Paperback Writer

Revisions Ten

2012-01-30T00:00:00.095-05:00

Ten Things to Do While Working on Requested Revisions
(dedicated to me and Raine and every other writer out there working on revisions this week.)

Avoid e-mailing your friends who work as editors and asking them things like "Do you all belong to one big crazy club, or what?"

Don't answer comments or queries until you are feeling calm, cooperative and understanding, or the chocolate-covered Valium finally kicks in; whichever comes first.

Follow the directions on your writer's revision towel.

Invoke the Writer's Revision Serenity Prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept the things my editor wants to change; the courage to change at least 75% of the things that I want to STET; and the wisdom not to mouth off about any of it.

Print out an extra copy of your editor's revisions request letter and (just for your own amusement) edit it. Go on, you know you want to.

Realize that you're in good company.

Remember while on the phone discussing revisions with your editor that you have the right to remain silent, and why.

Remove all firearms, lethal doses of drugs, ropes, sharp objects and telephones from arm's reach of your computer desk.

Repeat your revisions mantra: OMigod. OMigod. OMigod.

When all else fails, remind yourself of how lucky you are, because while you have to deal with 1 editor, your editor probably has to deal with at least 26 yous.

Winners

2012-01-29T01:18:00.001-05:00

You guys mentioned some very intriguing methods and sources of inspiration for the All the Answers giveaway; I'm definitely going to test-drive a few of them the next time I need to try something new.

We got the magic hat revved up, and the winners are:

Emily, who uses the 'open a book to a random spot' method

terlee, who has been inspired by the names from paint chip cards, a one-line lyric in a song, and conversations overheard while out and about

Deb Salisbury, who plotted an entire novel using a Tarot deck

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com, and I'll get these cards & books out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Outfit the Author

2012-01-28T08:51:00.000-05:00

A couple of you (you know who you are) have asked about the writer's revision towel I showed Raine in comments over at the Chicas.

Here's the towel (click to see larger image):

It's not bath towel-size (how would you get that in your mouth?); it's 7.5" X 11.5". It actually works nicely as a dusting cloth, with or without the spit.

If you want your own or one for a friend, you can order it online here at Author Outfitters. They have lots of neat products for writers, and can even customize them for you with your images or cover art. I love their mugs, which are a great size, immaculately printed and perfect when you need a gift for a writer or editor friend.

Domain Explained

2012-01-28T00:00:00.062-05:00

Meet Stanley. Stanley is a gopher tortoise. Stanley has been hanging around my yard for about a month now, and sleeping in strange spots, so I'm pretty sure he's homeless.

Meet George. George lives in this burrow on my property, which has been his exclusive domain for seven years.

Now anyone want to guess why Stanley has been hanging around my yard?

Yes, it appears that Stanley would like to move into George's burrow. I can't ask him why, but I'll guess he wants it because it's roomy, well-established and in a great location. No doubt Stanley also realizes that moving into George's burrow will allow him to munch on all the nice greens in my yard and keep him from becoming tortoise tartar for the local predators.

George, however, does not want to give Stanley his burrow. I also can't ask George why, but I'll wager he feels that finding the spot first, digging the burrow himself and living in it for the last seven years gives him the right to call it his.

George doesn't actually own his burrow; he just dug it out and lives in it. He's protective of it, though, and has had to defend it a couple of times. The people who used to own this property before we bought it didn't like George, and according to neighbors they "filled in" the burrow once when George was out grazing in hopes of getting rid of him. Aside from this being heartless and illegal (gopher tortoises are an endangered species, and you have to have a permit even just to relocate them) the burrows can be up to thirty feet long and twelve feet deep; they probably only filled in the entry foyer. A couple of times we've noticed other critters like black racer snakes, owls and foxes have tried to evict George, too, but with no luck.

But let's consider this dilemma from Stanley's point of view. Since George doesn't really own the burrow, why doesn't he simply give it to Stanley? After all, Stanley is homeless, and he really wants it, and it is perfect for him. Of course giving up the burrow would make George homeless, but really, George has been around practically forever, and has all that experience with finding and digging and defending that Stanley doesn't. It would be nothing for old George to go somewhere else and start over, right?

The point of this story: when you two-legged Stanleys out there e-mail me and tell me all about you, and your plans for making a home for yourself online, and then mention how absolutely perfect the name Paperback Writer is for the weblog you want to start, and then beg me to do things like give you my URL, change the name of my blog, and/or go find another place to write?

From now on I'm going to refer you to George.

Video

2012-01-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

This entry into a digital diary contest in Italy won Matthew Brown the grand prize. Watch it and you'll see why (for those of you at work, this is narrated, also contains background music.)

Dreaming It{aly} from Matthew Brown (Matty Brown) on Vimeo.

All the Answers

2012-01-26T00:00:00.009-05:00

You never know what gems you'll find in your book store's discounted stock sections. At my local BAM they always have a pretty decent selection of mini boxed kits, usually discounted up to 75%. Rummage through these and you might find anything from Paris in a box to a little Zen garden for your desk.

I like to play with cards, so whenever I see a card deck of any kind it grabs my attention. Since I also have lots of questions, I definitely couldn't resist The Answer Deck, created and designed by Nicholas Zann.

The Answer Deck is a kind of alternative Tarot, with 73 illustrated divination cards that use concept words like Abundance, Challenge, Greed, Power, Truth, etc. Mixed among these are random characters (The Master, Dark Haired Woman, Friend, Hidden Enemy) and a few nouns (Battle, Journey, The Lesson.) The cards are all beautifully illustrated with graphic black and white images representing the corresponding words. According to the mini instruction booklet you ask a question, draw cards from the deck, arrange them on the included paper mat, and then interpret an answer* based on the layout and how they relate to each other (also briefly explained in the booklet.)

I paperclipped my mat to a piece of cardboard to keep it flat before I dealt a few layouts and ran some questions by it, and the answers were certainly entertaining. I'm either going to take over the world, become rich beyond my wildest dreams, or finally find the egg slicer my guy put away and subsequently forgot where he put it. If the fates are listening, I'd really like the egg slicer back now ((and click on any of the following images to view a larger version):

The really interesting thing about these cards for me was how well they might work as creative prompts. Simply shuffle the deck, deal out a couple of cards, and see what ideas they spark, which you can jot down like this:

Woman of the World - Scandal

Immediate thoughts: How do you take down a woman of the world? Scandal certainly does an excellent job, but if she is a woman of the world, why didn't she see it coming? Or maybe she became a woman of the world because of a scandal in her past, or she intends to cause one.

The Fool - Talent

Immediate thoughts: Talent and wisdom rarely go hand-in-hand. One is random, the other has to be earned (usually the hard way.) I also recalled something from a baseball documentary about a very talented player who still had to be actively discouraged from chasing after firetrucks.

Add more cards to what you deal out, and you can see story patterns beginning to emerge:

Faith - Clarity - Change - Fair/Gray Haired Man

Immediate thoughts: What we believe can change in an instant. One is never so adamantly confirmed in their beliefs as the moment just before they're ripped apart. Like believing you're done with love, and your life is so much better lived alone, and then that fair-haired guy with the amazing voice and gorgeous green eyes smiles at you . . . . well, we'll save the rest of that for the autobiography. You get the general idea.

I had such a blast playing with these cards that I went back and bought three more decks for a giveaway. If you'd like a chance to win one, in comments to this post tell us about an unconventional source of inspiration you've tried (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Saturday, January 28, 2012. I'll choose three names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners The Answer Deck and a signed copy of my Kyndred novel Nightshine. This giveaway is open to anyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

*Please note that as with most mass-produced divination tools The Answer Deck is intended for entertainment purposes only.

Digging for Story

2012-01-25T00:00:00.016-05:00

The January/February issue of Archaeology magazine features among other way cool stuff the top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2011. These include:

- A Viking boat burial found in western Scotland

- An untouched burial chamber in Guatemala that may be the tomb of a rare female ruler from the second or third century AD

- An ancient Roman ludus (gladiator school) in Austria that is being digitally reconstructed

-- A bronze vessel unearthed in Xinjiang, China found to contain the world's oldest soup, with millet noodles still intact after 2,400 years

There are articles about researchers finding evidence off the coast of Sicily of why Rome won the war at sea it waged with Carthage (bronze battering rams fitted to the prows of their ships); interesting theories about what fulachtaí fia, mysterious burnt mounds in Ireland, were used for; and the rush by scholars at the University of Chicago to create digital images of tens of thousands of clay tablets unearthed in Iran in 1930 before some ongoing and very complicated legal battles result in the sale of the tablets or their return to the Iranian government.

All of these real-life discoveries, theories and issues make terrific reading, but they also provide innumerable opportunities for storytellers. Reading about such marvelous finds always invokes a sense of wonder in me. Who is that Viking, and why is he buried in Scotland? How did a female end up ruling a male-dominated culture? What subjects did they teach at gladiator school? Were they really eating Ramen noodles as far back as 2,400 years ago?

Archaeological discoveries are always a goldmine for the historical fiction writer, but they offer a lot for a modern-day story as well. Imagine a university intern rushing to scan those embattled ancient Persian tablets, and in the process he accidentally drops one. It breaks open and . . . what happens next? Does he find something concealed inside the clay? Does it release some kind of ancient Persian demon? What if just arranging the tablets in a certain pattern can open a doorway to another time, another world, another reality? Maybe the legal disputes over the tablets is a ruse, or a way to disguise the real battle (and if you're a political thriller writer, I'm sure you can run with that all the way to Tehran.)

Antiquity attracts me as a storyteller not just for the evidence of it that archaeologists discover, but for all the details we'll likely never know. Ireland's burnt mounds, which date back to the Bronze Age, may have been used for cooking, bathing, brewing alcohol or dyeing textiles -- some activity that involved heat intense enough to crack stone. Since there is no general consensus among the scholars, the purpose of the mounds is up for grabs (from the way they're described, they sound to me like some kind of ancient kilns.)

Even small details from real life discoveries can enrich your fiction. On page 14 of this issue is a little sidebar with an image of a gold and sapphire medieval ring and a brief explanation of why sapphires in the medieval period were primarily worn by royalty, nobility and important members of the clergy. Wearing sapphires was (and still is) supposed to bring clear thinking, enlightenment and good luck. One of my characters from the new Darkyn trilogy definitely needs all three, so now by reading this I've learned something I can use in that book.

I love this magazine, but there are also plenty of resources on the web where you can go virtually digging for story for free:

UK's Antiquity offers some free articles from their archives to read on their web site (scroll down to the bottom left for the editor's choice.)

Exploring Ancient World Cultures takes you on a virtual reading trip around the world by way of the distant past.

Run searches on specific eras and topics you're interesting in researching, and you'll find sites like Friends of the Hunley, a group dedicated to educating people about the recovery, conservation, and exhibition of a Civil War-era combat submarine.

LiveScience -- at the moment the history section is running an interesting piece here on a strange ancient Roman "winged" stone stucture found in England.

Why do civilizations collapse, anyway? Here's an interactive web site set up by Annenberg Learner to answer your questions.

Scarab Outlining

2012-01-24T00:00:00.148-05:00

Last night, after rescuing a ladybug trapped on the porch -- yes, I occasionally do insect search and rescue -- I got an idea for a quick way to outline a scene or story. I then went in search of my ancient Egyptian coloring book (what, you expected Dora the Explorer?) and found what I wanted:

This is a scarab, a symbol inspired by a common black beetle (Scarabeus sacer) which was held in high regard by the Egyptians. To them the scarab represented the sun god Khepera (also known as Kheper, Khephri and a couple other names) who represented renewal and eternity; both very important themes in their culture.

For our purposes this elegant creature is going to help prepare a micro-outline for writing, and to do that I'm going to borrow the letters from its name: SCARAB.

Each letter of its name represents an idea prompt to help you think about what you need to know in order to write your story:

Situation: Here's your main premise. What is it?
Characters: Decide on your cast. Who is involved?
Action: These are the main events. What happens?
Reason: Determine the motivating factor. Why does it happen?
Ambiance: The type of story this is. What's the mood, theme or genre?
Building: The world of your story. Where/when does it happen?

Be brief when you answer these questions, as you don't want to write a synopsis. This is a very basic outline, the sort of thing you'd scribble down in a pocket notebook. I have a story I'm writing based on my story card prompt for January, so I'll use that as an example:

Situation: a lady delivering flowers is trapped inside a haunted house and must befriend (the thing?) haunting it in order to survive.
Characters: the lady, her business partner, the thing.
Action: lady delivers flowers to haunted house, is trapped inside by homicidal business partner, discovers the thing. The thing protects the lady in exchange for her promise to stay. The lady discovers the thing's real motives, must choose to escape or stay/risk her life to protect it (from business partner? Public discovery? Whatever made it a thing?)
Reason: the thing has been secretly watching the lady for some time, wants her for itself, and manipulated business partner into bringing her there.
Ambiance: dark fantasy, scary, erotic, ironic
Building: modern day northern California (rural, city?)

At this point you don't have to chisel in stone all the story details, either. As you can see I've included in my scarab micro-outline a couple of questions for myself; these are elements I haven't yet decided on, like exactly what the thing is, what the final threat is, and where the story takes place.

I think the scarab approach can help you nail down an idea for a scene as well as a full story, or even rough out the main premise for a novel. Adapt it to suit your needs. It may also prove easier to deal with for writers who would like to play with the basic framework but don't want to work out a lot of detail ahead of time.

Scarab image credit: Ancient Egyptian Design Coloring Book by Ed Sibbett, Jr., ISBN# 048623746X, published by Dover Publications

Outline Ten

2012-01-23T00:00:00.026-05:00

Ten Things to Help Outline Your Novel

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

The Lite version of Action Outline "consists of an Explorer-like interface where you can store and arrange all your information in a tree outline form. Arrange items using your keyboard or mouse, cut and paste branches, place checks or tags next to listed items, search information, print data, export to the external file, or link to web or local files" (OS: Windows 2000, 2003, 2008, XP, Vista and Windows 7.)

Essential PIM is a "personal information manager that allows you to keep all your information in electronic form. All your appointments, tasks, notes, contacts, password entries and email messages are stored in a graphical user interface and easily accessible form. Automatically import your data from pretty much any PIM software that just isn't working for you. Synchronize with popular online services such as Google Calendar and Contacts, Yahoo Contacts, SyncML and CalDAV servers and more, always keeping your data up-to-date and accessible anywhere, anytime" (OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7)

The Guide "evolved from the need to have an application that could organize information and ideas in a hierarchical, tree-like structure. Tree-based structures are frequently employed to manage information through a "divide-and-conquer" approach, wherein each level of the tree represents a further level of specialization of the parent-level topic — the best example of this being a book. The Guide is an application that allows you create documents ("guides") which inherently have a tree (which you can modify as you please) and text associated with each node of the tree. The text itself is of the rich-text variety, and the editor allows you to modify the style and formatting of the text (fonts, bold, italics etc). For the initiated, the Guide is a two-pane extrinsic outliner. This concept is similar to mindmapping in some ways" (OS: Designer notes: "The Guide is available as an installable package for Microsoft Windows 2000 and upwards (XP, 2003, 2008, Vista). The binaries are also available as a zip file that requires no installation and supports portable use. The Guide is a 32-bit native C++ Win32 application (that uses MFC). It will work on 64-bit platforms also.")

MemPad "is a plain text outliner and note taking program with a structured index. All pages are stored in a single file. User interface available in 15 languages. The program offers standard editing functions including cut, copy, paste, undo, date/time insert, drag&drop, and supports Web links as well as network and local file or folder links (full path not required) and internal page links. Environmental variables can be used in file links to run programs, for example" (OS: Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7)

Mind Raider is a "personal notebook and outliner. It aims to connect the tradition of outline editors with emerging technologies. MindRaider mission is to help you in organization of your knowledge and associated web, local and realworld resources in a way that enables quick navigation, concise representation and inferencing" (OS: Windows, Linux and Mac)

The Note & Do free plugin for MS Office applications (Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and Word) allows you to: "Drag and drop text from the documents to instantly create notes or tasks; Drag task or note text directly into your document; Categorize notes and tasks with color; Auto arrange the notes; Remove all notes at once; Pin a note to all applications or just the ones you choose; Create application-specific tasks; Complete and re-enable tasks (OS:Windows 7 (x86, x64), Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista (x86, x64), Windows 2003, Windows XP. .NET Framework 2.0 must be installed.)

NotesLogExp "can store, retrieve, catalog, manage, search, sort and export notes, documents, links, etc. The program can save and automatically fill forms as well as usernames and passwords (with auto login). The program includes a search tool, the database is password protected, and includes export to HTML" (OS: Windows 98, Vista, 7)

Text Tree was built on Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake outlining method, and "is designed make structured, understandable documents easily and quickly. Text Tree has been found useful for story writing, FAQ creation, novel planning, manual writing, software support, biographies, and lesson planning. What really sets Text Tree apart from other outliners is its export abilities. In other outliners, you make a outline of everything, then you have to cut and paste or go node by node to get your information out. Text Tree allows you to quickly export all or part of the information in your outline" (OS: Windows XP with Java installed)

Tkoutline is "a single pane, cross-platform outline editor written in Tcl/Tk. With this editor, information can be structured hierarchically in an outline and outlines can be hyperlinked together to create a web of outlines" (OS: Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP)

TreeLine is "a structured information storage program. Some would call TreeLine an Outliner, others would call it a PIM. Basically, it just stores almost any kind of information. A tree structure makes it easy to keep things organized. And each node in the tree can contain several fields, forming a mini-database. The output format for each node can be defined, and the output can be shown on the screen, printed, or exported to html (OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, Linux)

Winner

2012-01-22T00:10:00.000-05:00

Series writers are rejoicing all over NetPubLand, thanks to the many wonderful series mentions for 6-1/2 Weeks giveaway. Makes me pretty freaking happy, too. I love reading great series and there were plenty listed that I haven't sampled yet.

We put the magic hat in action, and the winner is:

B.C. Matthews, who hands out to friends "Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Naomi Novik's Temeraire series (dragons + dragonriding + Napoleonic era = awesome), Jeff Sommer's Avery Cates series (dystopia + explosions + attitude = awesome), and Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series (tea cozies + werewolves + Victorian era = awesome)"

B.C., when you have a chance please send your ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get this book + surprise out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Depression, Despair and Do Nothing

2012-01-21T00:00:00.024-05:00

After a fairly wretched day online I unplug and escape to the porch to do a nightly meditation. I do this because the alternative is to hide under the bed, and that always annoys the cat, who considers it his exclusive domain.

"Second time today, huh?" Depression observes as she plops down next to me. "Is that my favorite color I smell?"

"She's not feeling blue," Despair moans from under the table. "She's too white-lipped. It was that calendar thing. Or maybe the chocolate thing. Or that completely stupid thing. I just don't know. Nor do I care. It's all good to me."

"You mean bad," Do Nothing chimes in as he slithers out from under a stack of unread e-mails. "It's all bad, every bit of it. And -- in case anyone forgot -- she can't do anything about any of it. Not even joke."

"I am calm," I lie out loud. "I am centered. My problems are lotus petals, and I'm peeling them away, one by one."

"Speaking of flowers." Depression peers out at the rose garden. "I think that last bad freeze actually killed that ugly rose bush. You know, the one you love to hate?"

"Cranky," I correct her. "Cranky rose bush. I am centered. My petals are peeling away, like Presidential GOP candidates."

"Cranky, ugly, BFD." Depression sighs. "Such a shame, though. I'd hoped it would torment you for at least another couple years. But no, it's gone. Forever, Bu-bye, pretty flowers that lasted a whole week and smelled so nice."

Do Nothing nods. "That's what you get for listening to me."

"My petals are floating away along with my problems," I snarl. "I am centered. I am calm."

"No blossom will ever smell as sweet again. Oh, woe." Despair curls a cold hand around my shoulders. "Is you."

As the lotus in my imagination grows five times larger, acquires razor-sharp teeth and grins at me, I imagine a beautiful garden. It's filled with cranky rose bushes that are only half-dead and three cages suspended over a pool of piranha-infested water.

"How are we going to plant anything this Spring, with three books in production and that other deadline?" Depression ponders out loud. "And there's no room in the yard for a fish pond. I thought you hated artificial fish . . . " her pallid face pales just a little more. "Hey, now wait a second."

Do Nothing shakes his head. "She'll never do it."

"But what if she tries?" Despair despairs. "I've been busting my ass lately here, but all that art and writing every day is really starting to wear me down. If she were to push me away, I mean, really hard like she does in the mornings . . ."

"Oh, like you should be the one to complain," Depression snarls. "I had to put up with all those Christmas CDs during the holidays. Do you have any idea what it's like listening to her sing the twelve days of Christmas? Twelve times a day? Ten drummers are still drumming in my ears."

Despair sniffs. "Well, someone obviously dropped the ball."

They both eye Do Nothing, who shrugs. "What can I say? If nothing happens, my work is done."

"Okay." I stand up. "I need to do some digging. Which one of the neighbors has a back hoe?" I look at Depression, whose jaw drops before she quickly fades away. "Well?" I ask Despair, who gulps. "Which one?"

"You'd always regret it," she whispers in a tiny voice. "At least, I think you would. It's not like -- I've tried so hard to -- but we've been together for so long."

"You won't do it." Do Nothing sits back and folds his hands behind his scrawny neck, which I grab and use to hurl him off the porch. "Okay, that hurt."

"They don't sell piranha at any of the local exotic fish stores, you know," Despair whimpers.

I nod. "I'll get them off eBay."

"Oh." She begins to shrivel. "But will you really have time for that? I mean, you still have the calendar thing, and the chocolate thing, and that really stupid thing." Her voice ends in a squeak as she turns into a mouse and scurries away.

Satisfaction appears, a big burly biker dude who always laughs from his belly. He cuffs my shoulder. "Nice going, kid."

6-1/2 Weeks

2012-01-20T00:00:00.203-05:00

Since wrapping up the StarDoc series back in 2010, more folks around the biz than I can count have let me know that they were a silent, unknown part of my readership. The mentions range from You should write more SF to God, I loved those books. Often the way they tell me (usually a quick aside in an e-mail or during a phone chat) seems like a confession of bad behavior, like we're discussing something that has to be whispered so as not to be overheard by others.

In a strange way it reminds me of that weird interval following a bad divorce. After it's all over, people you know who have never once commented on the situation begin confiding how happy they are that you're free of the jerk, or the many reasons why they disliked your ex, or even how they knew he was cheating on you but never said anything because they didn't want to hurt your feelings. It's nice that they want you to know, but . . . why tell you now?

It's also difficult to know how to react to these confessions. Of course I say thank you, and I am grateful (who wouldn't be?), but for me personally it's history. This is because for the readers StarDoc came to an end in August of 2010, but for me it happened in 2007, when I discussed wrapping up the series here. While back then I still had a couple of books under contract to write, I knew I was heading down the same road as I had with the first five books, and I couldn't put my readership through that again.

It's been five years since I made that very difficult decision, and while I will always love StarDoc and the readers who kept me writing the series, I've moved on.

Now that I'm returning to writing Darkyn novels, I do wonder at times if history might repeat itself. For the second time in my career I've revived a series that my publisher killed but that the readers wanted me to keep writing. I have three new Darkyn novels under contract, and if these do well, I can certainly write more after this trilogy concludes. Since this has been my bestselling series to date, and readers have been very vocal about wanting more books, I think I have a fairly decent shot.

That said, I can't take anything for granted. While how well the new trilogy does is 99% dependent on things beyond my control, I know I can make more of an effort to do what I can for the series and its readership. So this time around I'm trying to approach the problem differently. Primarily I'm focused on selling all the books that share a storyline under one contract; this should keep me from getting entangled in a series that I may or may not be able to end. I think this works better for the readers, too, as from what I've observed most of them don't seem interested in following lengthy series any more.

I'm also getting more involved and taking some new directions with promotion and marketing for this trilogy. That's been more painful -- I'm always going to be better at writing than self-promoting -- and I don't know if it will actually make a difference. I figure if nothing else I'll learn from it.

Nightborn will be hitting the shelves on March 6th, and as part of my do-more effort I'm also trying to make myself more available. So: if you have a weblog and would like to interview me, get some info about the book, or have me write a guest post for you, and you can post that between now and March 6th, please e-mail me at LynnViehl@aol.com to let me know. I have a few ARCs of Nightborn left that I can offer as giveaways (not many, so this will be first come first served) or signed copies of my other Darkyn novels. In late February I should have the final edition author copies of Nightborn if you'd prefer those as prizes.

If you were one of the readers or a reviewer who got a Nightborn ARC (either from me or my publisher), and you have the time and inclination to post a review on your site or at one of the online booksellers' pages before the book is released, that would also be great, and much appreciated.

