Dear fellow writers:
This Easter Sunday, the Twitterverse was inundated with backlash over the #amazonfail, which, if you’ve been living under a rock, is a “glitch” (Amazon’s term) that removed books with LGBT themes from their rankings and filed them under adult content. Basically, they’re saying if you’re looking for a book, you’d be better off handing pornstar Ron Jeremy’s biography to your child than the picture book Heather Has Two Mommies. Yes, this is terrible. Yes, I feel it’s appalling. Even worse is the BIG PICTURE.
Clearly, this is an evil plot by Amazon to STOP ALL WRITERS FROM WRITING. That’s right people, Amazon is plotting to kill the future of literature. Take a look at the number of livejournals, twitter posts and other mentions of #amazonfail made on writing blogs. That’s not even taking into account the time spent hitting refresh for the latest. How many collective writing hours were lost? How many story ideas were pushed to the back burner, only to be forgotten in light of the news that #amazonfail made EW?? (no seriously, check out the link here!) And it’s not just the writers… Agents didn’t get around to reading query letters. Editors pushed aside the latest submission, eagerly watching the rise of the googlebomb as hatched by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books!
Sure, it seems innocent now. Fighting the good fight, standing up for what one believes in. But what happens in three months, when authors don’t have their next novel ready by deadline. Publishing dates will be pushed back. If you’re on submission, by the time your agent gets around to sending out your novel, editors will have already found that “book we’ve just purchased that would be a competing title so regretfully we must pass.” A book written by someone NOT watching the #amazonfail…a supporter of the Man (or Woman…or two women, or two men). Pretty soon, all supporters of #amazonfail will be back on the Ramen, wondering where it all went wrong. Soon, it’ll come down to feeding the kids or shutting off the internet. No more interwebs means no more voice. It’ll only be a matter of time before any resistance loses steam and the evil that is the Amazon ranking system takes over . Ah, the power of distraction to decimate those against you….well played, Amazon.
(Clearly this is satire…but seriously people, WRITE! I’m waiting to buy your books Amazon Ranking or no!)
- Location:Headquarters
- Mood:
devious - Music:Elton John, Lady Gaga, High School Musical Soundtrack
Two truths and a lie version...
1. I worked 60+ hours at the job of awesome this week alone....combined with the 8 hours last week, that means i'll be getting almost a double check from what I'm used to. I'm thinking about getting another tattoo of a ten letter word tattooed with some of the extra (Please leave cool ten letter word suggestions and definitions in the comments! My first word was Stentorian, so that one's already taken.)
3. I spent the last month falling in love and being fallen in love with. It's amazing and only going to get better!
So which one's the lie???? ;)
PS. I'm sorry guys...I totally have been AWOL. I really have had a lot going on, and unfortunately I can't promise it's going to get any better, but I CAN promise I'll try to blog at least once a week and update when I can. Thanks especially to
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
onegrapeshy for the nudge! What's been up with everyone?- Mood:
busy - Music:control by poe
I watched the cashier, trying to gauge the distance from the counter to the door in seconds. If she tried to take it back, could I snag the book and just send
carrie_ryan</lj> a check? But then it happened.... Borders clerk? She HANDED. ME. THE. BOOK!!! I did kind of a side step wary shuffle (zombiesqe?) to the doors, waiting to be ambushed by security. I opened the door, paused...nothing. Huzzah! Early copy of FHT was MINE!!! I was very pleased with my restraint. I made it all the way to the car before I cracked it open...yanno, just a few sentences while I turned the key and sipped my coffee and got ready to drive.
....and here's where things get strange. You know how there are those people on the weird scifi shows that talk about aliens and losing time? I get them now. Because I opened the book, started to read and the next thing I remembered thinking was "Wow, it's hot in here." By that point I was on Chapter 4. With my car idling. In the parking lot of the bookstore.
