Veteran's Day 2012

Yesterday was Veteran's Day but today there will be many celebrations across the nation due to the fact that Veteran's Day fell on a Sunday.  I'd like to take a moment to honor those who have served, given their life or survived one thing after another on this day.

My father is a veteran; he served his 20+ years and retired without having had to go to war.  Both my brothers are veterans.  My uncle is a veteran.  I probably can trace veterans back a good ways in my family.  So I pay homage to all those who have served, are still serving or who gave their lives for our freedoms. 

To the veterans in our lives - E :)

How to Avoid Blogger Burnout by VS Grenier

Today, I'm going to share a post I did for the Brand Buzz Network and their mommy blogger members. As writers we also do a lot of blogging, guest posts, social networking, etc. It can be overwhelming at times, stressful...and just plain hard work to sit down and just post away. All of this got me thinking and after reading a few status updates from other writing friends of mine...my little article came to be. I hope you enjoy it and also share some words of inspiration and tips in the comments section below. ~VS Grenier

How to Avoid Blogger Burnout

I’ve noticed lately a few of my blogging friends have been taking some time off from posting to their blogs. A few of them have taken months off with no mention of when they plan to return. It started me thinking about something…blogger burnout.

The first thing you need to consider are the warning signs you’re experiencing blogger burnout. Some of the signs are hard to recognize due to the nature of blogging. To help you identify if you have blogger burnout or on your way to experiencing it, ask yourself these questions. Count up how many you answered ‘yes’ to and then read on.

1. Are you putting up blog posts the day they are due to show up on your blog?
2. Do you have more reviews than you can finish each day, week and/or month?
3. Are you having a hard time finding things to blog about?
4. Do you forget to announce winners of giveaways only a few days after it ends?
5. Are you staying up late or getting up early to get posts up and feel tired because of it?
6. Do you have more than 50 emails still waiting for your reply?

Blogger burnout can happen to the best of us. You may be very organized but still feel the stress of having more on your plate than you can manage. So the question is…What can you do about it? Of course you can take a hiatus from your blog. This may or may not affect your blog readership. But I have a few suggestions to try before you take this step.

1. Take a week vacation from your blog. It is okay to take some time from your blog from time to time. Just don’t make it a habit or do it for too long if you can avoid it. I suggest when you do take a vacation from your blog to plan on taking pictures of some of the things you did while you were away to share with your readers when you return. This not only gives you a break but will also help give you something (or a few things) to post about upon your return.
2. Have one or two days a week where other bloggers can do a guest post on your blog. I find this really helps me and keeps the stress of for topics to write about on my blog daily and weekly.
3. Share other blog posts from blogs you follow. I don’t do this often, but I have a few blogging buddies who once a month or even once a week share blog posts from other blogs. This is easy to do because you only need to share an excerpt or quick reason synopsis of the post with its link.
4. Don’t post daily. Some bloggers feel they have to have a blog post everyday or almost every day of the week. I do try to have at least a new blog post bi-weekly on my blog, but daily is too much for me. At most, I post three times a week. Find what works for and don’t worry what others are doing.
5. Have different types of post for each day of the week. When I first started blogging, I thought I had to stick to my blog them for every post. Then I realized I could do what I want on what day I wanted. I found making a theme schedule for each day of the week helped to give me ideas for posts. Here is my theme schedule: Monday is grammar tips or information about my blog talk radio show (if I have one), Tuesday is when I post a writing tip or an update, Wednesday is for guest posts, Thursday I share reviews or updates on my personal writing/books, Friday is for interviews or show information (if I have a show). I don’t post on Saturday or Sunday.
6. Use article content sites. One of the easiest things to do is use article content sites to find posts for your blog. There are a lot writers out there looking for places to showcase their writing. You can use these articles free and have some great content by professionals on your blog.
7. Schedule your blog posts at least a week ahead of time. I find using my Sunday nights to plan and schedule my blog posts for the week allows me to have more time during the week for other things like my kids and personal writing. If you’re able too, try to schedule two weeks ahead of time or even the whole month!

Blogger burnout is a real thing and can happen without you realizing it. If you start feeling like you don’t want to blog anymore, take a week off and then use my suggestions above to help get you back into blogging with less stress.


 About VS Grenier:
When she isn't busy talking with authors and illustrator on her radio shows, working for Stories for Children Publishing, Brand Buzz Network or Halo Publishing, and spending time with her children; award-winning author and editor VS Grenier is busy writing adventures in the World of Ink. Learn more at http://vsgrenier.com or http://worldofinknetwork.com

Poetry for Christmas (again)