I'm also going to put one last signed Nightborn ARC up for grabs here, so if you'd like a chance at winning it, in comments to this post name a novel series that you wish other people would read (or if you can't think of any, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Saturday, January 21, 2012. I will choose one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner a signed ARC of Nightborn along with a surprise (and no, I won't tell you what that is, but my surprises are always good ones.) This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Scrabbling Ideas

2012-01-19T00:45:00.001-05:00

I've been playing Scrabble® since they tried to teach me how to spell in elementary school, and after chess it's my favorite board game. It's an excellent way to spend an unplugged evening with the kids. We regularly have Scrabble® nights here at Casa PBW, and (when I can get a couple of teams together) the occasional Scrabble home tournament. Last weekend Mom and I paired up and kicked everyone's butt all over the board.

I also have an electronic version of the game that allows me to play against the computer. A game takes about ten minutes to play by computer so it's the perfect mini-break past time. I usually win about half the games I play up to the expert level, at which point I always lose, but I do try to be graceful about it. Plus one of these days I am going to beat it; I just have to figure out how to make a word out of Q, J, K, X and three Is (I swear, the expert mode always sticks me with the worst letters.)

A Scrabble® game can be used for other things, too. Tonight while I was playing against the computer these were the first three words that landed on the board:

I arranged the words in my head -- Lost City Loot/Loot Lost City/City Lost Loot -- and realized I had three different basic premises for a story: Someone finds treasure from a lost city; a lost city is discovered (and looted); a city loses its treasure. While I probably won't get story ideas from every game I play, from now on I think I'm going to be paying more attention to what lands on the board.

At the moment I'm putting together a trilogy proposal, and I needed six names for the protagonists. My usual methods weren't producing much, so on a whim I took out my hands-on Scrabble® board (Diamond edition, naturally) and started playing with the tiles. I had the first four names I needed in a couple of minutes, and after switching out tiles for a while I hit on the last two. I even got a bonus in the process; the name of the character who brings the final two protagonists together.

Although the limited number of letter tiles can seem restrictive, I find it's actually a good thing. I think in some cases too many choices can be overwhelming. I had to do some creative thinking while I was working with the letters versus using as many as I wanted, and that helped me focus on what was important. If you want more letters, you can make your own from squares of cardboard, or pick up an extra game from a thrift store just for the tiles.

Other ways you can use a Scrabble® board:

Set up keywords and rearrange them to find new ideas for titles, settings and other named story elements.

Work with the tiles to coin words for world-building purposes.

Sort out the names in your story by first letter and eliminate sound-alike given names (this prevents your cast from sounding like a new branch of the Duggar family.)

Have you ever used a Scrabble® board to work out something with writing? Are there any other ways you can think of using one to help? Let us know in comments.

Please Don't Break the Internet

2012-01-18T00:00:00.022-05:00

I'm not a group-joiner, but I despise censorship, so to show my support for those fighting to protect the internet and our freedom of speech, here's a video to watch:

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Winners

2012-01-17T00:28:00.000-05:00

The magic hat has handed me the winners of the Bright and Shadow giveaway, and they are:

Tami in Jacksonville, whose favorite magical world is Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms

fionaphoenix, who digs Kim Harrison's The Hollows series

Ellen, who likes both Patricia Briggs' and Ilona Andrews' worlds

Stephen B. Bagley, who wouldn't mind visiting Discworld (brave guy)

Jessica, who picks Karen Moning's Fever series

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your books out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in

Mac Ten

2012-01-16T00:00:00.067-05:00

Ten Things for the Mac Freeware Lovers

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

The free lite version (or possibly a free trial download; my links are not jiving with each other) of Art Text is "a powerful tool. Create compelling text for your advertisements, brochures, letterheads, newsletters and more. Spice up these documents by designing decorative graphics that are sure to impress others. If you're creating a website for a business or your personal needs, Art Text has all of the tools you need. The 250 editable materials and 600 supplied vector icons and shapes will give you a quick start to getting your site up and running, or create your own web graphics effortlessly with the help of multiple layers. A logo often creates a strong association with your business in the minds of customers. You want your logo to make a statement. Design your company's logo right in Art Text and make it unique by taking advantage of 100 additional fonts (Extras Pack only) and the large library of shapes included in the program" (OS:Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, Intel only. Mac OS X 10.7 Lion compatible.)

Calendar is an app "for those would want to put a calendar directly into their menu bar, allowing for easy access. It provides a quick look at today’s date, and one click brings up the calendar, and a schedule sidebar. Switching between months and years is handled quickly" (OS: Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later)

Dropbox is "a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. This means that any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website. Dropbox also makes it super easy to share with others, whether you’re a student or professional, parent or grandparent. Even if you accidentally spill a latte on your laptop, have no fear! You can relax knowing that Dropbox always has you covered, and none of your stuff will ever be lost" (OS: Mac, Windows, Linux and various mobile devices)

Growly Notes "lets you capture everything you’re interested in, all in one place. Organize research projects, trips, to-do lists, or journals. Scrapbook your images, web links, and video clips. Your imagination is the only limitation. Pages can contain almost anything: formatted text, images, movies, audio clips, PDF files, tables, lists, web and file links, and drawings you create in Notes. There are no rules for where things have to go: put an image beside text or under it. Draw shapes on top of other notes. Put two snippets of text right next to each other. Click anywhere and start typing. It’s really that simple. Notebooks are organized into sections (the larger tabs on the left in the image above), each of which contains as many pages as you like. All the open notebooks are shown in one window, for easy navigation and quick jumps" (OS: Mac)

Jet Photo Studio 5 is "a feature-rich and easy-to-use digital photography software. Features: Organizes photos in albums; Manage photos with the calendar and map; Geotag photos with GPS; Create Flash and Web galleries; Publish web albums with JetPhoto Server. New version 5 can also manage video clips and make Flash or web galleries contains videos" (OS: Mac OS X 10.3 / 10.4 / 10.5 / 10.6 / 10.7; this one also has a Windows version for Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7)

MovingPhotos3D is "a visualization that lets you see your photo library in a new way. It sends your photos flying around the screen in 3D. You can see hundreds of pictures move into different patterns and shapes" (OS:Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later)

Scene Painter is a Mac freeware "for those who are looking to tell a story using a graphics component library as its source. You can create comics with this tool, or create other various pieces of art. You can get in depth with the program, utilizing advanced tactics or keep it simple" (OS: Mac, Jave version 1.6)

smallQWERTY is a free "keyboard app. You can input the following functions in groups of 4x5 buttons with left clicks, some of which in groups of 3x3 buttons with left or right clicks: 1. Letters (with standard ABC and efficient smallQWERTY layouts) 2. Numbers (1 ~ 0) 3. Symbols (all the symbols in standard keyboard) 4. Cursor keys (Left, Right, Up, Down, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down) 5. Function keys (F1 ~ F12) 6. Common File menus (New, Open, Save, Close, Hide, Minimize, Quit, ...) 7. Common Edit menus (Cut, Copy, Paste, Duplicate, Undo, Redo, Find, ...) 8. More menus (Folder creation, Preferences, Spotlight, Trash, ...) 9. Useful commands (Navigation, Screen capture, Media control, ...) 10. System commands (Monitor, Log off, Restart, Shutdown, Sleep) 11. Desktop commands (Mission control, Dashboard, Launchpad, App/window switcher, ...) 12. All the individual keys of standard keyboard 13. Modifiers (Command, Shift, Option/Alt, Control) 14. Custom app launcher. More functions in 3x3 keyboard interface are coming soon" (OS: Mac OS X 10.6 or later)

Speakline is a "simple language tool allows users to type a message onto the notepad and have their Mac read it back. The app supports the Mac system voices. Speakline will save the text, and can be exported as a AIFF file" (OS: Mac OS X 10.6 or later)

Wunderlist is a task manager that "stands apart from other like it, for being on the cloud. This free app will help you to boost productivity, and will work across a wide variety of devices, including: Macs, Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android, and on the web. You can share you lists with friends and co-workers to maximize efficiency when trying to get things done" (OS: Mac OS X, also Windows, Linux and various mobile devices)

Invasion from Above

2012-01-15T00:00:00.003-05:00

For your viewing pleasure: watch an alien invasion of Earth in this superbly animated video (some background music but otherwise safe for those of you at work):

Operation White Widow (2011) from Jmtm00 on Vimeo.

Originally spotted over at Kuriositas.

Collecting Characters

2012-01-14T00:00:00.020-05:00

At the market the other day I was fortunate enough to get in line behind an elderly woman using an electric cart. She had a corona of curly white hair, wore a lovely floral blouse that matched her lilac trousers, and from her size had to be six feet tall or better standing.

I zoomed in on the details about her that interested me most: large hands laced with ecru age spots; on the left she sported a thin gold wedding band and modest diamond engagement ring that still sparkled. An old, chunky man's wristwatch (her husband's?) with big, easy-to-read numbers hung a little loose from her wrist. She gave off an aura of genteel perfume that I couldn't identify but reminded me of the Chantilly my mom likes to wear.

She had a full cart of groceries (I noted a gorgeous eggplant, three containers of fresh strawberries, and a gallon fat free milk.) As the clerk bagged everything for her in brown paper she gave direction on what was to be bagged together. She also listened and nodded as the cashier gave her an easy shortcut recipe for eggplant Parmesan, and then told her a funny cooking mishap story involving turkey gravy and peanut butter.

The lady had a strong, deep voice with a beautiful northeastern accent, maybe New Hampshire, and laughed out loud at herself several times with a big woman's booming, hearty laugh. Each time she did it tickled me, inviting me to laugh along (but I kept quiet so she wouldn't realize how closely I was eavesdropping.)

At some point during their exchange my order was also rung up, but the cashier and I had to wait as the lady's bags were loaded up in another cart. I paid in cash instead of using my card so I wouldn't have to ask the lady to move (her wheels were actually blocking my access to the card machine). All this took about ten minutes.

As soon as the lady left the cashier immediately apologized for making me wait, and I told her not to worry about it. "She's ninety-three," the cashier confided, shaking her head. She wasn't complaining, she was smiling.

So was I. Standing by that lady had been a privilege for me, not an inconvenience. It was like being in the presence of royalty; I was completely dazzled. Even as I write this a day later, I can still recall perfectly the sound of her laugh and the smell of her perfume. I also have no doubt a version of this magnificent creature will show up in one of my novels.

Observing strangers contributes most to my character collection. A chance encounter, like the one I had at the market, allows me to gather just enough information to start my imagination rolling. I need a little mystery to jump start the storytelling, and not knowing the name of the lady at the market, or where she lives, or any of her personal history gives me the room I need to invent. Finding out one small detail, like the fact she was born in 1919, gave me just enough to build on.

Imagine what this woman might have seen in her lifetime: the Great Depression, WWII, all those presidents, so much history. Was she a USO girl, or maybe a Rosie the Riveter? I bet she was. Does that old watch belong to the same guy who gave her those rings, or did it belong to her dad, her brother, a long-lost love? To still be shopping for herself -- and laughing -- at the age of ninety-three speaks of who she is at the very heart: strong, determined, dignified, joyous.

Every time you go out in the world, you have an opportunity to collect story elements from real life. People are walking characterization treasuries, and if you pay attention, you can borrow some of that personality gold and reinvest it in your fictional cast.

Bright and Shadow

2012-01-13T00:00:00.064-05:00

There are few events more exciting for a writer than the official release day of your first book, and that day has arrived for our blogpal L.J. Cohen with the debut of her YA novel The Between.

Here's how the story starts: at school, no one notices Lydia Hawthorne except Clive Barrow, a gorgeous new boy who is fawned over by everyone but her. Even more puzzling, Clive won't leave Lydia alone; he follows her everywhere -- and he always seems to know exactly where she'll be at any given moment.

Lydia does her best to dodge Clive, but he shows up on her bus on Friday afternoon to make some weird references to the characters from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights' Dream. Only this isn't a classroom exercise; Clive speaks of Oberon as if he were a real, living King. As cute as he is, it's obvious to Lydia that Clive is more than a little weird; he might be serious trouble.

Just as Lydia has had enough of his creepy stalker craziness, a lightning storm and an enormous dark force envelope the bus, and Clive drags her from her world through a window of rainbows into a place he calls Between. There he tells Lydia that she is a changeling, a trueborn Fae whom Oberon, King of the Bright court, exchanged with a dying mortal infant. The magic protecting her has been gradually wearing thin, and now that it's about to collapse, she has to walk away from her mortal life and return to the Fae. Worse, the King wants Lydia back for his own reasons -- and apparently so does his nemesis, Queen Tatiana of the Shadow court.

In a sense L.J. Cohen is the reader's Clive; without warning she steals us away from the real world and transports us to the beautiful and dangerous realms of the Fae. Like Lydia, we're quickly caught up in the labyrinthine personalities and politics of the Faerie courts, where nothing is what it seems. As the story unfolds, we see past the surface spectacle to the explosive secrets lurking beneath, and along with Lydia uncover each one to determine if the wrongs of the past can be set to rights -- or if the world of the Fae is doomed to war, destruction and extinction.

I've always been very selective about the fantasy I read because I generally don't care for magic books. Too often fictional magic systems are illogical, implausible, and regularly employed without any consequences at all. In bad magic books the spells are piled on in every scene, the same way makeup is trowelled on by certain women who believe it fools everyone into thinking they're younger and more attractive when it's simply sad and clownish.

This isn't the case with The Between. L.J. Cohen's classic-based magic system suits the world-building and the characters, makes sense and doesn't smother the story with a lot of unnecessary spell gunk. I think L.J.'s skill with using the magic elements (as well as handling the Shakespearean world-building) comes from her poet side. I kept seeing that lyrical influence throughout the story, too; from the rhythms of the dialogue and the action to the descriptive passages.

Also, this is a YA novel, and I'm fairly conservative about what I consider age- and subject matter-appropriate fiction for teenagers. After reading L.J.'s book I'd feel comfortable handing it out to teens of any age. Parents of kids twelve and under might want to prescreen the novel as there are a few scenes with some moderately nightmarish and violent content that I thought might be frightening to kids who are especially sensitive.

I really appreciate the many formats the author chose to use for publication. Via Smashwords I was able to purchase a .pdf copy, download it and print it out, and then I discovered I could get print copies from Amazon.com as well. I don't own an e-reader, and due to vision problems I can't read for long periods of time from a computer screen. For those reasons when an author goes strictly electronic and doesn't enable a printing option I don't buy their book. No print version makes it difficult for me to have giveaways, too. I have given away e-books in the past, but with some e-publishers this can get pretty convoluted so print is just more convenient. L.J. gave me all the options I wanted at mulptiple retailers, and it made me wish every indie author would do such a great job with distribution.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, and I think you will, too -- but as always, you don't have to take my word for it. In comments to this post, name your favorite magical novel world or author (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Monday, January 16, 2012. I'll choose five names at random from everyone who participates, and send the winners a trade paperback copy of The Between by L.J. Cohen. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Winner

2012-01-12T00:15:00.006-05:00

We got the magic hat to do its thing, and the winner of the Mistake Me For giveaway is:

Sherry

Sherry, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your prize out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Wordle Scribing

2012-01-11T00:00:00.094-05:00

Whenever I want to creatively juggle words and phrases I go straight to my favorite online toy, Wordle, which creates word clouds out of any text or URL you feed to it. Among other things I regularly use it to coin words, create story titles, and play with character profiles.

This time I went to Wordle with a less well-defined task on hand: pulling together some concept sketches. For me concepts often begin as simply a handful of words, images or feelings I want to stir together and see how they blend. Wordle helps with the stirring and the mixing.

I decided to tackle defining the concepts better by taking four defining/descriptive keywords, pulling a bunch of synonyms for them from the thesaurus and feeding the entire pile to Wordle to see what it made of them. If nothing else I figured I might get a few title ideas out of the exercise (and click on any of the following images to get a bigger view of the cloud.)

Concept #1: green, evening, ghost, sorrow

Several phrases overlapped and ended up being repeated, and as I read them I could see some new connections I hadn't made. Wordle's pairings of Winter demon, sunset vision and witching night also helped me further refine the concept. This cloud definitely sent me in the right direction.

Concept #2: desire, steal, time, secret

Not many phrases overlapped in this cloud, and at first glance it seemed, well, overly wordy. But once I gave it a few minutes I began focusing on individual words that seemed to jump out at me: underground, ransom, thieve, clouded, hunger and longing. Together they gave me the protagonist, who will be the hub of this concept.

Concept #3: heart, jewel, bright, fire

Again, not a lot of overlap, but probably the best results of all three attempts. Inspired by great pairings like white luster, twinkling cross, burning charm and individual words like solitaire, aglow and incandescent I found my plot and both protagonists as well as one possible setting.

If you want to try this method for your story concept, my advice is to use descriptive words that relate in some way to your story rather than stringently define it. Think mood instead of details. It also helps to employ keywords that are synonym-friendly, and do use plenty of synonyms, as the more you feed to Wordle, the more diversity you'll get in return.

Mistake Me For

2012-01-10T00:00:00.135-05:00

For some reason I am often the victim of mistaken authorial identity. Being confused with other writers gives me the opportunity to live vicariously for a few hours, though, so it's not all bad.

Like when some strange folks decided that author Stephen Leigh and I were the same person (that one even had a hilariously idiotic web site devoted to it for a while.) I was quite flattered, because I mean who wouldn't want to be Stephen Leigh? He teaches writing at university, plays in three bands and studies Aikido. He has a great beard, too. Truth is I'd love to be a scholarly musician author professor who can genuinely kick your ass. And while I'm still not sure how anyone could build an entire conspiracy theory based solely on the fact that Stephen and I use the same first two initials (S.L.), it was a nice thrill while it lasted.

Since this is evidently going to be a regular thing with me, I think I should get to pick the next author I'm mistaken for. It's my turn, isn't it? That way I can spend an afternoon or a week or even a couple of months not being me while I'm being someone else I'm not. I could dress up, make people call me by names I've never used -- I think there are still a couple left -- and quite possibly write stories I'd never write.

With this in mind, here are some suggestions for the next time someone decides to make me a writer I've never been:

Jane Austen: I know, she's moved on to the next place, but maybe we could work a reincarnation theory or something. Of course I'd need this to go on long enough for me to write a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, bury the appropriately fake-aged manuscript somewhere in England, and leave clues so people know where to dig it up.

Jude Devereaux: With this identity I'll need a sample of her handwriting so I can sign some of her books for my mom, who adores everything she writes. She doesn't have a hard signature to fake, does she?

Thomas Harris: The beard isn't as nice as Stephen's, but we'll pretend I shaved it off. Actually I'd just like five minutes access to his brain so I can find out why he ended Hannibal the way he did.

Barry Hughart: so I could rummage through his files and see if there's a follow-up anywhere to Eight Skilled Gentlemen (the third book in his Bridge of Birds saga). Please note that I wouldn't steal it, I'd simply read it while I hid under his desk.

Jan Karon: Have you ever see her office? It's like Oprah's, only better. Plus she's believably blonde and makes helmet hair look elegant.

Stephen King: idle curiosity for the most part; I'd like to know how it feels to be the only living writer who is actually less photogenic than I am.

Shiloh Walker: because she can run and I can't, she does way better on her diet than I do, and I secretly suspect she's tireless.

I have a signed ARC of Nightborn to give away today, so if you're interested in a chance of winning it, in comments to this post name an author you'd like to be mistaken for, and why (or if you'd rather keep your own identity, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. I'll choose one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner a signed ARC of Nightborn, my upcoming March release and the first novel in my new Lords of the Darkyn trilogy. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won someone here at PBW in the past.

Sub Ops Ten

2012-01-09T00:00:00.065-05:00

Carina Press Senior Editor Angela James issued an open call for novel submissions last month, and is looking for ". . . an author who has a contemporary romance trilogy or series planned. Any heat level considered! I’m specifically looking for contemporary romance novels (over 70k) but will consider a novella series (for novellas, even better if they’re erotic, but not necessary)." Also: "A new paranormal romance (or urban fantasy w/romantic elements) series. The good news for you is that I’ll consider all manner of paranormal, including vampires, shifters, etc. I’m not wore out on paranormal, so hit me with your A-game, even if it’s a vampire series! Again, any heat level considered." Also: "A very, very hot erotic romance series. Smokin’ hot. Any subgenre, any length. Can be BDSM or m/m. Just looking for smokin’ hot erotic romance (not erotica, please)." She also notes: "So the trend here is that I’m looking for an author/authors I can build within a series in these particular genres. I’m not looking for standalone novels or novellas for this particular submissions call for myself (though Carina Press is always willing to and does acquire standalones)." No deadline mentioned, but as she mentions acquiring for Fall 2012 I wouldn't wait forever to submit. Carina pays royalties with no advance; I don't have the latest figures but they're decent. See blog post for more details.

SF author David Conyers has an open call for his Extreme Planets Antho, and is looking for "short stories set on or about alien worlds that push the limits of what we believe is possible in a planetary environment. These could be planets with gravities many times that of the Earth or orbiting neutron stars so their oceans are elongated into egg shapes. Carbon worlds or diamond worlds, iron worlds, or planets with extremely elliptical orbits. Worlds made of exotic elements or with bizarre atmospheres. Planets were time and space behaves strangely or against the laws of physics. Even artificially created worlds can find a home in this anthology, either transformed by bizarre technology or the creation of alien civilisations. Mostly, we hope you dazzle us with worlds we haven’t even thought about." Length: 4-10K (established authors, up to 20K; query first), Payment: "US 3 cents a word and 3 contributor copies" No reprints (may make exception for pro/established authors; again query first), electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: June 30, 2012.

Fantastique Unfettered quarterly print & e-zine will be accepting submissions for their fifth issue during February & March 2012, and is looking for most sub-genre speculative fiction. Length: Ralan notes: ¾k-9k (prefers 4k-5k; >6k=masterpiece); Payment: fic=1¢/word; poem=3¢/word ($5min/$10max); +PDF copy. Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. See a sample of the e-zine online here.

Flash Fiction Online e-zine is open to submissions, and is looking for: "science fiction and fantasy, but we also like literary fiction; and in any case, great flash stories aren’t always easily classified. If you wrote it, and you love it, then submit it. Second-person point of view has a hard time running our gauntlet. Some of us like it, some don’t. You can submit it, but the odds of publication are lower than first- or third-person. We want our publication to be accessible to a variety of ages, so please, no erotica, porn, or graphic sex or violence. Think Law and Order: Special Victims Unit or Criminal Minds on TV: they handle horrific situations, but always obliquely enough to be shown on TV — and for the most part, you never notice that the graphic elements aren’t shown. But sex is also a part of life: if your story addresses sexual issues or contains non-graphic sexual content for a purpose, nobody on the editorial staff will be offended if you send it in. The worst we can do is say “no”, right? In the same way, we won’t publish profanity. However, you don’t need to remove profanity to submit to us; just be prepared to modify it if we accept the story. There are things that we’ll consider, but that are a hard sell for us. These include: Second-person point-of-view (does the story really need that perspective?), queer fiction (in particular, stories which would be obvious or trite if the characters had been straight), polemical fiction (we prefer stories with messages in them over messages told as stories). That said, we won’t rule out any of these, so the worst case is that we say “no”. Length: .5 to 1k; Payment $50.00, no reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.

Flashquake e-zine is seeking "complete works, stories, essays and poems that demonstrate a mastery of the English language, contain original thoughts, demonstrate imagination, and weave their magic with power. We don’t appreciate romance stories, nor work with excessive gore or violence, “goth” vampire tales, hard-core science fiction, rhyming poetry, or works of a religious nature. FQ has a long tradition of publishing: Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words); Flash Nonfiction—Essays, Memoir, Stories, Etc (up to 1,000 words) Poetry (up to 35 lines); Prose Poetry (up to 300 words) FQ also seeks to publish (From the Editor’s Desk section): 10 Minute Plays; Haibun (up to 1,000 words); Other forms which could be considered flash (up to 1,000 words); Book Reviews, esp. as they pertain to the flash reader and/or flash writer, including poetry (up to 1,000 words); Author Interviews, especially as they pertain to the flash reader and/or flash writer, including poetry (up to 1,000 words). In addition, FQ has a special affinity for: Translations, esp. those in which audio and/or video can be obtained from both the original language and the English version." Payment: .pdf and exposure. No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Current reading period: January 1 - February 20, 2012.