That's pretty much how the rest of the book went. I'd sit down for "just a chapter" and wind up devouring fifty pages. I sat down to eat, looked at the clock and thought "You can read til 8 then back to work." It was about quarter til. A "few minutes later" I looked up at the clock. Still about quarter til 8. Did I find it odd? Nope. I went right back to reading. It was quite awhile, and my third check of the clock when I realized it was impossible that I'd read that long and no time had passed. Check clock again....still quarter til 8...but the second hand was doing that little bouncy stuck thing. Real time? 9:30pm. OUCH. Of course by this time there was no escaping. I COULD NOT put the book down. I HAD to find out what happened to Mary, what the deal was with the Sisters...and the Unconsecrated.
Guys, you have to read this. I actually had nightmares. The good kind that wake you up terrified and checking shadows and listening for zombie moans. With all the hype I was worried it wouldn't live up, but Carrie not only delivered on a wonderful read, her world was so well written it left me with nightmares. This book, in short, ROCKED my socks. Well done, Carrie!!
If you need MORE convincing (srsly??) check out her awesome book trailer:
- Location:In what now seems a very unfortified house
- Mood:
excited - Music:Zombie by Zombie Girl (haha awesome song)
- Mood:
creative
So...voodoo, darkness, demons...rocks fall, everyone dies? The QT Blog Chain was started by yours truly here, so follow the link to read through the answers to:
What do you do to amp up the conflict? What pins do you stick in the little voodoo dolls? How do you torture your characters???
I promised at the start of this to answer my own question, but now that I'm here? It's no easy thing. Mary said that character torture is like slowing down to look at car wrecks, which, I have to admit, I do. Be honest, do you? And if you're the type to look away...what else does that say about you? The answers were so varied-- Abi used torture to create layers, Michelle shot first and asked questions later, Elana wondered if she tortured her characters ENOUGH, and Heather gave her characters "the final blow to light the powder keg." Jess said she didn't consciously torture them...which makes me wonder what her unconscious is planning without her knowledge ;) Kat tries to make them their own worst enemy, to which I can relate. Terri worries about her "social filter" (Terri needs to read The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things by JT Leroy...after that her fears will be permanently set to rest). Everyone had a great answer, but no one seemed to answer the question how I wanted... and to be honest, I'm not sure quite what I wanted to hear. I thought maybe if I had everyone else answer it first, it would help me out, give me some direction. Maybe that's why I didn't answer it myself. I wanted to see where it would go.
*Enter long pause*
Maybe that's it? Is that why I torture my characters? To see where it will go? How far they'll go before they break? How far *I* can go before I break FOR them? Kate's post quoted a poem by Stephen Crane, which I'm going to repost here, because I think it hits close to what I was going for....
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter-bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
-Stephen Crane
"And because it is my heart."...how much of ourselves do we put in our writing? How many of our fears end up on the page? Not being rescued in time (as Archy pointed out). Not being saved. What happens after? How do you go on? How much of that world you put on the page is a mirror?
I also got some great quotes from everyone. Christine said, "The journey my characters take as they confront the shadows in themselves helps them become conscious." But my favorite is from Sandra. "The wounds that I give them will remake them." The question is, how? Are they whole now ,made stronger, or are they monsters, missing parts and sewn on bits found along the way--reshaped by what's been done in the past. Both are beautiful, but I gravitate towards the flawed ones. The ones that can't ever be fully fixed, because they are missing the parts that would make them whole. And I think that's how I torture my characters. I break them down. I make them almost unfixable, and then I try to show them that the parts they're missing can be found in others. And I wait to see if they will seek them out.
I must say, if anything, the answers have forced ME to stretch. Interesting things in the darkness. That's for sure.
Next Blog Chain goes to HL Dyer!
Also, before I go, I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for the congrats. You've been there for me so much in the past (wow...has it been years? YEARS plural? Really?) and understood me in ways others just couldn't. I love you guys.
- Location:Somewhere in the darkness
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:Haunted by Poe
Sigh...yeah, I know. Switching to decaf now.
- Location:in ur....... .......ing ur ......
- Mood:hyper
- Music:Runs in the Family by Amanda Palmer
Well, kiddies, it's another fine day for a Blog Chain and this time the topic belongs to yours truly...hehe...(note to self: find evil laugh) ...and honestly, while the last few chains have been fun, they've been pretty safe. Elana covered what you do to get out of a writing funk, and Terri came after to ask if you've ever stepped back from writing...and what made you step forward again. Good topics. Fun topics. But if you know me at all, you know I like my fun a little more...shall we say, dark?
