Comments for Florida Writers Conference Blog

Comment on Short Story Tuesday: Most people just cut their fingers by Karen Bain

Karen Bain — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:14:20 +0000

Well done. �Really, really well done. � � Ms. Karen Bain Local FL: 561 310 6236 kbain10@yahoo.com �

>________________________________ > From: Florida Writers Conference Blog >To: kbain10@yahoo.com >Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 11:23 AM >Subject: [New post] Short Story Tuesday: Most people just cut their fingers > > > >WordPress.com >Chris Hamilton posted: “From the first day I met Catherine, I wondered what she looked like with no clothes on. It wasn’t sexual. Okay, I’m a guy. Show me a lug wrench and my thoughts turn to, well, you know. But Catherine Burke is something different. There’s an air about” >

Comment on When good ideas come at bad times by Dan Lewis

Dan Lewis — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:02:51 +0000

This happens to me daily! I use evernote and sync it everywhere. I use my voice memos when driving. The good ideas form when I’m doing something else but the BEST ideas come right in the middle of executing my good ideas and that IS frustrating I’ve learned to let them go and hope that if they truly love me, they’ll hang around!

Comment on When good ideas come at bad times by Bianca Sloane

Bianca Sloane — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:13:17 +0000

I use the memo function in my phone to keep lists/reminders. Except when I’m in the shower, of course…

Comment on When good ideas come at bad times by chriscoward2012

chriscoward2012 — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:42:25 +0000

Yes! So true! I have a trick for remembering great ideas that come at inopportune times. It’s…uh, I knew it a minute ago. Let me check my Post-It wall. That’s it. My trick is Post-Its. Everywhere.

Comment on Industry news: Librarian threatened with billion-dollar suit; the DOJ doesn’t like Apple; kids more likely to read electronically by Serena Schreiber

Serena Schreiber — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:11:07 +0000

I read the results differently. I think parents are pushing to get kids to read on electronic devices, hoping they will start enjoying reading. I know I tried with my son and it didn’t work. Kids who love books love them in every form and don’t need a gimmick to read.

Comment on Pitching at the conference? Start preparing now! by Writers Helping Writers, One on One, at the Annual Conference | Florida Writers Conference Blog

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:00:55 +0000

[…] blog: http://floridawriters.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/pitching-and-querying-words-from-an-agent/, http://floridawriters.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/pitching-at-the-conference-start-preparing-now/. It’s important also to research your target agent or publisher to understand what they want. See […]

Comment on Pitching and Querying: Words from an Agent by Writers Helping Writers, One on One, at the Annual Conference | Florida Writers Conference Blog

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:00:52 +0000

[…] you pitch them, we suggest you be prepared! Many resources offer tips, including our own FWA blog: http://floridawriters.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/pitching-and-querying-words-from-an-agent/, http://floridawriters.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/pitching-at-the-conference-start-preparing-now/. […]

Comment on The truth about revisions by Virginia Nygard

Virginia Nygard — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:41:20 +0000

Yes, work on your ‘baby’ until it’s ‘perfect’ in your eyes, then hand it over to other sets of eyes: other writers willing to read it, then a professional editor. You will usually find that your 20/20 vision was a wee bit less than! And don’t let competition from the mill-grinders rush you into publication before it’s ready. I’ve read or listened to pieces that seem written by third-graders who got into their daddy’s liquor locker. Even first drafts show your diligence …or lack thereof.

Comment on Back at it by zena

zena — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:49:42 +0000

Yes, I really agree with this because I was writing every morning my “morning pages” recommended by Julia Cameron in the Artist Way. I have found this to enhance and bring out ideas that were lying dormant. Having not written for the last four weeks consistently in the morning it has been tough doing three pages of stream of consciousness in the morning. I truly agree that if you stick with the process and remain consistent then the writing start to manifest again.

Comment on Your responsibility as a writer (or is it)? by acflory

acflory — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:14:58 +0000

I’m a long time science fiction fan, although of books rather than movies or TV, and one of the things I love about the genre is its ability to ask what-if questions in a non-threatening way.

The first time I ever seriously thought about homosexuality was while I was reading Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin. The story won a Hugo award in its day – think Pulitzer for sci-fi – and I could literally feel my cosy, middle-class, 20-something female mind expand. Not because there was anything overtly sexual in the storyline, but because it made me realize that sexuality did not define either the individual or his/her emotional attachments. You can find something similar in the movie The Crying Game.

I have no idea why Le Guin wrote that particular story, or whether she had some kind of social agenda, but it certainly made me a more tolerant and open-minded person.