Innsmouth Free Press has an open call for their Fungi antho, and are looking for "dark speculative fiction (horror, fantasy, science fiction, and any other variant, such as steampunk) focused solely on the fungal. No happy mushrooms from Mario Bros. A fungus of some type must be a key element in the story, not just a throwaway element. A character can attempt to poison someone with a mushroom, mushroom cultivation may be of importance to the story, the dark patch of mould on the ceiling may begin to terrify an unhappy tenant, a group of people may consume hallucinogenic mushrooms, etc. We are looking for a variety of settings and protagonists. Mushrooms sprout around the world, after all." [And just when I stopped writing about the Lok-Teel, too. Rats.] Length: up to 5K, Payment: "1 cent per word for original stories; Reprints paid at a flat rate of $35. Canadian dollars, eh. One complimentary print copy and one e-book copy provided." Reprints okay, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details. Reading period opens January 15, 2012; Deadline February 15, 2012.

Heads up for Canadian publishers and published authors: Imaginarium, the best Canadian speculative writing has a call for submissions: "Publishers are invited to submit their anthologies or short story collections to editors Halli Villegas and Sandra Kasturi in hard copy or by PDF. If the work is from a collection or anthology, it must have appeared there for the first time. Reprints published within the last year are not eligible. Individual authors, if they wish, are also invited to submit work that may have appeared in a low print run or other obscure place if it was published in the preceding year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) and compensation was received for it. We will also accept submissions from Canadian authors writing in another language, but they must have a publishable English translation along with the original." No Length limit, Payment: CA1¢/word. Reprints only, electronic and snail mail submission, see announcement for more details. Deadline: January 31, 2012.

Journalstone is holding a horror novel contest: "Our first one turned out so well we decided to do it again, and again, and again. . . If you are interested please submit your 75,000 words or more manuscript/novel to joel@journalstone.com on or before April 1, 2012, and you will be entered. The winner will receive a $2,000 advance against future royalties and have his/her novel published by JournalStone. Grammar counts, have it edited before you submit your entry." See guidelines for more details.

Science Fiction Trails magazine features "stories with science fiction content that are set in the Wild West era. Stories must take place on earth during the time period 1850-1900 AD. All stories should have a strong connection to the western region of the United States [this can include western Canada or northern Mexico]." and are looking for "... character driven adventure. Take the time to develop interesting characters. We want science, but we want characters, too. A few things we like are The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr and the short-lived Legend TV shows, Aaron Larson’s Haakon Jones stories or our editor’s Miles O’Malley stories. Not all of these shows or stories had SF content, but many did. The point is, they were fun to watch or read with interesting characters. It would be worth your time to ask your library to get some of them for you. A few things that don’t really work are aliens in some mine or cave for some inexplicable reason or some clod goes back in time and doesn’t really belong there. Time travel is discouraged because it's an easy crutch for the writer to use and it rarely leads to an entertaining story.
Things we'd really like to see: an alchemy tale; something with flying machines. Please do not submit stories about copyrighted characters you did not create. We liked Jim West and Artamus Gordon, but they are someone else’s creation and we won’t use them." Length: 1-7k; Payment: $20.00 + contributor's copy, query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Stonetelling e-zine is looking for "literary speculative poems with a strong emotional core. We focus on fantasy, science fiction, surrealism, and slipstream, but would consider outstanding science poetry and non-speculative poetry that fits the flavor of the magazine. Please note that we are not a mainstream literary poetry market, and non-speculative poetry will be an extremely hard sell. While we are open to all speculative poetry, we are especially interested in seeing work that is multi-cultural and boundary-crossing, work that deals with othering and Others, work that considers race, gender, sexuality, identity, and disability issues in nontrivial and evocative ways. We’d love to see multilingual poetry, though that can sometimes be tricky. Try us! There are no style limitations, but rhymed poetry will be a hard sell. Please try us with visual poetry, prose poetry, and other genre-bending forms. We will consider experimental poetry, but please remember that not all experimental poems are easy to represent in an e-zine format." Length: no limits; Payment: $5.00; query on reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details. Open to submission through February 20, 2012.

Changed by Books

2012-01-08T00:00:00.037-05:00

Author Kris Reisz is looking for some opinions on a project he's contemplating -- and I'll quote here -- "I want to start a website where people can send in anecdotes about books, stories, poems, etc. that helped them somehow, whether they gave them the courage to ask the pretty girl out or maybe served as an escape during a rough patch in their lives."

Since this is the kind of thing you guys tell me in comments during giveaways here at PBW, I thought I'd ask if you'd head over to his LJ to read the post and (if you're inclined) offer him some thoughts on the subject.

I've never found a site devoted to this kind of content, so I think the idea is very cool. I imagine keeping out the marketing people, trolls and self-promo sluts would be something of a challenge, and it would probably have to be closely moderated to boot out the trolls looking to pick fights, but even so, I think it's a lovely concept.

Story Prompt Cards

2012-01-07T00:00:00.002-05:00

I never run short of story ideas, but for writing prompts I usually depend on music, poetry, art or anything random to strike me and start the gears turning. My habit is to wait for it to come to me, and I've always viewed this as a necessary evil, as my interest needs to be seriously engaged by concept before I dive in to investing my writing in it.

To change my habits and step outside my comfort zone, I decide to challenge myself to write some short stories based on a preset collection of prompts. I still wanted a random element involved (mainly to prevent myself from deliberately or subconsciously picking out easy or story-sympathetic prompts), so for that I went to my jar of fortune cookie fortunes -- yes, I save every one I get -- and pulled out twenty slips at random.

To prevent misplacing or losing my 2011 theme fortune, I made it into an artist trading card, something I'm using as my annual art project for this year (more on that at the photoblog here.) I decided to do the same thing with these fortunes and make them into an ATC series. I've named the cards my story prompt deck, and my goal is to pick at least one card at random every month and use it to inspire a short piece of fiction.

It's good writing practice; it's definitely different for me and I'm hoping to get at least one novel idea out of the exercise. The real creative room is in the interpretation of the prompt while (hopefully) remaining faithful to it. I'm not giving myself any limits on length, genre or time period -- during my busy months, I may only be able to write a couple hundred words -- but I do want to tell a complete story for each prompt.

Some of the fortunes are a bit odd, and I don't agree with a couple of them, so I've also given myself permission to flip, twist, and otherwise put my own spin on them. Such as the Fearless courage is the foundation of victory card; I don't buy that at all. The truly fearless don't need courage; they operate on self-assurance, certainty, narcissism or whatever drives their confidence. In my experience the courageous are generally terrified souls, but somehow endure it, plow through it and persist in spite of it. Courage doesn't even exist until you acknowledge that the odds are against you and no matter what you do you're probably going to fail. Fearless people are by their nature incapable of feeling anything like that. When I pull this card I have no doubt I'll write a story that turns it on its head.

If you'd like to create a deck of your own story prompt cards, you don't have to eat Chinese take-out from now until March. Try clipping interesting words and phrases from magazines, newspapers or other printed materials, or gathering some interesting images (faces, objects, landscapes or any other story element would work well.) Write or print out some lyrics to your favorite poems or songs and snip some lines from them, or feed them to Wordle and see what pops up in the cloud. If you'd like less obvious prompting, collect some paint chip cards from your local home improvement store, pick a color at random and use the color name or the color itself in some way in your story.

Related links:

Big Huge Lab's photo trading card generator can help you design and print out some very cool-looking cards.

Creative Writing Prompts.com has 346 story prompts here to help spark ideas; hover your cursor over each number to read them.

Seventh Sanctum has an entire page of writing generators here that range from silly to seriously neat.

A Year in a Life

2012-01-06T00:00:00.005-05:00

goodbye 2011 from dunkwun on Vimeo.

Bound for Adventure

2012-01-05T00:00:00.017-05:00

One of the gifts I received over the holidays was a copy of Adventures in Bookbinding by Jeannine Stein, published by Quarry Books. The author, a veteran book artist, offers ten mixed-media projects (each with two variations) that push the boundaries of bookbinding by combining traditional techniques with handcrafting that is generally not used to make books.

The projects are clearly explained and are accompanied by several helpful reference photos; all of them are in color. The back of the book contains templates, patterns and resources, and it looks like all the stitching involved is clearly illustrated. Beautiful photos of the completed projects are also included in each section to give the finished look. Quarry obviously does not skimp on production, and the end result is a lovely edition.

The extreme coolness of this artisan's book is in the diversity of the materials and projects. Ms. Stein doesn't confine herself to journals and paper. There are projects in here that include needle felting, weaving, doll making, clay sculpting, jewelry, metal work, painting quilting, crochet, lino-printing and decoupage, and go into creating sketchbooks, mini books, idea books, notebooks and work books. When I want to go on a creative adventure, this is the kind of variety I want.

That said, this is not a book for the total beginner or the casual hobbyist who wants to slap it together in less than an hour; most of the projects require a certain amount of time, materials and handcraft skills to accomplish. A basic bookbinding tool kit is a necessity (and the author explains this in the getting started section), but it's not difficult to put together an inexpensive one. Anyone with basic sewing skill could attempt the quilted workbook project, but the jewelry and metal pocket sketchbook would probably be pretty difficult for someone who has never before made jewelry. I was glad to see the author used a lot of recycled and on-hand materials throughout the book, and showed shortcut variations of each project that produce a similar look with less time and expense involved.

If you're seriously into book making, and want to extend your range or take your binding to the next level, this is a book you'll want to add to your instructional collection. Art journalers who are interested in creating unique mixed-media bindings should also check it out.

Reconstruction

2012-01-04T00:00:00.005-05:00

I'm in the process of testing a few template changes here and at PBWindow; if things turn a bit wonky it's probably because I clicked on the wrong option, and will correct it as soon as possible. I did switch the photoblog to one of Blogger's new template designs, and in the process lost my sidebar (or maybe I just haven't found it yet; not sure.)

Although I thought it would be good to try out some of the new looks, I'm still not inclined to extensively change PBW. I like it plain with plenty of room to write, and so far none of the new Blogger templates seem to offer that. I am having problems focusing on the text on PBW, so for the time being I've switched it to a font that is easier for me to read. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

While I'm tinkering on it, are there any changes to the blog's format that you'd like to see? Let me know in comments.

New Cover Art

2012-01-03T00:00:00.004-05:00

My German publisher continues to give me amazing artwork. Judging by the listing for the book I'm sure this edition is a translation of Twilight Fall, book six from the original series.

Yearly Ten

2012-01-02T00:00:00.041-05:00

Ten Things to Help You Schedule 2012

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Calendar Magic is "an easy-to-use program that is entertaining, informative, educational and of equal applicability in the home and in the office" (OS: Designer notes "Calendar Magic has been tested on Windows 95, 98, Me, XP, Vista (32-bit) and Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), and has also been reported to run without problems on other versions of Windows")

Calme is "made for creating and printing beautifully looking monthly planners, yearly planners and picture calendars in minutes. Creating individual calendars by choosing your own colors, picture themes, fonts, borders and your own personal photos is very easy. You can download holidays right out of the application and display them in your calendars. It is also possible to change your calendar language. Many languages from all over the world are available" (OS: Win 9x/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7)

Desktop Calendar is a "small calendar and event reminder that unobtrusively sits on your desktop and is ready to use any time. No taskbar button or system tray icon. The calendar is transparent so it's not an eyesore and consumes very little memory. Enter as many daily or regular reminders as you like. Float your mouse over a day to see all reminders for the day. Shows a short list of upcoming reminders below the calendar. Fonts, colours and tooltips are customisable so it blends in with your desktop colour and font schemes" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)

Easy Diary allows you to "write your memories or appointments with ease. Easy Diary saves your data only in your own computer and helps you keep them private. Features: multi-user supported; every single user unlocks his/her data by using his/her password; you can search your data; interface is customizable; backup import & export is provided" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)

My Diary is "reliable for storing everyday blogs or journals. Your diary is password protected, and blogs are encrypted using a simple yet powerful encryption algorithm to ensure that your journals are secured. myDiary automatically saves as you type so you don´t have to worry about saving. It´s very simple and easy to use - enter your password, pick a date, start typing. It´s that easy!" (OS: Win 98/NT/XP/Vista/Windows 7, Linux, designer notes it also requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.)

The free Lite version of Rainlendar is "a customizable calendar that displays the current month, events, and reminders. It is a very lightweight application that doesn´t use much system resources or take much space on your desktop" (OS: Windows XP/2003/Vista/7)

SSuite Office My Calendar Diary Portable is a portable calendar and diary for people on the go (OS: all Windows and USB devices)

There's an interesting concept behind Stay Focused freeware: "If you would like to concentrate on your daily stuff, Stayfocused is your choice. The idea of Stayfocused is based on The Pomodoro Technique®. The root of the idea is that you work for 25 minutes straight and then break for 5 minutes" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)

UK's Kalendar is "a MS Windows program intended to remind you of upcoming events and todos. There are several views for your dates that are organized similar to a calendar sheet. Dates and appointments can be entered into the calendar via an input form. You can enter a forewarn time, so as long as "UK´s Kalender" is running in the background you´ll be reminded of your dates as soon as the forewarn time is reached. Independent from the calendar function there is also a todo list where you can enter tasks with a deadline and a forewarn time. If the forewarn time is reached, "UK´s Kalender" will inform you of the due tasks with symbols and colors" (OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7)

The free Lite version of VueMinder Calendar is a "calendar and reminder program for Windows. It supports multiple calendars displayed simultaneously in layers. These can be viewed and printed by day, week, or month. They can also be visually distinguished using unlimited combinations of fonts, background colors, and gradient styles. It also integrates a semitransparent calendar into your Windows desktop, so you´ll always be able to see your upcoming events" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)

While I prefer my paper calendars I'm still using some scheduling freeware: RedNotebook for writing schedules, deadlines, editing task lists and so forth, and Chaos Manager for personal & family scheduling. I recommend both as useful, practical electronic schedule keepers.

Wishing You

2012-01-01T00:00:00.005-05:00

Best of PBW

2011-12-31T00:00:00.030-05:00

2011 altered my life in a lot of ways, so it was definitely a year of change. I said good-bye to my dad, which broke my heart, and saw the end of his many years of suffering, which helped me let him go. So did the many kindnesses shown to me by my family, friends and colleagues during those terrible weeks at the end of his life.

Professionally I gained a new editor who has been a dream to work with; I published my first YA novel, started writing a new series and ended another one. There have been some unexpected negative moments as well, mostly behind the scenes, and nothing I particular care to dwell on. I definitely bid farewell to the last illusions I had about the biz, but I also learned some valuable lessons, and I'm glad I did. I needed them.

I don't really like choosing the best book of the year anymore because I have so many great authors that I read, and I don't want to pick. I will say the most surprising novel I read this year was Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughhart, recommended here on PBW by Cloth Dragon. It was a completely delightful read from cover to cover. Which only goes to confirm my belief that we should all listen to our visitors and read what they're reading because so often they do recommend gems like this one.

Despite all the troubles I've dealt with over the last twelve month, I am looking forward to 2012. I see it as a chance for a personal renaissance, a time to set aside the old and get moving in new and different directions. I hope it's going to be a very creative year for all of us.

I've sifted through the archives and put together a list of what I think were this year's best posts on PBW:

January: Got ISSN?, Know Thy Hub, The Book Wubbie, 28th of Snowfall, Year of the Vulture.

February: Bad News, Worry and Death, Just. Not. Ready., Ten Signs That You May Be Writing a Literary McNovel, Writers Hospital.

March: Writer Math, If Manuscripts Were Lovers, You Know You're an Older Writer When . . ., Character Trading Cards.

April: Self-Publishing 911, Color Idea Cards, The Third and Seventh, Productive Task Listing

May: Writer Excuses for the Digital Self-Publishing Age, Promo No-No Ten, Apocalypse Not Now, Taking Shelter

June: Name Clouds, Facebookless, Novel Series Outlining, Butterfly People

July: Ten Things I Hate About Your World-Building, Reinventing the Bookmark Idea #3, Hunting Metaphors, Characters R Us

August: Green Journal, Character Keywords

September: Peace, Symbols and Words

October: You Are My Fire, Color Reference Notebook, NaNoWriMo Prep I: The Mountain, NaNoWriPrep II: Stand-Out Characters

November: SPAMcam, Ten Things Women Do Only in Novels, NaNoWriMo: Writing Your Dragons, Google Street View Weirdness

December: Ten Things I Would Like for Christmas, The Holiday TBR, Baggage

Adieu, 2011. Hiya, 2012.

Outside the Lines

2011-12-30T00:00:00.032-05:00

For me the year of change is almost over, and I've been waiting for a new nudge from the universe to give me some creative direction for 2012. After I sold the steampunk novel I thought it might be the Year of New Ventures, but that didn't feel right (probably because I still have two books under contract from this year and last year to write.)

On Christmas night we decided to take a ride to see the lights, and then stopped for hot chocolate and a walk around town. It was one of those odd, completely spontaneous family outings that was filled with laughter and memories in the making; the kind of thing I cherish most. It was while we were out walking that I spotted a decorative sign with a saying that I've probably seen a million times: Color Outside the Lines.

First it made me reminisce. When I was a kid, I rarely colored inside the lines. I drew extra stuff on my coloring book characters: superhero capes, braids, jewelry, background scenes, and anything else I could think of to fill up the void of the empty page. I also wrote captions, made dialogue balloons and signed everything (because that's what real artists do.)

I've always enjoyed thinking outside the box, too, because there's enough room there to be different and experiment and discover new ideas. I think I've gotten away from it recently because I've been more focused on productivity and organization, which are just as valuable but shouldn't hog all your brain power.

For example, one of the most exciting things I did in 2011 was to try and reinvent the bookmark. That one little project was such a simple thing, and lots of fun. At the same, it was very challenging to some up with something that hadn't already been done. What I learned from that I've carried over into a dozen other creative projects, including my writing. I don't do enough of that anymore, and I want to. I want to move past what's expected and accepted and what everyone else does.

I'm not afraid to work in the void; I like having the space to do what I want. I'm also not afraid to mess up; every success has a foundation of dozens of mistakes. The universe knows this, which is probably why I got this particular nudge. It's time for me to climb out of the box, step over the lines and see what I can do.

When I saw the sign in the shop window, I was wondering just how I was going to tackle this, and got another nudge when I read this other sign sitting next to it. I think I already have the Be Obnoxious part down, but I can definitely use the rest as additional inspiration.

So my New Year's resolution is to make 2012 the year I color outside the lines. It's a bit scary, and I have no idea what will happen, but I trust the universe as a creative navigator. Truth is, I can't wait to get started.

What are your plans for 2012? What do you hope to accomplish? Let us know in comments.

E- to Print

2011-12-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

I came across this interesting bit of promo on an endcap when I was out shopping at the brick-and-mortar B&N:

I wondered why the flyer was made of cardstock-weight paper, and then saw the preforation line. The end of the flyer can be torn off to use as a bookmark (with helpful bullet reminders of the release dates for each installment.) To tempt buyers who have already read the e-book versions, which I assume were the self-published works that made the author a sensation, there's also the promise of "all-new bonus stories" in each volume.

This is one of those odd marketing experiments in Publishing that I like to observe. I think in certain ways the publisher and the author are thinking outside the box, and it should be interesting to see what happens on the shelf. This could even turn out to be a unique alternative to the traditional submissions process: self-pub first, start earning income, and once you've racked up enough numbers to prove you're marketable use them to negotiate a print contract.

Also, for those of you with a BAM in your area, this week calendars and planners are 50% off; and I think they'll be even cheaper after the new year. I went ahead and got my 2012 fix:

Winner

2011-12-28T00:00:00.019-05:00

I'm glad I didn't have to judge the On the Eve ornament-naming contest; too many great entries for this one. My daughter also had a very tough time choosing one, but in the end went with this because she thought it was funny and fitting:

Sock of Christmas Past

That means clairecherven, you're the winner! When you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your prize out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

On the Road

2011-12-27T00:00:00.001-05:00

I'm back on the road again today, but while I'm gone, here's a stunning video on skiers and snowboarders by Dendrite Studios (for those of you back to work, also contains some cool background music):

Parallels - A Short Film from Dendrite Studios on Vimeo.

Holiday Ten

2011-12-26T00:00:00.003-05:00

Ten Things I Did on Christmas Day

Asked everyone to go out with me to see the lights around town, and everyone shocked me by saying yes. This then went from a casual drive to a hot chocolate pit stop to a delightful walk around town.

Ate two very small pieces of butter fudge and then successfully resisted sweets for the rest of the day. Considering how many cookies and how much chocolate is in this house right now, I deserve a medal for this.

Discovered what will be my motto for next year. More on that later this week.

Got lovely BAM giftcard joy from the love of my life.

Held a vote earlier this week and decided to go with an utterly non-traditional backyard barbecue Christmas dinner. We loved every bite of it.

Played with the camera and photographed everyone and everything, including my new Christmas red-and-green cyclamen.

Read four of my random pick books; found one new-to-me author to add to my keeper shelves.

Received a pretty but wholly enigmatic gift from my mom and now must find a tactful way to ask her what the heck it is.

Tried Canadian maple syrup for the first time, and added another reason to my list of why I adore Canadians.

Went into raptures using my brand-new standing mixer; the other gift from the love of my life. Before anyone snipes about getting an appliance as a gift, I've wanted one of these just about forever but made do with cheap hand mixers because I felt guilty coveting something so serious and expensive. Not anymore, though. It's fabulous. Like a jet outboard motor for your cooking. Whips egg whites in under a minute, kneads bread dough, can make pasta, juice things, grind things . . . I may never willingly leaving the kitchen again.

So how were the holidays at your home? Get any surprises? Let us know in comments.

Wishing You

2011-12-25T00:00:00.006-05:00

On the Eve

2011-12-24T00:00:00.029-05:00

About an hour ago I finished revisions for one of my editors, which was the last writing job I had to do this year. My reward for hitting the final finish line is a movie (Cowboys and Aliens), a week of writing whatever I want (probably just posts for PBW) and as much rest and relaxation as I can manage during the holidays.

It's always a strange feeling to finish out the writing year. In 2011 I published three novels, sold four and wrote five. There have been years when I've done twice that much work, so it doesn't feel like a lot, but I've never worked through so many challenges and changes as I have during the last twelve months. I'm tired, and I definitely need a week off, but I'm also satisfied that I did my best even in the worst of times. And while I am my own harshest critic, that actually feels pretty good.

Now I am going to unplug for a few hours, get my kids and take them out to lunch. In the meantime, I have a contest challenge for you guys that involves this:

Meet the Sock Ornament of Doom, which my daughter made when she was in preschool. This stuffie has been hanging on our tree ever since she brought it home, and we love it so much that I think it's high time it got a new name.

If you have any ideas, in comments to this post, suggest a name (male, female or other is okay; just please keep it G-rated) for our ornament by midnight EST on Monday, December 26, 2011. My daughter will choose the name she likes best from all the entries, and I will send the winner a signed ARC of Nightborn, the first novel in my new Lords of the Darkyn trilogy. This contest is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something from PBW in the past.

Baggage

2011-12-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

After reading this Stylist.com article on cleaning out and organizing your purse, I was shocked by how heavy the purses in the slide show were. On average, the editors who contributed photos of their baggage and its contents were lugging around over six pounds of stuff. No way could I do that.

Then I thought, just what am I lugging around, and how much does it weigh? Since I own only one purse (an ordinary black shoulder bag I bought about a year ago, when the only purse I owned at the time, a seven-year-old ordinary black shoulder bag, finally blew out a side panel) I thought I'd empty it out and inspect what I can't live without on a daily basis:

Camera in case -- I have learned to carry it with me everywhere or I miss the best shots.

Wallet -- actually a clutch; the only thing large enough to accommodate all my fake IDs.

Keys -- to three vehicles, four houses, two lock boxes, a friend's Harley (don't ask), a couple of ICBM remote launch consoles and the Bat Cave's emergency entrance.

Scissors -- because I can't use the annoyingly tiny ones in the sewing kit.

Sunglasses in Case -- prescription; gotta wear them whenever I step foot outside.

Sewing Kit -- for hemline, seam line, suture and quilt emergencies. Also I think the little zebra purse design is cute.

Flash Drive -- in case someone breaks into my house and steals the computer and all my backups while I'm shopping. It could happen.

Mobile Phone in case -- disposable drug-dealer pay-as-you-go phone, costs me a hundred bucks a year, only makes phone calls, and pisses off everyone who pays a hundred bucks a month for their hi-tech toy phones.

Checkbook -- in case the credit card machine fails. Also has the pen I carry tucked in the cover.

Small bottle of lotion -- for my hands; they get chapped in the winter.

Tissues -- so I don't have to use my sleeve and because I won't carry a cloth hankie like my Mom.

Wet wipes -- something I constantly use for like a million purposes; I've even used them to clean dead bugs off a windshield when the wiper fluid ran out. I'd carry a box of them if I could fit it in my purse.

Beauty-engraved rock -- to remind me what to look for while I'm out and about.

