Guess What I Do For a Living Now?

Wait for it........

.......

.................... Waaaait for it.................................


........................


I WRITE!!! :)


You read that correctly, guys!

I quit my job a couple of weeks ago, and have just settled into the groove of living my dream: Being a Full Time Writer for a living!

For the last few months, I've been quiet because I've been busting my balls writing stories under a variety of pen names, as suggested by a guy calling himself Throwaway Writer who gave some excellent writing advice on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comm...he_first_time/

That gentleman is making ~$1000/day from writing alone, so I took his advice seriously. Before I'd heard of him, though, I knew the old adage "Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket," so I was already busy, typing away.

Well, it all paid off :). For the last three months I've matched (and recently far exceeded) my salary at my corporate job, and was able to quit.

It was a surreal feeling handing in my notice, and even more surreal when people asked what I was going to do, and I just responded "write." This was met most often with blank stares, because, lets face it, it's like I told them my garage band just got signed by a major label or something equally impossible.

I'm living my dream.

When I was a child, I drew books with crayon before I could write. In the 6th grade I did an assignment where we had to present on what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wanted to be a writer. I majored in Writing/Literature in college, a degree which everyone thought was useless and fanciful.

I am so BLESSED that I'm able to do what I love and fulfill my childhood dream. I thank God every day. It still hasn't quite sunk in.

I got lucky, but I also worked incredibly hard. Right now I have almost 40 titles out. Soon I hope to make enough money to allow my husband to go back to school and follow his dreams.

I just wanted to share and say that with indie publishing, it IS possible to make a living as a writer :). I did it, guys! And all it took was hard work, luck, and determination instead of years and a mountain of query letters.

One of the Most Chilling Things I've Ever Read

Is this article in Harper's....  http://www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525

It's a long read, but absolutely worth it.  As a Christian, it scares me to my core.

What do you guys think about this?  Have you heard of "The Family" before this article?

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

Hi, guys!

Sorry I've been silent on this blog for so long :).  I've been working stuff out in my own life and needed some time away.

Recently, I've come to realize a lot of what I'm doing is burning me out, emotionally and physically.  I'm the kind of person who goes completely gung-ho, 100% whenver I have a goal.  My family always told me that if I wasn't striving to be the absolute best I could be, I was wasting my gifts and potential.  This made me think that if I wasn't writing constantly, constantly trying to get published, and constantly stuffing my brain full of publishing industry news and information, then I didn't deserve to call myself a writer.

This got to be an awful lot of pressure and burned me out like a lightbulb.

My top priorities in life are hanging out with my husband, and then trying to find a way to use the gifts God gave me :).  However, when priority #2 got in the way of priority #1, I'd feel guilty for not doing more of #2. 

The major problem with that is that then I'm guilty when I'm choosing to hang out with my husband instead of sending a query, or guilty when I'm taking some time to paint or draw (something else I enjoy) instead of working on my novel.  Why should I feel guilty for using other gifts or being with the people I love?

It took me a while to realize... I shouldn't :).  There is no reason I shouldn't be doing what makes me happy!  Sometimes that's writing, sometimes it's painting, sometimes it's learning Spanish or making jewelry, and sometimes it's playing zombie video games with the man I married.

I've had to figure out how to cut myself some slack.  Just because I'm painting tonight instead of writing, doesn't mean I'm not pursuing a writing career.  And just because that career might take a while to get started, doesn't mean I'm not a writer.  I'm using my gifts, but giving myself permission to live my life in my own time.

Have any of you ever struggled with this?  How do you prioritize?  How do you keep from burning out on the things you love?

From now on, I'll be updating this blog, but it may be more of a mish-mash of creative pursuits, instead of 100% writing-related ;).  I also will probably only update weekly for a time. 

Thanks all for reading, for being awesome writing friends and supporters, and for being a part of this phase of my journey.  You rock!

Amazon Vs. MacMillan: The E-Pocalypse is Nigh!

The big drama in the publishing world this week, came from Amazon removing all the "buy" buttons from MacMillan books on their site. MacMillan was in talks with Amazon, suggesting a new e-book pricing model, and Amazon reacted by basically black-balling them. They haven't let up yet, and the MacMillan/Tor authors are reaping the consequences.

