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Welcome! *waves* Glad to have you drop by. :)
Here you will find entries and discussions on writing, including the craft and the publishing industry. I also plan to post some original m/m fiction and some occasional other writing. Maybe some challenges, and definitely links to writing-related stuff. I won't be posting daily, but I figure I'll drop by about once a week to put something up here.
If you would like to friend me, I will happily friend you back. ♥
No age or other restrictions (where appropriate, material will be rated). All are welcome!
Breaking up is hard to do ...
I know, I know ... I don't post forever and then BAM! A gazillion in a row. Click the link for the full article. Snippets below.
She makes some really good points. The part that most resonates with me:
"Your novel wants commitment and you want to play the field.
You’ve been though one draft together. It was fun and all, but now you’re thinking you want to write a thriller, or maybe some poetry, or that screenplay you’ve been thinking about. Your novel, on the other hand, wants to settle down and make beautiful revisions together. [...] You’re not ready to commit to untold months of revising, querying, and revising some more. You like your novel, sure, but that doesn’t mean you want to spend your whole life together."
From INTERN - "it's not you, it's me": INTERN's guide to breaking up.
"It was with the godawful novel she’d been working on for over a year. In many respects, INTERN’s relationship with this novel was more tumultuous than any of her other relationships have been, and the parting of ways was definitely messier. INTERN just didn’t know how to leave."
She makes some really good points. The part that most resonates with me:
"Your novel wants commitment and you want to play the field.
You’ve been though one draft together. It was fun and all, but now you’re thinking you want to write a thriller, or maybe some poetry, or that screenplay you’ve been thinking about. Your novel, on the other hand, wants to settle down and make beautiful revisions together. [...] You’re not ready to commit to untold months of revising, querying, and revising some more. You like your novel, sure, but that doesn’t mean you want to spend your whole life together."
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Struggling to get things right?
I just read this great article (link to the original provided) that, if you are struggling to get your writing right, is rather comforting.
This particular statement is worth remembering: "It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions."
From Janet Reid - If you're a writer, read this.
"For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you."
This particular statement is worth remembering: "It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions."
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Writing and Self-Doubt
As I struggle to edit my MG novel, I find myself changing nearly every paragraph - sometimes every sentence. As I carry on, I wonder if I'll ever be satisfied enough with what I wrote to call it done. (Don't get me wrong, I like the story, but I'm at the nitpicky stage of re-editing). And today? I read this gem:
Love the concluding sentence: "Confidence will give you the strength to doubt yourself."
Enjoy!
From Nathan Bransford: Separating Confidence From Self-Doubt
Self-doubt feeds the author. Without self-doubt, we don't strive to do our best --- to keep writing despite rejections and humiliations.
Love the concluding sentence: "Confidence will give you the strength to doubt yourself."
Enjoy!
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Editing!
From INTERN, The Top Ten Reasons You Should Rewrite That Scene.
A great checklist that provides things to look for that should trigger you to rewrite (or delete) that scene.
A great checklist that provides things to look for that should trigger you to rewrite (or delete) that scene.
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The Ten Commandments of Blogging
Wow! It's been a while since I posted here. Did you miss me? ;)
Today I thought I'd post something that clearly I need to work on myself.
Key quote to keep in mind: "We all love reading blogs—we wouldn't be here if we didn't—but yours comes first. Write your own posts before you spend all afternoon reading someone else's."
Happy blogging!
Today I thought I'd post something that clearly I need to work on myself.
From Pimp My Novel - The Ten Commandments of Blogging
4. Remember thy Schedule and keep it, wholly. You don't have to write a post every day, but keeping a regular schedule is a courtesy and a sort of unwritten contract between you and your readers; they'll know when to expect new content and will come to appreciate and respect you for that.
Key quote to keep in mind: "We all love reading blogs—we wouldn't be here if we didn't—but yours comes first. Write your own posts before you spend all afternoon reading someone else's."