In terms of your original question, I don’t believe authors should push any agenda in their writing. Nonetheless, I do believe authors need to think about the world around them. They need to explore both sides of any debate as honestly as possible because, like it or not, unless they are writing to a strict formula, their world views will percolate into whatever they write. And fiction has the power to /persuade/. That power does give us a certain responsibility.

For myself, the fiction that gives me the most pleasure is the kind that opens up my mind to new things, and new ways of looking at the world. And then lets me make up my own mind.

Comment on Our topic for today is dialog. Dialects in dialog. So good day. by annehawkinson

annehawkinson — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:34:17 +0000

These movies are classics! Never get tired of watching them!

Comment on Your responsibility as a writer (or is it)? by cpbialois

cpbialois — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:23:07 +0000

Reblogged this on The BiaLog.

Comment on In praise of short stories by Walter Knight

Walter Knight — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:24:59 +0000

Authors love short stories, but short stories can’t be marketed for profit. So, I will add a short story as a bonus to the end of a novel. That way the short story does not go to waste, and the reader gets something extra for their money.

Comment on In praise of short stories by Peggy Lambert

Peggy Lambert — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:17:14 +0000

Chris, this is wonderful. I love the training wheels analogy. It’s where to learn the importance of point of view, character development, making every word count, and mostly, how to focus on the story. It may turn out that short stories are the author’s true calling, but at the very least, it is a way to practice our skills. Who does anything well without practice?

Comment on Industry news: Book review inequality is real by Walter Knight

Walter Knight — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:25:45 +0000

The impression I got when querying publishers was that most fiction readers are women, so publishers were recruiting women authors and themes. The great thing about Kindle E-books is that authors no longer need to pander to big markets, but rather can write for niche markets.

Now, it in financially viable to write books for guys.

Comment on Industry news: Book review inequality is real by beccakinla

beccakinla — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:04:30 +0000

Your comment misses the point. I think that part of the issue is that genres that are heavily feminine–YA, children’s books, and the like–are given less prestige and thus, less big-name reviews. It might–just might, not necessarily–be because they are considered less “serious” literature. But who has historically decided what is “serious literature?” Men.

And I’m usually a pretty old-fashioned, “Call me Mrs. not Ms.,” stay-at-home mother type.

Comment on Industry news: Book review inequality is real by Chris Hamilton

Chris Hamilton — Sun, 12 May 2013 14:11:01 +0000

There’s the rub. It’s a lot of guesswork,as you say yourself. And the vast majority of the people who take the time to do the analysis have an agenda. But if you read the article by JT Ellison and the article by Ms. Kogan, it has to raise questions.

Comment on Industry news: Book review inequality is real by Larry DeKay

Larry DeKay — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:03:57 +0000

Chris: a couple of thoughts right off the top of my head. One – what is the ratio of male published authors to female published authors? 12% does not strike me as a stat of epidemic proportions. Two – what types of books does the new york times review? I don’t know, but I would guess the NYT does not review children’s, young adult or romance novels or reviews very few of these genres. That said, what do you think women write? My guess is in YA and romance, 90% is probably written by women and for children’s books, my guess is probably 70-80% are written by women. With numbers like this skewing the marketplace; before crying foul and sexism by the NYT, I would first analyze what types of books they review. Sorry, I don’t have a 96 hour day to do that. Let not the knee jerk.

Comment on Industry news: Book review inequality is real by patriciaange

patriciaange — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:24:28 +0000

Reblogged this on Sex and Relationships.

Comment on Be a Professional Writer by walleyeyes73

walleyeyes73 — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:41:58 +0000

Reblogged this on walleyeyes73.

Comment on Coffee, the literary elixir by Call me Writer 007 ~ I take my Coffee Shaken or Stirred with Words on the side | Kim Koning

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:12:09 +0000

[…] Coffee, the literary elixir (floridawriters.wordpress.com) […]

Comment on Our topic for today is dialog. Dialects in dialog. So good day. by Aj Luck

Aj Luck — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:21:04 +0000

Best post ever!

Comment on Is blogging dying? by Maureen C. Berry

Maureen C. Berry — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:47:19 +0000

The above statement begs for structure, I know.

Comment on Is blogging dying? by Maureen C. Berry

Maureen C. Berry — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:46:17 +0000

It’s true. Blogging is not going away, but due to the scheduling and time required to put out good copy consistently, blogging is not what it used to be. I get more traffic from my photography blog, than I do my food blogs. “A picture tells a thousand words,” after all. And driving people to a blog is hard work, unless you’re already a success in your world. The ROI with Social Media, i.e. Facebook & Twitter, is a far more effective measure and is worthy of a writer’s time.