If you haven't been following this e-book battle, check out the links below.

For a basic overview of what happened, agent Kristin Nelson breaks down what happened. John Scalzi, an awesome MacMillan author effected by this... incident... speaks out Here, awesomely calls for author support Here, and updates us on how this effects him and others like him Here.

The SFWA makes a stand Here, and Kristen Nelson has another update, and a letter from John Sargent, the CEO of MacMillan Here. Agent Jessica Faust talks about how this effects authors Here, and there's a lovely post on how Amazon's actions utterly screw all of us, consumer, publishers, and writers alike, Here.

I urge you guys, if you're buying a book anytime soon, to please consider supporting MacMillan authors during this time. They are the ones caught in the middle of an argument between publishing entities, and suffering for it, despite having no control.

Please check out http://www.powells.com/ if you're looking for a great indy bookstore to purchase from instead of Amazon :). Buy a MacMillan/Tor book today, and make a difference for those authors. I know they'd really appreciate it!

Also, if you happen to buy any books, let me know in the comments, for a chance to win my fabulous Book Love Contest! It ends 2/14/10, so get your book love in now :).

How do you guys feel about this Amazon/MacMillan bruhaha?

Technical Difficulties or Blogger Hates Me

Here at Writer In Progress, we are experiencing some technical difficulties...

booooooooop boooooop

booooooop

(this is not a test)

As you may have noticed from my sad, boring new look, I'm having some issues with Blogger. I can't really complain, since it's free, but Blogger and I aren't quite seeing eye to eye this week.

I wanted to change my template so that my comments would be easier to read for all (hooray!), but alas, Blogger threw an evil error at me when I tried to upload a new one. Then said I couldn't have my old one back either. Because I'm dumb, and my mama is fat :(.

It was quite rude, actually.

So, forgive me for my poor housekeeping this week. Hopefully I'll have a sparkly new look shortly, and can have a blog-warming party!

Also, if you happen to be a Blogger guru, and have tips on getting around evil errors, I would absolutely love you forever if you would email me at rebeccaknightbooks (at) gmail (dot) com. YAY!

Has this been "one of those weeks" for you guys, too?

White washing covers: Please get involved!

I was going to write a cheerful post today about the pros/cons of writing, but something really pissed me off, and I had to talk about it.

Remember when the cover of Justine Larbalestier's book, LIAR, came out with a white cover and had to be changed? Well, I gave Bloomsbury kudos for doing the right thing and fixing the cover.

You can imagine my dismay when I read this post over at The Rejectionist. You guessed it: THEY DID IT AGAIN!

Becca is displeased.

Check out this cover for MAGIC UNDER GLASS, Jaclyn Dolamore's debut novel about a dark skinned girl "from the far east." Um... yeah. Whitey McWhiterson on the cover doesn't scream "far east" to me. Unlike Justine, Jaclyn is a newbie to the publishing world and didn't have the means to get support for a cover change before the book went out.

So, what can we do about it? Is Bloomsbury going to set an example for our kids (as well as other publishers) that we can white-wash everything and get away with it? That this isn't offensive? How can we support an author writing about a person of color, but still let Bloomsbury know that this shizna doesn't fly?

Well, I'll tell you what I did. I wrote to them this morning. Here's the email I sent:


Dear Bloomsbury,

I wanted to email to complain about the white model on the cover of Jaclyn Dolamore’s debut, MAGIC UNDER GLASS. Since the book is about a dark skinned girl from the far east, this cover is really inappropriate, and sends the message that you don’t support people of color. What kind of message is this, especially for our youth?

This happened with LIAR, and now it’s happening again—it’s getting pretty shameful. I’m a white lady, but still find it offensive to change the color of a character simply under the guise of helping sales. Please, take this to heart. I don’t mean to be disrespectful or unkind, but this kind of thing really has to stop if we’re going to make any progress against racism as a nation. Please help, and listen to your customers who are speaking out against this. I’m a regular book lover and buyer, and wanted to let you know my thoughts.

Thank you for listening, and hopefully implementing change. Good luck to you, and God bless! I know it’s difficult to promote change when something’s been common practice for so long. I believe in the industry, and in your business, so please make your customers proud.

