Blogs of Interest:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/
This is the author I mentioned in class today. Her three questions and the explanation of how they work for her can be found in her archives. But because I love you all so much here's a shortcut: http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2005/01/novel-i-imagine.html

http://hollylisle.com/writingdiary2/
This is an author who is struggling to make this writing business work and isn't afraid to say so! If you want to check out her work, I recommend Talyn. I think it's her best work by far. It was released last year (I think) in hardcover. She's also the author who started Forward Motion.

http://www.tamarasilerjones.com/blog/index.html
I've also mentioned Tam in class. She's new to the business but I can see her staying in the business for a long time as long as her depression doesn't overtake her. She's incredibly talented.

http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/
If you're at all interested in romance writing, this site has several published authors contribute to the blog.

http://www.tessgerritsen.com/blogs.cfm
She's on the NY Best Seller list every now and again. She doesn't update daily but often enough to make it worthwhile to keep an eye on her site.

http://agentoo7.blogspot.com/
This is an agent's blog. Interesting to see things from their POV every now and again.

http://alg.livejournal.com/
Anna Louise is an editor for TOR books--a huge name in the publishing industry when it comes to fantasy novels.

Websites of Interest:

http://fmwriters.com/
This is a great site to visit if you're interested in meeting other writers with the same interests you share. If you write poetry, there's poets. If you write novels, there's novelists of every kind. There's also a chatroom that seems to be busy almost always.

http://www.larseighner.com/world_builder/
If you're interested in writing science fiction or fantasy and want to create a believeable world, these questions will help you make it happen.

http://lazette.net/vision/
This is an ezine dedicated to the craft of writing. Published and aspiring authors contribute.

http://www.dplylemd.com/index.htm
The Writer's Medical and Forensics Lab. Author D. P. Lyle, MD. He answers different hypothetical questions he receives from authors on this website.

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/lazy2.htm
If you scroll down, there is a list of character creation questions.

http://www.tameri.com/write/characters.html
Another character creation resource.

Posted by at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've never done this before and I doubt it will make any difference but you never know who may browse by your blog...

If you're a K-12 teacher interested in earning free SB-CEUs, please visit this website: http://oel.umflint.edu.

The University of Michigan-Flint is hosting a free workshop on April 7th where K-12 teachers can earn .7 SB-CEU for attending. The topic is Teaching African Literature & Culture. Guest speaker Dennis Brutus will discuss his book, Poetry & Protest: A Dennis Brutus Reader.

If you're not a teacher but know someone in the surrounding area (or who doesn't mind a little bit of a drive!), have them check out the website!

Posted by at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Title: By the Blood

In my last post I mentioned how happy I was with the new beginning of an old story. I felt I had accomplished something worthwhile. Well, that feeling faded pretty quickly. There was a nagging sense of having botched a significant detail, one the reader needed to be made aware of within the first few paragraphs of the story. Since this feeling persisted, I asked a friend of mine to read what little bit I had. When she finished I had only question for her: Why is Seanna leaving? Her answer confirmed my suspicions.

I've since added and deleted some elements. Yet, overall the scene has stayed the same. The only difference between the original version and this one is a whole lot of exposition. Of course, this makes me nervous, too. I don't want to bog the reader the down with explanation. I believe there has to be a balance of exposition and action. In the past my inclination has been to provide more action than exposition. Perhaps this story will teach me how to weave the two methods into a coherent storyline.

Even though I have my concerns, I'm going to push forward. I have just a little over 900 words so far. I'm hoping to add another 500 to it before bedtime tonight.

Posted by at 07:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)