So You've Written a First Draft (Article) - 2/4/2015 8:59:55 AM
Another great article with help for fledgling authors. I've always been a maverick and haven't done the right thing and succeeded anyway. I recall all the doctoral students reading my program plan after I finish my doctorate in 2 1/2 years. There was no magic, I focused and published the second draft of my 400 page dissertation too soon. A look a few years later had me finding many mistakes in the text. It's still a good piece of work.
There's only one thing I disagree with. Stephen King has a fascination with "killing his darlings." I have been watching that soap opera, Under the Dome, with all the killing and coming back to life and never-ending drama. Quite frankly, I find King to be a terrible writer of terrible stories… Mostly about morbid murderous themes that, I guess people are attracted to because of their morbidity, like murder mysteries. The Shining and Christine are examples. I did find Misery to be quite good. But it's an exception over his many stupid stories of hokey magic.
By the way, I've heard that, as a famous author, he has a team of writers writing for him and his style. So all he does is suggest themes and adequate books being written. A nice manufacturing model, cranking out bestseller and TV movie or series, one after the other.
Ron
Social What? Followers, Fans and Friends (Article) - 1/13/2015 1:59:42 AM
Ron, always nice to see you here. LinkedIn? Well, I'm just not a huge fan. I have a problem with people saying a person is a great...whatever, and they don't even know that person, have never read their work or...I agree. Blogs can be very 'self' centered and they aren't supposed to be another place to constantly talk about your books. I started mine with short articles about my writing journey and some of my short stories. But soon realized, it's more about connecting with people than asking people to 'look at me!' I love doing interviews with indie authors, and I'm really excited to share them with others. I met author Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles; agent represented; published thru McMillan Teen) a couple of years ago, and she's always so sweet to give me a short interview. My readers love her and her presence on my blog gives me visibility. I always feel blessed and extremely fortunate to have that connection with her.
Thanks for stopping by!
Social What? Followers, Fans and Friends (Article) - 1/9/2015 11:16:07 AM
A well-written and informative article. While I have had my own personal website since 1997, and have been active here on Author's Den since 2002, I've shied away from creating acquaintances on Facebook, Twitter, and the like because of the tremendous time waste of constant communication. I'm surprised you didn't mention LinkedIn in your list of follower rolls. I find blogs quite boring, self-centered activities.
I guess I'm a basket case when it comes to establishing an Author's Platform.
Ron
Writing Processes & Setting Goals (Article) - 12/28/2014 7:17:47 AM
Thanks for some new terminology. I must be a pantster, because I get an idea and then write it. I often have an ending insight when I began to write, but sometimes during the writing process I change the ending. I like, especially with short stories, and ending with a twist. Sometimes that twist leads to another book or story. I never paid any attention to work out except when writing for contests (very few) and always found the word count there to be too restrictive for what I wanted to write. I often wrote for pages, because the size of the document mattered, whether it would be read or not and I often used illustrations in my nonfiction writing, increasing the pages.
Since I had to type with one finger most of my life, voice dictation systems, since about 1997, have been my primary way of writing. Today I write thousands of words a day, but mostly in comments to stories, articles, and poetry here. What I focus on a writing project, I tend to write it very quickly over a short period of time. However, I feel like timed contests like the National Novel Writing Month because I'm forced to write like what others would like me to write, rather than what I'm interested in.
Ron
So, Where Do I Begin? (Article) - 12/28/2014 3:32:47 AM
Ron, thanks so much for your input. I was so vastly separated from the technological world as a kid, that I don't really remember the rooms full of computers to operate a 'handheld' calculator. Tho I'm old enough to remember them.
Thank you for your encouraging words. My hope was to add an article here and there to make someone else's journey not as long as my own. I knew absolutely nothing, but dived in anyway.
I LOVE the Walking Dead and their midseason hiatus is driving me nuts. And how could they kill Beth after the whole season looking for her??? It's just so wrong!
I know the zom genre has been done to death...but guess what? My next book is a devolution zombie story. I wrote a short story, Kaiser, for an anthology Dream Weaver Novels published with 9 other authors from around the world. It's called Gates of Erebus if you'd like to check it out.
Thanks again! I truly appreciate your response.
Have a Happy New Year & Happy Reading!
Su
So, Where Do I Begin? (Article) - 12/1/2014 9:39:07 AM
First of all, from the way you've written this article, you are no novice writer. Your writing skills did not begin at 43, but much earlier, perhaps before grade school. Being a good writer is the first requirement, learning the ins and outs of the Internet and how to publish and market your book, is an ongoing process that has nothing to do with being computer literate.
I was fascinated with computers from high school when we went to visit a large, very hot, room filled with vacuum tubes that powered a computer for a corporation that had the power of a cheap, obsolete hand calculator. In 1971, using a huge IBM computer, I was overjoyed to be able to use the first word processor, WYLBUR, that freed computing from mere number crunching to manipulating words. The rest is history.
As an author, no one needs to be computer literate, but it sure helps. What most people (baby boomers?) think of as computing, is skimming the surface of giants with very little understanding. That said, it is my hope that all writers, write as well as you do, and don't blame it on their computers when they don't.
By the way, I agree that vampires, and now zombies, are overdone. Still, I am fascinated with The Walking Dead for some perverse reason… It is so unbelievable. As a science fiction writer, I hope that I'm dreaming up the next trend, and hope that it will not be a soap opera like Star Wars, a fantasy that never ends.
Ron
Maria's Song (Poetry) - 1/17/2015 7:40:38 PM
Nicely done
In My Parent's House (Poetry) - 8/25/2014 8:03:58 PM
Thank you John! It may sound cliche, but I do have the best parents in the world. It's kinda sad that it took me so long to figure it out, but I'm glad I finally got it and am able to pay them the tribute they deserve. They are my greatest support, my biggest cheerleaders and my best friends. I made this poem into a poster for them with the photo it shows here. Thank you again for your kind words!
Keepin' the Dream Alive!
Su
In My Parent's House (Poetry) - 8/25/2014 7:46:58 PM
Very lovely poetic tribute for your parents. Well done!