Sincerely,

Becca Knight

In all things, I think we need to be respectful, which is why I didn't send my first email, which said simply, "WTF! STOP IT!!! Love, Becca."

I urge you to please get involved and contact Bloomsbury. Especially, right after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, please be reminded that racism in America is not dead, and that we all have a chance to fight for change.

Here is Bloomsbury's contact info:

Editorial and Marketing office:
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 646-307-5151
Fax: 212-780-0115
bloomsbury.kids@bloomsburyusa.com
children.publicity@bloomsburyusa.com

Thank you to all who email, write, or call!

What is your take on this topic? I'd love to hear from you!

Blog Chain: Oh, the Humanity

Or "In-Jokes with Myself: Crappy Writing from the Yesteryear!"

Shaun picked the topic for this round of the Blog Chain, and yes, decided it would be fun to torture us (as well as our blog readers) with this question:

What is the silliest thing from a book or short story you've written, and why? It can be a line or a paragraph or a whole page. Anything that you look back at and go, "Say what?"

Really, Shaun? Are you sure you want to know?

Some things YOU CAN'T UNSEE, if you know what I mean. You go there at your own peril!

Don't say you weren't warned!!!!!

As soon as I discovered the topic, I went digging around in my old "writing" folders and dug out this steaming... uh... gem to share with you guys ;).

I wrote this poem when my husband was playing video games one Saturday, sheerly to amuse myself because I was crazy bored. I was an only child, so I'm really good at entertaining myself when the need arises. I was thinking about that video on http://www.homestarrunner.com/ where Strongbad is trying to teach everyone how to draw a dragon, and his brother Strongmad (who is not the sharpest tool in the shed) is just carving DAGRON into a table instead of drawing :D. If you don't know about Trogdor, Strongbad, or Homestar Runner, you should totally go procrastinate and head over to that website :D. It's hours of fun!

Okay, enough backstory! Enjoy:

POEM TO A DAGRON:

Oh, Dagron Great, what shall thy namesake be?
A crusty serpent that caused the Welsh to flee
their homes and burnt them to the ground?
Or hydra fierce with heads horn-crowned?

Oh, Dagron, should I name thee after great angelic hosts?
Name thee cherubim, give thee wings to fly among the ghosts?
Dagron Great, none do your countenance match:
Your noble reek, your scales' sheen, your claws that snatch.

What shall I name thee, then, Dagron Great--
Oh, wise creature, christened late?
If I cannot do this task, I will take my leave.
So to save disgrace, I shall call you "Steve."


Yeah.

I can't say I didn't warn you!

Any gems from the past you'd like to share? :D

Don't forget to check out the hilarious Cole who posted ahead of me, and the fabulous Amanda, posting tomorrow!

Publishing Debate: Harlequin Horizons

Or as I like to call it, Poo Storm 2009!

There's been a lot of drama in the publishing world this week surrounding Harlequin's announcement that they are opening their own vanity press, called Harlequin Horizons, and offering it to rejectees from their slush pile.

There was helpful info posted on the Writer Beware blog summing up the announcement and potential controversy, then the agents began posting fervently, keeping us in the loop!

Agent Kristen Nelson first asked if this was "Exploitation or Empowerment", then clued us in yesterday that the RWA had laid down some smack, letting everyone know that Harlequin was no longer recognized as a real publishing house because of this recent move. Yesterday, she filled us in on a letter from Donna Hayes, the Harlequin CEO, announcing that they were removing the Harlequin name from the vanity press due to all the hoopla from their authors (no kidding,) and that they thought the RWA were being jerks.

Janet Reid, the Query Shark herself, was also in the middle of the action, announcing the first signs of the approaching poo storm, revealing how pissed off she is that Harlequin seems to be preying on newbie authors, and then further endearing herself to authors everywhere by telling Donna Hayes to stop blowing smoke and basically either fix it or go take a long walk off a short pier.

Rachelle Gardner chimed in today with a rant on the quality of literature (which I totally agree with), and asking her readers their thoughts on vanity publishing as the wave of the future.

Even sci fi author John Scalzi threw his hat in the ring, discussing RWA, the MWA and SFWA all stepping in to chastise Harlequin.