Is it too early to start thinking of Christmas?  Not really if you want to send personalised greeting to family, friends and colleagues - now is the perfect time to begin planning your greetings.  Are poetry and Christmas at odds?  Of course not, especially if you avoid the syrupy cutesy cards you pay huge $ for and choose a beautiful book full of real, award winning poetry. Instead of a card that will end up as landfill, you'll give a gift and card in one that people will keep.  My co-author Carolyn Howard-Johnson and I have pulled together just such a book, and you can order them, with their beautiful full-color cover by prize wining water-colourist Vicki Thomas, for only $3 each.  That's less than the cost of a card (only $75 for 25 of the most memorable holiday greetings you've ever sent to your family, friends, and colleagues), and will make a significantly more powerful impression, especially if you write a personal note inside.  The book was a USA Book News finliast and a Military Writers Society of America Silver Award Winner.  To order, just send an email to HoJoNews@aol.com with HOLIDAY ORDER in the subject line, and Carolyn will make direct payment arrangements with you. Or you can drop by Amazon (click on book cover above) and buy the books individually for $6.95.  Here's a sample:

Silent Symphony

Though it’s calm in the dark room

where you sit on Christmas eve

reaching for familiarity

I’ll take you down

to that imperfect place

of tone and sound

beyond culture’s skin, language

hard wired clickity clack

auditory parasite

multiples of frequencies

simple-ratio harmonies or complex

carols of memory

down there

in the consonance of memory

walking the cobblestones of imagination

your black heart finds light

melodic intervals

of sensation more pervasive than chance

open your ears into the silence

 a symphony

vibrating  the universe of your illusory body.

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, the novels Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Deeper Into the Pond, Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find out more about Magdalena at http://www.magdalenaball.com

 

Making Money as a Writer

Unless your name is Grisham or Steele or Rowling, you may not be making much, if any, money writing books. Authors must be prolific, and have excellent marketing skills or someone to do that for them. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make money as a writer.

Freelance writers who write newspaper and magazine articles can develop a nice income by treating their writing as a full-time job. You must constantly be putting out queries, doing interviews, and writing articles. I have been a freelance writer, and although I didn’t work at it full-time, I managed to bring in extra money to contribute to the household income.

My money-making “job” now is mainly freelance editing. Again, I’m not working at it full-time, as I’m still trying to be an author as well. Editing takes knowledge and experience and a certain skill. Not everyone can jump into this field. It also takes time to build a clientele. I worked at acquiring clients for several years before they started coming to me. I love this work, and I love helping other writers improve their manuscripts.

Another thing I do to earn extra “pin money” is teach classes in beginning fiction and memoir writing. After I took a university course in fiction writing, I wanted to share what I had learned with my fellow writers in my community. So, with great trepidation and my heart pounding like a drum, I put a notice in the newspaper, sent e-mails to all my writing acquaintances and started a class. I had ten students in that first eight-week session, and about half of them followed me through that year and the next.I found I also loved doing these classes and sharing what I know with others.

I remember there was a book out a number of years ago titled Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow. I’ve found that is true. But it takes patience and perseverance. It doesn’t happen overnight.

What do you do to earn money writing?

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A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in Northwest Washington. Her first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, is based on her grandmother, and the sequel, Follow the Dream, has recently won the national WILLA Award. Heidi has a degree in journalism, a certificate in fiction writing, and is a member of Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She teaches writing and edits, blogs, and is working on the next books in her “Dare to Dream” series.     

Flash Fiction Anthology, Possibilities, Goes Live!

Flash Fiction Anthology, Possibilities, Goes Live!

Learning the Craft of Writing

I was contemplating my NaNoWriMo efforts of the past 3 years and what I have planned this year and it struck me that although I’ve ‘writing’ since childhood, have had things ‘published’ over the years and now make this a full-time endeavor, I still know so little about the craft of writing.

That’s really what writing is all about—learning the craft. And that is what takes so long—because you must practice and read other examples of good writing from which to role model.

I’ve been doing a lot of both lately. I’ve read several really awesome YA books, like The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch (amazing writing)  and, of course, any of Cassandra Clare’s books. I’m currently rereading Divergent by Veronica Roth and Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

All of this reading slapped me in the face with how these authors handled many of the obvious mistakes my own work contains and why I haven’t been pleased with any of it. But recognizing this fact and fixing it are two different issues.

When I wrote Odessa and several of the others in my two early series, I just sat down and let the story pour out of me then said, “Done.” But as I reread these books I’m disappointed in myself for the lackluster writing and poor flow. Does that mean I could write it any better now? Maybe somewhat better, but not as well as I’d like, yet.

So I went shopping on Amazon and found several books on craft that have made a WORLD of difference in my thought process and organizing the ideas I had but couldn’t get together. These books were: Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland and Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks.

What does all of this have to do with NaNo? I spent last month plotting and planning, revising characters and plotline for the manuscript I’ve struggled with over for the past 3 NaNos. And I must say, I’m excited to get started writing. I like this plot and character much better and I think I may have nailed it. We’ll see by the end of the month.

I also decided to start over with a brand new manuscript, rather than trying to piece the old with the new like a worn-out quilt.

