-08-31T09:49:39.176-05:00Useful plotting adviceAs promised, another post this week to make up for the short offering on Tuesday. <a href="http://www.sff.net/people/alicia/10prob.htm">This list of plotting suggestions</a> comes from Alicia Rasley: a writer who is most known as a romance writer and writing instructor. Her writing booklets are quite inspiring.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1156862045145473572006-08-29T09:19:00.000-05:002006-08-29T10:08:26.230-05:00Ouch!Mel slapped me.<br /><br />No, not really. But she did point out that I haven't posted 2 weeks in a row. But I have a good excuse, honest!!! <a href="http://www.pnc.edu">School</a>. (Insert ominous crescendo here.)<br /><br />We are back to school at last, which I'm decidedly ambivalent about. But the resulting shuffle of time management means that I have to change my "Will Post" date to Tuesday, I think. Mondays are now all about school and the baby. Otherwise, I've been doing actual writing (as opposed to blogging?). I finally managed my first article for the <a href="http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/neighbors/z1/08-26-06_z1_neig_4.html">Post-Tribune</a> and have been thinking through a new romance.<br /><br />So I caught wind of <a href="http://maureenjohnson.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-write-book.html">this post</a> by Maureen Johnson from Claire Zulkey on <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/mbtoolbox/">MBToolbox</a>. Oh how I laughed! Jimmy Stewart only adds to the fun.<br /><br />[<i>But then, doesn't he always? In the first romance novel I was writing (I've since declared it hopeless -- ironic given the nature of Johnson's blog) the romantic hero was partially based on Jimmy Stewart. However, Stewart is hardly the Romance-Novel Hero type: he's no square-jawed, uber-muscled rake. I'm ashamed to admit this, but originally, this character was a tailor as well. Can you believe it? Yeah. That was not going to work. Oh well. Sigh. I've been a nerd from waaaay back. </i>]<br /><br />That's my humble offering this week. I'll work on something more substantial as the week goes on. Thanks for the motivation, Mel!Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1155141073715353852006-08-09T11:26:00.000-05:002006-08-09T11:41:11.960-05:00Poetry toysI love a good poetry toy! (See "Instant Poetry" entry). Here's another called <a href="http://erasures.wavepoetry.com/index.php">Erasures</a>. Feel free to post the link to your poems here. Here's my work of genius: <a href="http://erasures.wavepoetry.com/erasures.php?poemid=568">"Luna"</a>. Snark away.Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28158321.post-1154959885123345132006-08-07T09:04:00.000-05:002006-08-07T22:55:22.523-05:00I Dream of FundingI fantasize that one day I'll get paid to write. Not just a token amount scarcely enough to pay for a subscription to the local newspaper, but really <i>paid</i>. (I also fantasize that I'm living in the south of France while I'm doing this paid writing, but that's beyond the point...) So today's blog focus is money: winning it, earning it ... whatever works.<br /><br /><b>First up, a few resources for grant-seekers:</b> <br /><ul><li>The most comprehensive list is a subscription service from <a href="http://www.pen.org/login.php?prmReturn=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pen.org%2FgandaSearch.php"> PEN America Center</a>. Once I finish paying of my local newspaper subscription, I'll invest in this resource.</li><br /> <br /><li><a href="http://www.nasaa-arts.org/main.start.shtml">The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies</a> can help locate regional funding for writers and artists and give the heads up to more obscure resources. Don't pass up their links to other sources.</li><br /><br /><li>And this is the <a href="http://www.arts-nsal.org/">National Society of Arts and Letters</a>, which prides itself on encouraging young artists.</li><br /><br /><li>Finally, if you're hiding an "exceptional" publication credit in your back pocket, you can always apply for <a href="http://www.arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Lit06/index.html">an NEA Literature Fellowship</a></li></ul><br /><br /><b>And next, a few good sources (other than your creased and coffee-stained copy of <i>Writer's Market</i>) for contest information:</b><br /><ul><li>My personal favorite, <a href="http://www.pw.org/mag/grantsawards.htm"><i>Poets & Writers Magazine's</i> Grants and Awards page</a>. It's elegant, it's easy to use, it's inspiring. Awww.</li><br /> <br /><li><a href="http://www.winningwriters.com/">Winning Writers</a> is also great reference for poets looking for contest info.</li><br /><br /><li>The Poetry Society of America also publishes a pretty exhaustive list of contests and retreats on their <a href="http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa-links.php#">Resources</a> page.</li><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.writing-world.com/contests/index.shtml">Writing-World.com</a> also features a long list of contests.<br /><br /><li>If you're a screenwriter, the Writer's Guild of America sites both list <a href="http://www.wgaeast.org/cgi-bin/other_resources#28">screenwriting awards and fellowships</a>.</ul><br /><br /><b>And finally, a few sources for paying work:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs.php">WritersWeekly.com</a> has a decent freelance job list.</li><br /><br /><li>As does my other fave writing site, <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com">Mediabistro.com</a></li></ul><br /><br />Don't forget that most genres have their own lists of contests and awards. For example, you'd naturally check out the RWA if you're a romance writer, but would you think of checking out <a href="http://www.catwriters.org/special-awards.html"> The Cat Writers' Association</a> if you write about cats? <br /><br />I'm still looking for the "Creative Writing in the South of France Grant", though. So clue me in if you find it, alright?Darlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303122985479779437noreply@blogger.com0