Fiction Scribe

Unlike the usual pen and paper you need for exercises, you need something else as well for this exercise: a partner in writing.

This exercise can spice up a boring bus ride during a school trip or can even be an ongoing thing for months. My friend and I used to pass notebooks back and forth in school for years.

Start a story with a friend. You can each write a chapter, page, or even a sentence if you like. All you need is a notebook to pass back and forth and you’re set. The object of this is not only learning to work with others in regards to writing, but also getting used to adjusting your work (which may be requested of you in the future) to fit not only your own vision but the visions of others.

Enjoy!

Writing encompasses more than just fiction, as we all know. I just happen to know a lovely woman who is experienced in freelance writing as well as freelance journalism. It’s a huge pleasure for me to present you an interview with one of my best friends, Elske.

Hi there. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Elske, and I’m 33 years old and have recently begun a freelance writing and editing career. The work is fairly sporadic, since I still need to establish a name for myself in the tight-knit community, so I also work part-time delivering organic groceries, which is good, because I get free groceries at the end of the week, which helps defer the costs I incur stress-eating while trying to figure out what to do next.
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Yes, stop being a writer. Not forever, but stop for a little while.

If you’re getting lost in your writing, be it the actual writing of a current projects or generating ideas for a new project, you’re probably blaming writer’s block, your walkabout muse, or something else. Sitting back and waiting for your muse to walk back into your life isn’t going to get your work done any faster. As Stephen King said, “Nothing attracts a muse more than the sound of hard work.�

Yes, you say, but that doesn’t do me any good when I don’t know what to write.

While writing is a wonderful art, most, if not all, of us came from the same roots: readers. Most of us started out as readers and dreamed of crafting our own works and weaving our own wonderful words. It’s only natural that after writing so much, we might forget our roots every now and then. The secret is reacquainting yourself with your reader self.

My friend, Hawke, recently said something I think is key: “I don’t read when I’m writing anything. I don’t want to accidentally steal ideas, even if it is subconscious. But when I’m not working on something, I’m an avid reader.�

Don’t forget your roots. Not only should you try to remember the original passion that drove you to write your own works, remember who you were (and are, hopefully) as a reader. Remember what you liked and disliked in all areas. Even for things as broad as whether you like a book to sweep you away, teach you something, or if you like a book to make you think in general.

Remember, if you haven’t read it, you can’t write it. Well, you can try, but it’d be like me writing about sky diving. I know people do it, but I know nothing else about it other than that. I could never write an article about it.

I’m happy to announce a new blogging service specifically geared for women, brought to you by 451Press.

With templates geared to a woman’s tastes and forums to access, HerHangout.com is your spot for blogging with added touches that set it apart from the rest.

The site is still in its beta stage, so feel free to let the support team know! Your input is more important than ever, and you can have the most direct hand you’ll ever have in its growth.

I’ve started a group blog for chit-chat and more, which you can find here.

Enjoy!

But only if you want 451press back.

451press needs writers for these blogs which are already up and running. Check out any and all of these you might be interested in writing for.

Don’t be intimidated by past posts! Once signed up, you can put your own spin on the site.

If you sign up, don’t forget to put Fiction Scribe in the “Where did you hear about 451press?” blank.

Art History Guide
Digital Shutters
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SEO Dance
Writer’s Unbound
Paris Hilton Watch
Tom Cruise Watch
Getting Crafty
Astrology Explored
Knitting Passion
Vertical Quilting Curve
Quilting By Design
Musician’s Notebook
Separate Sound
Kid Dish
PC Gaming Rally
Playing on the Go
PS3 Rally
Men’s Interests
All About Fatherhood
My Divorced Life
Current Events Watch
Get Incensed
Media Critiques
Pride and Opinions
Statecraft Informer
Encouraging Health
FBL Talk
Rafting Adventures
Tennis Chatter
WWE Daily
The MS Office
All PVR
Tux Watch
Colorado Review
Watching Family Guy
Watching Sitcoms

No, this isn’t a pet peeve about discussion. I’m opening the floor to what may or may not be a pet peeve for you.

In the post Making an Honest Blogger’s Dollar, Richard from Just Poker Talk and I got into an interesting discussion.

The main subject is that of blogging for money.

While I believe that sometimes you just have to do what’s necessary to pay the rent, I also agree with Richard’s comment:

“Part of me thinks that the old way is better, that writers who are published through traditional means are more respectable.”

I believe traditionally published authors (submission processes, etc are part of the publishing process) have a more respectable position in the writing world than the average blogger who signed up with one of the many advertising sites. Younger writers and bloggers may cry no fair on that one, but no one should be an instant hit. You have to work at honing your craft, which might not be such a necessary thing to put on your resume when posting reviews and advertisements for these companies.

