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Stupidly Slow Reading
Because the Writers Are So Good… And they keep pulling me into the stories, forcing me to enjoy them and read all the way to the end. (grin) In case you are wondering what that is all about, on some of the writers in the Great Challenge, I am stupidly behind in my reading. Way, way behind, but the writers who have been working on the challenge for a time, are getting darned good, pulling me into stories. So it is taking time and I am enjoying it and I have to move from the computer every thirty minutes for my eye, so taking even longer. But I will get…
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New Videos In Shared World Class
Plus the First Assignment… There will be numbers of assignments and stories to write over the months of this Shared World class. Going to be great fun, so any of you in the class, make sure you find time in the next few days to take a look. The assignment isn’t due until the 15th, but it will take some time to do correctly. And for those of you thinking about taking the class, I will shut it down on the 8th of December. Held it open longer than I had planned because a few people asked. So if interested, don’t delay and miss it. I will have new videos…
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Reviews and the Art of Avoiding Them
My Advice: Never Read A Review… I should stop right there. But I had a person yesterday ask me a couple of questions on how to get restarted once the critical voice took over. Good questions and I was willing to help. So I asked a couple questions in return about what had stopped the writing and the fun in the first place. Seems the writer had a new book out, the writer was writing the next book in the series, and turns out reviews were consumed by this writer. Consumed is the word that describes what the writer said. I asked what kind of reviews. Great reviews. Oh, no….…
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Some Misc Stuff
I Got a Couple of Questions About Why… … I was cut off the marathon course at mile 11 instead of later on. Simple math is the answer. I had reached the 11 mile turn at 2 hours and 10 minutes. Now I had on my planned-out schedule that was about the latest I could hit that point and I was wrong by a few minutes. It was too late. Actually, I wanted to hit it under two hours. Here is the thinking… I did 11 miles, while fresh, in 2 hours and 10 minutes. That means if I was lucky, I was going to do the next 11 miles…
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Wow, Am I Behind
With Just About Everything… But I am now back and focused. However, I did spend the day doing a lot of recovery from the run yesterday. Two naps, some groaning while standing up, no real walking any distance. I walked/ran 17.4 miles yesterday by my Fitbit calculations. Upped my weekly average some. (grin) So those of you who have stories in that I have not read, expect them to come pouring your way this week. And through the weekend. I can only read so much at one sitting on a computer because of my eye. And I will be also getting the December workshops up and available. And the code…
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If You Want To Watch My Talk
It Seems It Has Been Posted to YouTube… Kris’s talk is not there yet that we could find, but a friend sent me the link to my 45 minute talk for the 20Books Conference. Seems being under the bright lights had a reason. So if you want to actually spend 45 minutes watching or listening to it, here it is. It is about attitude and those nine points I posted yesterday. Start at the beginning. For some reason this link starts in the middle.
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A Book I Am Very Proud Of
The Idanha Hotel: A Thunder Mountain Novel Here is the blurb: 1902: Boise, Idaho. Megan Taber loves her job baking at the Idanha Hotel. Widowed young, she knows the rest of her life revolves around her baking. Carol Kogan, a doctor and researcher from the future, eats breakfast every morning at the Idanha Hotel just for Megan’s fresh breads. Until one fine May morning in 1902, when Carol meets Megan outside the hotel. Before they finish their conversation, Megan collapses from a massive heart attack. Carol knows saving Megan with 1902 medicine would prove impossible. But saving her with future medicine might prove even more dangerous—for both of them. A…
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Old Advice
Things In Publishing Change… So please, folks, if you are reading something I said, check the date on the post before quoting me. I have been writing about writing and the business since the old Genie Board days, and when I was editing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I wrote posts for writers. And the internet keeps it all it seems, somewhere. More millions of words and blogs and letters that I wrote than I can ever begin to count. Indie publishing came about in 2010 for me. Give or take. But for the first four years after that things were really changing, and so was I. So if I…
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Interesting Summary
A Writer Sent Me This Today… This writer was putting together a business plan and a way of approaching the writing business. And, of course, I liked it, since it is almost exactly what I teach, scattered across a lot of workshops and lectures. He said that he had boiled it down from an erotic writer’s nonfiction book very nicely. So I thought I would put his checklist here because I agree with it and add to it for clarity. — Learn and study basic story structure, then write into the dark. Understanding basic story structure is all the outline you need. — Don’t rewrite; do the best you can…
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Have Fun!
That Is What I Am Always Telling Writers… Having fun with the writing experience and publishing experience is the secret to being a long-term fiction writer. It really is that simple. But what is fun? So many writers think that when I say that, they have to be happy, smiling, laughing while they write. Well, some are. I am seldom that way, unless writing comedy, and then I am laughing at how silly and stupid what I am writing is. But mostly the fun I have is with the challenge of writing a story. And there is nothing consistent or straight-line about writing stories, especially if you write into the…