Here’s the premise for Sunshine Colony:2525

In the year 2525 the world has collapsed and rebuilt itself into linked, self-governed villages called Colonies. 13-year-old Rayna Darwin was born into Seaside Village, Sunshine Colony the usual way--for those times. But her circumstances were far from usual--a red-haired twin was the most taboo birth possible. Her twin sold to Slavers and birth mother exiled, Rayna was rescued and given away to be raised in the Underground Black Market by loving Barren parents who dyed her hair brown and hid her true identity. She played with other kids when their parents came to shop, fell in love with one of them and never knew danger. That is, until a woman so jealous of Rayna's mother's good fortune and loving life she could no longer control herself turned Rayna over to the Peacers. Taken away to live with the other 12-20 year old girls in the government-run population control center called the Gestortium, Rayna's life takes a turn for the dangerous when she is recognized by a sadistic previous playmate who is so jealous of Rayna's loving home and life she formulates a plan to kill her. After all, she's done it before...     

                           

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Since writing this posting I have begun writing and am about 7 chapters into the new story. I read the opening chapter to my college-aged son and his highschool girlfriend—both picky readers…They were impressed and wanted to know the rest of the story. SUCCESS! Now to keep up that level of tension.

Rebecca Ryals Russell, a fourth-generation Floridian, was born in Gainesville, grew up in Ft Lauderdale then lived in Orlando and Jacksonville with her Irish husband and four children. Due to the sudden death of Rebecca's mother, they moved to Wellborn, near Lake City, to care for her father, moving into his Victorian home built in 1909. After teaching Middle Graders for fourteen years she retired and began writing the story idea which had been brewing for thirty years.  Within six months she wrote the first three books of each series, YA Seraphym Wars and MG Stardust Warriors. The world she created has generated numerous other story ideas including two current works in progress, SageBorn Chronicles based on various mythologies of the world and aimed at the lower Middle Grade reader and Saving Innocence, another MG series set on Dracwald and involving dragons and Majikals. She is finishing a YA Dystopian Romance which has been a NaNoWriMo project for three years. She loves reading YA Fantasy, Horror and Sci Fi as well as watching movies.  Read more about Rebecca and her WIPs as well as how to buy books in her various series at http://rryalsrussell.com  You may email her at vigorios7@gmail.com

Integrating Feedback into the Writing Process

Integrating Feedback into the Writing Process

Guest Post By Laura Bickle

Writing for oneself is a completely different animal than writing for other people. When writing for oneself, there's a freedom to explore any idea or format that one likes. There's freedom to make errors. With an audience of one, there's very little pressure to conform to the ideas of others. There are no rules.

Writing for others is different. When developing an idea or manuscript for sale, there's a certain amount of external input needed. Input comes in many forms: from beta readers, critique groups, agents, and editors. External input is invaluable: as a writer, I'm often blind to flaws and blatant errors in my own work. I can read the same sentence over and over and not see a mistake in logic that another will readily see.

But too much feedback can also be a bad thing. Each reader approaches a manuscript differently, has different tastes and desires. One reader may adore a chapter while the next may hate it. And if I've solicited feedback from many sources, that feedback can sometimes conflict. I feel that I have to address every issue raised...even when there is no way to incorporate everyone's opinion. I can sometimes fall into analysis paralysis, and never find my way out of the revision forest. The old saying about too many cooks spoiling the broth definitely comes into play.

I think that there's a balance between using our internal compasses and soliciting external feedback. To be certain, some feedback is vital and necessary. It produces a more sound work. And some of it - particularly editorial suggestions - are not optional.

But there must be limits. Writers must remember that not every book is for every reader. And creating a work that encompasses all possible feedback is frankly impossible. Over-critiquing a manuscript can sometimes be harmful...a writer can lose track of the original inspiration and voice. Being in a state of constant revision can result in disjointed, disconnected parts. The flow can get lost. When I read manuscripts for others, I can often tell when plot threads were snipped and moved around over and over, because threads are dangling.

Sometimes, it's helpful for me just to set a manuscript aside for a while. Let it percolate. Read it some months later with a fresh eye. Sometimes, the project will not see the light of day. I take what I've learned and move on. Sometimes, I'll go forward with it after time has passed.

And I think that it's also helpful to develop a small network of folks who are able to act as critique partners. People who will be honest, who understand my genre. Folks who aren't afraid to scribble in the margins: "What the heck is this platypus doing here? And when did he learn to play the kazoo?"

I think that's valuable. I gather three or four sets of feedback, with the sources depending upon the project. With three or four recipes, I have a pretty good idea of how to improve my chicken soup. I still feel as if I have control of the project, and that the book isn't being written by committee.

With any artistic endeavor, you can't please everyone. And that's also true for writing groups and critique partners. The trick, I think, is to be able to filter feedback and integrate it into a work without losing track of what you set out to do. 
-
Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams). Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and a herd of mostly-reformed feral cats. THE HALLOWED ONES is her first young adult novel. Get the latest updates on her work at www.laurabickle.com

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MORE ON WRITING

The Gift of Feedback
Would You Make a Good Reviewer?
Writing Fiction: Character Believability and Conflict

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