Articles archived for June 2009
Want to get involved in our collaborative blogging project? It’s very easy to get started!
- First, Register Your Account.
- Fill In Your Profile Details.
- Contact Me To Activate Your Contributor Account
- Write your content.
- The CF-Writer’s Mailing List
If you’re not already registered with The Craft of Writing Fiction you’ll have options in the navigation bar at the top of each page and in the footer of every page to register your account. Once you’ve registered you will not be able to contribute posts to the site yet or be automatically subscribed to our WRA-Writer’s Mailing List but you’ll be able to update your profile.
While registering your account is the first step we want to give you the opportunity to promote yourself and let readers know who you are. This is a fantastic opportunity to discuss your qualifications and experience as a writer. Your profile is your portfolio. You need to fill in your first and last name, set this as your display name, add a website URL, and a short biography. Your bio should be approximately three paragraphs long and can include up to three links (such as a link to your contact details, another place you blog, or your social media profiles). Remember to keep your profile up to date!
This used to be automatic but I’ve changed the settings to prevent troubles with unverfied users and spambots creating spam-content. Now I need to manually activate your contributor account. So, send me a quick email to let me know you’d like me to activate your contributor account and allow me 48 hours to respond.
Now that you’ve registered your account, filled in your profile details, and had your account activated, you can write your first post. Remember, we encourage CF-Writer’s to keep their word count between 400 and 800 words and that you have the freedom to choose your topic so long as it suits our “craft of writing”, or “writing fiction” niche. Use the current categories as a guide. You can save as many articles as you like in your drafts as you are working on them. Once you are happy with a post you must “save as pending” to put the post in my editing queue.
When you save your post as pending I know you consider it ready to publish. I will then review your post, add any SEO or HTML tweaks to maximize it’s Web effectiveness, and schedule the content so that it is ready to publish. Once you’ve set a post to pending you are no longer able to edit it but you are welcome to contact me if you realize there are still changes you need to make. Most of the time posts are scheduled to go live within two weeks of being set to pending without any additional rewrites or major edits needed.
We want to maintain the standard of excellence for which CF has become know and respected. The Craft of Writing Fiction has always been, first and foremost, about what readers want. I believe our readers deserve quality and I will only accept well-written content. While I will do general editing there are occasions when I may feel a post is not quite ready for publishing. When this happens I will return the post to draft and email you directly with more information so you can make any changes or improvements. I want to give our writer’s an opportunity to continue to learn and grow in a professional atmosphere and I hope you’ll support our dedication to offering everyone involved in The Craft of Writing Fiction’s Collaborative Blogging Project education and experience.
Please also remember that The Craft of Writing Fiction is a niche blog. We have a relatively broad niche that includes all writing genres and skill, but we do not have a category for dogs (unless you can find a way to tie the topic to writing like I did with the Dog Train Your Writing Skills series). While we encourage free thinking and invite you to write based on your personal inspirations we want you to keep our broader topic in mind. As yourself, “What makes this important to writers?”
Beyond those two specific ‘rules’ I like to give writers a great deal of freedom. Take chances and experiment. Do what works for you. Explore your experiences and harvest from the compost of your life, your successes, your failures, and those of the people around you.
Once your first post has been published you may qualify to join the CF-Writer’s Mailing List. I send out a newsletter highlighting ideas, topics, titles, and keywords that inspire writer’s and help give The Craft of Writing Fiction a focal point for the coming month’s content. These newsletters are a valuable resource for writer’s so I feel it is important to give a sense of exclusivity to CF’s writers while we plan ahead for topics we can share with readers. If you’ve already contributed to The Craft of Writing Fiction but have not been invited to join the mailing list you can contact me for an invitation. If you’d like to join the mailing list you must first join us as a CF Contributor.
Finally, feel free to contact me at any time for any reason. I am always happy to help fellow writers, hear about special events, answer any questions you might have, review writing related products, and meet new friends in our industry.
Register as a contributor right now!
To tie into my recent headline post, “Have you considered collaborative blogging? I wanted to talk directly you guys, the readers. What brings you to Writer’s Round-About? What do you want from this blog?
If you’ve already read the collaborative blogging post you’ll know that I’ve been thinking about transforming Writer’s Round-About into a collaborative blog project, but before I make any significant changes I need your feedback.
Now is your chance to guide the direction of Writer’s Round-About so that we’re giving you exactly what you want.
Put your hand up if you have a blog you rarely update? *raises hand* If you’re like me then guilt weighs heavily on your shoulders. You’ve got the ‘shoulds’. I SHOULD update more frequently, readers want to read, but we don’t.
