Continuing with our Resource Week, author D. L. Jackson (LAST FLIGHT OF THE ARK, SLIPPING THE PAST) chimed in with these very helpful sites every writer should know. Here's her list:
http://canblog.typepad.com/canbookmarketing/2007/02/make_a_book_tra.html
This is the Christian Author's Network, but they offer advice on how to market you books online. This is where I got the information to make my own book trailer.
http://www.slangsite.com/
This is great if you're trying to intepret what your teenager is saying or you want to get a feel for slang words to incorporate into your novel, or make you own slang.
http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx
Reference of where to submit your work from publishers to zines.
http://www.agentquery.com/
One of the most-up-to-date sources for agent hunting.
http://www.authorisland.com/index.php
This is a good site for authors looking for a publisist.
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters
Problems with your blog or google? Here's how I fixed the problem with my blog. Uber helpful for tech problems and they have forums and advice articles.
http://www.epicauthors.com/
Epic is an organization for E-published authors and the membership fees are decent, for people on a budget.
Thanks for the recommendations! We'll add these to our sidebar, too.
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
WRITE ON!
Trust us here at the Spacefreighters Lounge to put ideas in your head. All kinds of crazy ideas. About starships and black holes. Spiral galaxies and spinning emotions. The evolution of an alien with two hearts and the story of how he gave both those hearts to a girl with a big brain and a bigger smile.
Not that we’d leave you all alone with those ideas. When it comes to writing it all down, don’t worry that it’s just you and the little blinking curser. Just as there are many resources out there to help you design your starship or your solar system, there are plenty to keep you inspired and on track with your writing.
First, inspiration. These books are legion. Undoubtedly your favorite author has written something on the subject of why he or she writes. My personal favorites in this category are Anne Lamott’s classic BIRD BY BIRD and Stephen King’s ON WRITING.
Lamott is a novelist of the literary kind, an essayist and critic, and a writing teacher. All of which is to say I haven’t read anything else of hers. But this little book is a gem of encouragement and insight. Everything she says is useful in some way, and her style is so quiet, so intimate, that you feel you know her as a friend from the very first word. On those dark days when the words don’t come, I’m reminded of her father’s advice to her younger brother, distraught over the impossible task of writing a report on birds. “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”
King’s book is a bit of a mish-mash, which he himself admits. He started out to write one kind of book, imparting what he had learned about the art over the years, and ended up with something quite different—a book about how he approaches his craft and his life. It’s a little like sitting around with him while he muses about things. What comes out can be mundane—every writer should own a copy of THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE--or quite startling. He relates that the check for his first significant sale came just as he and wife Tabitha were flat broke and unable to afford medicine for a sick child. And none of King’s novels compares in horror to his account in this book of being struck by a van as he walked on a road near his house. The accident nearly killed him. He took months to recover. Then, slowly, he began to write again. That, my friends, is inspiration.
Part inspiration, part practical manual is a book I recently found with the intriguing title THE ART OF WAR FOR WRITERS, by James Scott Bell. Based on the classic battle aphorisms of Chinese general Sun Tzu (400-320 B.C.), Bell’s book is a light-hearted but pithy collection of wisdom for aspiring writers. With advice such as “A foundation in discipline is always the first step toward victory,” Bell moves his readers along toward their goals, prodding them with little exercises along the way. Later chapters are devoted to the actual writing process (“Remember that love means never having to say ‘I love you’”) and promotion and sales (“Network according to the law of reciprocity”; “Never assume that a rejection of your stuff is a rejection of you as a person . . . unless it’s accompanied by a punch in the nose.”) Bell is a novelist and an author of several other books on writing. He also teaches writing at workshops throughout the country.
Okay, so we’re fired up and rarin’ to go! Uh . . . there’s that durn blinkin’ curser again! How exactly do we do this? Well, every science fiction romance has two sides, which deserve equal treatment. Of the many resources on writing SF, my favorite is an oldie, but goodie, HOW TO WRITE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, by Orson Scott Card. Card, of course, is the Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of ENDER’S GAME and numerous other SF novels, as well as the author of a number of books on writing. Card tackles such thorny subjects as the differences between fantasy and SF (alas, even the latest edition of his book was written before SFR was recognized as a subgenre), world creation, story construction, POV and characterization, and setting limits on exposition and jargon. Many of the lessons Card gives on writing are not unique to SF, but he recognizes the problems that are ours alone and offers some solutions. A final chapter on the life and business of writing is likely to be dated, even in the most recent (2001) edition, but the general information is still useful.
