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Getting the Details Right

10/7/2015

In writing details are a funny thing. In some ways you don't want to add in too many specific points because that will overwhelm the readers own imagination. Patrick McManus describes that concept very well in his book "The Deer on a Bicycle". Too many details leave the reader bumping their mental shins on the chairs of your story. While too few leave the reader confused and alone. Which is almost never the goal of an author. Finding that balance is more than tough. It is a challenge that will take a lifetime to master.

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A Magical Path

10/6/2015

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Submit, Submit, Submit!

10/5/2015

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Out in the real world, or rather the natural world, seasons change one into the other and life follows predictable cycles. (Except when it does not.) But there is no submissions season for writers. There is always some magazine or website offering pay for a story of a particular length and format. As any professional writer will tell you there are three steps to getting published.
1) Submit
2) SUBMIT
3) SUBMIT!!!!
Persistence pays off.
For anyone who is interested Lightspeed Magazine is running a paid submission at the moment for fantasy stories under 10,000 w0rds.

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Fruitful Work

10/4/2015

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Both jobs that the author loves, writing and ecology, have a very similar concept. Is the work fruitful. In ecology an area of land can produce thousands of plants but be utterly useless to the workers. The author saw this repeatedly. There were great tracks of land on which grew acres of Newbery Knotweed. We watched them bud, leaf, and flower eagerly; certain that this one plot of land would supply all the seeds that we needed for our project. But fall came with crushing disappointment. Not one of the plants we carefully examined produced a single viable seed. Why? Who knows. Lack of pollinators, poor nutrients, soil moisture, it could be any one of a thousand elements. It was outside of our purview to explore that deeply so we simply moved our search upslope and away. We noted the oddity and left it for some eager grad student to discover why that tract of land produced healthy green plants but no seeds.
In writing an author can produce a great story, or even just a decent story, but that matters very little if it isn't read. The seeds of inspiration need to be scattered around and fall on fertile imaginations or what was the point of the growth and development? Part of this is timing, part is marketing, part is finding the right audience. Part is hunting down data so you can figure out what works. On that note it is time to go bother my publisher again.

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Visit the Fifth Best Street in America (and buy "Dying Embers")

10/2/2015

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The News Register just announced that 3rd Street in Mcminnville, Oregon made the top five list of "best streets" in America. Yes, there really is a list of the best streets. Yes, this quaint little town in the Pacific Northwest tops the list. Now this is something the author has known for years. A good portion of "Dying Embers" was written and inspired as I walked between the little clothing boutiques and pharmacies or grabbed my weekly treat at Harvest Fresh. Sitting under the trees while I sipped my Chia drink was my favorite way to relax on a fall day.
Of course 3rd Street is home to 3rd Street Books. Which is carrying my book "Dying Embers". From a business perspective one book bought from a small town store like that is worth ten bought on Amazon or some other website. So good publicity for them is good publicity for me. :)

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Changes are Annoying

10/1/2015

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So the website that I use to work "Betty Adams Tall Tales" is making some changes "to better serve our clients needs". From the look of it the changes really will be helpful. Still there is that little (actually it is large and quite loud) part of me that started growling at the unexpected alterations. We will see how it works out.

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Getting the Details Right

A Magical Path

Submit, Submit, Submit!

Fruitful Work

Visit the Fifth Best Street in America (and buy "Dying Embers")

Changes are Annoying

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