Fiction Scribe

Hello and happy Friday, dear Fiction Scribe readers. Happy Leap Year as well.

Today I am taking a breath from the Friday interviews to bring you something a bit different.

For a while I have wanted to give something away on this site, but I didn’t know what to give away or how to give it away (random giveaway? Contest?). I have been a bit hard pressed for time lately, so I didn’t want to have the trouble of tracking something complicated.

Then I found a meme at the lovely Jenera’s blog.

I have seen this meme floating around the blogging world and have even done it a few times. It’s fun, quick, and occasionally humorous.

The meme:

Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

First thing, you don’t have to tag five people. Just put your response in the comments. You can feel free to carry it over to your blog if you wish, but you have to leave your response in the comments here to get a chance to win.

Win what? A pre-loved copy of Lirael by Garth Nix. I bought this little lovely at a secondhand shop and later got another copy, so I would like to pass this copy on to one of my readers (chosen at random from the comments).

Be sure to leave a valid email address with your comment so I can get your postal address to send you the book. You have this weekend to enter. The winner will be announced in Monday’s Scribes blog carnival post.

Have fun and good luck! (And invite others over to win, eh? A good response to this could encourage more competitions like it in the future…)

Another fun one for your amusement. Enjoy! And have a happy Thursday.

1. Sometimes it will take a long time for the conception (of the idea), but planning is a good thing.
2. Often times, conceiving (an idea) will happen one drunken wild night but you won’t remember the idea for until about a few weeks later.
3. It’ll likely cost you more time, money, devotion, and attention than you can every really guess before it comes along.
4. You’ll worry. A lot. Mostly about whether or not you’re good enough to make it as a decent writer.
5. Birth/publishing is just the beginning…
6. Sometimes finding a name/title will be easy. Sometimes it’ll be a big pain in the arse.
7. There is no easy way to finish a manuscript. You either push through all the way or cut yourself open to finally get it.
8. It takes a long time to fully grow it.
9. Premature finishes need even more love, care, and attention.
10. It takes a village to raise a child? It takes a few good friends to edit a manuscript.
11. Every now and then it’ll be a good idea to leave the manuscript in good hands and take a day off to relax.
12. It’ll be messy, dirty, hard to deal with sometimes, and may even keep you up at night…but you’ll still stay with it.
13. Flaws and all, the manuscript is yours, and that will truly mean something.

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens at Write Anyway, Long Relationships, and The Book Stacks

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

“You will never ‘find’ time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Buxton, English author (1823-1871)

Even in the 1800s people understood that ‘we’re all busy’ and no one ever seems to have enough time for anything. That’s why when it comes to writing you can’t sit around waiting for inspiration to come to you.

You have to go out and find it.

The same goes with ‘finding’ time for your writing. It’s up to you. If you are dedicated enough to your craft, then you will make the time. Even if you have to give up some of your sleep hours to do so.

Yes, it’s all find and well for me to talk about how you have to go out and find inspiration instead of waiting for it, but where do you look?

If you honestly need to ask me that, then you either have a long way to go in the world
Writers write about life. The world. People. Anyone, anywhere, everything. As a writer, you are an observer. You shouldn’t expect to sit holed away in your writing room for all eternity and write masterpieces.

At one point or another, you have to get out there and truly look at the world. Connect. Therein lies inspiration. In the everyday, in observations, in people watching.

Try going out somewhere at least once a week to observe and listen to people. Explore places you’ve never been. Listen to what people are talking about. Find things that interest you and the things that interest them.

Find inspiration.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

What is your desk space like?

If it’s anything like mine used to be, then it could be your desk causing your struggle to write and not your wandering muse.

A few weeks ago, I found myself become increasingly stressed and almost unable to get my work done at my desk. To my right I had a stack of drawers with paperwork on top and my schedule books around it. To my right I had a coaster for my drinks of choice and an ever-growing stack of books to be read.

Along with that I had knick-knacks, pictures, post-it notes, other books, pens and pencils, candles, mail and other various things. My clutter even stretched over to a small dresser on my right and the table with the printer on it.

