Last year and this year I’ve participated in a challenge called Writo De Mayo. It has a lot more flexibility than NaNoWriMo. The participant chooses the goal. I’ve seen goals of “writing # words daily”, “writing drabble/poem each day”, and “finish reading book/research for novel”. This year my goal was to have a second draft… Continue reading Writo De Mayo
Author: Amber
Talking Craft
One of the things I miss about a local writing group is the discussion about craft. Each writer has his or her own method of writing. The manner in which we get a beginning, a middle and an ending is as unique as the writer. It’s difficult to agree on what makes a book “good” or… Continue reading Talking Craft
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
When I first began hearing about this book I thought the cover was pretty. The title made me think it might deal with a chocolate shop in a hotel. I was mistaken. The Panama Hotel in Seattle becomes a landmark in Henry Lee’s life of a bittersweet time for him during World War II. In… Continue reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Introducing Jamie Ford
Tomorrow I’ll have a review of Jamie Ford’s debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. He’s on tour this month through Pump Up Your Book Promotion. About Jamie Ford: Career-wise, Jamie went to art school in Seattle to become an illustrator, and ended up an art director/copywriter. He’s won an embarrassingly large… Continue reading Introducing Jamie Ford
What Makes a Memorable Villain?
A while back I wrote about unlikeable characters and villains.  One of my writing lists had a recent discussion about villains. What makes a villain memorable? How can the writer make a villain that is more than a two-sided paper cutout? For some, the villain had to be “bad” but have humane qualities. For others, memorable villains… Continue reading What Makes a Memorable Villain?
The Stepsister Scheme Review
Niteblade has announced the table of contents for the June issue. You’ll find my review of The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines in the issue. If you want to read it early, it’s available on the Niteblade News page. 🙂
Ideas
One common question asked of writers is “Where do you get your ideas?” They rarely come from the same place each time. The problem with ideas is the lack of accompanying instructions. I keep a writing journal where I jot ideas, overheard conversations and so on. My PDA holds a memo of blog post ideas… Continue reading Ideas
Discomfort is Okay
It feels safe to have routines but a little discomfort now and then can be good. It provides little ways for us to evaluate why we do certain things and expands our horizons. Why do I write first person in short stories but novels in third person? Maybe it’s time to change things up a bit… Continue reading Discomfort is Okay
“Sister Margaret” Giveaway Winner!
Congratulations to Joyce Sterling Scarbrough for winning her own copy of “Sister Margaret” by Rhonda Parrish! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to have more giveaways and author visits soon.
April 2009
These statistics are all for short stories, poems, or contest entries. Book reviews are not included. Sales in April: 0 Rejections in April: 0 Submissions sent out in April: 1 Total stories/poems/contests pending responses: 1 You know what makes a successful author, right? Perseverance. That means writing, revising and sending out material. This was not a month where… Continue reading April 2009