Needless to say, this whole thing has made me feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I mean, seriously, Harlequin? I don't even want to know what their poor authors must be thinking.

So, my question for you is: What do you think of all this?

Exploitative or smart business move?

Are Writers Crazy?

Recently I finished watching a wonderful show: Avatar--the Last Airbender. It is awesome, and I highly recommend it, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

In the show, there is a great character named Iroh who, like me, is a tea fanatic. I mean, the man is PASSIONATE about his tea.

While traveling in the woods, he sees a plant and stops to examine it. It looks just like a certain flower that makes a wonderful, aromatic tea. However, it also looks very similar to a flower that is, in fact, a horrible poison.

Hmmmm. Delectible tea, or deadly poison?

What he's really asking himself is--should I go for it? Are the consequences worth it if I'm wrong?

Okay, I'm sure by now some of you are saying "WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN! Why is this even up for debate??!"

However, isn't this more than little bit like our writing lives? Come on ;). Don't lie.

Most normal people avoid rejection and criticism like it's a deadly poison. They go out of their way to not put their butts on the line, not be talked about, not be judged. Why? Because it's hideously uncomfortable and the consequences aren't worth it.

But writers?

We're not satisfied until our work is out there before tons of agents and journalists, as well as our grandmas, pastors, and those bitchy girls that teased us in high school, ready to be judged until the cows come home.

AND to get to that point of Extreme Judgery Before the Masses, we put ourselves through cycle after cycle of painful, awkward rejection. Odds are, we won't even make it after all of our toil and suffering. But do we stop? No!

Obviously, there is something very wrong with us.

Why the heck do we do this to ourselves? Is being published just that good?

All true writers will say the same thing: YES!! It's worth it.

There is nothing else that can compare to the thrill of acceptance, of being published, and we can't stop wanting it even if we tried.

So, old uncle Iroh's suddenly doesn't seem so odd. I believe that's the heart of what it is to be a writer. Being so passionate about something that you're willing to be crazy-go-nuts to experience it, even if it means potential suffering.

I'm not going to tell you what happens in the show, just that Iroh drinks the tea.

What do you guys think?

Tea, anyone?

The Man's Been Keeping Us Down, Man.

Have you ever encountered those writers who tell you the reason they're not published yet is that the MAN (or "Big Bad Publishing Industry") is keeping them down?

Well, let me tell you a little secret I learned today.

Come on, don't be shy... Lean in as I whisper it in your ear....

IT'S TRUE!

OMG!

IT'S ALL TRUUUUUE!!!!

I knew it!

The Rejectionist said so today on her blog. And take it from me: The Rejectionist never lies.

So, quickly Everyone! Grab your manuscripts and head for the hills! The only way to overthrow publishing's agent-driven, literature-crushing, tear-fed war machine is by living in a commune and distributing our manuscripts to one another hand scratched upon leaves and bound with forest vines. I've thought this through, and it seems like a solid way to stick it to The Man.

JOIN MEEEEE!!

I'll bring snacks for when the Revolution comes :).

After all, no one likes to revolt on an empty stomach.

Genre Wars: Fantasy Versus SciFi

Or, I'm Sick and Tired of All These Motherf'ing Dragons on This Motherf'ing Spaceship!

(picture by Daniela Elisabeth Kaminski)

Since the Dawn of Geeks there has been a vast debate: Where is the line between Fantasy and Science Fiction?

The arguments have been heated and numerous, but recently the old stand by argument "Star Wars is totally Fantasy because Jedi are WIZARDS" came up again on the Internets, making me think... what really does separate these two genres?

I've heard Science Fiction defined as anything including advanced technology or science that can be logically postulated upon or explained using the known laws of Nature. Fantasy is defined as involving sparkly magic or magical creatures that can't be explained by current laws of Nature.

This poses a problem, though. What happens if you take into account Arther C. Clark's Three Laws?:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

At what point does technology become so advanced in your novels that it seems like magic? And at what point is magic explainable as simply being preternatural--something we can't yet understand but will as we evolve?

Also, what about DRAGONS IN SPACE?

There is a lot of blending and cross polinating that goes on between Fantasy and Science Fiction, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

Where do you think the lines are?

When does science give way to magic, or magic to science?

Does it change whether or not you want to read a book, depending on magic vs. science?