My desk was, to say the least, a bit cluttered.

However, it took me a while to realize that the clutter – something I had grown used to working in – was causing some of my so-called writer’s block.

I now have rules for my desk like how many knick-knacks on the overhead part, one pen and pencil holder allowed, and no more than five books at any time on the desk – and I have to be reading and/or reviewing the books that do get left on my desk.

All of the rules I’ve set have made me a more relaxed and productive writer.

Respect your space. Make sure you have all you need but also have room to breathe. Make it your space for writing/working and that only.

Keeping your space uncluttered and designated for a specific purpose could help you even more than you might realize.

Today I have a bonus interview with the very interesting Nan Hawthorne.

I got the chance to ask her a little bit about everything from her novel to what her feelings are about self-publishing. Please take a moment to welcome her to Fiction Scribe, and enjoy the wonderful interview I had with her.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Hawthorne. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Oh dear, where do I start? How about with the “vital statistics”? I live in the greater Seattle area with my husband and our beloved cats. I am 56 now. I grew up in Southern California and Southeast Alaska, and I have lived in other parts of the US.

I graduated from Northern Michigan University — see what I mean? English major, of course. I’ve had at least two careers besides the typical office drudge jobs. I was a big fish for a while in the little pond of non-profit management before I became a professional writer. Oh, and I am legally blind. No central vision at all.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I was reading early, and at seven I announced to the world that when I grew up I was going to be “an authoress”! I wrote my first story about then, then in my teens I met my writing partner for “The Story” which my first novel is based on. I mostly let the writing go for years and years. I started writing for a “living” only about ten years ago. The web was the impetus.

You’ve mentioned your first published book, Loving the Goddess Within: Sex Magick for Women. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

I believe that what are often called patriarchal religions have had a vested interest in controlling what women do with and feel about their bodies. The only way to control how we did was by restricting us, and when that did not keep working, making us feel bad about our bodies and sexuality. I see the “matriarchal” religions like neo-paganism or just the mythology from matriarchal societies to be a source of healing.

That’s what my book is all about. Ideas for women to heal their sense of themselves specifically their bodies and sexuality.

Right now you’re working on a novel with the word ‘novel’ purposely in quotes. Can you tell us why that is and what the book is about?

(more…)

I say … and you think … ?

1. Protocol ::
2. Girlfriends ::
3. Shoulders ::
4. Coming home ::
5. Let it in ::
6. Honor ::
7. Tyler ::
8. Thriller ::
9. Angela::
10. The winner is ::

Courtesy of Luna Nina

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

Today I have a wonderful interview to share with you. Author Deborah Woehr is here to talk about her paranormal novel Prosperity and about her writing. Please join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Woehr. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I started keeping a diary when I was 11 years old, but didn’t start writing novels after I turned 30.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your paranormal novel Prosperity. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Prosperity is about an embattled psychic who is forced to solve a 79 year-old murder before she becomes the next victim.

What inspired you to write Prosperity? Where did the idea begin?

There were three things that inspired me to write Prosperity: the story of a lynching that occurred in my hometown of San Jose in the 1930s, the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, and the fate of people when they die.

The idea began with Amanda, who began sleepwalking to her husband’s grave shortly after he was murdered. Is she suffering from a nervous breakdown, or is she actually meeting up with her husband’s ghost?

What character do you relate to the most and why?

(more…)

Twelfth Planet Press is looking for unique novellas to publish in our novella series.

We expect to publish one to two novellas a year in this ongoing series. We are looking for speculative fictional stories between 20 000 and 40 000 words in length. We are especially looking for strong, tightly written pieces with subject matter that may tend towards not fitting into the usual specfic novella outlets.