Chapstick -- the only thing I put on my face besides glasses

Missing: the paperback book I was carrying, which I lent to a friend today, so I need a new one.

I put all the stuff back in my purse and weighed it, expecting it only to be a couple of pounds, and was shocked to see that it came in at 4.7 lbs. Since I always carry around a book in my purse, that would take it over 5 pounds. I had no idea it was that heavy. No wonder I walk tilted to the left.

I think my final goal for 2011 is going to be reducing the amount of junk I carry in my purse by half. Won't be easy, but it will probably help get rid of some of the neck and back pain I get after shopping expeditions.

Ladies, what do you carry around in your purse that you can't live without? Have you ever weighed your purse, and if not, how much baggage do you think you're carrying around? Let us know in comments.

Winner

2011-12-22T00:30:00.040-05:00

The Let It Snow giveaway was so much fun for me this past week (which as you can guess I really needed), and there were so many terrific entries and lovely thoughts I feel completely ready for Christmas now. You guys are better than Santa.

Now it's my turn to give back. Tonight we dropped all the names from every Let It Snow post into the magic hat, which just about split at the seams before it did its thing, and the winner is:

Christina, who wrote this comment about what books she's giving away for the holidays: I bought my boyfriend 5 books from the Barnes and Noble Leather bound Classic set. I also got my sister a B&N gift card so she can load up her Nook with whatever books she wants this year. I also did the B&N book donation to give to a child who is sick in the hospital for the holidays.

Christina, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get this tote full of goodies out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Let It Snow VII

2011-12-21T00:00:00.076-05:00

Over the last couple of months my left eye has been giving me some minor trouble. It itched, it burned, and even when it didn't do that it often felt gritty. These sensations would come and go, and I've had them before; it's usually due to my photo sensitivity or simple eye strain from reading too much or staring at the monitor too long. Sometimes my symptoms would clear up for a couple of days or even weeks, and then they'd come back. I really didn't pay any attention to them until three days ago, when I woke up in a significant amount of pain from what felt like a grain of sand in my eye.

I didn't panic. I irrigated it, inspected it, had my guy look in it, but we couldn't find any dirt or debris causing the pain, and nothing made the irritation go away. Every time I blinked, it hurt, and my eye turned red, and then I saw some swelling starting. It wasn't conjunctivitis; I've had that. It wasn't a sty, either. The only really suspicious thing I found was a tiny lump in the corner of my eye socket, about a quarter-inch from the spot where my eye surgeon removed a cancerous tumor two years ago.

I've always known there was a chance the cancer would come back, but I didn't want to know for sure this week. At least, not until after Christmas. So I walked around for three days in perpetual pain, with my eye swollen up and tearing and burning, and me looking and feeling like hell. This morning I simply couldn't take it anymore, and called the eye surgeon and got an emergency appointment.

I did my meditation before I went to the appointment, and got to the point where I could accept that I was going to get bad news. This lump would probably mean more painful surgery right away, and months of treatment, and maybe even losing my eye for good this time. I'd just get some meds to get me through the holidays and then deal with it. It sounds awful, but I felt pretty calm. I've been through worse and survived, and I was determined not to ruin Christmas for everyone else. But right before I left, I asked God if as a Christmas gift for me that he would just make it benign this time, and let me keep my eye. I didn't feel like that was too much to ask.

The surgeon took me in right away, and carefully went over my symptoms, and performed the exam. This kind of exam is not fun under ordinary conditions; this time it was really painful. He then reached for a pair of tiny-tipped tweezers and used them to extract something that felt like a tree trunk out of my eye.

The relief was instantaneous; the pain was gone and I almost wept with gratitude. He then showed me what he'd removed: a twisted, almost invisible white hair he found behind my outer lashes that had grown backward and curled up under my eyelid. Damn thing was about a quarter inch long, too.

He's going to recheck me in a week, but he's pretty sure the lump is just swollen tissue from the irritation the hair was causing. So what I got for Christmas this year was basically an ingrown eyelash. And as much trouble as it's caused me, and as silly as I feel for getting so worked up over it, this gift was better than a platinum crate filled with twenty-carat diamonds.

Today I'm putting the final additions in the Let It Snow tote: a trade paperback edition of my Rebecca Kelly novel Portraits of the Past; a hardcover edition of Winter Lights ~ A Season in Poems & Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines; and a hardcover copy of Enjoy Every Sandwich by Lee Lipsenthal, M.D. As for the final mystery gift, it's a little something that reminds me of what I found this Christmas, and hope it does the same for the winner.

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post make a wish for yourself, the other visitors here at PBW, or anyone else (or if you can't think of what to wish for, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST tonight, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Let It Snow VI

2011-12-20T00:00:00.026-05:00

Sorry I'm late posting today; we had kind of a crazy night. After dinner a couple of proselytizers came to my door to inform me that the End is Nigh. This would be the same pair who informed me the End was Nigh last year, the year before that, and the year before that.

It's a little hard for me to take them seriously anymore, but you know, it gives us a chance to chat and catch up on how Prince of Darkness is doing, the many ways in which he walks among us, and how important it is not to be an enabler. I also know the Bible way better than they do so I can always help them find the best foreboding passages of doom, destruction and death; they're dying to get me as a guest speaker at the next End is Nigh luncheon and raffle. I also appreciate the badly-written pamphlets with pictures of cities fallen to ruin and the earth blowing apart on the covers that they give me. They're very absorbent, and I think the cat needs something funny to read while he's using the box.

Before you wag a finger at me, I get my fair share of belief grief in return. Last night while we were working on our tree, some kids crept up to the house and quietly vandalized our outdoor Christmas decorations. What they did was actually pretty funny (and easily repairable) so my guy and I laughed it off. Sometimes the spirit of the holidays means you need to be a little extra forgiving (but next time, you grinches, I'm letting out the little dog, who will happily rip your ankles to shreds.)

What inspires me most during the holidays is kindness in any shape or form. A smile from a tired cashier, who takes a minute to wrap your glassware in protective paper. A kid who holds the door open for you at the mall when you're carrying fifteen packages. Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can inspire others to be even more generous. The other day when I stopped by Dunkin Donuts I got to the end of the drive-thru line at the same moment a guy in a work truck did, and I let him go ahead of me. When I got to the window the girl told me that the guy in the work truck had paid for a large drink for me. That was the best cup of coffee I've had all year.

Someone (you know who you are) asked me if I named my giveaway Let It Snow because I knew Google was going to do the Let It Snow thing with their search engine. Because of course I'm psychic and could predict such a thing . . . . not. In reality it was a cool card I found at my pack-and-ship place. Someone very smart decided to design a line of greeting cards shaped like tree ornaments with strings attached so your recipient can hang them right on the tree. It's a very creative solution to displaying one's greeting cards in a festive and convenient manner. That kind of simple ingenuity inspires me to no end, and I really liked the one as you see here that said Let It Snow, and I already had the snowflake tote, and snow doesn't offend anyone except those who have to shovel it, so I ran with that as my theme. No psychic powers involved whatsoever.

Today I'm adding the non-psychic inspired Let It Snow tote out-of-print paperback copies of my SF novels Bio Rescue and Afterburn, a mini aromatherapy kit, and a 2012 BAM Book Lover's block calendar that says it has over $100.00 in savings. I'm also adding a mystery item, and the hint for this one is that it comes from the Publishing Fairy, and you know what sort of wishes she usually likes handing out around here.

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post tell us about anything you find inspiring during the holidays (or if you can't think of anything, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Last Minute Ten

2011-12-19T00:00:00.120-05:00

Today I'm wrapping gifts, and mulling over what more I can fit in the Let It Snow giveaway tote. It's getting pretty full . . . but I'm good at packing books. More on this tomorrow and Wednesday.

Ten Things that Make Great Last-Minute Gifts

BAM is offering free express shipping to get your purchase delivered by Christmas if you order online today; browse their nicely categorized holiday gift guide here.

Barnes & Noble.com offers a great personalized quick gift with their custom design a gift card option, which you can personalize with your own image and greeting card message; $4.50 plus the amount you want to put on the gift card.

For the bird lovers: as a mutual Christmas gift my guy and I renovated our old birdhouse (see pics on my photoblog here) and it's something we'll enjoy year-round. If you have a friend or family member who loves birds, a small/inexpensive feeder and a five pound bag of birdseed are a great gift (you can find both at most home improvement or garden stores.)

Create your own cookbook collection by scanning or typing up your favorite recipes for the holidays, dinners, desserts, or whatever theme you choose. Convert it to a .pdf and e-mail the file to your recipient, or print it out and place it in a folder or binder. Some grocery stores offer free recipe cards and magazines that make nice bonus material to add to your print collection.

Speaking of cooking, who doesn't like cookies? Whip up a batch of your recipient's favorite, or if you'd rather not bake, make some Rice Krispie treats (to make these extra festive, decorate the tops with holiday sprinkles.) Both can be stored in pretty tins; I found these little chest-shaped tins at the dollar store (I love the hinged lids; prevents them from being misplaced.)

E-book lovers will appreciate a gift certificate to their favorite online publisher's store; Samhain offers a nice range from $5.00 to $50.00 here.

Here's a last-minute present for everyone who has to stock up on batteries for the holidays: this year Energizer is offering your choice of a $10.00 prepaid Visa gift card, Paypal, or donation to the National Park Foundation; to get it you'll need three codes from participating Energizer batteries or flashlights, more details on the promotion here. Offer is good on purchases made through 12/31/11.

A subscription to your recipient's magazine is easy and thoughtful; some magazines offer two-for-one deals around this time of year, too. To order online, go to the magazine's home page or check out the discounted offers over on Magazines.com.

Burn some CDs with themed collections of music and place in jewel cases; for special touch add your own liner notes and cover art. I'm putting together a collection of show tunes for one of my friends who loves Broadway but is constantly getting stuck in rush hour traffic during her commute; these I'm putting in a ten-slot flat CD holder that fits over a car visor (something I also found at the dollar store.)

For your favorite scribe Writer's Bloc has some neat items on sale, including this elegant glass Venetian dip pen set for $13.50 that is beautiful and a real bargain.

Let It Snow V

2011-12-18T00:00:00.087-05:00

My final shopping trip for the holidays took me a few towns over to the nearest mall, where I stopped by a BAM that was twice the size of mine. The bargain tables were chock full of neat stuff, and I picked up three remaindered hardcover copies of books I wanted to read but missed them when they released: Rainwater by Sandra Brown ($6.97), Chalice by Robin McKinley ($4.97) and The Angel by Carla Neggers ($4.97).

I also raided the 2012 calendar shelves, the magazine racks and the humor section to pick out some gifts for the non-readers on my list. I am committed to making non-readers read, and I've found humor or a mag on their favorite subject usually does the trick. For those who won't read those, I get a block-type desk calendar with funny jokes or quotes on each page that I know they'll read when they're bored at work (my guy reads his Jeff Foxworthy calendar quote to me every day.)

While browsing I found some new widgets at this BAM that weren't at mine:

1. BAM's Bookmark pen, a pen encased in a flat faux alligator bookmark with a small crystal embellishment ($4.99)

3. Folio's set of 8 Get to the Point magnetic reusable page markers in a nice rainbow of colors ($3.99)

3. BasicFun.com's six pack of Unravels crayon pencils, each wrapped in 30 little messages with lucky fortunes, jokes & riddles and friendship themes ($5.99)

4. Andrews + Blaine's trio of monogrammed magnetic bookmarks ($4.99)

At this BAM I was able to put together some novel series gifts, as they keep a decent stock of backlisted titles. I find it's easier to hook people on an established series if you give them the first three novels all at once. I often stockpile extra copies of the first three books in any series I really love to save for future gifts (as well as investing in a series I want to keep reading.) Series in paperback are the most affordable, as you can buy up to three for the price of one hardcover. As gifts this year I'm giving away series by Gail Carriger, Emma Holly, Larissa Ione, Sofie Kelly, Marjorie M. Liu, Anne Stuart and Rob Thurman.

Today I'm also adding to the Let It Snow tote a now very hard-to-find hardcover copy of my SF novel Blade Dancer; Soulless, the first novel in Gail Carriger's extraordinary Victorian fantasy series; and a mini Snowflake Origami kit (they shimmer!) Two more books will also be going in the tote, and the hint for them is that they're also novels by one of the series authors I've mentioned in this post.

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post name any novel series you think would make a great gift (or if you're not into series, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Added: Swiped this very cool heads up from Gerard over at The Presurfer: today if you go to Google's search page and type the words "let it snow" in the box, it (virtually) will snow, frost over your results and give you a chuckle.

Let It Snow IV

2011-12-17T00:00:00.058-05:00

I did not make a pilgrimage to the mall or any book stores today; I had to run to the market to do my weekly shopping. I didn't have a lot to buy other than staples; during November I made up a lot of double batches of things to freeze for December dinners. I also try to keep meals fun and uncomplicated during the holidays because there's enough to do without slaving for hours in the kitchen. I've done the traditional big dinners in the past and they're exhausting; I'd rather spend my time with my family than chained to the stove.

Tonight we're having Caesar salad (from a kit), pepperoni pizza (my homemade crust + ready-made jar sauce + mini pepperonis + pre-grated mozzarella cheese.) The meal takes only about fifteen minutes to whip together, which will help if my guy gets home late (he works in retail, so I never know when I'm going to see him.) I'm also going to try a spin on a simple prosciutto bread recipe from the December issue of Food Network Magazine; instead of the plain prosciutto in the recipe, I'm using slices of prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella, and adding some Italian herbs.

You might not think of shopping for books when you run by to the grocery store, but most do have a small section. Mine has an entire aisle of reads, mostly bestsellers but some less-hyped titles, too. That was where I found a copy of this Lynn Kurland novel that I haven't read, so that's going right to the top of the holiday TBR. My store also carries a couple of shelves of discounted cookbooks, which is where I found a neat gift for one of my cookie monster friends.

The grocery store offers a lot of other gifts that go with the books for readers on your shopping list: coffee mugs, all sorts of hot beverage mixes, cookies, candies, and other things to nibble on while curled up with a great read. For hard-to-buy-for friends who enjoy cooking, look in the magazine section for a food magazine or small pamphlet-type cookbook with a recipe you think they'd enjoy, collect all the non-perishable ingredients for the recipe (or as an alternative, a specialty tool they'll need to prepare it), and put everything in a reusable shopping bag. Tie a bow on the handles and you're done.

Today I'm adding to the Let It Snow tote a trade paperback copy of my Christmas inspirational novel Home for the Holidays, a new snowflake mug, and a week's supply of Nestle's Hot Cocoa mix with mini-marshmallows. The mystery item for today is something I've mentioned in this post that is not a book.

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post tell us what is your favorite holiday-themed novel (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Let It Snow III

2011-12-16T00:00:00.077-05:00

My shopping excursion today included a stop at my local Books-a-Million, where I did some widget and teenager shopping. BAM has all the best widgety stuff for readers and writers, and a nice buy-2-get-1-free sale going on YA books.

I love buying books for kids of any age, but teens can be tough. Just as I was getting comfortable with my daughter's Twilight obsession, she outgrew the books, told me she was done with Team Edward and Team Jacob, and moved on to reading (cough) classic literature. I'm bracing myself for the day she comes home and asks, "Mom, did you read this Salinger book?" and I have to discuss that damn story with her like a rational parent should.

I don't try to think like a teenager when it comes to picking out books for them; my mindset is the same as when I'm looking for an adult. I rely primarily on authors I know are talented and can tell a great story, but now and then I'll also try new-to-me writers at random (I always buy myself a copy first to test-drive it before I give the book as a gift.) I also talk to teenagers and see what they're currently reading, what they like and don't like in a story, and what books their friends are talking about lately. They can really surprise you, too.

Once I had amassed my pile of YA gifts, I went in search of widgets. I love BAM's widgets and I always find something new whenever I'm gift hunting. On this trip I discovered a cool pen and two interesting reinventions of the bookmark:

1. Seltergoods.com's Seven Year Pen, which is Swiss made, boasts a jumbo ink supply, and has a long-life tip ($7.99, which works out to a dollar a year if it lasts as long as the manufacturer claims. According to the package, a portion of the purchase price will be donated to environmental causes)

2. The Electronic Dictionary Bookmark, which not only keeps your place but provides over 38K definitions for words you may not recognize while you're reading ($29.95, and yes, I thought that was quite pricey, but worth it for someone who is vocabulary-challenged like my intended recipient)

3. A cat-shaped iMark magnetic bookmark by Thinking Gifts, the tail of which keeps your place as you read ($4.99, handy and exceptionally cute.)

Btw, I also found a single version of the three boxed pop-up Snow Globe greeting cards I found at B&N yesterday; one small size was $6.95 and one large size (not quite as cute as the small size) was $8.95. So if you just want one instead of three, check your local BAM for it.

Today I'm adding to the Let It Snow tote a trade paperback copy of my YA novel After Midnight and an iMark cat bookmark to help the winner keep their place while reading it. As for the mystery addition, it's a new hardcover YA novel by a debut author. This one has gorgeous cover art that caught my eye, and the premise of the story sounded quite interesting, so much so that I bought two copies so I could add one to my own holiday TBR (look carefully at today's tote pic to spot the hint.)

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post tell us which YA book or author you think a teenager would really enjoy (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Let It Snow II

2011-12-15T00:00:00.167-05:00

Today after school my daughter and I drove an hour to the largest mall in our area to take care of the last of her holiday shopping. I also made a stop at Barnes & Noble. Since this was probably going to be my last trip there before Christmas I picked up the gift books and magazines I know I probably won't find at one of the smaller book stores closer to home. Then I just browsed with the kid and watched her pick up things at random.

Here are two of my teen's gift purchases that I thought were neat: A set of absolutely gorgeous pop-up Snow Globe Greeting cards by Up with Paper ($14.95 for a set of three, and the price did made me wince until she pointed out that we spend that much on flat Hallmark cards, while these turn into dimensional art.) She also found a Cynthia Gale/Artmarks metal, satin cord and mother-of-pearl Bookmark in a Celtic Heart design with a tiny key ($6.95); quite elegant and the perfect gift for any passionate reader.

It's fun to shop with my teenager because she never goes for the usual/predictable gift, and yet whatever she selects always seems to suit her recipient to a T. I wish I could do that, but she didn't inherit that gene from me, so I simply enjoy watching her in action (and I just asked her what it's like shopping with me, and she said: "It's pretty fun. I like spending time with my mom. She makes me laugh and she laughs at my sad jokes. She just rushes me too much." Have to agree; when shopping I have two speeds: move and move faster.)

As for what I'm adding to the Let It Snow tote today: all seven novels from the original Darkyn series (I hardly ever sign complete sets of my series, and the few times I do it's for a charity or fund-raiser, so this is a rare opportunity to get them all.) Two more books are also going in the tote, and to give you a hint about them, both are new copies of books I wasn't planning to buy when I went out to assemble my personal Holiday TBR but bought anyway.

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post tell us which author or title you've not yet read but would like to try (or if you're still undecided about trying someone new, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Let It Snow

2011-12-14T00:00:00.002-05:00

During the holidays I spend a lot of time in book stores, and not just because I love them and they're the candy store to my inner kid. Mainly I go to buy books and gift cards for family, friends, and any other poor unsuspecting acquaintance I can compel to read. To me there is no better gift in the world than a book, and everyone knows this so they humor me.

This year I want to celebrate the gift of reading by filling this lovely Let It Snow designed canvas tote from Barnes and Noble with books: my books (all of which I will sign for the winner), books I love, books I want to read, and anything else interesting that captures my eye while I'm out shopping. Every day from now until December 21, 2011 I will be posting more about what goes into the tote (some things I'll show you, and some that will be surprises that I hint at to add a little mystery.) To start off, today I am putting in a set of my Kyndred novels. As for today's surprise, I just saw a copy of certain ARC accidentally fall into the bag. Hmmm, must be something everyone wants to read.

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post tell us which books you're giving away as gifts for the holidays (or if you're still out shopping, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

My Hero

2011-12-13T00:00:00.018-05:00

I couldn't help trying out this interesting quiz to determine which Regency hero I should marry, via author Carolyn Jewel:

Which Regency Hero Should You Marry?

The Knight

His great, great, great, great (a few more) was a Knight, and this hero is chivalry personified. The truth is, you little strumpet, you'll have to make the first, second and third move. He'll make the fourth. He is very very talented in bed, as all Knights are.

Facebook quizzes, quiz apps & blog quizzes by

Figures I'd get stuck with a guy on a horse. I bet he'll want me to polish all that blasted armor, too . . .

Wonder who wants your hand in marriage? Take the quiz here.

Booster Ten

2011-12-12T08:02:00.001-05:00

Ten Things to Make the Holidays Brighter

Decorate with Nature: Bring some of the natural beauty inside by making a real evergreen wreath, putting together a fruit centerpiece or fashioning ornaments for the tree out of pine cones, cinnamon sticks or winter berries.

Enter to Win: an entire set of brand-new cookbooks written by Food Network stars here, $15K in prizes from Cooking Light here, or $250K from Woman's Day here.

Experimental Treat: try making a cake, cookie or muffin recipe you've never attempted for dessert one night (for ideas, look in your cookbooks, holiday magazines or visit Cooking Light's 100 Healthy Cookie recipes page.) Ask the kids or friends to help with the cooking, decorating and tasting.

Give a Kid a Book: Any kid + any book you think they'd enjoy. For the older kids, get a copy for yourself and let the kid know you'd like to discuss it with them when they've read their copy. For younger kids, sit down and read the book to them. One of my favorite kids' books: Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire; great for boys or girls.

Help Out: Offer to spend an afternoon at the home of an elderly family member or friend and help them with chores or fix-ups around the house, run errands or do some baking with them. If everything at home is okay, take them out for lunch, shopping, or see a movie together (if you're looking for a great holiday movie to rent, check out this list of 25 classics from Moviefone.

Homemade Gift: Take a free afternoon or evening and spend it using your creative talents making a gift for someone you love. If you've never handmade anything, buy a simple kit from your local craft store to use for the project and teach yourself a new craft skill (decorating a flower pot is a fun project.)

Practical Party: Invite friends to bring over their unwrapped gifts and wrapping supplies, and have a gift-wrapping party (Moms, great to do while the kids are in school.) Make up goodie bags with scotch tape, adhesive gift tags and rolls of ribbon. Ask everyone to bring two jumbo rolls of gift paper; one to use and one to pass around. Serve coffee, tea, and a non-sticky treat like cookies or muffins. For creative gift-wrapping ideas, check out Martha Stewart's ideas here.

See the Lights: If weather permits, take a drive after dark and tour the homes in your area that are decorated for the holidays. Bring take-along cups of hot chocolate to keep you warm (for grownups, my favorite hot chocolate recipe here is delicious and not too sweet.)

Turn Off the Television. A recent survey of 45,000 showed that the happiest people watched TV 20% less than the unhappiest people. Put on a holiday music CD, break out the Scrabble or Monopoly board, or play a card game using cookies or chocolate coins as chips (for BestToyGuide.com's ten best board games for 2011, go here.)

Write a Letter: Pick two of the people to whom you send holiday cards, sit down, and hand-write a one or two page letter to put in the card. Here's a great blog post on the art of letter writing. If you can't think of what to write, tell them how they've made a positive difference in your life and thank them for it (our minister had us do this over Thanksgiving, and it was fun and very uplifting.)

Exotic

2011-12-11T00:00:00.022-05:00

I'm not really here, but let's pretend I am anyway so I can show you this neat plant:

This is a cyclamen, a cousin of the primrose, which is sold as a decorative plant during the winter holidays. This is also when it blooms.

From what I've read (and don't quote me on any of this; I'm by no means an expert) cyclamen are grown from a tuber (I'm assuming in the same way you grow paperwhites from a bulb or sweet potato vines from a sweet potato) and flower from December through April. They shrivel and go dormant from April until August, at which point you can replant the corm (the dried-up tuber) and grow another cyclamen for the holidays.

I spotted this one at my local grocery store and fell in love with it instantly (hence the pics.) The red and green colors are even more intense than a pointsettia and the flowers remind me a lot of orchids. Even the buds made me think of tiny swans.

Because I didn't recognize the plant, I went home to read up on the species first; I do like to know what I'm buying. Then I went back to purchase it -- only to find someone else had already snatched it up. So now I'll have to look for another one.

If you give plants as gifts during the holidays, this would probably make a gardener friend very happy.

On the Road

2011-12-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

I am bailing on you guys today to hit the road and see some family. So that your visit here was not entirely wasted, here's a video of what a talented (and extremely patient) artist can do with 3.2 million dots of ink:

Hero from Miguel Endara on Vimeo.

