Fiction Scribe

This pet peeve is something a little different to my usual pet peeves in that it could be a cultural thing instead of something that’s simply done wrong. It’s not necessarily wrong, but you won’t get away with it if you want to get what you’re writing published.

Numbers instead of words.

“His mother stacked 3 pancakes on his plate. She looked at it a moment longer before putting 2 more pancakes on the stack. He wasn’t sure he could eat all five, but he was certainly going to give it a good hard try!

This is a pet peeve of mine because if I see numbers in what I’m reading, they had better be some sort of statistics. Numbers thrown in when it’s not necessary to have numbers is distracting.

The Bird by Bird book discussion will be continuing tomorrow, don’t forget!

Remember to have your copy of Bird by Bird and have read “Givingâ€? and “Publication”.

Thank you to all who participate. Feel free to jump in at any time on the discussions.

A beautiful quote found at Wifely Steps.

To kick our week off, here’s beautiful food for thought from French poet Charles Baudelaire.

You must always be intoxicated. That sums it all up; it’s the only question. In order not to feel the horrible burden of Time which breaks your back and bends you down to earth, you must be unremittingly intoxicated.

But on what? Wine, poetry, virtue, as you please. But never be sober.

And if it should chance that sometimes, on the steps of a palace, on the green grass of a ditch, in the bleak solitude of your room, you wake up and your intoxication has already diminished or disappeared, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, ask everything that flees, everything that groans, everything that rolls, everything that sings, everything that speaks, ask them what time it is and the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, will reply: It’s time to be intoxicated!

If you do not wish to be one of the tortured slaves of Time, never be sober; never ever be sober! Use wine, poetry, or virtue, as you please.

Isn’t that an excellent quote? I fell in love with it and wanted to share it with all my readers.

What’s your intoxication?

Hello everyone. It’s Monday again. Ah, Mondays. Sometimes I only notice them because I’m once again alone during the day and sometimes I dread them like many other people.

I only have a few announcements for you today, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

As you may or may not have noticed, I have categories on the left such as ‘Announcements’ and ‘Author Interviews’. I realized I’ve done something very silly. I am hopefully soon going to get the time to go back through all my posts and put posts in categories like ‘characters’ and ‘plot’ instead of putting all the actual writing-related posts in ‘general’.

I apologize for not doing it before, but so it goes. Hopefully I can start making those changes soon. (I have to do the same thing on Long Relationships, so please bear with me if it takes a while.)

Allison on Reality on Bravo is running a huge contest called Project Blog and there is a way for everyone to get involved. Head over here for week one of the voting and get in on the action.

We’re already halfway through and many people have already crossed the finish mark. If you’d like to have a chat, brag (or sulk) about your word count, or anything else, stop by this post and take a NaNoBreak.

See? That wasn’t that bad at all. Keep reading and stop by often. I’m getting restless again, and that usually means a few changes to come here on Fiction Scribe.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Toasty ::
2. Allegations ::
3. Herb ::
4. Bacon ::
5. Neck to neck::
6. Simon ::
7. Heels ::
8. Fundamentals ::
9. Middle ::
10. Seasonings ::

Idea courtesy of Luna Nina

Welcome to yet another NaNobreak!

How is your NaNo going? Are you beating the word count? Are you done? (I’ve seen entirely too many people on Live Journal say they are done already. *grump*)

Or, like me, are you incredibly behind almost to the point of thinking about saying, “I’ve given up�?

Actually, I haven’t truly been thinking about that, but I have had the occasional thought that I should be panicking or something. Under 10k words when we’re more than halfway through the month can’t be anywhere near good.

Yes, there, I’ve admitted it. I’m behind enough to say ‘a lot’ isn’t quite descriptive enough. I’m not worried about it, though.

The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it’s supposed to be something fun. If you strike on a good story, awesome. If you don’t, then feel free to plough through to 50k with a large amount of crap writing. Either way, fun.

This round I’ve not only been busy, but I have found a story and characters I am confident in. As in, after massive edits and rewrites, I might be so bold as to try to get it published. That’s why I’m not focused entirely on the 50k mark. If I get there by November 30th, awesome. If I don’t, I’ll continue to plod along at my own pace and try to write a story worth reading.

So, NaNo participants, sit back, have a cuppa, and feel free to rant, post your word counts, and do whatever else you want in the comments section. Even if you are like me and taking your time with a story line you didn’t expect to happen.

Happy Friday everyone! Today I am putting up the interview I had with women’s fiction author Sheila Roberts. She’s written a very funny book called On Strike for Christmas. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Roberts. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.
Well, here’s me in a nutshell. I am a very social animal. I love parties, dancing, volleyball, and playing games. I am a chocoloholic. I’ve got a great husband and a wonderful family, and I have fabulous friends. In short, I’m rich in all the things that count.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?
Although I’ve been writing since the third grade (and let me tell you, that’s a verrrryyy long time), I really wanted to be a songwriter. Worked for years at that, banging on a closed door. And then I came up with a fun book idea, thought what the heck, I’ll send it to an agent. The agent loved it. The publisher she sent it to loved it, and suddenly I found I’d stumbled through an open door and I was an author. Which was probably what I was supposed to be all along.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your women’s fiction novel On Strike for Christmas. Could you tell us a bit about the book?
I love this book. It’s just plain fun. The book follows a group of girlfriends who decide that they are tired of manning the holiday machine single-handed and so put their men in charge of Christmas… with some very interesting results. If you want to get an idea of the flavor of the book, check out my book trailer on Utube.