I know I’m not the only one because I’m subscribed to a few blogs myself that are sporadically updated. Some of my favorite writers have fantastic blogs but, they’re busy writing the copy that pays. Time is not infinite and sometimes our personal projects get lost in the pipeline of priorities.
Have you got a blog like that? Why? Have you ever considered doing away with your blog and joining other writers in a collaborative blogging project?
Recently I started thinking about transforming Writer’s Round-About into just such a project. Fellow writer’s would be invited to post as it suits them. They would each have their own author page, a full bio, and sidebar blurb with photo and every time they post they get a link to their portfolio website. So they get the promotion of blogging without the pressure of having to update regularly.
Another advantage is the power to reach a larger audience. Writer’s Round-About already has a solid subscriber base and fairly significant traffic. In fact, the support of my existing readers is why I feel so guilty only updating once a week. What if we could bring readers new content more frequently? What if your content could reach an ever increasing readership?
What do you think? Would you be interested in a project like this? As a WRA reader would you like to see posts from a collection of talented freelance writers? As a writer would you like to put aside your solo blog, the guilt of not having a posting schedule, and the loneliness of blogging into emptiness?
Recently on Writer’s Round-About I talked about inner demons. Those nasty creatures that sit on our shoulder snarling negative propaganda about us and our writing. Well, they certainly sit on my shoulder but I’m sure there is a little demon with varied degree of power for each of us. Who is your little demon? Do you have just one or many?
George Singleton has a fantastic little pep-talk, number 16, in his book, Pep Talks, Warnings & Screeds:
If it is true that the audience members applaud as a maestro takes the stage, or when an actor emerges from the wings, because they wish to rid the venue from spirits and demons, then please make sure that you never enter your writing space while clapping. In fiction writing, it may be best to have as many specters and demons perched in the rafters as possible.
What do you think George meant?
How Can Our Demons Help Us?
Demons, inner or otherwise, gain power through fear and intimidation. Their ability to scare creates emotional and sometimes physical reactions. Sometimes, fear hinders us, freezing us in place, but fear is also a natural and positive response.
Fear can cause an adrenaline release. Adrenaline lets us move faster, think faster, act faster. It speeds our responses, heightens our senses, and energizes our endorphins. By embracing the fear these demons create we can bring emotion onto the page and we are more likely to feel the emotion coming off the page as we write. It helps us develop the right tone and depth and gives us a positive boost in motivation and momentum.
Our demons also force us to be cautious. To examine options, evaluate choices. While this may be more hindrance than help in the first stages of writing, welcoming our demons in the editing stage is a must. It is their voice that helps us meticulously comb our manuscript for errors and inconsistencies.
Other Demons To Consider
Our inner demons are not the only ones who play a role in our writing. These demons are a creation of the mind. They are our brains way of compartmentalizing our fears and insecurities. Our ability to create inner demons is a sign of fertile imagination and creativity. These demons are not the only ones who accompany us during the writing process.
Your protagonists must have demons of their own. They can be real or imagined, inner demons, or physical demons. Readers tend to associate best with well-rounded, balanced, characters. Characters need to have flaws and weaknesses. They need to have room to grow. It is normal for characters to face fears of their own.
More literally they also have the demonic aspects of their mirror, the antagonist. The antagonist has demons also, and can be the dark element of the story, a demon in his own right.
Can you see the demons and specters that haunt the rafters of your writing place? What influence do they have on your work? How do they help you? Answer these questions in the comments!
We’ve all stared down the blank page, fighting an inner turmoil, fear, anxiety, uncertainty, a disquieted soul that rumbles at the expanse of white. I’ve often wondered if I suffer more than any other as, of course, is a common egomaniac response to phobic anxieties. Because, by it’s very essense, these fears are irrational and larger than life, which means no one could possibly have lived through such an experience and written to tell the tale.
The truth is, fear of the blank page is common. I suffer it every day to varied extent and fellow writers have suffered it since the dawn of the written word. Perhaps that dawn was delayed by the fear too!
How do YOU conquer your fear of the blank page?
Just Do It!
In the end, one tried and true method seems to be the only one that works every single time, “Just Do It!” Unfortunately, the theory is as usual, easier than the practice. It is one thing to say, “Just start writing…” and another to quell the beast within long enough to put a word on the page, any word at all. What’s worse is that each word feels tortured, ripped from the gut and splattered in all its messy gore onto the formerly pristine perfection of a blank page.