Word count: 20 000 to 40 000 words
Genre: science fiction, fantasy, or horror
Payment: A$250 advance for the story plus 8% royalties
Reading period: Now to July 29th 2008
Submit: send your story as an rtf attachment to twelfthplanetpress@gmail.com

(There will be a second reading period towards the end of 2008 and into 2009)

I’m feeling a bit cheeky today, so for your amusement…

1. If you ignore your manuscript, you’ll probably feel guilty for doing so without your manuscript having to say or do anything.
2. Some days you’ll need a break from everything even remotely related to the manuscript.
3. Your manuscript will piss you off. Likely a lot. Even so, you’ll keep coming back.
4. You’ll devote many hours, many tears, and many emotions to your manuscript. Period. If you don’t, then you probably shouldn’t be writing.
5. Some nights, you’ll try to get as far as you can with your manuscript even if you have a headache.
6. Some days you’ll want to throw your manuscript out. You’ll (hopefully) just go for a long walk and take a breather instead.
7. Sometimes you’ll give everything and seem to get nothing. But sometimes you’ll give only a little and get the world.
8. You may resort to drugs, drinking, or other vices to get you through things.
9. You’ll probably end up taking it places because nothing is happening back at home.
10. Occasionally your manuscript will surprise you and the bad times won’t seem so bad.
11. Occasionally you’ll surprise yourself.
12. Sometimes you’ll love your manuscript so much that you want to start a family (write a sequel). Resist this urge.
13. Despite everything, you’ll miss it when it’s done.

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens at Write Anyway, Long Relationships, and The Book Stacks

Ah, it’s finally happened; you have written your first draft.

If you follow the Stephen King method, you can finally open the door of your writing room and reintroduce yourself to your family. Order a pizza, open a bottle of wine, bake a chocolate cake… Do whatever it is you do to celebrate a good occasion.

The next day, when you’re getting past the hangover and the sour stomach from too much wine, pizza, and chocolate cake, you once again enter your writing room/space.

There it is. Your manuscript. Draft numero uno. Ugly/beautiful thing.

You’re now faced with the question many writers are faced with: How long do I wait before I write the second draft?

Fantasy author Karen Miller surprised me when she said she didn’t wait between drafts. When she finished her first draft, she went right back to the beginning and started working on the second draft.

In On Writing, Stephen King recommends at least six weeks of rest time between the first draft and the second.

I find myself caught in the middle. I see the point of doing it right away. The characters are still fresh in your mind with voices stronger than ever, you know more or less for sure what your ending is going to be, and you’re more familiar with the steps of the story than you were in the beginning.

But then again, the break between drafts lets your mind have a break so you can come back to things with ‘fresh eyes’.

Call me traditional, but I highly recommend the break somewhere along the line. Whether it’s between draft one and two or two and three, there is no self-editing tool like taking a break and coming back to it with the mind of an editor instead of a writer.

Do you take a break between drafts? If yes, how long? Why? If no, why not?

From The Writer’s Well

Craigslist Poster Says It All

washington, DC craigslist > district of columbia > writing gigs

Regarding Writing Gigs
Reply to: gigs-576026168@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-02-16, 12:13PM EST

A notice to all you folks who post ads looking for writers to work for free: Please stop. This is an insult to our profession, and is a waste of our time. If you want someone to write for you for free, ask your mom.

* Location: DC/VA/MD
* it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: no pay

PostingID: 576026168

It’s all too easy.

You create this alien race with alien beliefs, weapons, food, and, of course, bodies. Their history progressed differently to humanity, the way they harness energy is different, and even the way they mate (if they mate) is different. They’re just plain alien.

You eagerly send your human explorers to meet them.

Then your so-called aliens speak English that sounds so much like your cousin from Idaho. Or a three year old alien has the same range of vocabulary as your three year old niece.

If you are creating alien races, then make them alien. Even KA Applegate’s young adult fiction aliens the Hork-Bajir have the contradiction of deadly blades on their bodies and a peaceful lifestyle. That’s different. Orson Scott Card has created some excellent alien races over time.

A big monster with three heads isn’t all that scary or even alien if it talks like a typical twenty year old man from just down the street and has a liking for beef burgers.

You don’t have to create an entirely new language with each race (though you can feel free to do so), but do you think a race of military driven aliens will speak eloquently with a lot of flourish and useless words. Nor will a race focused on science and art speak harshly. (Overall, there are exceptions.)