I mean no insult to writers who do this, but as I said in the comments of the Making an Honest Blogger’s Dollar post, I have no doubt that with some companies, a lower quality writer with higher traffic (though ideally that shouldn’t happen) would be chosen over a higher quality writer with lower traffic.

What happens, though, is both low and high quality writers are hired so there’s little to have as far as respectability goes with this sort of writing.

I recently read a post called Should I Blog for Money? over at ProBlogger which I found interesting. There are a lot of pitfalls when it comes to blog advertising - including ruining your reputation - but would you take the chance? Or do you hold to the ideal of being traditionally published?

Where do you draw the line? Is working for PayPerPost or the like wrong while working for an advertising company offline acceptable? Is it the same thing or different?

Does it come down to a matter of necessity or a matter of honor?

Let me know what you think. Where do you draw the line with your writing? Do bloggers advertising hold a place on your writing related pet peeve list?

“Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good ideas seem to come from quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but recognize them when they show up.� – Stephen King, On Writing

I received Stephen King’s On Writing in the mail from my dear friend Hawke just recently, and I have been enjoying every minute of it so far. (I have to not include in that statement the part about him talking about his childhood ear ailment and the treatment for it; do NOT read that if you happen to have an ear infection at the time, like I did and do.) I was reading happily along when I came across the above passage and had to pause.

Do writers still do that? Did they ever?

I have never once asked any other writer where he or she gets his ideas. Frankly, because I know. Other writers get ideas the same way I do – by inspiration from the weirdest things. I have a little butterfly notebook I take out whenever I need to organize my thoughts on a current project. In the back of that notebook, I have a list of things I’ve seen or heard of which have left a strong impression on me. The strongest one that comes to mind is “man wears wedding ring after wife has passed away.�

I was working in my step-grandfather’s embroidery shop one afternoon when I spotted the gold band on his finger. I couldn’t help but stare at it. My grandmother had been at least two years gone at that point, and I had never noticed the ring to me. Seeing the ring brought forth such strong feelings – him playing “To Make You Feel My Love� on the piano to ease her when she was sick from her cancer treatments is a memory that has never left me – I couldn’t do anything but write it down.

Ideas are like that – you never know when or where they’ll strike. (I’ll refrain from preaching about carrying a notepad with you everywhere. This time.) Of course there is no Dump, Island, or Suite 3A where you send a SASE.

Given my background, I couldn’t help but wonder if writer’s ask, “Where do you get your ideas?� and actually mean it like the question is phrased. The question would be better asked as, “Where do you find inspiration?� or “When/where/from what do ideas strike you the most?� Is this something one writer encountered decades before and all other writers latched on when they heard about it? Are writers who are asked this immediately falling back on their days of hearing all the jokes about where to send your SASE for ideas? (I vaguely remember the first joke I read. It turned into a loop eventually, the joke being it was technically impossible to send anywhere for anything.)

I’ve been asked the question ever since I decided to be a novelist back when I was about twelve years old. My replies back then (and often now) were that my ideas came from my fantasies. In books, I could be the main character and do whatever I wanted. I wasn’t exactly sending out queries at twelve, so it didn’t matter what I did – I was exploring my dreams.

Back to the main issue, though. I’m wondering if the question is ever asked in the tone it is often taken, or if this is one of those things the “elders� (published) of the clan get to tell the youth while chuckling and patting heads.

I’ve been assuming that writers have been “getting it� about where ideas come from for a long time.

Perhaps I’m mistaken.

I’d love to hear some feedback and discussion about the question, its origins, and who you’ve asked/been asked by in your time as a writer.

Comic courtesy of Inky Girl.

new writers, writers, writing, ideas, inspiration, creative writing, Stephen King

Path to Publication is still on hold for the moment, but the good news is the wedding plans are going splendidly!

I apologize for the delay.

Hello everyone. I am happy to announce Fiction Scribe is hosting its first ever blog carnival. The theme for this addition of the carnival is writing first. Be it the first story you wrote, the first big project you finished, your first rejection, or your first paycheck, those are the stories going into this carnival.

If you’re not quite sure what a blog carnival is, go here and take a quick look at BlogCarnival.com’s list of frequently asked questions.

You can submit your posts using the contact me button to the right, or you can go here to submit and also find out more details.

The deadline is isn’t the last Thursday of this month, but the last Thursday of next month, also known as April 26th.

Love Letter

Dear Sweetheart,

I lay awake all moment thinking of you, your disgusting smile, and our tryst in the mountain. Agrily, I recall our meeting, how my heart smelled with hunger when I first saw you. How smelly you looked in that purple sock and those two ugly gloves on your legs!

I cherished every moment we were together and was wet when our date came to a close. I can’t say how greedily I regret spilling mountain dew on your arm; you were hate about it, however, for which I am grateful. You are so beautiful when you’re hate.

