Writerly Ways

Something interesting came up in a group I belong to, asking about blurbs and cover art. I was shocked at how many people said they never even read a blurb. I can't imagine not reading them. How the heck else do you know what a book is about? For me author name and a pretty cover aren't enough. I don't think there's an author out there that's an autobuy for me. Series yes, author no.

Now I understand a little better why some people get so pissy when a m/m author writes a lesbian story or god help them, a het romance. They're apparently not reading blurbs. You know what, they get what they deserve in that case. If you skip over the thing that tells you what the story is about, I have no pity for you if you got stuck with something you didn't like.

In other matters have you seen this new nonsense Microsoft to ban offensive language . Most of what I can find is for Skype only but literally everyone is losing their fucking minds (see that offensive language, I'm banned) saying it's for all Microsoft products including Word. Me, I'm not that worried. If they honestly tried to do that via Word a) how could they monitor it? b) an ACLU lawyer would give their eye teeth to go after that level of censorship. But that hasn't stopped the romance writing community from losing their shit, screaming for everyone to go to open office or libre office. As someone who had both, there's a fly in that ointment,you can't do track changes every publisher out there wants you to use. Oops.

It's been a long while since I've done links so let's have them now, lots and lots of them

From Betty (thank you!) - Keeping a Series Organized

Five Common Pitfalls For Stories With Deep Ideas

The scent of bias ink…

The Pleasures of Genre

Should Your Main Character Be Likable?

A Look at Subtext

Tips for Adding Visual "Texture" to the Telling of Your Tale

Six Types of Turning Points for Climaxes

Six Illogical Genre Aesthetics

Visual Thinking

4 Tips on the Road to Publication

The Elements of Surprise: Untwisting the Twist with Vera Tobin, PhD
(I haven't listened to this yet but I've been told it's excellent)

And from other places around the web

Structural Language Is The Foundation Of A Great Story

The Drama Is In The Details (the humor, horror, and suspense are too)

“DO THE THING?” — AN FAQ ABOUT DOING THE THING Chuck Wendig speaking of offensive language....

Publishers Are Hiring Sensitivity Readers … Should You? (probably one of my bigger worries right now)

The Hybrid Publishing Model

You Can Succeed In The Marketplace As An Independent Author



Yearly Word Count-

36435 / 100000 words. 36% done!

Haunted Hills -

52675 / 75000 words. 70% done!

Sacred Kin - being beta read

Saint Augustine Saturnalia - this idea just hit me it'll need to be done before July but only has to be 5K min so...

SPlinters - Ch 2 at the critique group. I've done squat all otherwise.

Rose Island - currently on hiatus

Boy when depression gets ahold of you

It really gets ahold of you. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm wrong. I'm ALWAYS wrong. I'm wrong about everything, just ask the men in my family. I was not at all pleased today to find out my Dad and my brother have been talking about what house I should buy and how everything I want is wrong.

Mom's like they're trying to help in their way, to give me their experiences at homeowning. Yeah I'd buy that more if Dad didn't always work so hard to prove I'm wrong about literally anything I say that HE doesn't agree with.

I need a 'nice little house in town.' You know what maybe I can't handle a big yard. Maybe it'll be a mistake. Maybe so but it's my mistake. I am SO tempted to but in town (happy now) and that large house (so fuck you).

Please quite racing to tell me how wrong I am. Hell stop yelling at Mom because I WANT a house. Maybe I'll just buy one of those double wides for sale. Happy now? It's small and shitty. Just what I should have because I can't handle anything else.

What's worse is everything I like is way over priced. I see what says 'home' to me but the price tag says 'you have to be delusional' I love the ones who haven't sold in half a year and then RAISE their price. (I think they;re doing it so when someone comes in low they'll get what they originally wanted)

Also the depression insured I forgot to pay a few bills so of course now I feel even worse. Sigh.