I’ve saved the best for last, because this is my favorite writing book of all: ON WRITING ROMANCE, by Leigh Michaels. All readers have expectations when they pick up a book, based on what that book is and the type of readers they are. Readers of Stephen King, for example, expect great characters, a Maine locale (usually), a chilling plot and a lot of weirdness. Readers of romance are no different. If we are writing a romance, even one set in outer space, we need to meet their expectations.
Michaels does a great job of laying out exactly what those expectations are with regard to the heroine, the hero, the development of the plot, the emotions involved and such details as “the black moment” and “the happy ending”. She explains that no matter what other story line a romance may have—contemporary, suspense, SF, paranormal, historical, Western—the romance itself exists as a separate-but-equal story line that is interwoven with the other plot. Why are your lovers attracted to each other in the first place? What’s keeping them from being together? Is he the best man for her? Is she the best woman for him? All good questions, which Michaels helps you examine in detail in exercises throughout the book.
She also addresses basic questions of POV, plotting, characterization and dialogue in a way that makes doing the right thing seem effortless. I’ve given a few copies of this book to friends who are beginning writers, even though they are not romance writers, simply because the sections on writing fundamentals are so good.
Two more recommendations from my fellow Lounger Laurie Green:
I've found THE PLOT THICKENS: 8 WAYS TO BRING FICTION TO LIFE by Noah Lukeman to be a great tool for using the fundamentals to improve storytelling skills. The first three chapters are devoted to building characters through “The Inner Life”, “The Outer Life” and “Applied Characterizations”. These are followed by a focus on “Journey”, “Suspense” and “Conflict”--those things that motivate, challenge and help define your characters. Then “Context”--what should stay and why, and what should go and why. It offers exercises and examples throughout to get you thinking about how the concepts apply to your own work. The author is a New York literary agent who also wrote another reference gem, THE FIRST FIVE PAGES.
I'm a pantser, and as a member of that particular species I often write myself into corners and dead-ends. FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS, by Karen S. Wiesner, came highly recommended by a member of my local writers' group as a system to help me write faster and with more organization and a bigger picture of the story concepts. It's touted as a sure-fire method to write a first draft (actually a very detailed outline) in a one-month timeframe that can then be painlessly expanded into a full-length novel. Of particular help to some writers is an entire chapter devoted to “Creating an Outline for a Project Already in Development or Re-Outlining a Stalled Project”. Karen Weisner is an award-winning author of over 20 novels.
Me, again. So, there you are, bookshelf stocked and ready to go! Now I just have two more recommendations for you. If you haven’t done it already, scoot over to http://www.rwanational.org/ to become a member of Romance Writers of America. The RWA is the only professional writers organization in the U.S. that opens its membership to unpublished writers, and the benefits of membership are too numerous to mention. Secondly, if you have finished that manuscript and are looking for an agent, don’t bother spending money on a copy of GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS, or any of its like publications. Click on http://www.agentquery.com/ and get an up-to-date listing for free. Be sure to check those agents’ websites and blogs for further information before you query them. Dontcha just lurrve da ‘Net?
Cheers, Donna
Not that we’d leave you all alone with those ideas. When it comes to writing it all down, don’t worry that it’s just you and the little blinking curser. Just as there are many resources out there to help you design your starship or your solar system, there are plenty to keep you inspired and on track with your writing.
Lamott is a novelist of the literary kind, an essayist and critic, and a writing teacher. All of which is to say I haven’t read anything else of hers. But this little book is a gem of encouragement and insight. Everything she says is useful in some way, and her style is so quiet, so intimate, that you feel you know her as a friend from the very first word. On those dark days when the words don’t come, I’m reminded of her father’s advice to her younger brother, distraught over the impossible task of writing a report on birds. “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”
King’s book is a bit of a mish-mash, which he himself admits. He started out to write one kind of book, imparting what he had learned about the art over the years, and ended up with something quite different—a book about how he approaches his craft and his life. It’s a little like sitting around with him while he muses about things. What comes out can be mundane—every writer should own a copy of THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE--or quite startling. He relates that the check for his first significant sale came just as he and wife Tabitha were flat broke and unable to afford medicine for a sick child. And none of King’s novels compares in horror to his account in this book of being struck by a van as he walked on a road near his house. The accident nearly killed him. He took months to recover. Then, slowly, he began to write again. That, my friends, is inspiration.
