Fiction Scribe

Happy Thursday Thirteen everyone!

Do you love Thursdays? I do. I always thought Thursdays are better than Fridays.

Today I have decided to do something a little different (again) with my thirteen list. Today I am listing thirteen publishing companies to make a point. Since I was a young girl, I always wanted to be published by Tor publishing because I found myself always enjoying the books they put out.

I want you to look at this list and realize this is a very small list. There are a lot of publishing companies out there and you should take time to find and research the ones you want to submit to. Do your part to start wasting the time of people who work for these companies by doing your research and submitting to places that are accepting the genre your work is in.

1. World Ahead
2. Orion
3. Penguin
4. Tor/Firebird
5. Prelude Press
6. Alpha
7. Writer’s Digest Books
8. Pelican Publishing
9. Del Ray
10. Rain Books
11. Simon and Schuster
12. HarperCollins
13. Seal Press

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

Hi all! Happy Thursday Thirteen. Today’s Thursday dawns…cloudy and rainy. Lovely.

Anyway, time has been flying for me this week, which is good because that means work has been going quickly. Let’s keep that momentum going, shall we?

Yesterday I hosted the very fun Soup to Nuts Carnival Dessert portion. That brought to mind how I was introduced to blog carnivals not all that long ago and how I’ve benefitted. If you’re unsure about blog carnivals, here are…

1. Meeting new people!
2. Finding new blogs.
3. You can fashion your carnival to be about whatever you want.
4. Traffic love for all!
5. You have full control of who gets in your carnival.
6. Carnivals are mobile and can move from blog to blog, so if there is a month you’re busy just ask someone else to host it.
7. BlogCarnival.com makes running a carnival so easy you barely have to do any work.
8. Showcase your best posts.
9. Saying “I saw your post at the … carnival” is the easiest way to open a comment on blogs showcased.
10. A little boost to your Page Rank is always a good thing…
11. Have I mentioned how many new people you get to meet?
12. There is no limit to how many carnivals you can submit to!
13. Blog carnivals can work for whatever level of work you’re willing to put in - hosting or participating.

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

Happy Thursday Thirteen!

This week’s Thursday Thirteen continues to be all about you. I’m going to ask you thirteen question about you and your writing.

You can answer any or all of the questions in the comments section or you can use the answers as your own Thursday Thirteen. If you decide to do the latter, be sure to let me know and link to it in the comments section.

1. What do you write? (Short stories, novels, poetry, etc.)
2. Do you write in first, second, or third person?
3. Do you write in limited or omnipotent?
4. What about the above appeals to you?
5. Do you use an outline? Why or why not?
6. Who do you like writing for more: the antagonist or protagonist?
7. What do you like writing the most: description or dialogue?
8. What would you say your weakest point is in writing (dialogue, setting, character development…)
9. Where do you write?
10. Is there anything you ‘need’ to write?
11. Do you prefer writing long hand or typing?
12. Are you ‘addicted’ to any words or punctuation marks?
13. What usually comes first for you - characters, title, plot…?

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

Hello everyone! It’s Thursday once again, meaning most of us are focused on the fact that tomorrow is Friday and not so much on the fact today is Thursday.

I know how it works.

Despite the the sounds of crickets surrounding my last Thursday Thirteen, I rather like asking you all questions about your writing and your work. So, today I’m going to continue on that track and ask you about your current work on progress.

You can answer any or all of the questions in the comments section or you can use the answers as your own Thursday Thirteen. If you decide to do the latter, be sure to let me know and link to it in the comments section.

1. What stage is your current WIP at? (Notes, first draft, editing, second/etc draft, submitting…)
2. What type of writing is it? (Short story, novel, poetry…)
3. What is the title?
4. If it is poetry, are you working on a single poem or is it a collection of poems?
5. If it is a story, is it fiction or non-fiction?
6. If it’s fiction, who is the main character?
7. Who is your favourite character?
8. Who is your least favourite character?
9. What is the setting?
10. What was your initial inspiration for what you are working on?
11. Do you know the ending already or are you ‘just along for the ride’?
12. What is the protagonist like?
13. What will the ‘back blurb’ sound like for your book?

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

Hello! Here at Fiction Scribe, posts tend to be…well…not so focused on you, the readers. I want to use this Thursday Thirteen as a way to get to know you, the readers, by asking questions about you and your writing. (Which can also help me with the direction this site should head in.)

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions in the comments section or use your answers to these questions for your own Thursday Thirteen.

If you opt for the latter, please leave a link in the comments section letting me know you’ve done so.

Thirteen Questions About You and Your Writing

1. Do you write novels, short stories, poetry, fiction, non-fiction?
2. When did you start writing stories?
3. Did you start with fan fiction or your own creations?
4. What is the first story you ever wrote? (How long, what’s it about…)
5. From all the books you’ve read, who is your favourite character?
6. Who is your favourite character from your stories?
7. Are you/will you actively pursuing a job in the writing/publishing industry? (Other than writing books and hoping to get published.)
8. What is your greatest ‘Achilles heel’ as far as grammar goes?
9. Are you published in any way (paid or not)?
10. What are your dreams for your writing?
11. If you could talk to any author, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
12. What inspires you?
13. Why do you write?

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

For some reason, people (writers) tend to forget that the whole writing-publishing-selling thing is a business. Bottom line, it’s a business. True, you might consider your writing magic or something other, but the overall industry is a business.

Like you would when applying for any job or getting into a specific industry, you should study that industry. Learn how it works, learn the vocabulary, and learn everything else you can possibly learn. It keeps you from getting scammed, first of all, and it also keeps you from looking like a complete idiot.