So come one, come all, step right up! Don't be afraid! Give in to the darkness, reveal your guilty pleasures, the ones you hide in your darkest of hearts. Pay a sixpense, slide behind the curtain and let's discuss...( CHARACTER TORTURE )
- Location:Behind the Sideshow Curtain
- Mood: mischievous
- Music:The Sinner in Me by Depeche Mode
I've been given the go ahead to let you guys know I accepted an offer of representation ( from...... )
- Location:Cloud Nine
- Mood: ecstatic
- Music:Small Town Girl by Journey
This chain's topic is: Have you ever had anything cause you to step back from writing? If so, what was the cause and how long did it take you to get back into the swing of things? If not, do you have any advice for other writers about not letting life get in the way of writing?
Terri was concerned that her question was too much like Elana's (see my link in the chain here...) about how you get out of a writing funk, but I really thought they were two very different ideas.
When I was nineteen or so, I had a life changing year. I met the amazing
legionfalcon , who has singlehandedly done more for my writing than other other person in my life. We met at the community college we were both going to at the time, and wound up taking a creative writing course together (I use taking in the loosest of terms...Lege was my "guest"...every class. I think he even started turning in assignments). For a few glorious months we livesleptatebreathed writing. We reviewed others work, and used critical thinking to review. We brainstormed. We wrote really bad emo poetry. It was the best of times.... . Then I moved cross country.
I'd love to say that I missed writing, that I pined for words and had oodles of backlogged stories begging to be penned (we didn't own a computer), but really? I found other things to do. I fell in love with caving, the outdoors. I camped and rock climbed and trudged up parts of Pike's Peak, which was LITERALLY our frontyard. I ran the children's programs at the cave I worked at and taught kids about geology and read Stellaluna to four-year-olds. I was young and in love and having fun.
I remember only two things written during that time. One was a prompt that my friend Jenny and I did. We told each other three objects that had to be included in our story. Mine were an ankh, a train and a butterfly wing if I'm not mistaken. The other thing I wrote was a children's story about caving. Someone in our caving club heard the idea and gave me a check for what seemed at the time to be a huge amount of money. She wanted me to know she supported me, wanted me to work on the story. It was the first time I was ever paid to write, one of my proudest moments, but I never saw a dime of it. The money was spent by the ex for paints. He never illustrated the book though and without that enthusiasm the project died. In the end though, it was being told in no uncertain terms that I had a good idea that flickered some life back into the writing dream. When I get published, she'll be on that acknowledgements page. I promise.
Time passed. I wised up, broke up, packed up. Lege offered me the empty room in his apartment and I came back home. I still didn't write. It took two years or so before I realized I wanted to write a book. That I wanted to do it for real. At the same time, that was the way it needed to be. I don't think writing gets in the way of life, or life gets in the way of writing. It may sound corny, but writing IS life and not in the inspirational Nike commercial kind of way, but in the sense that you need to experience things, shake thing up, LIVE and mine those times for all they're worth.
I left writing. I came back. It was still there. I don't think being able to write is something that abandons you or fades away. It's something you chose. Something you decide to make important. Something you fight for, and HARD. You scrounge minutes, half scenes scribbled at red lights and during nap times. Life sometimes gets complicated, and we're forced to step back from writing. Just make sure you remember to step forward again.
- Location:In the auditorium,
- Mood:
melancholy - Music:Looking on, she sings the songs, the words she knows the tune she hums
2. Getting down to your "writing weight" has been a good running joke, but take care of yourself. Pretzles, coffee and nicotine are not food groups.
3. When you wake up, and your skin is slick with sweat, your head fuzzy with the memory of how the club smelled, and the blanket feels too much like the bodies pressed against you as you struggled to get closer to Luke singing on stage...when you bolt upright after only a few hours of sleep and your ears are still ringing from standing too close to speakers that exist only in your dreams, this is a gift.
4. On the same note, never keep a notebook on your bedside table. These snippets are not meant for you, they're meant for your subconscious. They will come back.
