Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for July, 2012

The Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors (by Kristen Lamb)

Posted in Blogging, Fiction, Inspiration, Non-Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

An informative and entertaining post by Kristen Lamb. Be sure to watch the vlog piece and check out her hot and helpful book “We Are Not Alone; The Writer’s Guide to Social Media!

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Happy Monday! Okay, last week, upon my return from Thrillerfest, we explored what I felt were the 5 top mistakes that are killing traditional publishing. Then, on Friday, we talked about how self-publishing can help writers as a whole, even traditional writers. It is a wonderful time to be a writer, but I want to make myself crystal clear.

This business is hard work. There are no shortcuts.

I Don’t Take Sides

I feel that traditional publishing has a lot to offer the industry. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t spend so much time and effort challenging them to innovate to remain competitive. Self-publishing is not a panacea, and, since I spent last week focusing on the traditional end of the industry, today we are going to talk about the top five mistakes I feel are killing self-publishing authors.

Mistake #1 Publishing Before We Are Ready

The problem…

View original post 1,787 more words

Read Full Post »

Inspiration Is Not at the Next Exit

Posted in Blogging, Fiction, Inspiration, Non-Fiction, Uncategorized, Writer's Block, Writing, tagged , , , , , on July 23, 2012| 8 Comments »

Don’t be so gullible. There is no ‘perfect moment’ lurking around the corner, another hour will not make a difference, it matters not whether we’re sitting in a cluttered house breathing in dust or staring out a mountain loft window, absorbing a breathtaking view.

If we’re going to write something believable, marketable and applausable, we’re going to do it poolside, seaside or on the back of an envelope, billside.

Convincing ourselves; if things were different, we’d sit down and write, is wrong. The fact is, if it’s in our blood and we’re born to do it, nothing will get in our way.

Dissuasion is simple. It’s a sedentary activity. It could be seen as lackadaisical, slothful even. Being encouraged to head out for a walk is reasonable, but cheering someone to sit down at a computer is, at best, questionable.

None the less, it needs to be done. Someone should stand up. Someone should shout out. Someone should put his foot down. Someone should don a lick of devotion.

But we’re the someones. There’s nobody here but us chickens.

We’re standing alright, but in the way. We don’t believe. We lack confidence. We’re afraid. We’re our own worst enemy.

So step aside and sit down. Magically, invisible time will be found, surroundings, no matter their attributes, will melt into our story and those all-consuming tasks will be put on hold.

They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, so tie yourself to a chair and start cheering.

A ruse…

Read Full Post »

Empire State of Mind

Posted in Blogging, Hardship, Inspiration, Non-Fiction, Relationships, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , on July 16, 2012| 6 Comments »

Sometimes, and let me be clear, only sometimes, I don’t think I’m bitchy enough to be a writer. (That alone should be enough to spark more interest in my blog than usual)

I was on a plane to New York last week. My daughter and I pre-booked our seats and got to the airport (absurdly) early for check-in. Long story short, we were well prepared and took every measure to insure we were sitting together and that my girl got the window seat she’d been dreaming of.

As we approached our seats, we were met with a stare of frigid disappointment. A mother sat with her tot on her lap and said;

“Oh, we were hoping you wouldn’t be together.”

“Sorry?” I asked, confused.

“My son and I are seated apart, so we were hoping you were going to be able to switch with us.”

“Ah,” I said in an understanding tone. I looked at the little boy, no more than three. I could feel her pain.

I turned to my daughter, only a child herself, and was met with her pleading eyes, but before I could say anything, she relented; “It’s okay, the little boy can sit with his mom.”

I could see she was troubled, only being eleven, but sensing the gravity of the situation, she knew he needed his mommy just a little more than she did.

“Are you sure honey? I asked. “You don’t have to switch if you’re worried. The seat’s yours after all.”

As we were having this conversation, a mere formality, the outcome of which we already knew, we were interrupted by the woman; “’She is just that much older. My boy really needs to sit with me.”

As I absorbed what she was saying, the flight attendant piped in; “Yes, she is older. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Amidst the blink of an eye, and some unnecessary tongue flapping, what had started as empathy for the woman and her child was now bordering on resentment and flirting at the edge of anger within me. I was being bullied.

“It’s alright,” I answered, slightly exasperated. “We’ll change seats.”