Writing is messy. The demon within begs us to be neat, orderly, tidy. Backspace! Delete it! Scratch it out! We beat him down, and beat him down again, “Not now!” His screams make us more uneasy but we’ve been told that by facing the page it gets easier to face again and again. We subdue the demon, vowing to call on him when his time comes. He has a purpose, later…
Meanwhile, we scrawl in blood on the page, drip by crimson drip, because putting something on the page is the way to get back to breathing. Putting something, anything, on the page is a way to loosen the knot in our stomach, the tingle in our fingers, the stutter on the tip of our tongue. Still, the words feel awkward, stupid, clumsy…
Today, I wanted to write. My heart aches from being locked away from the words but even with my deepest passions calling me to the page I quiver, anxiety’s baited breath against my throat. I stare at the blank page as words fall upon it and wonder, “WHEN!?! When will this get easier?”
And, with over ten years experience it dawns on me, “It won’t.”
Choosing to be a writer is an act of desperation. No one would choose this life of inner agony, heightened emotions, and tremulous turmoil if they could live their life another way. I find comfort in the fact that sometimes, sometimes fear gives way to a soul-encompassing joy. Sometimes, writing is like breathing. Sometimes, it is bliss, it is harmony. Sometimes…
Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid To Write Online recently shared her six word memoir. Six words to highlight the life you lived, the person you were, and the legacy you left behind. What six words would you want to exemplify your existence?
Integrity
When I die I’d like to stand over my Akashic Records and read about a life lived with integrity. As a writer, ‘truth’ is sacred and complex. As a fiction writer it is a thousand times more so. Every novelist knows that the best novels are held together with firm bindings of truth. But integrity is important in all aspects of life, not just fiction writing. Living a life of integrity is about facing down who you really are and being that person despite potential defamation, discrimination, or segregation.
When others remember the person I was they’ll say, “I knew her, because she never pretended to be anything but herself.”
Creativity
I live in my Idea Waterfall. It is here the very essence of life surrounds me, flows through me. That essence? Creativity. Without creativity all that is or ever was would never have been. Every accomplishment mankind has achieved came first, through creativity. To create!
As a writer creativity is my lifeblood. Without it I am nothing more than a husk of the person I want to be.
Passion
The ultimate life is lived with passion. Without passion we follow the masses, clock in and out, sleep, eat, and function but do not live. I think, because I am Bipolar, I’m more conscious of the influence passion has on my life. Passion is more powerful than the deepest of lows, it is a tether in the peaking highs. What I feel passionate about is a ground, a center, constantly bringing me back when I’ve wandered from the course. Being passionate about writing steers me back here when anxiety, depression, or pain draw me away from the page.
Passion is a driving force, embrace it.
Nurturing
As a mother, I know what it is to nurture a child. As a writer, to nurture the story, the characters. As a human being I choose to nurture the hopes and dreams of those around me. One of the things I love most about freelancing is having the opportunity to guide other writers. Some hire me as a mentor or editor and it is a blessing to watch their skill grow, their confidence glisten, their writing mature. Other writers are simply friends, we nurture the talent within each other and harness each others strength to achieve, to succeed.
We cherish and nurture the seed within each other.
Charity
I believe in giving more than I have. It doesn’t make much sense on the surface, but I reflect on my life in any moment and feel abundant. I have so much. I have two beautiful children, a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, clothes on our backs, and all that we need to live happy, healthy lives. I have love, and hope, and with those two things alone the future burns bright and clear. I live an abundant life and I give freely because there is great need in the world.
Reflect on your life and see your own abundance. Do not be afraid that giving of yourself or all you own makes you less, it makes you more.
Fantasy
I suppose the final word of my memoir would be fantasy. For, with all of the above, I give this as my greatest gift to the world, and cherish it most dearly as the world’s greatest gift to me. I choose to write fantasy because it gives us ultimate freedom. Fantasy has no structure, no restriction, and needs no source. All that you imagine, is, or will be. Creativity has no reign in the world of fantasy, and living in that world, heart and mind, even for a moment, is like breathing under the sea or touching a star; impossible, magical.
Fantasy charged with creativity makes anything possible.
What are your six words?
Ok, I’ve been putting off drawing a winner, keeping you all in suspense or just making you all grumpy at me. lol In my defense this flu has kicked me to the curb and that is not much fun. What IS fun, is finding out which of my loyal readers will find their very own copy of Writer Mama in their mailbox very soon.
And the winner is… drumroll please!
Kimberlee Ferrell
Congratulations, Kimberlee! If you drop me an email with a postal address and I’ll get the book in the mail first thing Monday.
It’s great to be able to give away prizes and I’m looking forward to giving away more in the future. What do you like best about the contests you enter online? Do you like ones that are simple, your comment equals your entry with a randomly drawn winner? Or would you like to enter contests where you are judged on the quality of your entry? What makes a contest one you want to enter?