5. Those throw away details that you can not explain? Later they'll be pivital plot points. Now is not the time to stress over why they're there or where they came from.
6. Having a "real life" full of going out, socializing, friends...Not Writers will explain to you how healthy and necessary these are. They'll never understand that these things are luxuries. Right now is not the time for them. They will be there later. Others are different and that is okay too. But for you? That perfect scene playing out behind your eyelids may not wait. Get it down now.
7. It will get very ugly. This is generally when the beautiful things happen, when the book gets written. Give up a little less frequently than you did last time.
8. When you write a paragraph that gets you excited, that makes your skin crawl with its potential, has you smiling as you're typing. Even if you wake up the next morning to reread it and realize it sucks? You're doing it right.
- Location:"I was up above it, now I'm down in it..."
- Mood: creative
- Music:Counting Bodies Like Sheep by A Perfect Circle
Normally I'm not into the whole memes thing, but I was tagged by </a></b></a>
fandoria for the six things that make me happy meme and this time I'm gonna play! Why? Because a. I was flattered to be picked...b. I haven't done this one before (hello, 25 things meme!) and c. it is short and happy :) Here are the rules:
1. Be civilized enough to mention the person who tagged you.
2. Write down six things that make you happy.
3. Post the rules.
4. Tag six others and let them know you did it.
5. Then tell the person when your entry is complete.
On to the things that make me happy. In no particular order:
1. Reimaginings. Whether it be songs in remix form, fairy tales retold...I love them all.
2. Friends that will drive states out of their way to hang out for a bit :)
3. Every flake brings us closer to Spring = my happy thought
4. Having so many friends RIGHT at the edge of super awesomeness and looking forward to watching them all get what they so deserve!!
5. Acknowledgements
6. Hot coffee and caramel creamer.... *happy sigh*
I tag anyone who wants to do this meme. No pressure, but it's nice to have something positive isn't it? Let me know if you do it!
- Location:Destroying Worlds
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:Autumn Thoughts in a Nuclear Winter by Decaying_Machine
So things have been going pretty well this week. New job is working out quite well, and I got my first paycheck which was WONDERFUL. Querying is also going well, though I'm going back and forth with sending more right now or not. Gotta work on my battle plan.
Miss Java over at QT/RS had a brilliant idea to have a write in...about 6 of us showed up - 15 minutes of writing and then 5 minutes of chat and I was pretty pleased with the results. It was a really random scene. Something totally unexpected and I don't know how it fits but whatever it is, it throws an interesting wrench into my plans, in a good way I think.
Karen Kincy put up her next interview in her Writers on the Rise series so be sure to check that out! This time it's with
juliakarr</lj> , and we both agreed it's been fascinating to see everyone's answers to Karen's questions. Also, I forgot to mention some good news! I won this:
I made it onto the bed with the winners! Not gonna lie...it totally made my day :) AND Saving this for last!!! Check out Scott Tracey (aka
legionfalcon</lj> ) 's new book trailer!!!!!!!!!!! (Yes, I made it. What can I say, I love that book. Omg did I just fangirl Lege?! hahaha)
- Location:The Edge of the Apocalypse
- Mood: happy
- Music:Epic Last Song by Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Basically, when you're bummed and your writing isn't going as planned, what do you do to get out of it? Personally, I'm a ponderer. I'll throw some tracks on repeat and zone out. Sometimes it lasts for a few minutes, other times it lasts for days. I've found that by just clearing my mind and not focusing on the problem, a solution usually comes to me in some way, shape or form. For a long time while writing Reapers I was really unsure of one of my character's motivations. I knew this person was important, I just wasn't sure how so I kept typing away, not quite knowing what the deal was but making progress. When a song I'd downloaded randomly (I liked other songs by the band) came on, everything snapped into focus and I was able to keep writing. Sometimes, it's not that easy, and when the rejections get to be a bit much, and the story's not flowing, sometimes the best thing to do is something else. That's right. See, there's a whole world that I sometimes forget about, one that goes on with or without me. It's called Real Life. In it are my family, who's phonecalls cheer me up (Sorry, Elana, but when I'm bumming I totally call my mom ;) ) and my very patient friends, who are usually game for a movie or dinner. Sure, it's not as exciting as torturing my characters, but sometimes excitement is overrated.