The Holiday TBR

2011-12-09T00:00:00.022-05:00

Mom and I made a pilgrimage to the nearest brick-and-mortar Barnes & Noble on Wednesday, where I filled not one but two tote bags with a lovely assortment of books. Since I've already griped about what I buy and won't buy, I thought it would be interesting to look through my bags and see how I did with my actual purchases.

Paperbacks:

Four Harlequin Presents. All were holiday-themed, and all are written by authors who are new to me. I haven't been reading HPs since they've acquired so many new authors, and I'd like to see what they're writing.

Larissa Ione's Immortal Rider. I buy everything she writes except her grocery list, so grabbed four copies, which was all the store had left. Larissa sells out quick.

Within the Flames by Marjorie M. Liu. I also buy everything Marjorie writes, and weirdly there were also only four copies left of this one, which are now all mine. When I get more from an incoming order I placed with BAM I might be nice and share them.

Highlander for the Holidays by Janet Chapman. There's an adorable dog on the cover, he doesn't seem to be warning me off and besides, I hate being predictable. Cross your fingers for me.

Fern Michaels' Christmas at Timberwoods. It's a holiday-themed romance set in a mall. I've never read a mall romance. How does one write a mall romance, anyway? Don't know, so I had to buy it.

Shiloh Walker's If You Hear Her. I think this is a story Shiloh and I discussed a while back when it was in its earliest incarnation, and I'm very interested to see what she ended up doing with the premise and the protagonist.

Holiday in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller. Semi-random pick. I've heard she's a decent writer. I haven't read a cowboy romance in a while.

Trade Paperbacks:

Seal of my Dreams Anthology. I don't know why I assumed this would be available only in e-book format, but I did. It was a nice surprise to see it in print. This was the only anthology I bought, but my blogpals Alison Kent, Jo Leigh and Stephanie Tyler have stories in it, and so does Barbara Samuel, so that means at least four of the stories will be well-written and interesting. Looks like the cover model is wearing a yarmulke, so maybe it's a holiday read, too. Ha.

Anne Perry's Christmas Vigil. I used to read her quite a bit before I got burned out on historicals. Don't see many duologies by one author these days. I'd call this a semi-semi-random holiday pick. I liked the cover art, too. Very Christmasy.

Hardcovers:

The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts. I never see authors named Sheila, and from the jacket copy it sounds like a cat is the protag. Until Sofie Kelly gets off her lazy butt and writes me another magical cat book, I'll just have to console myself with this.

Victoria Alexander's His Mistress by Christmas. Random holiday pick.

Saint's Gate by Carla Neggers. Classy author + elegant writing = worth the investment for hardcover. And a story about international art heists, suicidal nuns and the Feds in Maine? This is so a book for me. Unique cover art, too.

What I love most about going to the brick-and-mortars and browsing the shelves are the surprises, like finding Seal of My Dreams in print, and Carla's latest (I simply can't keep up with all the new releases; sometimes I don't know about them unless I see them at the bookstore.)

I'm also excited to try out the random picks because I have very good luck with that method; I started reading Linda Howard, Patricia Briggs and Rob Thurman just by picking up their books at random. Taking that chance doesn't always pay off, but sometimes you discover these great hidden jewel-type authors.

So there you have it. I also bought two tote bags, one to replace one of my favorites that I gave away, and this large, sturdy blue and white snowflake tote which I'll probably be giving away or using for a holiday gift. I know I kind of stacked the TBR in my favor, but I feel I also bought enough random picks that the mix will be interesting (Poor Janet Chapman, she's really the one in the hot seat. If this a lousy story I swear I'm done forever with dog-on-the-cover romances.)

Winners

2011-12-08T00:10:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone who joined in the Nightborn Preview giveaway. There is no greater power in the Publishing world than supportive readers, and whenever you talk about any author's books to other people you become the most effective advertising there is, and that's something no author or publisher can ever buy.

I wish I had forty ARCs to send you all instead of just four, but this will not be the only ARC giveaway, so if you don't win this time stay tuned to the blog during the holidays for another chance.

We got the magic hat to do its thing, and the winners are:

Charlene Teglia

mofo8727

Keita Haruka

John C

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get these ARCs out to you. Again, thanks to everyone for offering to help out.

Books for the Holidays

2011-12-07T00:00:00.015-05:00

I will be heading out soon to buy some novels with holiday themes, which I will put in stockings, mail along with greeting cards and leave around the house for visiting friends who have no desire to watch The Christmas Story again. I know, it's a cute film, but after seeing that kid get his tongue stuck to the flagpole for the nine thousandth time it's starting to lose some of its charm.

As I was making my shopping list, and checking it twice, I realized over the years I've become pretty picky about holiday-themed reads, and gave some thought to what I will buy, what I won't, and why:

Anthologies: If one of my favorite authors is a headliner, or if I know at least two of the authors are decent writers, I'll take a chance and buy it. If I don't read or recognize any of the authors, I'll pass. I don't like anthologies because usually there is at least one and often two or more badly-written stories in it, so I'm only going to finish 25-50% of the book. If the majority of the stories are really bad and/or tick me off, I will cut out the one or two good stories, make a new cover for them and throw the rest of the book away.

Dogs on the Cover Art: I love dogs in stories, and will happily buy a holiday-themed book that includes a furry face. Except if the book is a romance of any kind, in which case the dog seems to be warning me not to buy it because the story is going to suck. Seriously, I don't know if it's just dumb luck or what, but I have the worst track record with holiday romances featuring dogs on the cover. Every single one I've read has been deplorable.

Family Gathering Stories: Even when they're not about the holidays these tend to make my blood sugar spike, but I can read them if the family stuff is light and kept in the background. Mary Balogh regularly writes holiday stories that feature some type of family gathering, and as an element she always keeps it beautifully under control. It's the authors who idealize and inflate family gatherings into these never ending Norman Rockwell lovefests that I can't deal with. They definitely don't speak to my personal experience, and in a strange way they strike me as kind of sad and depressing.

Holiday Horror: I love a great horror story, and I can handle one that takes place during the holidays. Unless the holidays are an integral part of the horror elements, at which point I turn and run away from the shelf as fast as I can. I have a hard enough time getting through Christmas without adding nightmares about Rudolph the razor-toothed man-eating reindeer chasing me over the river and through the woods to Santa's slaughterhouse, thank you very much.

Meaningful/Spiritual: This is a tricky one, probably because I've written a holiday-themed inspirational novel for Guideposts, and it was no walk in the park. I don't particularly care for an inspirational holiday read that uses the holidays like a club to beat the real meaning of them into my head. I know the real meaning. Would like to see that told in a story in an interesting and original way versus the same-old same-old sermonizing, but these are few and far between.

Pun Titles: I try to ignore them, really I do, and most of the time I can slap a book cover on them as soon as I get home. That said, I cannot force myself to buy any book that uses "Santa" as part of the pun title. This goes double for erotica. Hey, I love Santa, honest I do, but I don't want to ever envision him naked and doing naughty things to an elf, okay? Okay.

Holiday-themed books rarely surprise me, too, and that's probably my biggest gripe. I wish authors of all holiday books would be more creative, try some new approaches and genres, and stretch their wings. I'd love to read holiday-themed steampunk, science fiction, non-romance historicals or urban fantasy.

I'm also interested in other-than-Christian holiday themes in novels, but try to find them at the book stores? You practically have to call search and rescue. One of my favorite series when I was growing up was the All-of-a-Kind Family novels by Sydney Taylor, who wrote about a Jewish family in turn of the century New York City. I adored those books (and still have all the original copies from my childhood in my book collection), they were wonderfully written and explained Jewish traditions and holidays from the family's point of view, which was like being invited into their home and taking part in their celebrations. I was the only girl in my third-grade Catholic Sunday school class who knew what Yom Kippur was, why Jewish people had a different New Year's Day, and what the foods served for Passover dinner symbolized.

So there you have it. When I hit the book store, I'm going to do my best to find the right holiday reads for me. Maybe this year I'll get lucky and find something surprising. Hope so.

How about you? Do you like holiday-themed books? Got any recent reads you'd recommend? Let us know in comments.

Nightborn Preview

2011-12-06T00:00:00.005-05:00

My editor kindly sent some ARCs of Nightborn, the first novel in my new Lords of the Darkyn trilogy. Usually I give away all my ARCs without asking for anything in return, but as this novel is the first book in a new venture, it's important to get the word out about it. Thus I'd like to send these ARCs to people who are willing to help me do just that.

If you're interested, in comments to this post write a pledge for what you'd be willing to do to help me promote the novel* by midnight EST on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 (and if you'd like some ideas, you might write and post a review** of it on the internet, feature the book in a blog post, talk about the new trilogy on a discussion board, or something along those lines. Be as creative as you like, too.) I will draw four names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners a signed ARC of Nightborn. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

*Please note that this is not a contest for who promises to do the most. That said, I do expect the winners to keep their pledges, so please be realistic about what you actually can do.

**In regard to writing reviews, there are no expectations here or any strings attached. If you don't care for the book after reading, you are not expected to lie and/or throw up fake gushing reviews; nor will I hate you forever if you rate it with three stars or less. I don't care about stars. Just be honest and we're good.

Added to clarify: Midnight EST on December 7th is the cut-off to enter the giveaway; winners can keep their pledges whenever they like after they've read the ARC. It would be most helpful to have your help with getting the word out before March 2012, when the book is released, but it's not an iron-clad requirement.

Prezzie Ten

2011-12-05T00:00:00.008-05:00

Ten Things That Make Great Writer Gifts

Book Store Gift Card. I know, you're tired of me saying this every year, but it's the truth: we adore them (and so do your reader friends.) Most online booksellers offer versions that you can send via e-mail, making them also uber convenient to give to faraway friends.

Books. We not only write them, we also read them. Obsessively. Some ideas: buy a collector's edition of your writer pal's favorite novel, a boxed set of their most loved series, or hunt for something they might not expect (I can now happily second Cloth Dragon's rec of Bridge of Birds; this is a fabulous story, very funny and a complete delight to read.) If you're still not sure, ask your pal to make up a wishlist.

Get-Together. If you live close enough to your writer to hang with them, schedule a day when you can drag them out of their writing cave and take them to lunch, a movie, a museum, a coffee shop or any place that keeps them out of the writing cave for a couple of hours. The more creative and inspiring the surroundings, the better chance you have of recharging their batteries, which is the whole point of the gift.

Guest Post: If you and your writer pal both have blogs, offer to write a guest post for them, conduct an interview, or provide some other material they can showcase at their place during the holidays. This will give them the corresponding time off to do something else, and add some interesting and unexpected content to their blog.

Paper. One year a friend of mine who likes to read my stories in manuscript form left on my doorstep a carton of high-quality printer paper with this note attached: Write Faster. It was a gag gift, but at the time I was down to my last ream, so it turned out to be a very useful one. Other welcome gifts of paper can be card stock, photo paper, postcard or business card form paper, or any specialty type paper they use on a regular basis (check around their printer or in their supply cabinet to see what they're using.)

Proofing: If you happen to be an excellent proof reader, offer to be your writer's second pair of eyes and proof a manuscript for them. Often we're reluctant to ask others to help with this, as it can be a big job. Professional proof-readers can be costly to hire, so this is also quite a valuable gift.

Story Storage: Writers constantly need to stores notes, research materials and other story ephemera in an organized fashion; give your writer something to use for this that is attractive, different, and/or has lots of dividers and pockets. If you're creative or crafty, design or upcycle a set of notebooks or binders with your writer's favorite colors, textures, imagery, or anything that might help inspire them. If you'd rather they do the shopping, a gift card to their local office supply store is also most welcome.

Time. None of us have enough of it these days, so a gift of time is practically priceless. You can get creative with this, too; offer to babysit, run errands, do housework or any other task you can take off your writer's hands to give them that time in exchange. Tell them to use the time off to do anything they want: write, read, relax, whatever. Since my mom has been here she's been taking care of the laundry, and that has given me at least an extra hour per day to do with as I please. Trust me, if you can manage it, this is a stupendous gift.

Tools. Writers simply love anything that can be used for the purposes of writing. Lately Writer's Bloc has been my one-stop online shop for stylish writing supplies; their sales are pretty decent and they ship fast (I love their line of Clairefontaine note stuff; they're gorgeous.) Or go to your local office supply store and fill up a bag with stuff you know your writer uses or covets.

Write or Create for Them: Among my most cherished possessions are some stories, letters, and poems that other writers have written for me. I consider all of them gifts. That goes for anything you make with a creative talent other than writing. I know the emphasis every holiday is on what you can buy, but there are things that cannot be purchased, like friendship. Whatever you give of yourself and your talent will be treasured for years to come.

Editing Ever Afters

2011-12-04T00:00:00.003-05:00

Thanks to NaNoWriMo, writers around the planet wrote 3,073,723,493 new words during the month of November 2011. If you divide that by 50K, that's more than sixty-one thousand novels. That just blows my mind.

Most of these new novels will probably need to be edited and corrected, and will have significant portions that require rewriting and revising. Which is why we should probably designate the months of December, January and February as The International Fix the Book Festival (in reality there is a NaNoEdMo, which takes place in March, details for which you can read about here.)

As soon as I'm finished writing a novel, I do take some time off to recharge before I do my book-length edit. These days I try to give myself at least two weeks downtime, but if that's not possible I shoot for a minimum of 48 hours. During my downtime I devote myself to making my writer side part ways with the book. Which means I don't look it, I don't check anything, and I definitely try very hard not to think about it.

The break between writing and editing is important to my process, not just to refill the well but to put a little distance between me and a story I've been living with and working on daily for weeks and months and even years. It also allows me to shift from storyteller to self-editor, also imperative if I'm going to edit as objectively as I can.

I usually have no problem separating from a book once I've wrapped up the writing end of it. Crossing the finish line is a good feeling most of the time -- there's a lot of satisfaction to be had simply by getting the job done -- but occasionally that feeling doesn't happen, at which point it's more important than ever that I give myself some time away from the novel.

99% of the time I think these negative feelings are caused by doubt or worry over another factor, like concern over the quality of the writing, the actual chances of selling it, and/or what everyone will think about it (that one regularly strikes first-time novelists.) For pros it can be caused by something like a new editor, or a change of publishers, or the first book in a new series.

When it happens to me, I start to question myself, and of course I blame the writing because that's right in front of me and feels like the source of the negativity. I start having these radical urges that tell me to gut the manuscript, or start over, or cancel the contract, or give up Publishing altogether and go into the quilt business.

This is another reason why I think that break between writing and editing is so necessary. Post-novel, writers can at times be like little kids suffering from separation anxiety. Some of us get scared and don't want to let go.

Once I feel like my emotions aren't going to drag me and my manuscript under the bed and keep us there until next Christmas, I set up an editing schedule. Because I do a complete pass of the full manuscript, I divide the work into chapters starting at the beginning. Unless I'm under a severe time crunch, I generally don't edit more than three or four chapters a day, nor do I edit less than two. Editing too much of the book in one session can cause me to rush the reading and miss things I should have caught; editing too little of the book makes me more prone to linger and overthink and second-guess.

A few years back I wrote a blog post that detailed in general how I edit, and that really hasn't changed. I think these days I'm a better proof-reader, simply because I've spent so many years proofing manuscripts. I'll still use spell-check once I've finished typing in all my corrections, but my days of multiple spell-checks of any manuscript are over (and this is primarily due to Microsoft making it too wonky to be useful.)

All of this is not to say that you have to edit your novel as I do mine. Just as writing is a process unique to the writer, so is editing. I'd try any advice that you think might work well for you, but don't be afraid to evolve your own approach, either. You may find yourself editing happily ever after each book you write, and that's the sort of HEA we all want.

Related links: Carrie Kei Heim Binas's blog post on using Wordle as an editing tool ~ Do You Copy? Tips on Copy Editing Your Own Work by Janice Hardy ~ Proofreading and Editing Tips: a compilation of advice from experienced proofreaders and editors

Holiday Linkage

2011-12-03T00:31:00.000-05:00

I have to bail on you guys today to see my kid march in a Christmas parade, take care of a job for an editor and attend to some of the chores I've been neglecting. I think the dogs need a bath as well. Or maybe I do.

So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, and to hopefully help jumpstart a happy mood for December, here are some of my favorite holiday links:

The Official NORAD Santa Tracker is now counting down to the big night; stop by the countdown village to play some games and listen to some holiday tunes.

Each year I take a few minutes to Awwww over Jacquie Lawson's animated card The Snow Dog.

If you missed it like I did, you can watch a replay of the lighting of the National Christmas Tree here.

If you have any cool holiday links -- Christmas-related or otherwise -- please share them in comments.

Wait for It

2011-12-02T00:00:00.001-05:00

I have a few announcements, some of which due to various and sundry details to be confirmed/wrapped up/signed/so forth have to sit on the back burner for now. But in the meantime I can let you know what's confirmed and drop a few hints about the rest:

My publisher has sold foreign rights for Twilight Fall and Stay the Night to be published in German. I've also accepted an offer for audio rights to all three novels in the Lords of the Darkyn trilogy, so those will be coming out as audio books as well as print and e-books.

I've turned in to my new editor the complete manuscript for the steampunk novel I sold this month, so that's done (and this book is the one I wrote the first draft of during NaNoWriMo 2009, for those who have been nagging me about it.) More info to follow once I've signed the actual contract, finalized the title, get pub dates etc.

The second novel in the Lords of the Darkyn trilogy is also finished -- yes, I've been a busy girl -- and since someone else spilled the beans on the title of book one before I had a chance to announce it, let me be the first to tell you book two will be titled Nightbred. More details on this one are also pending.

Those of you who would like a chance to preview Nightborn, the first novel in the Lords of the Darkyn trilogy, should definitely stop by the blog next week.

Finally, while I can't discuss what I was writing because I don't want to jinx it, my total count for November was 98.4K, and the goal I set for myself was 80K, so I reached my finish line, too. Congratulations and hugs to everyone who participated in NaNoWriMo 2011.

Wishlist Ten

2011-12-01T00:00:00.093-05:00

Dear Santa,

Normally I don't bother you, but I have some special requests this year that I believe only you can handle. Here then is my list of:

Ten Things I Would Like for Christmas

1. Every celebrity who agrees to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at special events to first take the time to actually learn all the words to the song. It's our national anthem, it's not that long or complicated, and hearing it being mangled by famous dimwits greatly annoys me.

2. The ability to open the end of a package of crackers without the cellophane tearing down to the middle or end of the package. This is so I don't have to put all the crackers I don't want in a ziploc bag that never fits back into the original box.

3. All these people in the industry who are constantly shrieking that "Print publishers suck" or "E-publishers suck" or "Self-publishing sucks" to be escorted to a deserted island without internet access or a way to escape, and left there to bitch at each other until next Christmas, as it will take at least that long for them to exhaust all their pointless whiny-ass arguments.

4. Hair coloring that doesn't burn my scalp, drip in my eyes or smell like Eau de Chernobyl. I'd also like it to come in shades that are not named after food but that are modelled on the packaging by real women who actually use the product versus these airbrushed emaciated teens who won't even see an authentic gray hair sprout from their scalp for another 25 years.

5. An e-reader that is actually handicapped-user friendly. Or a video that shows a handicapped person trying to use any of the existing e-readers on the market, so I can show it to all these Oh, you gotta have an e-reader they're so great I love mine you're really missing out people and get them off my back.

6. All candy, confections, pastries, puddings, cupcakes and pies to become 100% no-calorie, no-fat and no-cholesterol for Christmas Day. Or (if you accept my solemn promise in advance that I'll be a good girl in 2012) from Christmas Day through my birthday.

7. Goodwill toward women. I'm tired of the men hogging it every year.

8. The family member who is at this moment considering a pink bathrobe, pink satin PJs, pink slippers, pink purse, pink bath products and/or pink sneakers as a gift for me to decide that a bookstore gift card in any shade of pink would be a much more appropriate present.

9. All women who sleep with married politicians for any length of time to stop doing it and avoid all publicity while writing a sincere, anonymous letter of apology to said politicians' wives, in which they make a solemn vow to never do it again. Some therapy and community service would probably be a good idea, too.

10. Peace on Earth. Will take that over the other nine items any time.

Sincerely,
PBW

So what's on your wishlist to Santa? Let us know in comments.

NaNoWriMo: Final Day

2011-11-30T00:00:00.034-05:00

For the last twenty-nine days you NaNoWriMo'ers have been at the keyboard working on your novels. Along with the writing you've done, you've probably stared at the monitor, swore under your breath, hit and held down the backspace and delete keys, and maybe head-desked it once or twice. You've given up reading your favorite books, watching your favorite shows on television, playing your newest video games, going shopping, hanging out with friends, putting cool new apps on your smartphone and a bunch of other personal pleasures. You may have missed a meal or four.

In the process you've thought a lot of things about yourself, your work and writing in general. Sometimes you've loved this craziness of writing a novel. Sometimes you've hated it more than that bully in high school who made your freshman year a nightmare. But most of you reached your goal, and those of you who didn't gave it your best shot.

It's not the wordcount that matters, you know. Nailing that 50K is great, but what really counts is that you went after it.

If you're taking a break now and need a recharge for your creative batteries, go here to watch and listen to a breathtaking tour of the Medieval and Renaissance galleries at the V&A, one of my favorite museums on the planet (about nine minutes, is narrated in English and has some background music.)

Break over? Okay, you've got one more day to write. Get to it, and good luck.

Making Book

2011-11-29T00:00:00.012-05:00

Cloth Paper Scissors has debuted a new magazine, Pages, as a creative guide for art journaling and bookmaking. The Winter 2011 issue has over sixty different handmade books and journals, and is simply stunning. I haven't seen this many good ideas in one place since reading Alisa Golden's Making Handmade Books (which they also review in this issue.)

The magazine sectioned projects and articles into Bookmaking, Book Covers, Binding, Inside Pages, Art Journaling and Regulars (editor's page, advertising, supply wish lists, etc.) I think this is smart because often with bookmaking you know what you want for one part but need some ideas for others (I have no problem with making interesting covers, for example, but I definitely need some new directions to try with my pages as foundations. I'm also not especially fond of complicated bindings, and often have the most problems with that part of bookmaking, so I always like seeing alternative binding options.)

Making your own books seems like an old-fashioned concept, but with all the attention and emphasis electronic format is getting, I think it's more important than ever to devote some quality time to writing and creating personal works that can't be uploaded or downloaded, pirated or otherwise become lost to the digital abyss. As art goes it can also be intensely private; something one does out of the deep and abiding love for the physical book.

If you've never attempted making a book, and really want to, this magazine is inspiration on tap. Some of the projects are pretty simple and require materials you probably have around the house; other are more challenging and can teach savvy bookmakers some dazzling new tricks. A few of the projects could be scaled down/simplified for kids to try, and I especially liked how many of the projects features upcycled or recycled materials.

This would also make a great holiday gift for your favorite art journaler, bookmaker or diary junkie; find a pretty tote, fill in with interesting materials and supplies and top it off with a copy of the magazine.

No Cost Ten

2011-11-28T00:00:00.042-05:00

Ten Things You Can Have for Free

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

ArtWeaver "lets you paint creatively with the help of a huge range of painting tools. You can create sketches from photos or just experiment with colors" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)

Sign up for free membership at the Cloth Paper Scissors website here and get a free e-book: Exploring Encaustics and Encaustic Art: 4 Free Articles Demonstrating Encaustic Collage and Encaustic Painting Techniques.

FlashNote is "a quick notes manager" and according to the web site: "When you need a rough copy to save or to process some pieces of a text, Flashnote is small, quick and convenient. Press the shortcut-key combination and a rough copy is on the screen in a flash of a second. Press ESC and the program hides. It's that simple. You don't need to find a place for text, to run Notepad or huge heavy PIM. Flashnote is a lightweight notes manager, everything gets done quickly, simply and in a more convenient way." [The designer notes that FlashNote is NOT a Notepad replacement program; but it looks like they have a portable version, too] (OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7)

FreePlane is a "free and open source software to support thinking, sharing information and getting things done at work, in school and at home. The core of the software consists of functions for mind mapping, also called concept mapping or information mapping, and tools for using mapped information" (OS: Designer notes: "Freeplane runs on any operating system on which a current version of Java is installed and from USB")

Whether you have a complicated real life or ficitional family to sort out, the free trial of Gaia Family Tree™ promises to help: "Plug your information directly into the software, and let it build your family tree for you. With its simple interface, Gaia Family Tree™ allows you to create your family tree with a few clicks - no need to be an expert in computers or genealogy" (OS: Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7)

The free express version of MapleXp time-tracking software allows you to "keep track of multiple tasks and categorize how much time you spent working on each of them. Main features of MapleXp include: unlimited number of tasks organized into hierarchical structure, unlimited number of work items (single piece of time spent on a particular task), pay rate for tasks to invoice customers, totals calculated across time and tasks, rich configuration capabilities" (OS: Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7)

Pigeonhole Free Organizer "shows you a grid of pigeonholes similar to a spread sheet. Click on a pigeonhole and type in whatever you want - it is saved automatically. When you want to recall the information, just move the mouse over the grid. Whatever you typed into the pigeonhole the mouse is over appears automatically in the viewer window. There are 175 pigeonholes displayed at any one time so you can view up to 175 different pieces of information just by moving the mouse over the grid...... Could anything be easier?" (OS: Not specified, likely Windows.)