Comment on Pinterest as a tool for marketing your work by Donna Fernandez

Donna Fernandez — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:57:33 +0000

Chris, I like (and have noted) your tip about fitting together the various pieces of social media. What you write is true.
Being a Pinterester for some time, I know women dominate this medium. However, a growing number of men are hitching onto it for their own interests and see the value of storing ideas for the future, whether best spots for fly fishing, various tutorials for (fill in the blank), business promotion, and so on. This is good, as maybe I can find something there I wouldn’t have found for a while.
My post of May 3rd explores the ways I store writing ideas. (Writing Ideas Stored ~~ Flying Pages at donnasfernandez.blogspot.com). Pinterest has become one of them, and is quite valuable. In fact, I’m going to pin your post to my Pinterest Board, Writing Well. Thank you.

Comment on Be a Professional Writer by beccakinla

beccakinla — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:10:47 +0000

I can think of another problem with a generic label on your document file: it sounds like you are a complete and total newbie.

If you are a busy, experienced writer (or want to look like one), you wouldn’t have only one novel, submission, essay, whatever that you are working on.

Comment on Writers Tools You’ll Use Every Day by Mary Ann de Stefano

Mary Ann de Stefano — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:46:28 +0000

Perhaps I should just change the title of the article to the more accurate “Writers Tools I Use All the Time and You’ll Like Them Too — or Not.”

It’s all subjective.

Comment on Writers Tools You’ll Use Every Day by Timm

Timm — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:30:24 +0000

I stopped using Word along time ago. For me, I need all my stuff in one place, series bible, outline etc etc, character profiles and such. I’m a Scrivner disciple, I can have all my stuff in one place. Plus it’s got a full screen feature that allows you to just write, like you would in Word. Scrivener is also not a complicated program.

Plus there are many free Tutorials and what not out there, all you have to do is look. I belong to the Scrivner group on G+. Even without those I was able to have it up and running and working for me in the time it took to install it.

Slacker Radio or Spotify beat Pandora hands down. Unless Pandora has improved on their algorithm. I’m a Slacker Radio person for sure. Dropbox is a wonderful tool, and I use it for storing my work. I’m also experimenting with Google Drive as well. I’ve used Evernote, and still do on occasion but with Scrivner I can import webpages, pdf’s etc into the program itself and the keyword function is just like tagging.

Just my 2 pennies on the subject.

Comment on Industry News: Hachette offers ebooks to libraries, Author Solutions sued, TOR celebrates a year without DRM by celiaboop

celiaboop — Sat, 04 May 2013 15:39:42 +0000

Excellent information for writers Chris!

Comment on Industry News: Hachette offers ebooks to libraries, Author Solutions sued, TOR celebrates a year without DRM by Industry News: Hachette offers ebooks to libraries, Author Solutions sued, TOR celebrates a year without DRM | funwithmrwrong

Sat, 04 May 2013 15:38:21 +0000

[...] Industry News: Hachette offers ebooks to libraries, Author Solutions sued, TOR celebrates a year wit…. [...]

Comment on Don’t look a gift writer in the mouth by Daniel Springer

Daniel Springer — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:38:52 +0000

Chris,

Excellent post! I have been on the receiving end of feedback and am in the final stages of providing feedback to a writer who recently completed his manuscript. Let me tell you, reading this story has been a dream–I can’t put it down. I am invested now in making sure this manuscript gets published. Yes, this task is taking up time, but I hope my observations and editing help this writer–I am paying it forward

Comment on Exercise Wednesday: I know that I’m not all that you want by beccakinla

beccakinla — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:37:50 +0000

Yow! I think this is rather too scary to contemplate. I’m not big enough to step up to the plate on this one. At least not today.

Comment on Which came first, the writer or the marketer? by Maureen C. Berry

Maureen C. Berry — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:46:01 +0000

Thanks for trying to share Jack!

Comment on Award-Winning YA Author Adrian Fogelin Keynotes FWA Mini-Conference by Writer’s Conference | Rebecca Hurd

Writer’s Conference | Rebecca Hurd — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:24:11 +0000

[...] Award-Winning YA Author Adrian Fogelin Keynotes FWA Mini-Conference [...]

Comment on It’s time to register for the 2013 Florida Writers Conference, the best conference EVER! by Writer’s Conference | Rebecca Hurd

Writer’s Conference | Rebecca Hurd — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:23:03 +0000

[...] It’s time to register for the 2013 Florida Writers Conference, the best conference EVER! [...]