Tension!

For writers, tension is a must. How much is too much? Every chapter? Page? Sentence? See what information Jordon Rosenfeld shares with us in her webinar for CCWC.

 Check out this video!

What do you think? How much tension do you put in. Share your thoughts in the comments!

YOUR COMPUTER IS ABOUT TO CRASH! Not really, but...

Are you ready for your computer to crash? I wasn’t!

 

 

The hard drive didn’t crash, but the computer didn’t start. After multiple attempts at rebooting and letting windows try to fix the problem, it looked like all was lost. I tried using a recovery flash drive. Same thing—nothing. I usually do a backup of my important files at least once a week. I had edited the first three chapters of my WIP the day before the problem started, but I didn’t do a backup. In desperation, I was able to access the command prompt. I had forgotten most of the old DOS commands, but was able to see that the hard drive was working! I immediately did a backup of the document files to a flash drive.

So, the drive on my computer gets a lot of wear. Besides writing, I also dabble in photography and video editing. My drive has had a lot of use over the years. I have a new solid-state drive on the way which I will clone my existing drive to. I have also made a drive image just in case I have a major crash before I swap the drives.

Even if you back up your important files, make sure you are ready for a major catastrophe. If your drive crashes, not only will you need those files you have made copies of, you will have to reinstall all of your programs also. This can take forever. If you have a drive image, you can restore it to the new drive and everything will be back! Make sure you have a recovery flash drive too.

I got lucky this time…

 

Rejection or Blessing?

Rejection or Blessing?

Imagine you have been waiting for over six months to hear about a short story submission you sent to a children’s magazine. The market listing states they reply within four to six weeks. As the months pass, your hopes rise thinking your story has passed the first reader and has made it to the top editor. 

One day you check your email.

“RE: Your Story.”

Excitement builds as you open the mail and read.

Dear Author,

We appreciate the opportunity to…. Rejected. Rejection. Rejection….

Oh well. It’s not your first, nor will it be your last, unless you stop writing.

It’s not my first or last either. I was bummed out for a couple of days. I knew it would take time to find another magazine to submit to, and because of other projects I have going, (a novel and a chapter book series idea), I thought about shelving it for a while. Then it hit me. The characters and premise could be a chapter book series.

If the story had been accepted, I would not have the chance to bring these characters to life in their own series! Now it’s time to brainstorm, outline, plot, and give new life to my story.

This latest rejection was a blessing.

How do you handle rejection?

Writer News! Special Report!

(Writer’s minds, Everywhere) --Writer’s News! Today is like so many other days. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of darlings are being slaughtered worldwide. Tears sometimes fill the eyes of the creators as they knowingly, and purposely, Kill their Darlings!

Some writers have hopes that they will be reincarnated in a future story. Some hit the delete key and they are gone forever only to return as a ghost whispering to them at a later date when the creator may wish he or she had saved the text.

What a strange bunch of creators writer folks are. They save a cat or pet a dog then they get the main character up a tree and throw rocks at her! Not just once, but usually at least three times! Most folks would throw rocks at the dog, not the most important person in their world.

Why am I writing this? I write this because I am doing another pass at a work in progress and have been trying to get the strength to off one of my biggest darlings in the whole book. Can I do it? I have to. Readers will never have the chance to read the words that I worked so hard on getting just right. My main character is not up a tree; let’s just say he is kind of in a hole. Not a comfy, dry, sandy hole. It’s wet, muddy, and cold. And dark. It’s what happens next I have to deal with. I’ll need more rocks.

So if you get the feeling that somewhere, far, far away, millions of voices are crying out and are suddenly silenced, you know what is happening. Writers are working.

Now What?

Now what?

Okay, I’ve written a book.

Revised.

Received critiques form other writers and editors.

Revised and polished.

Written a query. Written a synopsis. Subbed to agents and received a couple of great and positive  comments.

Polished more.

My wife and I own and run a magic shop. One method in magic is known as ‘the one ahead method’. This is where the magician is always one step ahead of the audience by knowing something they don’t know that the magician knows. I try to apply that to my writing too by planning ahead while working on the task at hand. Though I know the next step is a long way off because I have to get my book published first, I am researching marketing.

*Building a platform.
*Learning to find followers.
*Planning a book launch.
*Blog tours.
*Email lists.
*SWAG and all the fun stuff.

What are your tips and suggestions? What books or web sites do you recommend? Chime in with your favorite advice.