PixBuilder Studiois a "free image editing software program for digital photo editing, images processing, and resizing. For digital photo editing, you can use its many professional quality functions. PixBuilder Studio allows you to use the following color management functions: brightness/contrast management, color balance, and levels manipulation. For professional results, you can use the curves function. In PixBuilder Studio, to carry out great, professional looking photo editing, you can manipulate the image with color channels. Layers concept, multi-step undo, gradients and masks support, and text layers support all make PixBuilder Studio a great graphics software program for image processing and creating illustration" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7 (32-Bit/64-Bit)

QT Writer Express can be used "for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book with embedded illustrations, tables of contents, indexes, and bibliographies. QT Writer is a complete and powerful software solution for creating, editing and viewing various types of documents. A number of available features give you a fine degree of control over the formatting of text, pages, sections of documents, and also entire documents. You may also save your documents in a variety of industry standard formats like pdf, rtf, doc, txt, and our own presentation format ssp. Insert special characters, emotional icons, pictures, and images into your writing for a more colourful display of your thoughts and ideas. Create pdfs without any additional software. Use the built-in PDF capabilities of QT Writer to share your work easily and with everyone! Adobe Acrobat is NOT required to create these handy files." [Designer notes that the application is also completely portable.] (OS: Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 / 8)

This is the last week for free access and downloads to my writing how-to e-book Way of the Cheetah, which will be going back into the vault on December 2.

Google Street View Weirdness

2011-11-27T00:00:00.015-05:00

I've been using Google Maps with Street View to take some virtual tours of places I haven't visited in a long time to see what's changed. It's fun and a lot cheaper than a plane ticket.

I was virtually strolling around Avignon when I stopped to change directions and saw this (click on image to see larger version):

I know the gentleman on the left there is nothing more than the victim of a camera glitch, but usually the stretchy shadows and echoes vanish once you stop moving the viewer. This time it didn't, so the guy looks like he's melting into the sidewalk. Very Daliesque and uberweird -- and sparked an idea for a cool story that I can't write until I finish all my deadlines so I am now staying far, far away from Google Street View.

Aaron Hobson has a nice collection of beautiful landscapes here; likewise screen-shot while he was playing with Google Street View (like swiped from Gerard over at The Presurfer.)

The Last Stretch

2011-11-26T00:00:00.003-05:00

It's 5:07 am here. My guy has already left for work (it's Black Friday and he works in retail; I might see him again sometime after midnight.) The dogs have been walked, the coffee made, the laundry sorted. Mom will be up in about an hour; the kids in about three. I'm planning pancakes for breakfast. We have a bunch of things scheduled for today for which I will be driver, organizer, or damage control supervisor.

I do not want to be here, awake, out of bed, up, working. It's freezing outside so I'm still trying to warm up after walking the dogs. My eyes are burning, my knee is throbbing, my right shoulder is not cooperating at all and my back is trying to decide how much grief it's going to give me. The sofa and the cuddle quilt I keep there look so good I can't go near them.

I'm tired. Thanksgiving was two days of nonstop cooking, partying and quality family time that left me in a partial coma, and I'd like nothing better than to climb back in my nice warm bed, pull the covers over my head and sleep 'til noon (and worse, my family would let me.)

I'm not going back to bed, I'm up and I have at least one entire hour of silence and solitude for myself. No, I'm going to write, and keep writing until someone needs me to do something else. Then I'll do that, make them happy, and then slip away and write a little more. Repeat that about a dozen times, throw in more laundry, more dogs walks, cooking, tidying, laughing, family time, holiday stuff and that will be my day until sometime around midnight, when my guy finally gets home, I feed him and we collapse together in an exhausted heap.

It's a juggling act on any day, having a full time job and a family and a home, and taking care of all of them. The holidays add extra work along with the joy, most of which can be handled with a decent attitude and thoughtful time management. I do think attitude is everything, and if you can start each day with a good one you won't mind getting swamped, derailed, sidetracked or otherwise frustrated.

The body is a bit tougher. No one is getting any younger, especially me, and then in my case there's my constant companion arthritis. But I've had days when I've literally had to crawl out of bed, my hands like cartoon balloon gloves filled with broken glass, my knee swollen and locked up, my shoulder completely immobile and my back trying to form different letters of the alphabet. On those days, which are becoming more frequent, I spend my first hour icing and soaking and medicating and wishing I was the Bionic Woman, so any day I can walk is a very good day.

You NaNoWriMo'ers are in your last week now, and some of you may be fed up with this whole novel-writing idea. You're tired, you have the holidays swamping you and it's so much easier not to try to do this thing right now. I think we all wish we could dash into some beautiful Better Homes & Gardens office with fresh flowers on the desk, a smiling personal assistant manning the phones, and enjoy effortlessly knocking out two or three chapters in an hour and then spend the rest of the day doing as we please.

Even if you're making millions and have all that cool stuff, the reality of writing is that it's hard work that takes a lot of time, thought and effort. The work doesn't always pay you back for your devotion. You might get something good on the page, you might not. You might finish it, you might not. You might sell it, you might not. This might have been a complete waste of your time . . .

It's not. It's never a waste of time to write. Unless you believe your doubt, which always thinks it's a waste of time. Doubt only has one week left to convince you of this, to defeat you, to stop you, to win. It's probably going to work overtime doing just that. And you may tired enough to listen this time.

I can't tell you how well you've done so far. Your novel may be so magnificent that you sell it to the first editor you sub it to. Or it may be so unmagnificent that you feed it to your office shredder on December 1st. But I can guess that it's probably somewhere in between those two extremes. What you've written is probably okay, has potential, but needs some work. Until you've written your way to consistently producing professional-level work, most first draft manuscripts are like that.

And that's the key, the thing your doubt doesn't want you to know. The only way you get better at this is to keep writing. In most cases, the more you write, the more you figure out, the better you refine your process, and the better you improve your chances of getting published. Give up, walk away, and you never get better, you never refine your process, and you never get published -- also something doubt doesn't tell you (doubt likes to hit you with stuff disguised as encouragement, like Take it easy; no one expects you to do this during the holidays or You can write a book sometime next year, when you're not so busy.)

The truth is you're always going to busy, tired, frustrated, distracted, what have you, and sometimes it is a huge emotional drain. You may not love this writing stuff enough to stick with it. God knows there are easier things to do. You may find something else that is more profitable and gives you more immediate satisfaction. It is okay to quit; I won't come to your house and harass you. I don't know where you live -- but doubt does. Oh, doubt knows everything about you, and absolutely will use it to stop you from writing. Doubt lives for nothing else.

If you love it, if you want it, if it has been your dream and you are willing to work for it, keep going. Keep writing. And show doubt what you're really made of.

Online Writing Ten

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Deadline week starts today for me (as well as all you NaNoWriMo'ers out there), so to help you get some writing done while you're online, here are:

Ten Things for the Online Writing

The Bonsai Story Generator takes the text you cut and paste, turns it inside out and upside down, and gives you some new word combos, lines and all kinds of ideas.

The Cut Up Machine over at Language is a Virus takes whatever text you feed it, chops it up, rearranges it and generates new text.

Google Docs allows you to create and edit documents online with their simple word processor; if you're looking for online storage they offer free and low-cost accounts as well (I use and personally recommend this one.)

iNetword is going bye-bye in March 2012, but until then you can use it online for free.

Also at Language is a Virus, the Sentence Builder can give you a hand with line construction.

SpringNote is a free online notebook based on wiki.

Think Free Online Office provides 1 GB of free storage along with online document viewing, editing and collaboration.

Write 100 words at Written? Kitten and an adorable kitten pic pops up as your reward.

Zoho Writer is "an online word processor that allows you to create and share documents online. You need not install any software in your desktop, all you need is just a browser and an internet connection for working with Zoho Writer."

Zoho also has a virtual notebook in beta here.

Wishing You

2011-11-24T00:00:00.008-05:00

Anne

2011-11-23T00:23:00.000-05:00

We've lost Anne McCaffrey.

I never had the opportunity or the privilege to meet Anne in person, but she influenced me enormously as an author. I've been reading her novels almost all my adult life, and I've never stopped; this week I'm working on The White Dragon. Over the years I have read editions of Crystal Singer, Restoree and Powers That Be so many times that they fell apart and I had to go get new copies. I also have at least one copy of every book she's ever written. Probably two or three; I have shelves of lending copies.

At the beginning of my career Anne read the manuscript that would become my first published novel, StarDoc. She wrote a beautiful letter with her thoughts about it, and provided a lovely quote for the cover. That's the sort of kindness and generosity that you can only hope to pay forward, because you can never pay it back.

As for me, I'm going to get an early start on Thanksgiving and say thank you, Anne. Thank you for all the amazing novels you wrote, for your kindness to me and so many other writers, and for bringing so much wonder and delight to the world. Your time here was not wasted. And I pray with all my heart that you have a safe journey to the next place, and there dwell in beauty and peace.

Sub Ops 5

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Apex Magazine webzine has a new editor, and is looking for dark speculative fiction. Length: up to 7.5K, Payment: 5¢/word. No reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.

Humor site Cracked.com is looking for humorous pieces: "Cracked.com is one of the most popular comedy sites on planet Earth. If we feature your content, it will be seen by A LOT of people. We are very, very picky about what goes on the front page, but we'll give anybody a chance. If you're good, we'll pay you. We strive to publish every single great piece of content we get in. If you're a creative person and you can make stuff other people will like to read or watch, Cracked is an All-You-Can-Eat buffet." Length: varies. Payment: "Profit. Meaning, we pay you $50 per article starting out. Once you hit your fifth article, it goes up to $150. There is also a traffic bonus program that pays an extra $50 if your article finishes in the top 10 for the month in traffic." Submissions are pitched publicly via their bulletin board (for which submitting writers must sign up) and then is workshopped/critiqued, Sounds a lot like what Baen was doing with their subs; see guidelines page and related links for more details (and my thanks to Bill Peschel for the heads up on this market.)

Fender Stitch webzine is looking for fiction in all genres, Lenth: up to 4K (prefers 1-2.5K) Payment:: 5¢/word. No reprints, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.

The Friends of Merril Short Story Contest is now open; it's not stated but it looks like Spec Fic. The contest is not free, either, but the entry fee is $5.00 (CDN) so it's not horrible, and the money goes to their cause. Length: up to 4K. Prizes: First Prize: $350.00 (CDN) and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories; Second Prize: $100.00 (CDN) and 1 copy etc.; Third Prize: $50.00 (CDN) and 1 copy etc. No reprints, electronic submissions okay, see contest guidelines for more details. Deadline: February 15, 2012

Woodland Press has an open call for their Hills of Fire antho, and is looking for: "...fictional pulp action stories in an Appalachian setting. Submitted stories should harken back to the square-jawed tales of Robert E. Howard, Dashiell Hammett, and Louis L'Amour. Stories can be set in any time period, but must take place in the Appalachian region. Stories involving mountain men, moonshine runners, lawmen, heists, wrestling, soldiers, and outlaws are highly encouraged. Addition of regional history and folklore is also advised. Complex characters should be equally mixed with solid plots and high octane excitement. Submissions should avoid popular action clichés and unflattering Appalachian stereotypes." Length: up to 2.5K. Payment: "five-cents per word (upon publication) plus contributor copy." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: June 30th, 2012.

T-Day Ten

2011-11-21T00:00:00.002-05:00

Ten Things to Help with Thanksgiving

DLTK has a whole page here of Thanksgiving-themed activities for kids (I like the printable bookmarks.)

In addition to their annual Turkey Talk-Line® (1-800-288-8372; call weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Standard Time) Butterball.com has short videos on how to choose, thaw, stuff, roast and carve a turkey.

Melissa Clark has an excellent article here on what cooking and prep you can do before Thanksgiving Day to make your dinner easier to handle.

Cooking Light's Holiday celebration page includes links to a gluten-free menu and vegetarian recipes.

Food Network has their annual Thanksgiving page here, including a recipe for the World's Simplest Thanksgiving Turkey.

Give back: share the bounty with those having tough times by donating non-perishable foods to your local churches, food banks or via food purchase donations at your local grocery store.

Hostess Gifts: if you're having dinner elsewhere this year, the nicest thing you can do is offer to bring something to contribute to the meal. With the turkey taking up the oven most of the day, warm homemade rolls or bread are a nice treat (and can be used with leftovers for turkey sandwiches.) Kids don't always love pumpkin pie, so a batch of Toll House cookies may make you their hero. If you don't cook consider giving your hostess a neat cooking tool, pan or other kitchen helper. A gift card for a meal at your hosts' favorite restaurant is also a lovely way to reciprocate. One year a visiting friend gave us a new set of reusable food containers, which I am still using.

How to Make Edible Fruit Centerpieces

My No Brainer Fudge Recipe (#5 on the list here.) It's the richest and easiest fudge you'll ever make; no candy thermometer required.

For a special dessert I love apple strudel, as it makes a nice, light change from traditional pie. Here's a good recipe from Pepperidge Farm using their frozen puff pastry.

Got any great links for Thanksgiving helps or hints? Share them in comments.

Whatcha Reading?

2011-11-20T00:00:00.009-05:00

Now and then I like to do a whatcha reading check and see what books everyone else in the house has going. I do this when they're not home not because I'm sneaky -- well, I guess it's a little sneaky -- but mainly so that so no one tries to plant books they think I think they should be reading. I'm also trying to be sensitive to the fact that apparently it's tough to live with an opinionated writer who will shove a book in their hands without warning (I don't know why these people waste their time whining about getting cool new books when they could be reading them instead, but there you go.)

Mom is visiting for the holidays, and like me she leaves books she's reading everywhere. Today she's working on Carla Cassidy's Rancher Under Cover in her room and Thomas A. Flagel's The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War and the December '11 issue of Woman's Day in the living room. I've noticed she's been reading a lot more Harlequin and Silhouette romances these days, along with her usual nonfic history doorstops. The Civil War is her favorite period, so I'll probably grab Shiloh for her from my Shelby Foote collection. I also want her to read The Icing on the Cake, Alison Kent's reality-based romance, because it's so unique.

Due to an overabundance of school work my daughter has not been reading much at all for pleasure lately, but she's dutifully plowing her way through her latest assignment for advanced English Lit. She's already complained numerous times about how much she dislikes F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (while I try very hard to keep a straight face as I encourage her to keep plowing), so I wasn't surprised to see it thrown on the floor. She was a bit more respectful with her class textbook, which is sitting on her desk. I imagine when she gets home from her latest band competition she'll be diving back into another lit assignment. I might have to make her some sympathy shortbread and pick up the latest volume of her favorite manga to go with them.

My guy reads only for work, and he's been studying this technical manual on energy efficiency controls all week. I know how much he hates to read, so I don't shove books at him. We do discuss local and national news, though, and I might leave a copy of the Sunday newspaper out where he can find it. My college kid is also home, and has started a local job for the holidays. He's been taking extra shifts to beef up his paycheck, and as a result has been coming home exhausted, so I wasn't surprised to see the only reading material in his room was a Shonen Jump magazine. Reading is not his favorite leisure activity, but when he's tired he's more apt to curl up with humor or something light. I'll keep that in mind when I next get to BAM and see if I can find him something short and fun.

As for what I've been reading, we'll head over to my nightstand TBR and have a look. My piles here shift constantly; at the moment I think I've got kind of an interesting assortment, mostly rereads: 11/22/63 by Stephen King; The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, The Knife Man by Wendy Moore, A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel, Chimera by Rob Thurman, a collection of e.e. cummings's poetry, Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt . . . and see, I am reading a dragon book; there's Anne McCaffrey right up top (I remembered I was once very fond of The White Dragon, so to keep my promise to read more dragon stuff I thought I'd start there with a reread.)

Of all of them I'm probably not going to finish the only new book (King's latest doorstop); that one I'll pass along to someone who is dying to read it but can't afford the hardcover. Since I've been lending my car to my daughter I haven't any books in there, but Daniel Pool is in my purse. Well, not Daniel, but his wonderful book What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew. I'm expecting a copy of ClothDragon's Zen revenge rec, Bridge of Birds, next week as soon as B&N.com ships my latest order, and have another list of titles to hunt for the next time I get to the brick-and-mortar BAM. I've got to get there soon, as I definitely need some new reads.

So, whatcha reading? Give us a peek in comments.

Blockbuster Ten

2011-11-19T00:00:00.018-05:00

Ten Things To Help You Bust Through Writer's Block
(dedicated to L., who requested some ideas)

Change Locations: The space you're writing in may be interfering with your process (and is generally because of bad lighting, uncomfortable temperature, noise, family or co-worker traffic or any other element that distracts you.) To discover if it is, take your work and go somewhere else. Coffee shops are the default, but if you have time check out your local public library, outdoor parks, school media centers, employee break rooms or cafeterias at work, tea rooms, etc. Or ask a family member or friend if you can borrow an empty/spare room or office of theirs to work in for a few hours.

Clean Something: This is a method I use to work out whatever is getting between me and the page that my morning meditation doesn't clear out; I get up and do some housework like fold a load of laundry, vacuum, mop, dust, etc. It improves my mood, helps me keep up with my chores and makes me feel better after the task is done. For really bad writing days I'll stop and go clean an entire room.

Get Physical: If you do some regular type of exercise, try taking a break and working out for fifteen minutes. I have a Tai Chi video tape I pop in the recorder that helps me enormously when I'm too aggravated to write or meditate. If you can get outside that also helps; I've found taking the dogs for even a short walk improves my mood and calms me almost 100% of the time.

Listen to Music: I put together a playlist for every book I write, and when I get mired down I'll listen to one of the songs. This is fun and also can help you focus and visualize; music is one of the most direct methods of finding inspiration. If I'm having a particularly difficult time with a specific scene I'll put on a calming instrumental song and loop it to play over and over until I work out the kinks.

Meditate: My favorite definition of meditation is this one: Prayer is about talking to God; meditation is about listening to Him. There are innumerable methods for and philosophies about meditation, and not all require you to be a person of faith; if you don't believe in a higher power it can simply be a time when you listen to yourself. I meditate every morning, and my method evolved from a technique called the thousand-petal lotus (and here's an article where the technique is explained and used for weight control.) This is a great way to deal with the frustrations that get between you and the page, as well as the most proactive thing you can do to prevent writer's block. Try it; you might find that as little as 10 minutes of meditation before you write can help you disperse a lot of the negative thoughts and energy drainers that might mess with you later.

Pick a Reward: Aka dangle a carrot in front of your nose to get yourself moving. I use books I want to read, music CDs I want to listen to and movies I want to watch as incentives to finish my weekly writing goals, and I always reward myself with something fun when I finish a novel. It doesn't have to be a reward you have to purchase, either; if money is tight you can make your carrot something you love to do at home, such as watching an hour of television, taking a long hot bubble bath or baking a batch of homemade cookies for yourself.

Skip Ahead: If there's a scene you simply can't write no matter how often you try, it may need to percolate a bit more in the back of your mind. To give it time to do so you can skip past it and write the next scene. Be sure to leave behind a note for yourself on what the skipped scene was supposed to accomplish, what characters appear in it, etc. Naturally you can go back to the scene whenever you feel ready to try tackling again, but I recommend giving yourself at least 48 hours before you have another go at it.

Talk it Out: This is a trick I learned while training myself to write by voice. If you go back a few paragraphs or pages of story that you've already written, and read it out loud up to the point where you were stopped by the block, you may find you can keep going and tell more of the story by saying it versus typing it. If you don't own voice recognition software, you can record the new material on a handheld tape recorder or with your computer microphone and a recording program. Then all you have to do is transcribe what you've said onto the page.

Timed & Reward Breaks: You'll need a timer or an alarm of some kind for this one (I use an ordinary kitchen timer.) When you're in writing space and nothing is happening, set the timer or alarm for five minutes and go do something else. You can do anything you want for five minutes. When the bell rings or the alarm goes off, go back to your writing space try to write again for the next fifteen minutes (and don't do anything else; you're just there to write.) If nothing happens again, reset your timer or alarm for five more minutes and take another break. Now here's the reward part: if you write a full page, as a reward you earn a ten minute break. If you write two full pages, you get a fifteen minute break. And if you write until you reach your daily goal, you get the rest of the day off.

Unplug: The internet is a wonderful thing. It's an endless universe of neat stuff waiting to be discovered. It can also be one of the worst distractions a writer has, especially when you're wrestling with a block. To get it out of your way, shut it down, and don't log on again until you've written at least a page of new material. Then get that timer or alarm out and give yourself a reward of ten minutes of internet time, because you deserve it.

Related links: Hack Your Way Out of Writer's Block ~ Overcoming Writer's Block ~ Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block ~ Writer's Block: Is It All In Your Head?

You're My #2

2011-11-18T00:00:00.002-05:00

For everyone who has ever loved pencils (colored or otherwise), here's a delightful stop-motion music video about them:

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

Winner

2011-11-17T00:10:00.001-05:00

I suspect you guys have as much magic as the Publishing Fairy. Your efforts kept me from detonating, and now I have a new list of books to hunt for the next time I hit BAM. On the professional front, I also sold a novel today, and since it was the book I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2009, that was extra icing on the cake.

Meanwhile, the sparkly one just waved her wand over the magic hat, and the winner of the Zen Revenge giveaway is:

ClothDragon, who recommended Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (which I will track down and read, too.)

ClothDragon, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com, and let me know which title you'd like for your BookWish. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Zen Revenge

2011-11-16T00:00:00.004-05:00

I've summoned the Publishing Fairy and bullied her into agreeing to give someone a book they want today. It's mostly a selfish thing; an act of Zen revenge to nullify something that I was stuck with that I don't want (long, ugly story.)

I can't go into details without my head exploding. You'll get writer brains all over your browser. You don't mind, do you?

If you don't, in comments to this post name a book or author that makes you happy (or if you're in my boat at the moment, just toss your name in the magic hat) by midnight EST tonight, November 16, 2011. I'll draw one name at random from everyone who participates and grant the winner a BookWish*. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

*A BookWish is any book of the winner's choice available for order online and that costs up to a maximum of $30.00 U.S. dollars (I'll cover any additional shipping costs involved.)

Faking It

2011-11-15T00:00:00.005-05:00

Eighteen years ago I took an old wooden stool my mom had given me, stripped some pretty horrible avocado green paint from it, and decided to try something. I wanted to paint objects on seat in such a way that they looked real. This technique is called trompe l'oeil, and I thought it would be fun. If it worked it would be a kind of visual joke, to fool someone into thinking for just a second that there was stuff sitting on top of the stool.

At the time I didn't really know what I was doing; I figured I'd simply try. I took one of my dishtowels, an orange, a pear, a rose, and my wedding rings, and arranged them into a still life on the floor. Then I painted what I saw onto the top of the stool.

Obviously the results weren't fabulous. I thought the towel came out okay, but the fruit looked flat and the rose was just wrong. My rings looked especially silly; nothing like the real deal. I was about to scrub off the entire painting when my guy stepped in and whisked the stool away from me. He thought it was beautiful (even back then the man needed glasses) and he wouldn't let me erase what was to me a failure. No, he slapped a couple coats of varnish on it to preserve it. Miffed, I left the stool in his custody and eventually forgot about it.

The other night I couldn't find the folding chair I always use to sit in the garage with my guy (I think one of the kids borrowed it) so I grabbed this stool -- my old ridiculous-looking painted stool -- and dusted it off. It surprised me, to see how vivid the colors still were, and how neat the towel looked. My fruit was still flat, and my rose and rings were still lame, but they were also kind of charming. I'd tried so hard to get it right; I'd even added all the little dimples on the rind of the orange.

Those tiny details fascinated me, and reminded me of who I was eighteen years ago. At that point in my life I'd just started diving into things like quilting and painting and writing. Not because I thought I could be wonderful at any of them, but because not trying meant not knowing, and I wanted to find out what I could do.