Happy blogging!
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Free eBooks and a Contest
Happy New Year. Yes, I'm back (no doubt you are all thrilled) from an extended Christmas/New Year break from blogging. Today, I have links to free things and a contest.
See Killer Fiction for links to three free eBooks: Trouble in Mudbug, Spying in High Heels, and 'Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy. Limited time offers.
Also! Same blog. There's a contest closing tomorrow to win daily prizes and a grand prize of a free Kindle. Yes, you read that right. A free Kindle.
See the sidebar on the blog for details on both.
See Killer Fiction for links to three free eBooks: Trouble in Mudbug, Spying in High Heels, and 'Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy. Limited time offers.
Also! Same blog. There's a contest closing tomorrow to win daily prizes and a grand prize of a free Kindle. Yes, you read that right. A free Kindle.
See the sidebar on the blog for details on both.
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17 Writing Secrets
Writers Digest offered a list of "Best Writing Articles of 2010" in their recent newsletter. Funny enough, this one was posted in 2008. Go figure. ;)
If you've spent much time reading about the craft, you've probably seen a lot of these "secrets" before. But it's a good compilation, and worth the read, even if only as a refresher.
From Writers Digest - 17 Writing Secrets by Steven Goldsberry
1. Never save your best for last. Start with your best. Expend yourself immediately, then see what happens. The better you do at the beginning, the better you continue to do.
If you've spent much time reading about the craft, you've probably seen a lot of these "secrets" before. But it's a good compilation, and worth the read, even if only as a refresher.
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A Reason to Come Home is available now
As part of Naughty or Nice, the Dreamspinner Press Advent Calendar, now available is my contribution, A Reason to Come Home.
I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope it shows. Thanks so much to Libby and Alex for looking it over and providing feedback and support. The story is all the better for your input. ♥
A Reason to Come Home by Justine Currie
Nathan Calder is a young businessman, successful in every way—according to him. According to his best friend, who fancies herself a matchmaker, he's letting the best years of his life pass by while he nurses a bruised heart. When his boss sends him to Chicago to work on a project with the handsome and shrewd Paul Madigan, Nathan catches a glimpse of what he's been missing and realizes just how lonely he's become. Will his trust issues prevent him from grabbing hold of a possible future with Paul? Or will love manage to sneak up on the elusive Nathan Calder and catch him just in time for Christmas?
I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope it shows. Thanks so much to Libby and Alex for looking it over and providing feedback and support. The story is all the better for your input. ♥
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The Nine Circles of Writing Hell
Okay, I needed a brief reprieve from writing, so I went to my handy-dandy Google reader, and found THIS GEM! Note that I couldn't pick just a little bit of it, so I've quoted nearly the entire thing below. BUT! Click the link for the full post, and because Nathan has provided some very useful links that I did not include. Enjoy!
The Nine Circles of Writing Hell
by Nathan Bransford
First Circle - Limbo
Hello shiny idea for a novel! Should I write you? Should I not write you? Maybe I'll write a few pages and see how you go. Should I... oohhh Farmville.
Second Circle - Lust
Novel, you are so brilliant, you shine like a beautiful bright beacon, nay, like filigree sparkling in the darkest of unlit nights. Everything you do is wonderful, to change but one of your words would be a sin unto mankind. Whatever you want novel, whether it's second person stream of consciousness or an illogical plot twist or overwrought prose that makes people blush, you can have it, please take it, it's yours. I LOVE YOU, NOVEL.
Third Circle - Gluttony
No time to eat. No time to work. No time for breaks. No time to attend to essential hygiene. Twenty-six-hours straight. MUST. WRITE. NOVEL. I. WILL. NOT. BURN. OUT.
Okay, I'm starting to get burned out...
Fourth Circle - Greed
Dude, Stephenie Meyer wrote that vampire book in like six weeks or something and now she's a gagillionaire. How hard can it be?!