We settled into our new digs and I leaned back, glad to be out of the limelight. An aisle separated my girl and I. We looked at each other and smiled. No big deal.

Two hours in, she reclined her seat, startling, but not (even close to) disrupting a woman behind her. The woman’s wild curls bounced and her eyes widened behind her very round, thick-rimmed glasses.

With a cluck of her tongue, she looked down her nose and over her specs at the person next to her.

“This is why I wouldn’t switch with them in the first place. I’m a writer”, she claimed with an exasperated tone while stroking the keys of her laptop. “And you see”, her voice all high and mighty, “I still can’t get any peace!”

So, maybe Ava and I couldn’t cuddle, whisper or giggle and perhaps she couldn’t rest her head on my shoulder while she was sleeping and she obviously didn’t get her much anticipated window seat, but we were going to New York, we did hold hands during take off and landing, we had the comfort that came from doing what was right and I would still be a writer…bitch or not.

Read Full Post »

Red Solo Cup

Posted in Blogging, Inspiration, Music, Non-Fiction, Relationships, Songs, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

There was a time I was sure my holidays would include twenty-first floor, plush hotel rooms, clinking crystal glasses, Saks and Tiffany’s, white linen, azure water and yachts off the coast.

But, since being a slick, single city chick wasn’t in my cards, another kind of holiday eased into my delusions; cookouts, critters, damp pillows, stained beach chairs and smoke riddled hair.

It’s another world, this roughing it. Electricity vanished, flush toilets a distant memory, don’t even mention showers and forget about cell service. Packing up almost everything you own to go live in the forest could be considered a tad indicative of on setting insanity. It could be perceived as an adventure one could do without. Weak at heart beware. Material girls stay home. Roughing it is, no doubt, rough.

Everything we do here is ten times the work it is at home; the dishes are dirtier after we wash them, we’ve been wearing the same shorts for a week, our legs are coated in a semi-permanent sheath of sunscreen and dust.

But then voices echo in the trees, laughter ascends into the balloon blue sky, fast-moving spokes whir past, an icy beer meets a fiery sunset and that one marshmallow gets toasted to crisp yet gooey perfection.

Friends have bonded, kids have played, the old-fashioned get dirty kinda play, the stars have aligned symbolically and physically and there’s nothing but time to appreciate every little gratuity.

It is another world; a tousled, less embellished one than we’re used to, but one that allows a cider while flipping flapjacks, an all day read and a whole lot of not being perfect and I’ll be honest, it fills you up, like a red Solo cup…so join the party.

Read Full Post »

Stay With Me

Posted in Blogging, Inspiration, Non-Fiction, Relationships, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , on July 1, 2012| 4 Comments »

I could be convinced. It’s the end of June, the kids are out of school and the smell of grilled meat wafts through the air giving way only to the scent of fresh blooms and newly snipped blades of grass.

So I suppose it’s true, summer has arrived and rain or shine, wet or dry, hot or… lukewarm and at times, down right chilly the season has brought with it a flurry of excursions, adventures and undertakings.

There will be picnics, barbeques, weddings and water, airplanes, tent trailers, road trips and renos. We’ll see tourists and tan lines (let’s be optimistic) and it just wouldn’t be authentic if we didn’t encounter a few salt-stung heart aches, skinned knees, sunburns and slivers.

I’m building up to something. Can you tell? It’s called foreshadowing and if you’re feelin’ it, I’m on the right track.

My knickers are in a bit of a twist. What’s listed above isn’t a compilation of my imagination. These are things that will actually occur in some form or another and they will be all consuming. You guessed it; how’s a girl to blog?

Reduce, reuse, recycle, that’s how. When necessary, I plan to plagiarize myself; take things I’ve already toiled over, and let’s face it, I’ll toil over them some more before posting cuz that’s just how I roll, and publish them.

My hopes are that this will be a win-win. My past endeavors will undergo a bit of spit ‘n’ shine and there will still be something for you to critique, err, enjoy.

All jokes aside, I beg you to stay with me. Did I actually use the word beg?  Why yes, yes I did. No question this blog has become a big deal in my life. I love writing it, but frankly, I could do that for just me, myself and I.

And I’ve come to realize that if you weren’t here, that’s exactly what I’d be doing.

Read Full Post »