You’re sticky most other times. Your eyes are like deep pools of water, warmed in the moonlight. Your cheeks are as rosy as roses. Your lips are like succulent breadsticks. Your hair is green like a tiger on a summer’s day. Your ears are two large squares of stupidity.

I can’t wait to kiss with you again. Write soon.

Connivingly,

Your Friend

Courtesy of Crazy Libs

I say … and you think … ?

1. Groovy ::
2. Jealousy ::
3. Watching ::
4. Kenny ::
5. Games ::
6. Bread ::
7. City ::
8. Stems ::
9. Birds ::
10. Listener ::

Random word jumble! As always, I give you a list of words or phrases for you to include in a poem, short story, flash, song lyric… Whatever you choose. So here goes!

Vanilla beans
Corn
Tennis racket
Pay check
package in the mail

Enjoy! Feel free to post your results in the comments.

I always find it amusing where and how I find people who turn out to be writers. Published writers, even. Thus I was pleasantly surprised to find out Bobbi Chukran of Earthly Garden here at 451press is a published mystery author!

I’m pleased to bring you an interview with Bobbi A. Chukran, mystery author, garden blogger, writer.

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Anti “Blog Advertising”?

If you’re a writer, you know or will know the struggle to try to make earnings off your writing. People need to eat and need a place to live. As I said in The Next Big Thing, it’s okay to want to make a dollar off your writing.

But are there more forces working against you earning that dollar than you think?

In my constant searching for opportunities not only for myself but the readers here, I came across Blogitive. Blogitive is basically another pay-per-post service. I found it highly recommended and decided to check it out. I didn’t even get to the signing up process before I saw a post about blog hosts who don’t like Blogitive posts. Not only do these hosts take down posts, but they also delete pages and close accounts.

I was and am outraged.

Talk of one or two blogs vanishing could be blamed on a bug of sorts, but people are losing their accounts as well. I am posting this here as a warning to writers who generate income the way of Blogitive and other such services. Be careful.

Having taken the time to review free blogging sites, I feel I must bring this to your attention.

In the words of the site – switch to hosting your own blog now. It’s an investment, but one that will pay off in the end. I might just do that myself with my other blogs. I certainly don’t want to lose what has taken so long to build up.

Blogitive, blogging, blogging for money, money, blogging sites, free blogging sites, hosting a website, pay-per-post, blog advertising, freelance writing

As Angelfire (post here) is to Freewebs (post here), Wordpress is to Blogger (post here).

My first experiences with Wordpress came with writing this blog. I had never before used Wordpress and had barely heard of it. (It’s no wonder with so many different blogging services.) As with everything, Wordpress has its positives and negatives, but I continue to use it for my blogging until I can get a website host.

One thing that is great about Wordpress is the easy to manage categories. If you’re typing away and see your post doesn’t fit in any of your current categories, then it’s as easy as typing in a new category and adding it to the list - all of which can be done without having to save the post or refresh the page. Categories are a wonderful thing for both you and your readers. If you’re looking for an older post or your readers want to read a specific category only, it’s as easy as clicking on that category name.

What sets Wordpress apart from other blogging hosts is that you can have pages, which is one of the things that put me off from using Blogger. Not only do you have your main blog, but you can have an about you page, a page for your business or online shopping, another page for your writing… The list goes on forever. The ability to create and manage pages makes your blog more like a website and less like just another blog.

Finally, another big point in Wordpress’ favor is the number of templates, a lot of which include customizable headers. A lot of blogging services have some nice templates, but Wordpress has a lot of professional looking templates. Along with that, I have never seen an easier method to put up your personal header. Wordpress gets definite points for that.

However, why I said in the beginning that Wordpress is to Blogger what Angelfire is to Freewebs is because Wordpress can get a bit complicated. There are a lot of options and things you can do with your blog, but it does take a while to get used to the navigation and exactly how things work. What I found to be the most frustrating is putting in separate categories for the blogroll. While mine looks like it should, it took me a long time to figure out how to make it that way, and I’m still not sure if I did it the way I’m supposed to.

I mentioned the templates as a positive feature above, but you should know that not all templates are created equal. Not all have color options, and not all have customizable header options. This isn’t the most horrible thing in the world by any means, but you might end up finding a template you love but not being able to customize your header.

What about going directly into the template code and doing it there? That brings on my final criticism of Wordpress.

One of my largest annoyances when it comes to Wordpress is that you have to pay to get access to your template. There is no easy tab to click on to edit the code. Yes, there is a space for you to move around your sidebar widgets, but that’s all the designing input you get when it comes to your template unless you pay the fee.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with Wordpress and will continue to use it until I get hosting.