Fifth Circle - Anger
I hate agents, I hate query letters, I hate rejection letters, I hate editors, I hate published authors, I hate unpublished authors, I hate periods, I hate exclamation points, I hate semi-colons, I hate paper, I hate words, I hate the space between words, and most of all, I HATE THIS FREAKING NOVEL!!!
Sixth Circle - Heresy
You know what novel I don't like? THE GREAT GATSBY. I mean, what's the big deal?! Green lights and drunks and parties and blah blah blah? What a bunch of trash. I threw that book across the room. That Scott person needs to get a clue, I can't believe anyone published him. And DON'T GET ME STARTED on how much editing he needed.
Seventh Circle - Violence
Oh, you think you're reeeeallll clever, don't you, Manuscript. You think you're smart and witty and amazing and your characters are funny and you're going to make people cry. Well, how about I introduce you to my friend MR. SHREDDER!!! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha.....
Eighth Circle - Fraud
Oprah won't REALLY care if I make up this memoir...
Ninth Circle - Treachery
This novel doesn't need revisions. I don't need to write a good query letter. Who needs to take the time to research agents? This novel is gold, baby, gold!!
What could possibly go wrong?
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Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award
Thought I'd pass this great news along.
Prize Is Created for Gay Literature for Young Readers
The American Library Association has added an award for gay and lesbian literature to its annual prizes for children’s books. The prizes, which include the prestigious John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott medals, will be announced on Jan. 10.
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OMG! So much win for this post!
As you've probably managed to figure out by now, I am amused by such things as snark, wit and sarcasm. Not necessarily mutually exclusive terms.
Today's gem? Seriously, folks, I cracked up! This is from one of the "I need a good chuckle for the day" sites I frequent, Slush Pile Hell.
Click the link to read SPH's snarky response.
*still chuckling*
Today's gem? Seriously, folks, I cracked up! This is from one of the "I need a good chuckle for the day" sites I frequent, Slush Pile Hell.
My book will sell more books then the bible and it will take man out of the "mud" that is ignorance, provoking an evolution in man that will in turn provoke a cataclysmic event….and that is the power long waited for. The question is "who" will be the publishing house that offers the right contract, and who will be the agent that humors me until the book is printed and sold world wide.
Click the link to read SPH's snarky response.
*still chuckling*
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Rules of Contemporary Romance
From Getting Past the Gatekeeper - The "Rules" of Contemporary Romance -- from a major romance reviewer
After reading what I think amounts to at least two hundred trashy romance novels (note that not all romance novels are trashy, and not all trashiness is romantic) in the last two years, I am beginning to consider myself a reluctant expert on the subject.
I decided that the only way to maintain my sanity is to foist off what I've learned onto anyone who will listen. Writing a contemporary romance? Great. You should know the rules (some consciously adhered to, some not) before you break them.
Yes, these are tongue-in-cheek.
And yes, these are the rules I hope you will break. Please see my conclusion before you get your lingerie (specifically chosen for that rich, romantic vampire) in a twist.
Hee! These are all good, but I do think I like this one the best: "#2-- A career is something that happens while you're waiting for a rich man (or in some cases, a rich vampire) to sweep you off your feet. If there is ever a choice between pursuing your career, maintaining friendships and enjoying daylight versus becoming a blood-sucking immortal fiend of the night who forsakes all human contact and can't practice medicine anymore, a woman will always choose her man."
Yes. ALWAYS. *eyeroll* This one's worth the read. :D
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Frustrated by all the rules of writing?
Here's an article that might make you feel a bit better about the seemingly endless number of rules and guidelines for writing (you know, the ones that so many of the bestsellers break).
Writing Rules are Just Tools from Rachelle Gardner.
Writing Rules are Just Tools from Rachelle Gardner.
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Advent Calendar
OMG, this is really happening! *\o/*
Dreamspinner Press's 2010 Advent Calendar Set - Naughty or Nice is now available for pre-ordering, so that you may have a "story delivered automatically to your bookshelf each day in December."