And once in for all, is Star Wars just really badly done Sci Fi, or is it Fantasy because it has Super Magic Force Wizards?

More on this debate over at John Scalzi's blog: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/08/20/re-the-science-fiction-failure-mode/.

Have a great weekend!

Cover Wars: To the Victor Go the Spoils!

It is a good week for the publishing industry :), and for author Justine Larbalestier.

Last week, you may remember that I posted "Cover Wars: When Cover Art Goes Wrong" expressing my surprise and outrage over the fact that Bloomsbury picked a white model for the cover of a book with a black main character because "black covers don't sell."

Well, a week later, I'm giving Bloomsbury kudos for making things right and doing a full blown photo shoot to correct the cover! Also, a huge congratulations to Justine for sticking by her guns and fighting for this change.

Sometimes it's amazing and humbling to realize that a group of voices on the internet can promote change like this. When we band together, we can actually right injustices and change things for the better. (We can also organize city-wide zombie walks, but that's beside the point.)

The best part about this is that all the hoopla over this cover issue is probably going to throw a lot of fantastic publicity the author's way, boosting sales for the new cover. Maybe now we'll have a recorded case of a black cover selling better than it's white counterpart. Stats prove that black covers sell!

Even if that doesn't happen, I think we've witnessed something very cool going down because of an author and her readers saying "enough is enough" :). Hooray!

What do you guys think about all of this? Did you follow the controversy these past couple of weeks?

Teaser Tuesday: Writer's Block

Ah, the dreaded Writer's Block.

Killer of copy, Pirate of Prose, Destroyer of Dialogue, Stomper of Stories. It is infamous, and it walks among us.

Or does it?

I was thinking about Writer's Block today because I've been seeing more and more people talking about how to "cure" their own Block. I've always been of the opinion that if you believe in its existence, it will come out and get you, like if you say "Bloody Mary" three times in front of a mirror at midnight. Best to just leave it alone and pretend it's not real.

A while back while working on my WIP, I felt like I was getting the dreaded "Block," so I unstuck myself by writing a poem about it. I was amused by the irony, and was able to go on writing because of the exercise.

Do you believe in Writer's Block?

Is it fact, fiction, or creepy ghoststory? Does it affect your writing life? If so, do you have any Block Breakers or cures? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

This Teaser Tuesday, I'd like to share my Writer's Block poem with you guys. Enjoy!

_________________

Writer’s Block


A canal cakes into ruin
Red dust scattering over broken walls.
The land aches to be filled again
To feel the caress of flowing life
Brought by the river’s hand.

The men forgot how to dig.
Time made them dull, their minds
Following the by and by of quiet living
Not used to work of this kind.
Their backs forgot how to bend.

Hands are smooth, calluses gone,
Forgotten in the land where no one
Lifts a hand to help his neighbor.
No one remembers his neighbor’s name,
The chore of friendship abandoned.

Their only hope, the words,
the melody of time and space,
the by and by of quiet living
turned glorious in the rapture
Of words,
crumbles, even now,
into crimson ruin.

Cover Wars: When Cover Art Goes Wrong

This week, I was shocked to read a post over at author Justine Larbalestier's blog ( http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/07/23/aint-that-a-shame/ ) about the problems the cover art for her novel LIAR has created.

Not only has the American cover art caused people to stop and go "hang on, this doesn't look like your main character," but has actually made legions of readers question her story itself.

The story is about a young black women with short hair who is a compulsive liar. Because of the white lady used in the cover art, readers have been asking Justine if her character was lying to them about her appearance throughout the story, changing its meaning and destracting them from what she intended.

Some have also written to say they find it offensive.

The reason given for the decision? BLACK COVERS DON'T SELL.

My question is.... what the Hell?! This is 2009. People actually say out loud to other people that they aren't going to put a black girl on a book cover because no one will read it?

I started thinking back on the books I've read that have black protagonists, and realized that almost none of them had a picture of the character on the cover. For example, Neil Gaiman's ANANSI BOYS features a sillouhette of the main character instead of showing him in the light.

This is so strange to me, it literally blew my mind this week.

How can publishers make a call about cover art that casts doubt on the intent of the author and puts her in a negative light?