I’ve saved the best for last, because this is my favorite writing book of all: ON WRITING ROMANCE, by Leigh Michaels. All readers have expectations when they pick up a book, based on what that book is and the type of readers they are. Readers of Stephen King, for example, expect great characters, a Maine locale (usually), a chilling plot and a lot of weirdness. Readers of romance are no different. If we are writing a romance, even one set in outer space, we need to meet their expectations.
Michaels does a great job of laying out exactly what those expectations are with regard to the heroine, the hero, the development of the plot, the emotions involved and such details as “the black moment” and “the happy ending”. She explains that no matter what other story line a romance may have—contemporary, suspense, SF, paranormal, historical, Western—the romance itself exists as a separate-but-equal story line that is interwoven with the other plot. Why are your lovers attracted to each other in the first place? What’s keeping them from being together? Is he the best man for her? Is she the best woman for him? All good questions, which Michaels helps you examine in detail in exercises throughout the book.
She also addresses basic questions of POV, plotting, characterization and dialogue in a way that makes doing the right thing seem effortless. I’ve given a few copies of this book to friends who are beginning writers, even though they are not romance writers, simply because the sections on writing fundamentals are so good.
Two more recommendations from my fellow Lounger Laurie Green:
I've found THE PLOT THICKENS: 8 WAYS TO BRING FICTION TO LIFE by Noah Lukeman to be a great tool for using the fundamentals to improve storytelling skills. The first three chapters are devoted to building characters through “The Inner Life”, “The Outer Life” and “Applied Characterizations”. These are followed by a focus on “Journey”, “Suspense” and “Conflict”--those things that motivate, challenge and help define your characters. Then “Context”--what should stay and why, and what should go and why. It offers exercises and examples throughout to get you thinking about how the concepts apply to your own work. The author is a New York literary agent who also wrote another reference gem, THE FIRST FIVE PAGES.
Me, again. So, there you are, bookshelf stocked and ready to go! Now I just have two more recommendations for you. If you haven’t done it already, scoot over to http://www.rwanational.org/ to become a member of Romance Writers of America. The RWA is the only professional writers organization in the U.S. that opens its membership to unpublished writers, and the benefits of membership are too numerous to mention. Secondly, if you have finished that manuscript and are looking for an agent, don’t bother spending money on a copy of GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS, or any of its like publications. Click on http://www.agentquery.com/ and get an up-to-date listing for free. Be sure to check those agents’ websites and blogs for further information before you query them. Dontcha just lurrve da ‘Net?
Cheers, Donna
From the (Space) Horse's Mouth
One Author: Two Great References
Continuing with Reference Week, I had to mention two books that have provided me insights into space travel and our space program as I never would have known it. In writing a near future science fiction romance, time and again I refer to these two books by one authoritive author: A man who's been there.
Do Your Ears Pop in Space?
and 500 Other Suprising Questions About Space Travel
by former astronaut R. Mike Mullane
On the morning of February 28, 1990, astronaut R. Mike Mullane flew his last of three shuttle missions, orbiting Earth in Atlantis. The launch was not without glitches. He describes the uncomfortable, lengthy hold on the launchpad due to weather conditions in clear detail and then those final giddy seconds leading up to blast-off. What happens next?
Do Your Ears Pop in Space? provides a wealth of detailed information about how things work in space--and the dynamics of getting there and back again--with questions grouped in nine easy-reference chapters:
Although many of the answers and situations are quite funny, there is an entire chapter devoted to the somber subject of the Challenger and her crew, appropriately Chapter 7. I clearly remember the events surrounding the disaster, but this book revealed facts I didn't know about the incident and changes made to the program in its aftermath.
I highly recommend this books as a resource about space travel from somone who has been there.
Riding Rockets
The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut
by R. Mike Mullane
If you want to dig a little deeper than the facts to taste the true flavor of what it was like to by a shuttle astronaunt (and a peek behind the curtain of NASA public relations), Riding Rockets may be just what you're looking for. Released in 2006, nine years after Do Your Ears Pop in Space? it is often funny, surprising, ironic or biting, but sometimes frightening and tragic. Riding Rockets feels much more like reading an adventure novel than a dry autobiography.
With chapter titled The F***ing New Guys and Adventures in Public Speaking, you get an up-close account of life as an astronaut told in a frank, warts-and-all telling. Despite overwhelming five-star reviews, and brief endorsements by the likes of Jim Lovell (Apollo 13) and Chuck Yeager (of "The Right Stuff" fame) and Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7) which can be found in the front of the book, it hasn't been without controversy. One review by John Kloss on the National Space Society refered to some of the hijinks described in Riding Rockets as "Animal House in space."