You may also purchase individual stories beginning December 1st. You can read blurbs for each story by clicking "Read an Excerpt" on the linked page. Below is mine:
Dreamspinner Press's 2010 Advent Calendar Set - Naughty or Nice is now available for pre-ordering, so that you may have a "story delivered automatically to your bookshelf each day in December."
You may also purchase individual stories beginning December 1st. You can read blurbs for each story by clicking "Read an Excerpt" on the linked page. Below is mine:
A Reason to Come Home
By Justine Currie
Nathan Calder is a young businessman, successful in every way—according to him. According to his best friend, who fancies herself a matchmaker, he’s letting the best years of his life pass by while he nurses a bruised heart. When his boss sends him to Chicago to work on a project with the handsome and shrewd Paul Madigan, Nathan catches a glimpse of what he’s been missing and realizes just how lonely he’s become. Will his trust issues prevent him from grabbing hold of a possible future with Paul? Or will love manage to sneak up on the elusive Nathan Calder and catch him just in time for Christmas?
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Print is Dead!
Oh, those words seem to be appearing more and more lately. *cries*
In a nutshell: Traditional publishing is not dead, and likely never will be. Or so it would seem, according to Tim Ferriss, author of The Four-Hour Work Week (an awesome read - I highly recommend it).
From Tim Ferriss - How Authors Really Make Money: The Rebirth of Seth Godin and Death of Traditional Publishing
Print is dead!
This has become a popular headline, and a great way to get quoted, as Nicholas Negroponte has shown. Iconic author Seth Godin, after 12 bestsellers, just announced that he will no longer pursue traditional publishing, and the writing seems to be on the wall: the e-book is the future, plain and simple.
In a nutshell: Traditional publishing is not dead, and likely never will be. Or so it would seem, according to Tim Ferriss, author of The Four-Hour Work Week (an awesome read - I highly recommend it).
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The Ten Commandments of Fiction Writing
From Writer's Digest - The Ten Commandments of Fiction Writing
Most experts agree that when it comes to writing fiction, no rules are carved in stone. A writer is free to bend, twist, smash or shred any of the golden platitudes of writing that have been handed down by the well-paid, well-respected writers we all hope to become. Certain writing guidelines, however, are so self-evident few writers would dispute them. When these guidelines are broken, you don't need a burning bush to tell you your writing will suffer.
A good thing to keep in mind: "Rejection still stings. But it doesn't hurt as long as it used to because I have so many projects to pursue. I no longer mope around and curse the short-sightedness of a universe that fails to recognize my genius. I just work on the next project."
So what do you think? Are there any "commandments" or cardinal rules you work by that are not included?
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News and the Top 100 First Lines
First, OMG, Dreamspinner Press accepted my short story and *\o/* will be publishing it in their Advent Calendar in December. Yay!
A big thanks to those who looked it over before I submitted it ♥.
Second, here's a link to what American Book Review feels are the 100 Best First Lines from Novels. You be the judge. (There were at least a couple that lost me and had me nearly drifting off before the end.) Most are good, though. I think the key for me is 'Does it compel me to continue, with an almost need to know what comes next?'
Is there a first line in a book that you would consider to be one of the best? I will admit I don't tend to remember first lines once I get into a book, and I'm not sure I'd say it was the best, but I do like how the Harry Potter series started: "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." ~ JK Rowling
A big thanks to those who looked it over before I submitted it ♥.
Second, here's a link to what American Book Review feels are the 100 Best First Lines from Novels. You be the judge. (There were at least a couple that lost me and had me nearly drifting off before the end.) Most are good, though. I think the key for me is 'Does it compel me to continue, with an almost need to know what comes next?'
Is there a first line in a book that you would consider to be one of the best? I will admit I don't tend to remember first lines once I get into a book, and I'm not sure I'd say it was the best, but I do like how the Harry Potter series started: "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." ~ JK Rowling