I'm sure this wasn't anyone's intention, and that the publishing house wasn't intending to cause any harm. However, now that there are complaints and others besides the author are speaking out, it will be interesting to see what the response is.

What do you guys think about this?

What do you think the publisher's response should be?

Am I totally overreacting?

All I have to say is:

Have a great weekend!

Don't Be Afraid to Chase Success

Today, one of my fabulous friends over at QueryTracker (Bodwen) posted about a dream she had last night. She was inside an hourglass with sand pouring down, and she knew the grains were moments in her life. It was about chest-high when a man came up to her hourglass and scooped up a handful of her sand. She cried out, thinking he was taking it for his own, but he threw it on the ground.

"Why are you doing that?" she asked. He replied that her sand was better than his, so she shouldn't have so much of it. He went to grab more sand, and she chased him away.

What I thought was particularly powerful about this dream, is that when she woke, she knew that the man trying to steal her sand represented all the people in our lives who are jealous that we are chasing success. They feel they are wasting theirs, so they want to tear us down instead of seeing us succeed.

How many times have we each experienced this as we tell people about our goals and dreams? I used to tell my non-writer friends about my dream of getting published, and they'd say helpful things like "Well, if you don't make it, at least you wrote a whole book," or "The odds are really against you, so if you don't get an agent, maybe you can self-publish."

Others have self published and rant on forums about how the publishing industry is broken, and agents can't find a good book if it hit them in the eye. (I have nothing against self-publishing. I only have something against people who give up trying to be traditionally published, and then try to tear down others who still strive for that.) By tearing down the hopes of those of us fighting to be a part of that industry, they are trying to justify why they gave up.

Don't let them.

Don't let people try to take your sand away from you. They will tell you that you don't deserve it. They are wrong. You will EARN it if you chase your dream all the way to the end. You absolutely deserve everything you earn through hard work and determination.

Don't let anyone steal your sand. It is yours and no one else's.

I have a quote that I live by while chasing my dream, and it is this: "The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want the most for what you want now."

Don't give in to smaller dreams or suggestions meant to keep you from your Big Dream. You can do it.

Let the sand flow, and chase people away who try to take it from you. You can do it :). You need to believe that you have the right to chase your dream.

I'll Miss You, Michael Jackson

Man, yesterday sucked for celebrities. Farrah Fawcett passing away and Michael Jackson dying at age 50. Holy crap.

Michael Jackson was a huge part of my childhood, so his death affected me the most. I only knew Farrah from that poster with her in the red swimsuit and the one rerun of Charlie's Angels I've seen. Michael, I felt like I knew, at least a little, and I felt a pang that the King of Pop was really gone.

My dad was a huge MTV nut when I was a kid, so I remember watching the videos for "Bad," "Beat It," and "Billy Jean" over and over during summer vacation. "Thriller" scared the crap out of me when I was little, and then turned into my favorite music video of all time when I got old enough to appreciate it. And practice those awesome zombie dance moves.

I think what I'm going to miss is the Michael Jackson from my childhood--the one we loved from the '80s and early '90s. He's had such a tortured life, but those were the times when he really got to shine and I'd like to remember that versus all the weirdness later on.

I love his music, I love that he invented the Moonwalk (which I still can't do, although I continually try), and I love that damn sparkly glove.

I want to remember that part of him and ignore all the crazy that happened afterward.

Were you guys affected at all by yesterday's news?

What are your thoughts?

Edit: Holy crap, Billy Mays just died :(. What the f, universe??? This has got to stop.

"Third Person Vs. First Person" or "The Voices in my Head Won't Shut Up"

"I allow my intuition to lead my path." --Manuel Puig

This would be a helpful quote, if all the voices in my head could ever agree.

My manuscript, Legacy of the Empress, is written in 3rd person, but the voices in my head are now telling me that the only way to really write my WIP is to switch gears and write it in 1st person.

There's just one problem. I LIKE 3rd person! 3rd person is easy for me. I get 3rd person. I'm a 3rd Person Person!

I'm noticing from reading other writer blogs that I am actually a freak in this regard. Others seem to love, love, love the freedom that 1st person allows. Some even write in present tense!

To those who do these things: I salute you! I also ask for your insight. How do you do what you do?