A great read for inspiring ideas how bureaucracy and authority can affect space missions.
Continuing with Reference Week, I had to mention two books that have provided me insights into space travel and our space program as I never would have known it. In writing a near future science fiction romance, time and again I refer to these two books by one authoritive author: A man who's been there.
Do Your Ears Pop in Space?
and 500 Other Suprising Questions About Space Travel
by former astronaut R. Mike Mullane
On the morning of February 28, 1990, astronaut R. Mike Mullane flew his last of three shuttle missions, orbiting Earth in Atlantis. The launch was not without glitches. He describes the uncomfortable, lengthy hold on the launchpad due to weather conditions in clear detail and then those final giddy seconds leading up to blast-off. What happens next?
Do Your Ears Pop in Space? provides a wealth of detailed information about how things work in space--and the dynamics of getting there and back again--with questions grouped in nine easy-reference chapters:
- Space Physics
- Space Shuttle Pre-Mission and Launch Operations
- Space Shuttle Orbit Operations
- Life in Space
- Space Physiology
- Space Shuttle Re-Entry and Landing
- Challenger
- Astronaut Facts
- The Future
Although many of the answers and situations are quite funny, there is an entire chapter devoted to the somber subject of the Challenger and her crew, appropriately Chapter 7. I clearly remember the events surrounding the disaster, but this book revealed facts I didn't know about the incident and changes made to the program in its aftermath.
I highly recommend this books as a resource about space travel from somone who has been there.
Riding Rockets
The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut
by R. Mike Mullane
If you want to dig a little deeper than the facts to taste the true flavor of what it was like to by a shuttle astronaunt (and a peek behind the curtain of NASA public relations), Riding Rockets may be just what you're looking for. Released in 2006, nine years after Do Your Ears Pop in Space? it is often funny, surprising, ironic or biting, but sometimes frightening and tragic. Riding Rockets feels much more like reading an adventure novel than a dry autobiography.
With chapter titled The F***ing New Guys and Adventures in Public Speaking, you get an up-close account of life as an astronaut told in a frank, warts-and-all telling. Despite overwhelming five-star reviews, and brief endorsements by the likes of Jim Lovell (Apollo 13) and Chuck Yeager (of "The Right Stuff" fame) and Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7) which can be found in the front of the book, it hasn't been without controversy. One review by John Kloss on the National Space Society refered to some of the hijinks described in Riding Rockets as "Animal House in space."
A great read for inspiring ideas how bureaucracy and authority can affect space missions.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Emotion Thesaurus
Continuing with our Resource Week, one of my favorite internet resources is the Emotion Thesaurus, brainstorm of Angela Ackerman and her co-blogger, Becca. Angela is represented by Jill Corcoran at the Herman Agency, and writes Chapter Books, Middle Grade and Young Adult books starring clever, wacky characters.
Emotion Thesaurus started as an experiment on CritiqueCircle and evolved into a popular project on Angela's blog, The Bookshelf Muse. When asked about the success of the project, Angela said: "It still kinda blows my mind how well it took off—generally with the Internet it feels like whatever you need you can always find with a few clicks, but there was nothing to help with portraying emotions that we could find at that time."
I refer to the Emotion Thesaurus whenever I'm stuck trying to translate an emotion into a facial expression or physical reaction that "shows" the character's feelings instead of the usual smiled, grinned, frowned scowled, or my personal favorite--nodded.
For instance, to show my character is happy, I might consult the list under Happiness/Joy and replace her generic smile by having her bounce on her toes or move with a light, floating walk. If I have two characters expressing resentfulness (Resentful/Sullen) instead of having both of them face each other with arms crossed, she might spin away in a huff and he may roll his eyes and mumble.
Be sure to check out the Expressing Cardinal Emotions: Male vs. Female, which illustrates how the different genders show emotions or react differently in emotional situations.