Now, I'm not sure how this will help you. See, everyone is different. You've gotta figure out what works for you, and what doesn't. That's part of becoming a stronger writer.
Elana also requested that we post our favorite funny thing that makes us happy. For getting out of a bad mood? For writing? I'm not entirely sure. The only thing I do know is that most of my favorite quotes, poems, and Youtube videos have made various blog chains in the past. Last one in my arsenal is
Alright, kiddies! Next up in the chain is Heather!
- Mood:
cranky
ravelda ) or at her website here! - Location:Blogtopia
- Mood: excited
- Music:Falling by Slumberlords (ccmixer)
Friend me there, just in case...all are welcome, even if you're not my LJ buddy :) I know there's a few people who read and don't have an account here! Don't want to lose you guys!
- Mood: working
- What writing related things have you done in the past?
- What WIPs are you working on now?
- Do you have anything brewing for the future?
- Are you setting any writing goals or resolutions for 2009?
GREAT topic!
So the first question, what writing related things have you done in the past? 2008 began in a strange light. The novel, my first, that I'd spent all of 2007 working on was starting to look very unshiny. After spending so much time working on it, I was kind of lost. I needed something new. That's where Reapers came in.
What WIPs are you working on now? I just started to get the ball rolling on Reapers 2 to take my mind off querying...That's right, guys. As of this morning, I'm officially querying for Reapers!
Do you have anything brewing for the future? I have a feeling 2009 is going to be a very interesting year. I'm writing away, starting querying and there's so many positive things happening in my life. It's the first time I've felt really good about a new year!
Are you setting any writing goals or resolutions for 2009? Nope. I never keep them. NEVER. Not even the easy resolutions that I set up JUST so I can reach them. So this year I'm not doing any, writing or otherwise. Plus, I'm a seat of the pantser, and forcing myself just to reach a goal usually just leads to rewriting and cut chapters.
In the blog chain, Terri went before me and Heather's next! And you can always go back to Abi's post and follow the chain through from the start! But how about the rest of you out there in blogland? What're you working on? Plans? Goals?
- Location:On the Chain gang
- Mood:
giddy - Music:Epic Last Song by Does It Offend You, Yeah? (which is my new favorite band name)
Book 2 is mucking about in my brainplaces. It started out pretty typical, with me searching out new music with frenetic ferret energy (tm
legionfalcon ) and new pictures for visuals. I was nearly through a whole day of this, all the while blissfully unaware as to what was happening when it finally hit me. Oh. You. You are book 2. Then I pouted a bit. I didn't want you to come visit so soon, book 2 :( It looks like the break I was promising myself during "query time" is not going to happen. Alas, I'm still overjoyed to know you're there, and will be moving into my every thought soon. Right now, I have two POV's that I'm pretty solid on--ones that need to be there for the story to be told. But this time through there's a third POV that's up for grabs. And they all want it. I've got voices in my head, chucking pictures at me, bits of dialogue, anything shiny enough to attract the Writer.
Right now I can feel the wheels turning, the story starting to take form. I can't wait to start! Does this happen to anyone else?
- Location:In your brainplaces, plantin plot seeds
- Mood: crazy
- Music:Perfect Drug (Orbital Remix) by NIN
Hi guys! Hope everyone's holiday went great! I used the offtime to finish and post my book trailer for Reapers.
If you can, watch it in high quality! Feel free to leave me a comment on the youtube and let me know what you think! Hope you like it!
- Mood: content
- Music:Destroy Everything You Touch by Ladytron
I also have a facebook now, so if anyone wants to add me, it's the Leah Clifford with the same user pic :) Just drop me a note and tell me you're from livejournal!
- Location:lost in a sea of Xmas present buying
- Mood: crazy
- Music:Baby's Clean Conscious by Ugly Casanova
You are not supposed to know these moments. Not while they're happening.
- Mood:
predatory - Music:REV 22:20 (Rev 4:20 mix) by Puscifer