So, to start you on your journey…

Thirteen Publishing Industry Terms You Should Know

1. Royalty
2. Independent Bookseller
3. Synopsis
4. Manuscript
5. Literary Agent
6. Unsolicited Manuscript
7. Audience
8. Front Matter
9. Self-Published
10. Slush Pile
11. Query Letter
12. SASE
13. Permissions

Learn these words and what they mean when it comes to the publishing industry. Also learn all the other words people in the industry use so you actually know what they’re talking about. It will not only help you, it will give you more confidence when trying to get your book out there.

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

2008 is coming! Yes, even though I know that most new year resolutions are broken, I still make them like most everyone else. It gets me to concentrate on my goals, at least for a little while. Hah! What are your resolutions?

Thirteen Goals for Next Year

1. Finish the first draft of my work in progress.
2. Finish the first edit of my work in progress.
3. Pay off my hospital bill.
4. Still be writing for this site at this time next year.
5. Submit a story (or more) to Women’s Weekly magazine.
6. Go to Conflux 5.
7. Collect at least three more cool and/or weird pens.
8. Submit at least one short story…somewhere.
9. Start on writing another novel.
10. Keep my husband working on his novel.
11. Learn to make a fabulous lemon meringue pie.
12. Also learn to make lovely pumpkin risotto and turn that into my writing food.
13. Have a more functional and organized work space.

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

Thirteen Things Your Hero Needs to Succeed

…because even heroes in badly written, predictable novels need help sometimes.

1. Mysterious birth or mysterious circumstances surrounding birth
2. A weapon of some sort…in disguise as something else sometimes
3. A method of transportation
4. A maiden or princess to rescue
5. An opponent (or two)
6. A sidekick (or two)
7. Fabulous hair (the kind that never gets washed but somehow still looks utterly fantastic)
8. An old wizard or old witch who gives often obscure advice
9. A mentor (which may or may not be the old wizard or witch of often gives obscure advice…or the hero’s father!)
10. A quest (the princess, the love interest, the great treasure, knowledge, balls…)
11. A great treasure
12. A love interest (which may or may not be the maiden or princess to rescue previously mentioned)
13. A competitor who isn’t the antagonist (oh drama!)

Feel free to add to this list in the comments below! What do your heroes need to succeed?

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

Thirteen Ways to Kill Your Characters

1. Ritual sacrifice.
2. Smiting by deity.
3. Blown apart.
4. Shot.
5. Poisoned.
6. Assassinated.
7. Thrown off a cliff.
8. Murdered for political reasons.
9. Murdered for revengeful reasons.
10. Killed by a wild animal.
11. Drowning.
12. Suffocation.
13. Broken neck due to stairs, being thrown by a horse, etc.

(Taken from the earlier post - Eight Ways to Kill Your Characters)

Thirteen Characters You wouldn’t want to Wake Up in Bed With

1. The Gorgon – Jason and the Argonauts
2. Annie – Misery
3. Severus Snape – Harry Potter
4. Jabba the Hut – Star Wars
5. Pizza the Hut – Space Balls
6. StarLaughter SunSoar – The Wayfarer Redemption Trilogy
7. Roger Everett Septien – The Postman
8. Gorgael – The Battleaxe Trilogy
9. Count Olaf – A Series of Unfortunate Events
10. Giant – Jack and the Beanstalk
11. The Daleks – Dr. Who
12. Mr. Burns – The Simpsons
13. King Kong – King Kong

Thirteen Ways to get Your Woman

1. Fight a dragon
2. Fight ‘the bad guy’
3. Give a rib
4. Give a kiss
5. Woo her
6. Climb her hair
7. Have six zeroes at the end of your bank account
8. Own a valiant black or white steed
9. Win a war
10. Kidnap her
11. Climb to the highest room of the tallest tower
12. Stop the wedding!
13. Give her shoe back

Thirteen Ways to get Your Man

*Extra points if you can name the ten books used to make this list (three don’t come from books)…

1. Kiss a frog
2. Choke on an apple
3. Leave a glass slipper behind
4. Sleep on his bed until he kisses you
5. Trade in your voice for legs
6. Tie him to a bed and break his ankles
7. Let him use your hair as a climbing rope
8. Tell him you’re the descendant of Jesus Christ
9. Borrow a rib
10. Get separated from your group in the jungle and be rescued by him
11. Ask your author nicely
12. A gourmet feast
13. Show up naked. Bring beer.

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

Thirteen Things Your Villain Needs to Succeed

1. Shy young virgin to threaten with ravishing
2. Tormented, misunderstood childhood
3. Henchmen to carry out your bidding
4. An overly complex plan
5. An opponent
6. Revenge on his/her mind
7. A cat to stroke
8. An awesome chair/throne to sit in
9. A spine-chilling characteristic
10. A mysterious characteristic
11. Knowledge of underhanded/illegal tactics
12. Some sort of distorted or ugly physical feature
13. A goal/treasure/something to attain

Thirteen Ways to Start Your NaNo

1. “It was a dark and stormy NaNovember…”
2. With a good, strong cup of coffee.
3. “I know! I’ll do a stream of consciousness NaNo. That’s right. Stream of consciousness NaNo that I can just type along as I think…”
4. “Once upon a time in ALABAMA! Yeah!”
5. With a bit of nail-chewing, drink/drug of choice, and a lot of padding.
6. Falling asleep before midnight and starting the next morning.
7. “There was a boy. There was a girl. They were in a white room with no doors or windows. Let’s see what happens!”
8. “This story is about an author who is struggling to write… No! It is so not about me!”
9. Contacting everyone you know and asking them for ideas.
10. Writing a page and then spending the next fifteen minutes taking out all the apostrophes and padding as much as possible.
11. With a prompt from Write Anyway.
12. On November 29th.
13. Actually taking one of my suggestions seriously.