Pay attention to your aliens and work at making them truly foreign to what we as humans know. It’ll get you a long way in the writing world.

You sit down to write wearing ____ with ____ in view, ____ on your music player and a bowl/plate of ____ to one side just in case you feel a bit hungry while you’re writing.

Does this sound at all like you?

And we wonder where the stereotypical writer with a glass of bourbon (a bottle if he’s been published a few times) to one side and a cigarette (unlit if the muse has taken over for a brief, blissful moment) in his mouth.

Many writers, to write, feel the need to have their favourite pen in hand or absolutely have to have that bowl of M&Ms nearby for that chocolate/sugar fix when the going gets tough.

My thing used to be that I wrote longhand and I needed to write with the same pen through the whole thing until the pen ran out of ink. If I lost this pen (which only happened a couple times before I realized how stupidly uncomfortable it made me), I would not write until I found the pen again.

I think my family should have feared more for my sanity than their reputations when they figured out I’m a writer. (Frankly, their reputation had been screwed quite thoroughly long before I took pen to paper.)

Most of us have our habits, whether they’re like my old pen habit (oh, did I mention I had to write stories, no matter how many pens ran out, in the same colour ink from beginning to end?), the spaces we need to write, the music, the noise, or whatever else.

If you need things that don’t involve things like ritual sacrifice, then habits are fine. We all have them.

What are your writing habits? What do you ‘need’ to write? What makes your writing experience feel ‘not quite right’ without it?

I say … and you think … ?

1. Passport ::
2. Small world ::
3. Radio ::
4. Marine ::
5. Wall ::
6. Wanna be ::
7. Pigtails ::
8. Hyphen ::
9. 9.99 ::
10. Unrated ::

Courtesy of Luna Nina

Democrats Have Values, Too

We are watching the first true 21st century election. It radiates Oprah-style celebrity, electric grass roots energy, and the rise of a new values voter. America is moving from the old masculinized morality of “Alone, I Will,” to the new feminized world view of “Together We Can.”

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s success shows the ascension of the New Feminized Majority, a multitude of millions of women and men voting in line with feminized values. This new majority is the base of the 21st century Democratic Party, and will battle in the general election against the masculinized morality of the old warrior, John McCain. They promise to be the defining element in the 2008 election. Stay tuned: this election will rewrite the American Dream and bring Americans together around a new and transformative world view.

On March 3, 2008, Charles Derber and Katherine Adam, authors of the book, The New Feminized Majority: How Democrats Can Change America with Women’s Values, are embarking on a virtual book tour around the world collecting letters from bloggers who would like to share their values and how those values impact their voting decisions.

If you would like to become involved in their tour, this is how it works:

1. Think of what values are important to you and how those values can impact who you vote for.

2. Post your message on your blog between now and March 1st and send us the exact link at cg20pm00(at)gmail(dot)com. Please put “Feminized Values” in your subject line.

3. When we receive your link, we will add it to Charles and Katherine’s tour page at The New Feminized Majority Virtual Book Tour ‘08

4. But, that’s not all! Charles and Katherine will pick one of the bloggers who participate to win a FREE copy of The New Feminized Majority. That’s their thank you gift to you!

6. And not only that, we will promote your blog through our daily promotions using your blog post as part of their virtual book tour, thus bringing you lots of traffic in March!

7. We also ask that you include a jpeg copy of Charles and Katherine’s book, The New Feminized Majority, in your blog post. You can find their book cover at The New Feminized Majority tour page (you are welcome to copy and paste from there) and link it to where the book can be purchased from the publisher’s website at Paradigm Publishers.

That’s all there is to it! Hurry before time runs out. Become involved in a nationwide campaign to tell the world what matters most to you. Share your values and become involved in CHARLES AND KATHERINE’S THE NEW FEMINIZED MAJORITY “FEMINIZED VALUES” CONTEST!

Charles and Katherine’s virtual book tour will be highly publicized including press releases and other promotions and is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion. You can visit their website at http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/