What inspired you to write On Strike for Christmas? Where did the idea begin?
(more…)

Thirteen Ways to Make Your Characters Miserable

1. Give him/her a partner whom they hate but will eventually marry
2. Create a sudden flood/storm/fire or other catastrophe
3. Place them in an empty locked room for no reason other than your own amusement
4. Have him/her win the war, save several races, travel across the galaxy to meet the wo/man of his/her dreams, and have dream guy/girl join a convent.
5. Have your character(s) suddenly attacked by thieves, rogues, hordes, wizards, animals…
6. Kill off someone important to them
7. Don’t give them an opponent and let them just wander around aimlessly
8. Give them secrets they constantly need to hide
9. Give them sudden, inexplicable bouts of amnesia
10. Let your real life character overhear you plotting his/her doom (Stranger than Fiction)
11. Chop off random parts of their body
12. Give them more than one life, each of which is spent as an elephant dung handler
13. Threaten to sacrifice them for various reasons to various deities

Would you believe we’ve already been discussing this book for about three months already? Wow! Welcome to another discussion.

Last week we finished up part three by talking about Letters and Writer’s Block. This week we start part four: Publication – and Other Reasons to Write. We’ll be starting with Writing a Present and Finding Your Voice.

Some of us write purely for the pleasure. Some of us to be heard. And some – or maybe there’s a little bit of it in each of us – write for immortality.

I love this chapter because it not only touches on Lamott’s efforts to turn bad situations into something more than just bad situations, but it also touches on the basic human wish to influence something. To be remembered in some way.

(more…)

Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about the writer’s strike in the US. As the writer here, though, I feel like I should say something about it.

I know writers in Hollywood would like more pay and that people can help the writers by boycotting new reality television shows. I also know that there are people on the other side saying that they make a lot less at their job, so stop complaining.

Either way, I’m of the opinion that there is nothing wrong with getting paid. Writing is not some mystical occupation that makes it hugely different from any other occupation on the planet. If they feel they need more and are worth more, than so be it. Not every writer is going to be making a six figure income, which happen to be the incomes that bring the average income up, thanks.

Just keep in mind that this strike doesn’t only influence the lives of the writers and the lives of the celebrities. There are plenty of television writers here at 451 whose schedules and posts have changed because of it.

If you don’t care about the strike on the whole, you can still stop by and say hello to the television writers here. (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

More info
Thoughts on Freelancing

“US English is so egocentric; they leave ‘u’ out of everything.” - Mr. Scribe

It’s one thing to have the whole US system of weights and measures – which is annoying enough – but then there is US English (or ‘Englizh’ as Mr. Scribe likes to call it).

Why can’t we just all get along?

Or at least use the same dictionary.

This pet peeve isn’t me arguing which system is wrong; I would simply like it if we could all just pick one and go with it. (I vote for the ‘u’ happy UK system I am learning here in Oz, but that is of course purely personal preference.)

It’s bloody annoying to type along in Microsoft Word in Oz English and then have to remember my US spellings the moment I get on the internet.

And for your edutainment US and UK spelling differences.

The Bird by Bird book discussion will be continuing tomorrow, don’t forget!

Remember to have your copy of Bird by Bird and have read “Writing a Presentâ€? and “Finding Your Voice”.

Thank you to all who participate. Feel free to jump in at any time on the discussions - especially now that we’re starting in on Part Four: Publication - and Other Reasons to Write.

Not long ago, I sat at the railway station, staring at the “next train in” clock and playing with my ticket. I usually dislike riding the trains alone, but sometimes you have to do things you don’t like to get things done. This time, however, was my first time taking the trains alone after a disastrous line of train-related events occurred the first time I took the trains alone.

I was sitting on a long bench and it was midday during the week, so the platform wasn’t too crowded.

A guy about my age, complete with collar, wrist cuffs, and other spiked and/or chain accessories sat down on the opposite end of the bench I sat on. Being a normal human being, I instantly made a number of adjustments and passed him off as another of the punk types.

Just to remind me to stop making such instant judgments, the guy soon got out a book and started reading. When I looked closer, I realized he was reading the bible.

My previous judgments adjusted to this new information and my writer mind came to the front, delighting at the much unexpected, character-defining action.

This sort of thing incorporated into your writing could add much needed depth into your characters. Like I enjoyed being surprised by my previous judgments being changed because of one thing, your readers will enjoy being surprised by your characters. (As long as you pull it off with good reasons that make sense.)

A word of caution, though: In adding depth to your characters, be careful not to do things that have been used many times over already like the vampire with a soul and ‘the smart jock’.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Treadmill ::
2. Stroke ::
3. Exclusively ::
4. Lash ::
5. Red carpet::
6. Credit card ::
7. Points ::
8. Domestic ::
9. 21 ::
10. Inject ::

Idea courtesy of Luna Nina

That’s right, food and fun all in the same site.

Free Rice is a site that will donate ten grains of rice to stopping world hunger for each word definition you get right.

What’s fun about this site is it adapts to your correct answers. If you get a word correct, you will get a harder one. And vice versa. Also, it gives you your vocabulary level along the way. (If you want a challenge, beat 40 within the first ten words.)

Honestly, yeah, it could all be a big fraud, but it’s a stupid way to run a con. Unless their evil goal is to make the world a more educated place.