Here is just a random sampling to give you a taste of this rich compilation:
ANGER
sitting/standing rigidly
muscles quivering
breathing deeply, noisily
laughter with an edge
talking in a carefully controlled tone
taking inappropriate risks
DISAPPOINTMENT
Rubbing at back of the neck, thinking of what to do next
False cheer, weak smile
Voice dropping or going quiet
Voice rising in anger
Denial (shaking head, whispering ‘no’ or a curse under breath)
RELUCTANCE
Reaching out slowly to take something or to assist
Glancing around, uneasy
Backing away from a situation, trying to not be noticed
Stuttering, stammering
Making excuses, lying
Holding a hand up, warding someone or something off
STUBBORNESS
Thrusting chin upward
Refusing to listen
Walking away from another person
Retreating into a personal space (bedroom, in front of the TV, shoving earphones in and tuning out)
Cranking up music to drown out someone else
The entire Emotion Thesaurus covers a comprehensive list of emotions and is organized as follows:
Happy writing!
Emotion Thesaurus started as an experiment on CritiqueCircle and evolved into a popular project on Angela's blog, The Bookshelf Muse. When asked about the success of the project, Angela said: "It still kinda blows my mind how well it took off—generally with the Internet it feels like whatever you need you can always find with a few clicks, but there was nothing to help with portraying emotions that we could find at that time."
I refer to the Emotion Thesaurus whenever I'm stuck trying to translate an emotion into a facial expression or physical reaction that "shows" the character's feelings instead of the usual smiled, grinned, frowned scowled, or my personal favorite--nodded.
For instance, to show my character is happy, I might consult the list under Happiness/Joy and replace her generic smile by having her bounce on her toes or move with a light, floating walk. If I have two characters expressing resentfulness (Resentful/Sullen) instead of having both of them face each other with arms crossed, she might spin away in a huff and he may roll his eyes and mumble.
Be sure to check out the Expressing Cardinal Emotions: Male vs. Female, which illustrates how the different genders show emotions or react differently in emotional situations.
Here is just a random sampling to give you a taste of this rich compilation:
ANGER
sitting/standing rigidly
muscles quivering
breathing deeply, noisily
laughter with an edge
talking in a carefully controlled tone
taking inappropriate risks
DISAPPOINTMENT
Rubbing at back of the neck, thinking of what to do next
False cheer, weak smile
Voice dropping or going quiet
Voice rising in anger
Denial (shaking head, whispering ‘no’ or a curse under breath)
RELUCTANCE
Reaching out slowly to take something or to assist
Glancing around, uneasy
Backing away from a situation, trying to not be noticed
Stuttering, stammering
Making excuses, lying
Holding a hand up, warding someone or something off
STUBBORNESS
Thrusting chin upward
Refusing to listen
Walking away from another person
Retreating into a personal space (bedroom, in front of the TV, shoving earphones in and tuning out)
Cranking up music to drown out someone else
The entire Emotion Thesaurus covers a comprehensive list of emotions and is organized as follows:
- What is an Emotion Thesaurus?
- Expressing Cardinal Emotions: Male vs. Female
- Amusement
- Anger
- Annoyance
- Anticipation
- Confidence/Pride
- Confusion
- Contentment
- Curiosity
- Desperation
- Disappointment
- Disgust
- Embarrassment
- Enthusiasm
- Excited/Elated
- Fear
- Frustration
- Guilt
- Happiness/Joy
- Hatred
- Haughty/Smug/Superior
- Hopeful
- Humble/Meek/Shy
- Impatience
- Indifference
- Indignation
- Jealousy
- Love & Attraction
- Overwelmed
- Powerless/Defeated
- Relief
- Reluctance
- Resentful/Sullen
- Resigned
- Sadness/Grief
- Satisfaction
- Shame
- Shock/Surprise
- Somber
- Stubbornness
- Sympathy/Empathy
- Uncertainty/Unconvinced
- Unease
- Wariness
- Worry
- Wounded/Hurt
- Addendum: Defensive
- Addendum: Desire
- Addendum: Doubt
- Addendum: Energetic
- Addendum: Exhaustion
- Addendum: Fatigue
- Addendum: Hunger
- Addendum: Loneliness
- Addendum: Pain (physical/emotional)
- Addendum: Sarcasm/Verbal Disrespect
Happy writing!
~~*~~
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spacefreighters Lounge Resource Week
Resources. As writers, we’d be lost without them. Whether writing about future worlds or far-off planets, social issues or wars right here at home, resources are an invaluable tool for making the pages come alive with authenticity and suspension of disbelief.
This week on Spacefreighters Lounge, we’ll be listing some of our favorite resources and why we found them useful.
We hope you’ll spy some rare finds in the list that might be just what you’ve been looking for.
This week on Spacefreighters Lounge, we’ll be listing some of our favorite resources and why we found them useful.
We hope you’ll spy some rare finds in the list that might be just what you’ve been looking for.
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