I'm still trying to find out what I can do. I'll never be a great painter, but I've learned to be a bit more patient with myself. I'm also more forgiving, and more inclined to keep trying, because in the years since I painted that stool I've learned that I don't suck at everything. I've also discovered that just trying to paint or quilt or write what I see in my head is enough to make it worth it. If something decent comes out of it, that's a bonus. What I thought of as faking it was always an act of courage as well as creation. The delights keep bringing me back to the easel, or the sewing machine, or the keyboard -- and yet, so do the disappointments.

I'm glad my guy didn't let me destroy my failed attempt at trompe l'oeil. I can see now that it wasn't a failure. It was one of countless stops along the journey of living a creative life. If I'd given up there, maybe I wouldn't be where I am now.

Everything you do contributes to who you become. It's okay to get discouraged, to feel inadequate, to want to make your failures go away; it's part of learning. It's when you stop trying that you steal from your future self. So go ahead, try it. Fake it if you have to. Whatever the results, it will probably be one of the most real things you ever do.

Only in Novels Ten

2011-11-14T00:00:00.011-05:00

Ten Things Women Do Only in Novels

Are Purseless: Women in novels rarely carry purses. In real life, that's like being a medic without a carry-in. I'm not particularly in love with purses -- I own exactly one -- but I feel unarmed if I go anywhere without it. There are exceptions, of course; my daughter flatly refuses to carry one (something I secretly admire, actually.)

Confront an Intruder: I am amazed at how often women in novels will get out of bed in the middle of the night to investigate the glass-breaking sound out in the living room. Alone, unarmed, drowsy and dressed in my pajamas? I'm going to do the sensible thing and call 911 on the cordless as I climb out through a window and run away.

Dash on Makeup: I don't wear makeup anymore, but back when I did it took at least ten minutes, not the five seconds it takes in novels, to apply. Now there are so many different products I think you need a degree in chemistry to figure out how to use them. Also, women in novels all seem to be makeup experts who always get it on perfectly the first try. I envy this greatly, as I have never gotten it on right the first try.

Eat Indiscriminantly: Calories remain completely uncounted in novel world. Or maybe the food has no calories, or all the women there have incredible metabolisms which allow them to eat anything they want and never gain an ounce. Which is why I want to go live in Novel World. Now, please?

Flaunt Their Scars: No matter what physical or emotional trauma was involved, novel women like to show off their scars. They often dress specifically to reveal them, and have no problem discussing -- with total strangers -- how they got them. This is certainly a healthy attitude, but not a realistic one. Those of us who have noticeable scars usually dress to cover them up so we don't upset other people or have to talk about them.

Have No Allergies: Women in novels are disgustingly healthy in general, and almost always allergic to nothing. I marvel at this, especially during the Spring when most of my female friends are mainlining Claritin just so they can walk outside to get the mail. My mom is so allergic to mangoes simply touching one makes her break out in a rash. I'm the same with ficus trees. It doesn't seem fair.

Never Use Mobiles: Another reason I'd like to go live on Fiction Planet; none of the women who inhabit it are on their cell phones 24/7. In my world I can't escape the mobile phone addicted females; they're everywhere. And the texting while driving. God. Don't even get me started on that.

Wear Any Old Thing to Go Out: Outside the chicklit genre women in novels appear supremely unconcerned with how they dress. They're almost like guys in how little they think about their clothes. Not so in real life; just find yourself an average lady and watch what happens when she has to get dressed to leave the house. Nations have risen and fallen in less time. While you're at it, bring popcorn, a drink and a comfortable lawn chair for the makeup and hair phase of getting ready to go out.

What have you noticed that women do only in novels? Add your observations in comments.

Sub Ops

2011-11-13T00:00:00.002-05:00

Rob Tucker of the very interesting UK-based Circalit sent me a heads up on three of their current competitions:

Get Your Comedy Sketch Produced by an Award-Winning Director

Ever had an idea for a comedy sketch? Circalit is back once again helping talented comedy writers get their sketches produced and distributed. This time Circalit has teamed up with award-winning filmmaker, Jason Wingard, whose most recent short, “Ben and Jackie” has been short-listed for the Virgin Media Shorts 2011 and the Reed.co.uk Short Film competition. The competition is part of Circalit’s Get your Film Made series. The winning script will be directed by Jason, who has worked alongside fantastic comedians such as Johnny Vegas, and companies such as Channel K, MTV and 2-Entertain. Participants are actively encouraged to collaborate with one another to produce the best, most groin-tearingly funny piece of comedy they can. The deadline is Thursday 16th December, and submissions are being read as soon as they’re submitted - so the sooner you enter the better! For more details, check out: http://www.circalit.com/projects/competitions/jason.

Portal Entertainment and Circalit on the Search for the Writers of Tomorrow ~ £6K Global Writing Competition to Create a Storyworld

Portal Entertainment has announced a £6k global writing competition to create a storyworld: that is, a story told using different types of media across multiple platforms. The winner of the competition will receive £6k to develop their storyworld with Portal Entertainment. The top 5 entries will be given professional feedback from BBC Multiplatform Executive Producer Sarah Clay (Becoming Human, Waterloo Reunited, E20). The deadline for entries is 21st November. For more information please visit www.circalit.com/projects/competitions/immersive.

Chance Encounters: The Circalit Flash Fiction Competition

In partnership with London’s trendiest hangout for creatives, The Hospital Club (www.thehospitalclub.com), and their poet-in-residence, the lyrical prodigy Sabrina Mahfouz, Circalit are extremely pleased to announce a new flash fiction writing competition. Writers are challenged to create a one page story, of whatever genre they please, on the subject of ‘A Chance Encounter’. Sabrina herself will be reading the winning story for an exclusive video-recording and podcast, which will be available on the hospital club website. The winning story will play in the club’s lifts and video screens, and will be plastered up throughout the Hospital Club’s halls for all its glitzy patrons, who include the likes of James Morrison, Kate Moss and Jude Law, to read and enjoy. This is a great opportunity to have your story exposed to a wide and varied creative audience in an original way. The deadline for entries is 1st December. Visit http://www.circalit.com/projects/competitions/hospital for more information.

Blade Maker

2011-11-12T00:00:00.004-05:00

Joel Bukiewicz of Cut Brooklyn explains how he made the leap from fiction writer to knife maker (narrated with a few R-rated words, but beautifully told):

Made by Hand / No 2 The Knife Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

NaNoWriMo: Resistance

2011-11-11T00:00:00.003-05:00

You NaNoWriMo'ers out there are a week and a half into writing your November novel, and so far I bet it's probably going pretty well for most of you. There were those first couple of days when you started this story -- thrilling, scary as hell, or somewhere in between -- but you got through them okay. You've navigated a few bumps but you've also made some progress. You've probably cheated at least once to go back and read over what you've written, and maybe even tinkered with a few lines. And you may be convinced that because of this you will keep on writing book-length fiction for the rest of the month, if not the rest of your natural life.

Only today or tomorrow or a couple days from now, you'll go to the keyboard, open the novel file, and not want to write anything new. There's this other idea you had, you see, that was so much better. Or you've backread what you've written more than once, tinkered quite a bit, and despite that this story is simply not turning out the way you expected.

It's strange, isn't it? Characters who used to be deep and interesting and fun to hang with suddenly grow a little old and boring. The decision to set the novel in [fascinating place] that seemed so smart now feels a little dumb because you've discovered just how much you don't really know about [fascinating place]. There's that awful plot hole that you didn't see before but you keep braking at or running over. But it's only been a week and a half, and you can scrap these two or three chapters and start over, right?

Writers have different references for this period with the work. We say we're a little blocked, or the honeymoon is over, or the muse is fighting us. We have so many analogies for this point with the work we could probably write a book about them.

The fact is, in most cases, the new and shiny has worn off. What was cool and exciting and kept us at the keyboard until 2 a.m. every night suddenly feels like a job. A job for which there is no paycheck waiting at the end of the week. A job that might be more to way more than we can handle.

Remember the doubt that tried to keep you from writing this book? That almost had you convinced that you couldn't do it. Say hello; it's back. Despite the fact that Halloween is over it's wearing a mask and costume. It isn't interested in treats; it wants only to trick you. It's here to keep you from writing, and what better way that to make you think the work you've done is boring, useless and ultimately worthless?

You don't have to keep writing, of course. You can stop now and start over with another idea. You can take a break from writing for a couple days, maybe a week. You can drop out of NaNoWriMo and promise to do it next year. You can do any of these things; no one will stop you. Certainly not your doubt, because that's exactly what it wants. Like the bully back in school, it's only interested in dumping your work (and your butt) in the nearest trash can.

At present the new and shiny has been long gone from my WIP. I wrote a couple of scenes yesterday that were total yawners. I hated them even as I was writing them. No color, no life, just a whole mess of words that made sense but were about as exciting to read as directions on the back of a shampoo bottle. Try as I might, I couldn't get anything better out on the page. I'm tired of these characters, and I want to do something else. But I have only three chapters left to write, and two and a half weeks until my deadline, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stop now. So I kept writing, got it down on the page, mentally spit on it a few times and finished my writing session. Several hours later, when I opened them back up during my daily editing session, I salvaged what I could and slashed through the rest with a note to rewrite.

Rewrites are fine with me because I know that some days I write nothing but crap. This morning I opened the file and moved on to the next scene, and as it happens I'm writing a lot better today. But even if I wrote another pile of manure this time, I'd do the same thing and keep moving forward until I finish the book. Then, as C.J. Cherryh puts it, I will edit brilliantly.

Writing professionally is an endurance marathon, and this is one of those tough stretches in the process when you find out if you have what it takes to be a successful writer. We don't stop when the new and shiny wears off. Successful writers find ways to avoid or at least stall other ideas distract them from the work. We do whatever we can to shut their door in the face of that no-treats, all-tricks doubt. If something dumps us in a trash can, we climb right back out and keep writing. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how much we don't want to.

So how is it going with your NaNoWriMo? Let us know in comments.

NaNoWidgets

2011-11-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

A quick heads up before I hit the road: I noticed this morning that the NaNoWriMo site folks had finally posted this year's batch of wordcount widgets. Looks like they're for officially registered users only, but all the same a nice variety.

Also, my thanks to everyone who invested in Nightshine since release day. While it probably won't make an appearance on the Times list, the novel performed well on B&N's lists, coming in at #12 on their romance mm and #38 on their overall mm bestseller lists. The e-book sales for this book are particularly strong, too, and altogether made my editor quite happy.

Testing Picasa

2011-11-10T06:41:00.007-05:00

Pardon me while I test this new Blogger feature for photos (and yes, I made the steampunk pendant out of an old pocket watch and some parts.) Small image, no alignment.

Medium image, right alignment. If this Picasa thing works out I shouldn't have to code image inserts anymore. I may have to actually thank Google for something.

Large image, center alignment. Large doesn't seem to be very large.

Large image, left alignment. Maybe they're sizing large by comparison to something else. Something that looks larger by comparison, perhaps?

Three covers. Let's see if Picasa stacks them in a row here. (checking preview) Nope.

The new feature works okay, and certainly saves a lot of coding headaches, but I'm so used to resizing and placing my images exactly where I want them that I don't think I'll be using it much.

On the Road

2011-11-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

Just a heads up: I'm starting a road trip tomorrow, so any comments you care to leave will probably sit for a while in the approval queue. I'll try to get to them whenever we stop and my kid finds somewhere with free wi-fi (I don't think it will be a problem anywhere but in the mountains.)

I'll be working while I'm out of town, too, and I thought some of you might like to see what I take with me and how I go about being a mobile PBW. A story can be as portable as you want it to be, as long as you think ahead and plan what you'll need for your writing sessions away from home.

The first thing that goes into the writing tote is my novel notebook, which has my synopsis, chapter outlines, character profiles, research data, visuals and so forth for me to reference. This is another reason for making one; it's convenient to take along on trips.

In a pencil case (one hole-punched to fit in the novel notebook) I stock lots of pens and pencils, of course; I never depend on hotel freebie pens.

A blank notebook also comes along for any new notes, writing to-do lists, or other draft material I may need to jot down (a spiral-bound, one-subject student notebook or composition book have prepunched holes in them, so they should fit nicely into the back of your novel notebook binder.)

A laptop, netbook, smart keyboard or other writing tech to use for writing sessions is a given; for me it's usually the laptop, but if my hands are in pretty good shape I also take an AlphaSmart Neo smart keyboard. The Neo is sturdy, doesn't require special hookups, power supplies (mine runs on batteries) or complicated wiring, can be used practically anywhere but in the shower and doesn't offer the distraction of the internet.

A few blank CDs to backup the work I accomplish while away from home also go into the bag. If your writing tech doesn't burn CDs for you, an alternative is to e-mail whatever writing you do each day to yourself, although if you've had any problems downloading e-mailed files I'd use a secondary form of backup as a safety measure -- maybe send a copy via e-mail to a writer friend to hold for you.

I always write up a daily task schedule to make the best use of my time. On the road I might have two or three hours a day to work, so I try to give myself short, manageable writing assignments. On some trips when I have to fly for more than eight hours or drive for more than four hours every day I will pack a print copy of a recently-finished manuscript with me and do a read-through edit each night (you may want to do an electronic version if your airline has weight restrictions or extra baggage charges.)

If I'm going to be staying at the home of a family member or friend, I also bring a lap desk. In the event there is no desk or table in a quiet area for me to use, I can take a chair to a secluded corner and work off the lap desk.

Finally, I take one book to read for pleasure. I take only one because I usually end up visiting book stores wherever I travel and buying at least five or six more.

What do you take with you on your road trips to help with getting some writing done? Do you have any tips on how to be productive while traveling? Let us know in comments.

Scene Focus

2011-11-08T00:00:00.017-05:00

Let's pretend this photograph is a scene in a story:

We'll assume that the Renfaire is the setting, the guy on the horse is the protagonist, the guy in the helmet praying is a secondary character, and all those folks in the background is the rest of the cast. As snapshots go I think the action in this one is fairly self-explanatory. All we have to do know is figure out why this is happening.

At first glance things in the photograph do seem a bit busy -- there's a lot to look at. To make the scene more interesting and give it more impact, the first thing I do is narrow the focus and weed out anything that is unnecessary. I do the same thing with a photo by cropping:

Now it looks a little better, although I felt all those colorful folks in the background were also a distraction, so I toned them down as well by making them black and white (and the facial blurriness among the crowd is also intentional.)

My photo now focuses on the two primary characters and what they're doing. But why is the guy on the horse swinging his sword, and why is the other guy praying? Let's take a closer look:

This is the aha moment of the photograph. The protagonist isn't attacking the secondary character; he's taking a swing at an apple on the guy's head. And he's doing that because he wants to . . .

. . . chop the apple in half, of course (and don't ask me how I managed to snap this photo at the precise moment the apple split in two; it was pure dumb luck.)

A scene should illustrate some part of your story as clearly as a series of photographs. When you put together a scene, you need characters, setting, action, and a point to the whole thing. To communicate these to your reader, you need to focus on what is important and enhance that -- while not cluttering up the scene with a lot of unnecessary details.

Here are some scene-focus question to ask yourself (and you can ask these at any time, before you start writing, while you're writing, or when you're editing):

Who's in the picture? Consider how many characters you're showing to the reader in this scene, and determine if they're actually serving a purpose. If they're just standing around do nothing, they're a distraction that can clutter up up the scene and slow the pacing. Put them to work or get them out of the spotlight. You don't have to get rid of all your background characters, but don't shift the reader's focus to them by making them too prominent or colorful.

Who needs to be the main attraction? How are you showcasing the characters who are important in this scene? Are they front and center in your scene, or are they wandering around getting lost in the crowd?

What's happening in this scene? Unless you're writing some abstract literary piece, the reader generally needs to clearly understand the action that occurs. But don't fall in the trap of telling the reader too much via info dumps or As You Know Bob character monologues. When we're watching a scene like this, we don't need to know how much the horse weighs, where it was foaled, the name and home village of the smith who forged the armor, etc.

What's the point? There should be the equivalent to an apple getting sliced in half. It's the reason all of this is happening, and even if you're not ready to come out and explain it to the reader, it still needs to be somewhere in your scene because it is the point.

Got any tips that you want to share on how you keep your scenes sharp and focused? Let us know in comments.

Have at Them Ten

2011-11-07T00:00:00.131-05:00

The war between the self-pubbed and the not self-pubbed escalated recently when some ugly words were slung back and forth at the authorial front lines. I won't link to or repeat the most painfully uninventive slapdown that was employed, but I do find the lack of imagination appalling.

It's NaNoWriMo, people. Why aren't we setting the proper example for the next generation? Where is the creativity here? Publicly insulting our peers when they don't agree with us should be something writers do with style (we certainly have no problem in private.)

Honestly, if you can't think of something beautifully rotten enough to throw in the face of your colleague and make them feel instantly inferior, then you should never even attempt to squabble over whose publisher is bigger, whose method of publishing is better, or who is making more money. We do have some standards, you know. Sit down, practice and start building some vicious insult lists. I mean it -- next time you have a tantrum I expect much better name-calling.

To get you started, here are:

Ten Inventive Names You Can Use to Insult a Published Author

Book Bondservant: An elegant volley to hurl at the unfashionably print-obsessed. Works well paired with an estimate of how many trees we've killed, how much ink we've wasted, or the diameter of the crater that is our professional carbon footprint. Bonus points: Use alliteration to work in at least one Borders/brachiosaurus analogy.

Creative Chattel: Can be employed to hurt the feelings on either side. Observe how self-absorbed we artistic types are, mention three better-paying day jobs that aren't as difficult, quote (if available) the Kirkus review for their last novel, and sit back to watch the fur fly.

DIY Drudge: Should be fired off at the self-pubbed during rants about lousy editing, blurry cover art and laundry-list storytelling. Additional ammo: Alert all your pro pals on LinkedIn to attack the drudge for not spending a thousand dollars to hire a professional cover artist.

Fiction Fido: Another name that works well for either side, particularly when either side of Publishing is being likened to puppy mills and pet shops. Pour some additional petrol on the pyre by woofing at anyone who objects to being called Publishing's bitch.

List Laborer: Once reserved for the not self-pubbed, contempt for those who aspire to have a book rank on a prestigious bestseller list no longer has to be unilateral; thanks to the Times you can now hurl this bomb at both armies. Be sure while you do that you emphasize the lists are fixed, the lists don't matter, or that no one with a brain pays any attention to them.

MySpace Menial: Unfortunately we're phasing out this self-promo sneer due to lack of use. Please wait until we compile a new heap of dung for the updated version (working insult title: Facebook Fool.)

Publishing Peon: All-purpose, nicely nasty slingshot that also insinuates just how stupid the not-self-pubbed are for refusing to bask in the joy, freedom and piles of money to be had by becoming digital self-publishing's tart. Fires best from the lofty, virginal position of one who never stooped to sacrifice a single copper to fiction's feudal lords because they foolishly refused to recognize your genius.

Self-pubbed Serf: The flip side of the Publishing Peon, to be used whenever a digital platform publisher screws up, a print-pubbed author strikes a series deal with HBO, or a major publishing house signs Amanda Hocking.

Text Thrall: Until electronic ink technology improves a bit more, best for use against print pubbed. Allude to writers locked in at a conference, chained to a hotel room desk and fed only bread, water and mystery chicken while they struggle through revisions that would never have been necessary if only they'd seen the digilight, and you've got yourself a lovely and colorful putdown.

Writing Workhorse: This one can be thrown at authors on either side, as said authors are overweight, underappreciated, overworked and undervalued. For that matter, why publish at all? Books are a waste of time better served watching American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, or keeping up with that hard-working, endlessly talented, hopelessly romantic ~~Kardashian~~ ~~Humphries~~ Kardashian chick.

NaNoWriMo: Writing Your Dragons

2011-11-06T00:00:00.086-04:00

I am not a fan of dragons, dragon fiction, dragon mythology or most anything that involves gigantic scaly winged reptilian beasts that breathe fire. This is mostly because dragons are generally depicted as the blockheads of epic fantasy. Think about it: despite their size, powers and supernatural abilities, fictional dragons are forever sucking up to humans, bonding with them or giving them pony rides during some idiot quest for a priceless artifact that is usually 100% useless to dragons.

Don't worry, dragon lovers, I've already been punished for not showing the proper appreciation and respect. I have to depend on a dragon in order to write, have withstood innumerable online flame attacks, and have a kid who adores dragon fiction, dragon art and dragon jewelry. If I'm not talking to or being yelled at by a dragon, I'm shopping for the damn things.

Since it seems that I will never get dragons out of my life, I've decided to surrender and embrace them. Chris D'Lacey, I'm finally going to read your books. That goes for you, too, Paolini. I will watch all The Lord of the Rings movies (they had dragons in them, right?) and all the others that everyone loves so much: Dragonheart, Pete's Dragon, The Neverending story, Harry Potter #Whatever . . .

Seriously, I don't like the fact that I dislike dragons so much. I used to enjoy dragon fiction back in my younger days, when I got hooked on the Pern novels of Anne MacCaffrey. She rocked the scaly beasts to no end. Dragons are supposed to be cool, and a lot of my friends like them, and my aversion is kind of unreasonable. Okay, very unreasonable. I was the same way with horses for a long time. Spiders, too. So to conquer this negative attitude, I need to educate myself, learn everything I can about dragons, dragon fiction, dragon mythology, and then write a story about them. In which they will not behave like blockheads.

While you're working on your novel, be it for NaNoWriMo or at any time during your writing life, you will encounter something that makes you feel the same way I do about dragons. It can be almost anything involved in storytelling: description, characterization, grammar, dialogue, setting, plotting, etc. It will be something you really don't like already, or for which you acquire an instant dislike. These are your writing dragons.

You can hate them. You can swear at them, rant about them, you can even try to avoid them. And while you're doing that, they won't be going anywhere. Why should they, when they can feed on your creativity and your motivation -- and feed, they do. The bigger and uglier they get, the more room they take up in your head and the more havoc they create on the page.

Example: the love scene. This writing dragon is deeply loathed and dodged by a lot of writers, I think because for whatever reason sex embarrasses them. So they avoid the love scene dragon, which really isn't a problem because there are plenty of great books with no love scenes and zero sexual content. Even in the romance genre, where the love scene is pretty much expected, there are writers who keep that dragon behind a locked bedroom door or fade to black whenever it (no pun intended) arises and have no problem selling books.

That said, if the love scene is one of your writing dragons, I can almost guarantee it will become a problem for you at some point in your writing career. It's like some kind of weird dragon karma. An editor will ask for it during revisions, or you'll get a shot at a love scene antho that pays fabulous royalties, or you'll simply hit a point in a story where you've got no choice but to write at least part of a love scene. Then you're really screwed.

Another example is one of my long-term writing dragons (ironically, one I rarely talk about): dialogue. For the longest time dialogue was the most difficult part of any story for me to write. I couldn't get it to sound natural on the page. In every scene all my characters ended up standing around either lecturing each other about what I thought the reader should know, or doing that awful teaparty chatter (i.e. Hi, how are you? I'm fine, and you? Great. Beautiful day we're having, isn't it? Yes, it is and on and on and on.) No matter how hard I tried I could not get control of my dialogue. It seemed so unfair, too; every other writer I read tossed it out the page so effortlessly while I was sweating out each and every word my characters uttered.

Dialogue is a huge part of storytelling, and I knew I couldn't hate it and be an effective writer. So I focused on it, read everything I could with great dialogue and then analyzed the writers who did it especially effortlessly. Effortless dialogue is almost audible; it sounds like someone talking in your head while you read it.

I paid attention to the spoken word wherever I went. I became a discreet eavesdropper and listened in on conversations, noting not only what people said but how they said it, what tone they used, their word choices, etc. I practiced -- you really don't want to know how many stories I wrote solely to compose dialogue -- and forced myself to keep at it.

Over time I realized why dialogue was such a writing dragon for me: I was trying too hard to control it. For once being organized and thinking out everything in advance was actually working against me; I learned that I needed to let go, not worry about it, and just let the dialogue happen while I was writing the story. It goes against everything else involved my process, but when it comes to writing dialogue, I do my best work when I'm spontaneous.

My method takes time, so if you encounter a writing dragon while you're working on your NaNoWriMo novel, and it's not a huge beast, you can try another approach to (temporarily) get around it. Let's say for the sake of argument that it's a love scene dragon. Since you have only 24 days left to nail your 50K goal, you don't want to spend 20 of them trying to write one love scene. My advice is to skip over it for now. Type a place holder/reminder tag on the page exactly like this: [love scene between John and Marcia.] Then pick up the story at the point where they're done cuddling and write on from there. You will still have to deal with the love scene dragon eventually, but this allows you to get past it for now.

