Friday, June 29, 2007

Best Writing Advice, Ever

“The best advice I ever heard was to learn from everything. If a book's rejected, learn from the rejection. And, if there's no feedback...then figure out what you learned by writing that manuscript. All of it prepares you for your career as a published author.”

~Donna Alward is one of the few Canadians writing for Harlequin's Romance line. Her debut book is Hired by the Cowboy with a sequel scheduled for release in September.
You can learn more about Donna and her upcoming releases at www.donnaalward.com.

“The best advice I ever had was actually from a Drama teacher, and I apply it to my writing. Whenever I complained of a problem, she'd tell me, ‘It's not a problem, it's a challenge.’ Is it a problem that I'm three chapters from the end and don't know who the killer is? Is it a problem I'm writing a book with almost no dialogue? No...they're challenges! Conquer them, and I know my writing is stronger for it.”

~Kate Johnson, author of I, Spy?, part of the Sophie Green Mysteries
http://www.KateJohnson.co.uk, http://www.MySpace.com/SophieSuperSpy

Kate also writes erotic romance as Cat Marsters
http://www.CatMarsters.com, http://www.MySpace.com/CatMarsters
RRT Erotic's Best Fantasy Romance and Best Novella 2006

”My best piece of advice was getting and using the book The Writer's Market. I used the Writer's Market for Literary Agents.”

~ Nicole Delsesto, author of All Encompassing Trip
http://www.myspace.com/nicoledelsesto



Sunday, June 24, 2007

Hi From Melly. Yes, Still Around...

It's been a while, I know. I'm not even sure how long it's been since I've posted here.

Slowly, I'm starting to get the itch to blog again, or to return to an online community.
A friend suggested I'd join Facebook. In fact, he wanted me to join his fan club. I have. Yesterday.
So far I'm not really sure what this is all about -- never been one to understand social networking very well -- but for now I'm using it to play chess. So there's definitely a positive.

Another friend, this one an online one whom many of you I'm sure are familiar with, Patry Francis, suggested I'd join goodreads. Goodreads, it seems, is sort of a book review social network of sorts. It sure was fun to start the list of books I've read.
What I found funny, but not surprising was the average rating of the books I've read (the ones I've put in so far anyway) compared to Patry's. My average rating is 3.88 out of 5, while Patry's is 4.57.
The reason this doesn't surprise me is because a) Patry probably sticks to really good books, while I can occasionally -- knowingly -- read a book I don't think is that good (to put it mildly). b) Patry is a much nicer person (yes, I do mean than I).

Anyways, perhaps I'll start blogging again more often, perhaps not. Regardless, if you're ever around those other places, be sure to drop me a line, although I'm still not sure where all this leads to, if anything at all.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Blog posts to check out...

Lilith Saintcrow gives The Five Rules of Plotting over at The Midnight Hour.

The Plot Monkeys have posted Part Two of their AGENT SERIES. Part One is here.

The Unknown Screenwriter posts about Exposure Therapy for your characters. Unk has a great series on The Transformational Character Arc. Go browse if you haven't already.

Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer talk about tightening the plot over at their 2007 Writing Workshop. Another great sight to browse if you haven't already. It's a year-long workshop, updated twice weekly, on the craft of writing a novel.

Ian Hocking shares 10 Writing Beliefs.

Velcro City has more writing tips.

How To Write a Novel. Seriously? Okay, then. Hop to it.

Monday, June 04, 2007

words...

Desire Innocence Illusion Diabolic Persistence chocolate cookie dough bizarre twisty art Morning food mystery enchantment Fantastic Conflict Luscious feisty dreamy delicious Accordion twilight mockingbird Cure the disease He couldn't remember rebirth agony childish Just Keep Breathing Ultrasound commute pink Fiction is Folks Goal Motivation Conflict Writing begets writing Vacation after finish Sparkle Shadows Peace Rowlingization Kinganomaly Supermegajumbosales

Click here for the word search.