My main worry is when I'm in my character's brain and writing through their eyes is that I'll be too blunt or "tell" the reader too much, too soon. I've learned to play it pretty cool in 3rd, and reveal a little bit at a time, drawing people alone. If you're in someone's head... how do you maintain the mystery? How do you tread lightly in 1st?

I'm currently reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and am learning a ton about how to write effective, mysterious, wonderful fiction in this voice, but now I'd love to learn from YOU.

What do you prefer? If you write in 1st person, how do you work within that freedom? If you write in present tense like Ms. Collins, how do you keep your head from kersploding?

Please let me know how you do it if you do it.

I'd love to hear your tips and stories!

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Tonight, I was checking out my new WIP and got to wondering, how do you guys come up with the ideas for your writing, be it novel-length or otherwise?

Mine, of course, come from Cthulu sending nightmare images straight into my mind while I sleep. (Just kidding. Thank God...)

However, I do get a lot of awesome ideas right as I'm drifting off to sleep and my brain is all sleepy and (debatably) crazy. I also keep a tiny notebook in my purse and write down random thoughts, and odd or funny things people say throughout the week. When I'm really feeling stuck, I talk things out with my wonderful and creative husband. He's almost as sick as I am :).

I want to know, how do you guys do it? This is the part of writing that I find the most baffling.

How does this happen for you? Where do you get the thoughts that lead to "Hey, I can make this into 95,000 words. Woo hoo!"

Are we all just nuts? Should we blame Cthulu after all?

I'd love to know how you guys tick!

I'm Back!

Hi, All,

I'm sorry I've been strangely absent both from this blog, and from QueryTracker lately. The husband and I have been busting some ass this past week on getting our house ship-shape for an appraisal and.... whew... yeah. Instead of blogging I crawled into bed each night panting and clutching my heart. (Okay, it wasn't all that bad, but I hate housework ;)... and there was LOTS of it.)

Anyway, I was back today, reading blogs and getting caught up in InternetLand, and came across this great post by Nathan Bransford, agent extraodinarre:

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2009/05/hoops-vs-hints.html.

I know I've heard a lot of my fellow queriers getting discouraged or disgruntled because of all the so-called "hoops" we have to jump through, so I want to know:

What do you guys think?

Are the "hoops" a necessary evil, or helpful hints on how to get noticed?

I'm a rule follower by nature. I like plans laid out before me that say "if you do X and Y you will be noticed because of your hard work." I like working hard, and I like having clear cut guidelines.

However, I've recently come to realize I may be a freak.

Is there anyone else out there that says "Yay, guidelines! I'm going to kick some ass!" or do you think "Damn hoops! Why do we have to do these things?"

I can see both sides, and I'd love to know :).

Hoops or hints?

Mmmm... Book Smell

Today there were a couple of blog entries in the publishing world about getting over the "book smell" argument against e-books.

Kassia Krozser posted that we should all stop arguing that digital books shouldn't take off because the experience isn't the same as paper books (http://booksquare.com/enough-with-the-smell-of-books-okay/), and Nathan Bransford agreed with her on his blog, saying that car owners aren't always lamenting the fact that their subaru doesn't smell like a horse.

I agree with Kassia that the e-books and paper books are two entirely different things. However, when most people talk about e-books they are talking about whether or not they are the future of publishing, the next big step, the ultimate replacement for the books we know and love. It is exactly like deciding on whether or not you like horses or cars, and not deciding between a car or a train. The only difference I can see is that horses smell like asscrack.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of an e-book. But when I think of them taking over, I find myself saddened. I'm a rare book collector (yes, I'm a geek), and love not only the feel and look of paper books, but yes, the delicious musty smell. Mmmm... Old.

The smell brings up memories of my childhood when I'd tuck myself into the 2' x 2' place between my bunkbed and my bookshelf, tack a blanket up, and read for hours with my flashlight. It reminds me of waiting in the used book store until the bus showed up, stowing away in the attic and pretending I was that kid in "The Neverending Story."

I'm going to miss that smell, dangit, and I think we're allowed to say that it's not the same.

E-books are cool and probably necessary, but if they take over entirely, what will happen to the simple pleasure of smelling a good book?

What do you all think? Book smell: awesome or overrated?