Good day my little cocktail cheeses. I made a tiny video which is hopefully full of good advice on how to reach your goals when aiming for your daily word count. Enjoy, and feel free to visit my youtube for story readings (mine and other people’s), tips and general oddity.
P.S. yep my hair is gone. I have entered the Jazz age!
Having trouble…procrastinating? Or just spend much of your writing day staring out the window (ahem). This new app, a mark two of an existing one called Write Or Die (funnily enough), says it can help. Visit their website.
Usable on Windows, Linux and Macs this new version provides rewards for doing well and hassling you when you fail to write for more than ten seconds. Apparently you can choose what pictures you’d like to see – or not to see as punishment:
“This version of Write or Die introduces the concept of positive reinforcement. Sometimes the journey down the blank page seems a long and desolate one. Reward mode helps you mark your progress along the way.
You can finitely adjust how frequently the program rewards you. Set a word goal and tweak the incentive frequency slider to increase or decrease the frequency of word count rewards.
You can also select a directory of images for use as custom reward images, if you have a folder of your favorite pictures and you’d like to see those pictures as rewards.”
Have a look on their website and, if it’s for you, go ahead and let me know what you think.
Interesting discussion on this blog here for anyone else worrying about spending too much time on facebook whilst they’re supposed to be writing. Having limited myself to only checking a couple of times in the morning I’ve found that I’m getting a lot more done, however there are people I’m sure who say it helps them think. What do you reckon?
Plus this blog is really pretty and I like the pictures.
Although based in Colchester, Essex (come to the Slack Space gallery and learn audio production if you’re in the area) Frequency Theatre are looking for scripts from all across the UK. Visit their website here to learn more. Plus here’s what they say to those with a script or thinking of writing one:
“Frequency Theatre puts new, engaging stories at the heart of our work. We want new plays by writers of all ages and levels of experience. We are looking for a refreshing voice, with a play delivered with verve and/ or wit. Plays that we’ll take notice of will utilise the medium, focusing on building atmosphere through the relationship of dialogue, sound effects and silence.
Plays should be 10 to 15 minutes long, as a guide this is between 1800 – 2700 words. Only plays around this length will be considered.
If you have a script you would like to send to us, please email it to Rich Chilver at literary@frequencytheatre.co.uk
We look forward to reading your work.”
Good luck Pumpkins!
On my travels today I stumbled upon (OK, someone uploaded to twitter) this helpful and amusing post on book outlining.
Go here, read, come on, what are you waiting for? Oh, you’re still here. Yes, that’s it, that door there. Phew, I know, now they’re gone we can say whatever we want about – oh hi! You’re still here. Er, no, we weren’t talking about anything…
Hello my little slices of pepperoni. You may remember American bizarro author and all round anomalous egg Jeremy C Shipp from such books as Cursed (which got him nominated for the Bram Stoker award), Vacation, Fungus of the Heart and Sheep and Wolves.
He kindly assented to an interview regarding his work and writing in general (and to not press charges; I mean, kidnap is such a strong word) and here it is:
Which of your books is your favourite, and why?
J: One of my books that is near and dear to my heart (and spleen) is Cursed. The story was a blast to write, primarily because of the character Cicely. She’s a loveable weirdo with a heart (and spleen) of gold.
What impact has the Bram Stoker nomination made on your career?
J: I would say the main thing is that more readers have tried my books. Also, the nomination gave me super powers. For instance, with the power of thought alone, I can transform sporks into slightly smaller sporks.
What’s the one (or more) thing you keep in mind when writing gets difficult?
J: This is your dream, Jeremy. If you’re not going to fight to live your own dream, then you’ll have to live someone else’s. And that’s no fun.
How do your ideas come to you?
J: Dreams, nightmares, personal events, world events, people on the street, people in the clouds, a little goblin named Bob who lives in my skull.
Is it possible to make a successful living from writing?
J: Yes. Mostly, it just takes a lot of work and dedication. And skill. And luck.
Who are your heroes?
J: Super Grover, my family, my friends, Hayao Miyazaki, Joss Whedon, Felicia Day, Kurt Vonnegut, Larry Blamire, Tree Trunks.
Is being a Bizarro writer a natural state of being, or do you sometimes have to push yourself to make your ideas even weirder?
J: It’s my natural state. Sometime I have to push myself to make my ideas palatable for human consumption.
What goes through your mind when you see your published book/story?
J: Hooray! Book! Time to sing and dance and eat chili cheese fries!
Did (or do) you have to do a lot of networking to get your stuff popular?
J: I enjoy entertaining and connecting with people on Facebook and Twitter, and I believe it’s on these sites that most people first hear about me and my work.
Thanks Jeremy, you may live another year. Bye!
This post on the Bizarro Central website offers advice on getting Bizarro more visible, but it works with any small press genre/book.
Have a little read and remember, if you don’t do what it says I have several pixies on standby just waiting to do annoying things to you, such as coughing when you’re about to fall asleep or repeating everything you say in a silly high pitched voice.
Today a friend alerted me to a website featuring spooky stories that the average person can add to called the SCP Foundation, although they apparently delete entries that don’t comply with the general tone etc.
They have been described thusly: “The SCP Foundation is a creative writing website centered around pseudo-realistic supernatural reports. The site allows members to author entries in form of reports and documents focusing on entities referred to as SCPs, which are objects whose existence would be considered scientific anomalies and often pose a significant hazard to human health or society.”
If you’re still curious have a read of this.
Projects like this are fun, unusual and good practice, so what are we waiting for?
I apologise for the exclamation mark. No, actually, I’m not sorry. Anyway…just a quick post to tell you all to use twitter/facebook etc. Yes, I know, you’ve heard it before, but this time I need you to listen.
Set up a twitter profile if you haven’t already, go looking for your favourite authors/artists/whatever you like to do and find out who publishes/distributes them. Then follow them as well. It’ll be interesting to keep up with the news if nothing else. I’ve found out about so many smaller publications this way, and some of those look very exciting.
Go, my pretties, go and multiply!
I was staring at my computer screen worrying about my book when this was updated on Limebird writers. Tis rather interesting:
Madeleine Swann 