Whatever your personal writing dragon is, don't run away from it. Face it, educate yourself about it, watch how others do it. Then bridle it, jump on it and write it, and keep writing it at regular intervals. With enough time and practice you can work out your problems with it and nullify any power it has over you. I can't promise you'll ever fall in love with your writing dragon, but you'll probably stop hating it so much -- and anything that removes even a portion of negative attitude from your process is going to make you a better writer.

Hodge Podge

2011-11-05T00:00:00.027-04:00

For you NaNoWriMoers, author Kris Reisz has a great post up about writing, creativity, and one of a writer's most valuable skills: persistance.

Seventh Sanctum has a fun new generator that gives you a description of a pony. Not impressed? But it's not just a pony, it's a magical legend pony.

A StarDoc reader sent me this link to a ceramic sculpture of the Lok-Teel by TheFinalHikari. It's not only adorable, it's also quite accurate to how I've always envisioned my helpful little mold.

SPAMcam

2011-11-04T00:00:00.051-04:00

As always, I reserve the right to make fun of anyone who SPAMs me. This one was particularly clueless:

Dear Lynn,

Uses first name. Must be someone I know.

I'd like to take a moment to congratulate you on your release today, Nightshine.

Okay, not someone I know.

I read the blurb and thoroughly enjoyed the premise. It sounds like a really interesting book.

You read the blurb? Wow. I don't know what to say. The entire blurb? I'm so grateful. What a trooper.

By now, you are caught up in promoting your book.

No, not really. Well, there was that one post down there.

If you are interested in exploring new ways to get the word out, I hope you will consider our new program, [Kindness Duct Tape]. This is not your standard [Kindness Duct Tape]. With [Kindness Duct Tape], you will chat and answer questions from your readers live via webcam.

I don't have a web cam. In fact, I've never had a web cam. Is this some kind of porn? It sounds like porn.

You will be able to give your fans the one thing they want

Jobs? World peace? Self-Induced Multiple Orgasms? (Yeah, I know, but I'm still thinking it's porn.)

--You--

See? I was right. Author porn.

and you can do this at home in your office or on the road in tandem with a booksigning or blogtour.

At home, okay, in my office, eh, but while I'm driving? What if I get pulled over? What do I tell the cop? I'm naked and doing naughty things so I can promote my book? He's never going to buy that, you know. Even if I lie and say I'm on my way to a booksigning (and could you explain why would I drive to do a blogtour?)

We can work directly with you, your publicist, or your publisher.

Aha. Now I get it. What you really want is a threesome. I'm pretty sure my publisher isn't that into me. Or my publicist, assuming I have one for this book. Sometimes I do, if it's a full moon and a slow week in the marketing department.

Our objective is to help you connect with your readers and sell more books!

Sure, that's what they all say before they tiptoe out in the morning with their shoes in their hand and all of my money in their PayPal account. Then the grainy video shows up on YouTube, and I have to do another E! special, and the PETA people start calling about the goats . . . I'm sorry, but it's just exhausting, you know?

If you would like to see a demo on how [Kindness Duct Tape] works, please contact me by email at [Kindness Duct Tape]. I'd be delighted to
show you what we've done for NYT bestselling authors [Professional Kindness Duct Tape] as well as aspiring self-published writers.

Nice line up of award-winning people I don't read. *Yawn* I don't know if I want to see any of them naked and doing naughty things to promote their books, though. Especially [Professional Kindness Duct Tape.] That chick naked would probably give me nightmares for life.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response.

Actually I did write a response, and sent it to you three times, but it has bounced back every time. Thus I will post it here:

No.

Exotic

2011-11-03T00:30:00.011-04:00

Got a nice surprise today in the mail; my first look at the Thai edition of Heat of the Moment, one of my oop Jessica Hall novels:

Thai is a beautiful language, and I wish I could read it, but then, I already know the story.

Our blogpal Vanessa Jaye has a new release this week, Hunter of the Heart, which you can get at Samhain on sale here. If you've been a regular visitor to her blog, this is that wildly intriguing werewolf on a cruise ship story she mentioned awhile back that we were all crazy to read -- and now we can! My thanks to Raine for the heads-up.

Finally, here's a short video by Dmitris Ladopoulos that gives an interesting glimpse into the world of a working carpenter (warning for those who are also at work, includes background music):

The Carpenter from Dimitris Ladopoulos on Vimeo.

Design Your Own

2011-11-02T12:00:00.054-04:00

I was picking up some photo paper at Office Depot today when I spotted this printable magnet paper for inkjet printers. This is the kind of product that for years I wished someone would invent, as I love creative magnets and have a nice if limited collection of my own on our fridge. So I bought a pack of 5 sheets and brought it home to test it out.

I will say up front that cost-wise, the magnet sheets aren't cheap. Office Depot charged me $16.49 for a pack of five sheets, which works out to about $3.30 per sheet. Not a product I'd buy for a huge quantity of magnets; you're probably better off going through a printer for those. But for small batches I thought this product would be ideal. Fridge magnets are usually no larger than a business card, so you could expect to fit six to eight images per sheet, bringing the cost per magnet down to about fifty cents each.

Like most standard printer paper, the sheets are 8-1/2" X 11" in size, and about the same thickness as a heavy cardstock. One side is white semi-glossy (like photo paper) and the other is the black magnetized material. The entire sheet feels like plastic, not paper.

There were no particularly special instructions involved in printing; I just popped it in our old inkjet, although the manufacturer does clearly warn not to use it with any other type of printer but inkjet as it may damage the printer. In my photoshop program I put together a random set of my favorite photos in different sizes along with my cover art for Nightshine and sent them to the printer. The sheet came out with beautiful, crisp images that were much better than I expected (note: the instructions do say to wait until the sheet dries before you try to cut it.)

First I put the entire sheet on the fridge to see if it would stick, and no problem there. After a few minutes the sheet dried (I left it on the fridge to dry) I trimmed it using my paper guillotine. One nice side benefit; the magnetized sheet stuck to the metal edge of my trimmer and didn't move or shift while I was cutting it down. I also tested cutting the sheet with regular scissors as well as a rotary cutter; both worked fine and cut through the sheet easily. The individual magnets also stuck nicely to the fridge, and looked like something I might have bought at a store.

As to what you can do with magnets you can design and size yourself, the sky is the limit. Authors, here's a painless way to make promo cover magnets, release schedule magnets, and web site or blog URL magnets to hand out at cons and booksignings (and I find this product far superior to those sticky-backed business-size magnets intended for business cards that everyone has been using for years.)

This product is also ideal for things like fun family photos, inspirational quotes, a list of emergency phone numbers, addresses, contacts or basically anything you want to display on your fridge or other metal surface. Proud moms can take the best of their kid artwork, scan it and make a magnet version that will last a lot longer. The gift and craft possibilities are endless, too. Writers, if you're kicking around title ideas and not getting anyway, you could print out a list of keywords, cut them up and make fridge word clouds with them.

Poets, I don't have to tell you what this product means for us. Finally we can design our very own custom sets of magnetic poetry! I've already begun compiling mine.

Btw, you don't have to have a commercial-grade or expensive printer to use this product. The printer I used for mine is about six years old; a Lexmark all-in-one, and while it's been a nice, reliable printer for us it's really nothing special. The end results were much better than I expected. I'd just make sure you clean and align your printer if you haven't done that in a while, and print out a test page on plain paper first to make sure you've got everything the way you want it on the magnets to save wasting a sheet of the much more expensive magnet paper.

Charlotte Arrives

2011-11-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

Nightshine, the fourth and final novel in my Kyndred series, is hitting the shelves nationwide this week.

This is probably one of the most unusual stories I've written in the dark fantasy/paranormal genre, but I had a lot of fun with it. I think those of you who have been following the Kyndred will be pleased with the wrap-up of the series.

A release day is one of the few times I ask my visitors to do something for me. I don't accept advertising or any form of compensation for Paperback Writer, so if you find my blog to be a useful resource, buying my book is a great way to say thanks. If money is tight right now, which I know it is for many of you, you can also show support by requesting a copy of my novel at your local public library.

To buy online, visit these retailers:

Books-a-Million
Barnes & Noble.com
Amazon.com

Ready, Set, NaNoWriMo

2011-11-01T00:00:00.069-04:00

Today is the first day of National Novel Writing Month, and as one of your (unofficial) NaNoWriMo torch bearers I'll be sharing ideas and putting up lots of posts and links every week in November in hopes of helping you along the way.

Some suggestions on how to kick off your NaNoWriMo:

Set up a wordcount widget or progress meter (like Another Little Progress Meter, NaNoWriMo Word Meter or one of Writertopia's Progress Meters) on your blog or web site and update it as you complete new work.

Put together a novel notebook in which to keep your outlines, chapters, research notes and/or other story ephemera (for examples and ideas, check out my Novel Notebook; for notebook making freeware try AM-Notebook, Keynote or The Magic Notebook.)

Write a brief (one or two page) outline of your novel idea (try my Ten Point Novel Plotting Template, William Victor's Novel Outline Summary (.pdf) or Writing.com's Blank Novel Outline.)

Find a NaNoWriMo group near you and attend a write-in or other gathering.

Let your online friends know you're NaNoing by displaying one of this year's official web badges (and if you don't have an image account, feel free to use the 2011 NaNo Web Badges I've uploaded.)

One final thought: before I start any new writing project, I take a little time to think, meditate and get my head in the right place. You're always going to have doubts and fears and other ways to talk yourself out of writing a novel (thirty days isn't enough time, you're not that good, it's too much work, etc.) If you can't dispel those anti-NaNoWriMo thoughts with self-confidence, then agree with them. Say yes to all the negativity. It's absolutely right; you can't write a book, it's too much work, there's not enough time, and you're not that good. Then, for the rest of the month, just do it for the hell of it. That way it's nothing important, no big deal, and there's no pressure to be perfect or publish or even finish. You're simply having some fun.

For more ideas on how to dive into writing novel in a productive manner, try reading my how-to Way of the Cheetah, which is free for everyone on the planet until December 1st.

Wishing You

2011-10-31T00:00:00.003-04:00

Winner

2011-10-30T00:22:00.000-04:00

You all put together a nice list of title recs for the Double Vision giveaway. We just got the hat to work its magic, and the winner is:

Robin Connelly

Robin, when you have a chance please send your ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your package in the mail. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Double Vision

2011-10-29T00:00:00.015-04:00

Daniel Pool's What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew is one of my favorite nonfic reference books, as it's written to inform but delivers the facts in a friendly, completely readable fashion. It's not just for writers, either; I think what daily life was really like in 19th century England is universally fascinating.

Today while rearranging some shelves I also discovered that I have two copies of the book (I'm pretty sure the extra was a gift from a friend.) While I'm very tempted to keep the spare -- I know eventually I'll read mine to pieces -- it's exactly the sort of book that begs to be passed along. Which means, you guessed it, a giveaway.

If you'd like a chance to win, in comments to this post name a reference, nonfic or how-to title that you've found particularly helpful (or if you can't think of any, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST tonight, October 29, 2011. I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner my extra unsigned trade paperback copy of What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool, along with a surprise. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

NaNoWriMo Prep IV: Glass Wisdom

2011-10-28T00:00:00.160-04:00

Ten Gems O' Wisdom You Should Probably Ignore During NaNoWriMo

A Real Writer Earns Money: I guess that means Dickinson and Poe and Thoreau were all fake writers. When I hear this I always think of a not very famous writer named Henry Darger. A quiet, ordinary janitor in Chicago, Henry did not write for money or anyone else. He wrote for himself. Among his many works, which weren't discovered until after he passed away at age 80, was a 15,000+ page, single-spaced typed manuscript that he also illustrated with hundreds of drawings and watercolor paintings. To say someone like Henry wasn't a real writer would be like saying Van Gogh wasn't a real painter (but hey, he didn't make any money, either.)

All NaNoWriMo Novels are Nothing But Crap: Oddly enough (and I love the timing of this) my agent is currently negotiating a contract for the book I wrote the first draft of during NaNoWriMo 2009. I consider it one of the most original novels I've ever written, and the publisher and I are both open to the idea of making it a series. So what was that about crap again?

Always Write the Book of Your Heart: You'll hear this one a lot from writers who can't get past one novel, most of whom should really take that manuscript into the back yard and burn it. If all you want to do is write the Book of Your Heart, it will probably end up being a book that only you want to read. Which if you're like Henry Darger is okay, but I say write the Book An Editor Will Buy.

Feedback Helps While You're Writing: Over time I've watched writers being pressured more and more to take on critique partners, beta readers and otherwise accept assistance while actively writing a story. I've also noticed writers seeking in their own ways to add outside approval before they're finished the work. Whether you call it collaboration, critiquing or writing by committee, it is not automatically helpful. Outside sources (who have their own rules, prejudices and problems with writing, too) can distract or derail you, and obviously that's not going to improve the work. It's your call, but feedback is much more valuable to me after I have a finished product, when I'm fully into my major editing mode. Then I'm in a better place to judge whether or not the feedback is valid.

Follow These Rules: There are so many rules out there I think they've begun breeding like pond scum. I hate rules, too -- there's never been one I've run into that I didn't want to stomp to pieces. Look, as a writer, your job is to write a great story that your readers will enjoy. Do whatever it takes to accomplish that. I think that's the only rule you should worry about.

Life Experience is Important so Wait to Write Your First Novel: This comes from people who think you can't write a book until you're over forty. All of them are probably over forty, too. I wrote my first book when I was thirteen, submitted it and got feedback from an editor, so no, I don't buy into it. I also made my first short story sale a year later. Write when you're ready to write.

Write Every Day: I will say that it's an excellent ambition, and writing daily may help you reach your NaNoWriMo goal. But you probably also have a life. That means if you have four kids and three of them are sick, a day job, a spouse out of town, a sick puppy and/or your sister keeps calling with updates on her latest drama, you're excused from writing for the day. P.S., If you need a note, let me know and I'll write one for you. Unless my sister calls.

You Can'ts and You Musts: You've all heard these; they're issued by those inflexible PC-obsessed folks who believe they should decide how you write, when you write, where you write, what you write, etc. Smile at them, nod at them, but unless they're holding an advance check with your name on it, I suggest you ignore them and make those decisions yourself. Especially when it comes to what you write. Writing simply to placate someone else is utterly demoralizing and, to me, just plain wrong.

You Have to Write Slowly to Write Well: I've been bombarded with this one my entire career. I could do the reverse and say you have to write faster in order to write well -- since that works for me -- but I'm open to the idea that some people do need a decade or more to finish one book. I don't, but that doesn't make me less of a writer; it just means I write and publish more books and I don't have to work a day job. Bottom line, the pace at which you write should be what's most comfortable and productive for you. As long as you're writing, who cares how fast or slow you are?

You Should Write What You Know: I saved this one for last because I think it's the worst gem of all. A great big ugly worthless piece of fossilized dinosaur dung, that has ruined more writers -- for life -- than I really want to think about. It's an imagination killer. Think about it: if we all followed this advice, there would be no science fiction, no vampire fiction, no fantasy fiction . . . really, no fiction whatsoever. Everything published would be autobiographies. That's it, that's all. With the way this world is, I believe that we need more than nonfiction. We need inspiration, and hope, and dreams. Writing what you don't know, writing about the things that exist only in your imagination, shares it with someone else. That creation, those dreams, can help make their reality a little more bearable. And isn't that the point?

What writerly glass wisdom would you like to shatter? Smash it to pieces in comments.

NaNoWriMo Prep III: Food and Fire

2011-10-27T00:00:00.077-04:00

Home for Setting Starters

Benjamin Franklin once said that a house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. I've always liked that quotation, and not just because I agree with it. Ben throws down a challenge for us to define exactly what is food and fire for the mind.

My guy and I are semi-minimalist homebodies, and over the years we've refined what I think of as the 3-C home: casual, comfortable and calm. We don't care about impressing people or following rules, which is probably why we have a country kitchen, a Mission bedroom and a beach cottage master bath. The high school kid has a red/black/white quasi-Asian/Anime cave going in her room. The guest room is serenely sea-nautical themed. My office is all about books and the job. Our living room has no particular theme other than a general air of "sit down and relax"; our dining room with its wall-size Victorian crazy quilt is half mini folk-art museum, half tea room.

The walls in almost every room are hung with quilts and art and family photos. I try to keep things tidy, but most days you'll see something one of us left out: a chunk of my latest manuscript, my daughter's sheet music, my guy's computer printouts. There isn't a harsh color or highbrow stick of furniture in the place. You will find dog toys in unexpected places because we're always playing with the dogs.

Whenever I come back here after being on the road, the minute I walk through the door I feel like I shed a thousand pounds. I know my guy feels the same, I can see it on his face when he gets in from work. Home is our favorite place to be, because home is all about us and what we love and the people we love to be with.

Back to the Mountain

While climbing to the top of your book mountain, you will be making stops in different places. Part of your job is to describe these places to your reader so that they can see them, too. While locations are not as active as characters or plot, they do provide the setting (and often the time period) of the story, so they're necessary.

I used to really dread writing setting, and most of the time I still have some bad moments. It's not as fun as writing characters, and it's very hard to find the right balance of showing the reader an interesting place without boring them to tears with endless or over-the-top description. I think the root of my problem is related to the way I've always researched setting: by using real-life models and locations. I'm always so engrossed in presenting the right/actual details that I forget to consider the characters who have to live or work or travel through there and/or what they'd want. This is why if a character of mine lives in Paris, they usually get a house very similar to one I've seen or visited in Paris.

What I've been trying to do lately is to temper the obsessing over details by making my settings more about the character than me. I came to this conclusion because I finally realized why writing settings for my StarDoc books was never a problem; I invented them from scratch based on my world-building and my characters.

At the moment I'm putting together an apartment for one of my female protagonists. She's nothing like me, so to create the right home for her I have to see it through her eyes and put it together using her heart. Although my girl is an edgy, ultra-modern young female, she has very feminine, secret longings for all things Victorian. Because she's lived alone for a significant number of years, she will have had the time and means to collect and arrange her living space with exactly what she likes.

Personally I couldn't deal with all this fussy stuff (I'd be dusting it for the rest of my life), but I know my character loves it. She adores rose-colored velvet and tatted ecru lace and milk glass and beaded lampshades and ruched satin. Her bathroom looks like a time tunnel to the thirties. She has little rose-shaped soaps in a porcelain bowl by the sink, a vanity table with a crackled mirror, crystal perfume atomizers and a bud vase with peacock feathers.

Finding the Food and the Fire

What makes this space a home for my character isn't about the stuff inside it, it's that it creates a space in which she can relax and feel happy and be herself. This safe-haven feel to her home is very important to her for reasons that relate to self-esteem, backstory and personality. Thus her home is about the person she is on the inside, this very old-fashioned girl who is romantic and loving and genuinely sweet. What's so cool about bringing this side of her out in her home is that it's the only place you would see it. The minute she leaves she puts on the edgy, ultra-modern persona, wearing it almost like armor, and to most of the outside world she is a completely different person (and her office is nothing like her home, because that's where she's on display.)

When you think about the settings you create in your stories, consider not just what suits your character's situation, but reflects on their personality as well. Think about what they do when they come home; what is their favorite room in the house, and why do they spend so much time there? (My girl doesn't cook so her kitchen is a bit like Mother's Hubbard's, but she loves spending hours soaking in her big bathtub, so the bathroom has everything she could possibly need or want in it, including a shelf of books, a mini-stereo and a cordless telephone.)

What are some of your concerns with writing setting? Do you have any tips on how to make it more effective or easier to put together? Let us know in comments.

Setting Building Tools: Nicholas Morine's Ideas in Creative Writing: Setting ~ Keith Gray's Creative Writing Masterclass 4: Setting (video) ~ F. Locke's Writing Creative Fiction: Setting

Also, PBW's Fun with Setting ~ Props ~ Virtual Design Ten

Image credit: © Virgil Graham | Dreamstime.com

NaNoWriMo Prep II: Stand Out Characters

2011-10-26T00:00:00.106-04:00

Instant Recognition

Last week we went out of town to a band competition to see the high school kid perform, but didn't find the place until her band was already on the field. We got inside in time to see the performance from about half a football field away, but when I looked out I saw my kid playing a standard flute, which was the wrong instrument (for band she plays the picolo, which is a tiny version of the flute.)

"That's not her," my guy said when I pointed her out. "She's over there, in the back."

I told him that no, he was wrong, and started taking pictures. Throughout the entire performance I snapped shots of this girl while he told me I was mistaken. I insisted I was right. Finally he admitted he couldn't tell which child was ours because to him they all look alike in their uniforms.

After the show we caught up with my daughter, and I asked her why she'd been playing the flute. Turned out she'd lent her picolo to her section leader, who had accidentally left hers behind and had a more difficult musical part to play (and my daughter had studied the parts for picolo and flute, so she could switch to a spare flute on hand at the performance with no problem.)

Later my guy asked how I had been so sure that the girl with the wrong instrument had been our daughter. One is always tempted to claim maternal privilege, aka "a mother always recognizes her child", but I don't think recognition is always instinctive (even for moms.)

Instead, I relied on what I know about my kid. For example, I've seen this show lots of times so I know her exact position on the field. While her helmet covers her hair and shadows her eyes, and most of the girls in her section do look alike in uniform, I spotted the shape of her ear (which she inherited from her dad) and her mouth (which she inherited from her aunt.) She's very serious about marching, so she never slouches or fidgets, and she always holds her instrument in the correct position. Finally, I zeroed in on her movements, and while she was perfectly in step with everyone else, I knew it was her by the way she looks when she moves.

Now, Back to the Mountain

Yesterday I introduced you to the mountain of work that is writing a novel and talked about starting your climb. Today we're going to look at who you're taking up with you -- the imaginary friends of any storyteller, also known as your cast of characters.

You'll often hear writers talk about their characters as if they are real, living, breathing people. They have conversations with their characters, listen to them, believe in them, cheer them on, take their advice and even go shopping for them. This is of course a lovely fantasy, and one of the primary reasons people think writers are so strange.

Yes, I know for a fact that my characters are not real, but to me, they have to be as close as possible to real, living, breathing people in order for me to write them. So I do odd things like sketch them and play songs for them. I write poetry for them. I visit the places where I want them to live or work or find themselves handcuffed to a naked stranger (about whom I know everything, too.) I give them birth dates and bad habits and big problems. I know what they love, what they hate, what annoys them, what they want, what they don't want, what they think they want. And yes, occasionally I hear them talking to me in my head.

It comes down to this: the more I know about the admittedly imaginary people who are going up the mountain with me, the better and faster I climb. Since I don't like to dawdle, I pretty much try to know everything about them before I start up. And what little I don't know, I will find out on the journey, because I'm annoying that way.

Who Do You Take with You?

When you're building a character the natural temptation is to make one that conforms to a popular archetype within your genre: the tall/dark/handsome romance hero, the tough tattooed urban fantasy chick, the strapping fantasy warrior, the girl-next-door freckled heroine, the Captain Kirk or Luke Skywalker SF protagonist, the vampire brotherhood musclebound dude. While there's nothing wrong with using an archetype -- some novelists have built very successful careers while writing the exact same cookie-cutter characters over and over -- there's nothing particularly memorable about them. To offer a character that your reader will remember, you need to craft a character who in some way stands out in a crowd.

Every writer has their own attitude about what needs to go into creating characters. My personal philosophy is this: if I'm going to spend weeks climbing a mountain with the same bunch of people every day, they can't be ordinary, shallow, two-dimensional interchangeable, nothing-special characters. They'll bore me off the mountain. I need unique, interesting, absorbing characters, not only to provide the reader with a great book but to keep me motivated while writing it, too.

As many of you know I begin all my characters by asking my infamous three questions: Who are you? What do you want? What's the worst thing I can do to you? For me, the answers have to be fascinating, thrilling, and definitely something I want to explore at length. Since I'm doing the asking and the answering, that also means putting everything I've got, all my writing mojo into the character construct.

For NaNoWriMo, you're going to be spending a solid month with your characters. You don't have to use my three questions; make up your own -- or use another method to build your characters that works better for you (see the links below for some interesting alternative approaches.) But once you feel you've built your character, ask yourself this: If they were standing among a big group of other characters, all dressed alike, and you were half a football field away, could you spot them? How? Answer that question in enough different, interesting ways, and you will probably know your character well enough to write them for thirty days.

What problems are you having with your creating characters? What methods do you use that help you build the best? Let us know in comments.

Character Creation Tools: Evernote freeware ~ Greg Knollenberg's Web Resources for Dveloping Characters ~ Karen Lotter's Character Development in Fiction ~ The Lazy Scholar's How to Create a Character Profile

Also, from PBW: ABCharacter ~ Character Trading Cards ~ Know Thy Character Ten ~ The Complete Friday 20 Index, with lots of questions and my answers about characters.

Image Credit: © Gina Smith | Dreamstime.com