A follower on Twitter tweeted about a feel-good story which was getting a great deal of press in Canada and Ireland. He mentioned that it would make a fantastic script. It is the perfect example of why you should keep an idea file!
To make a long story short, a Canadian man visited Ireland a while back and became enchanted by a lovely waitress who served him coffee. They had a brief conversation, but he left the establishment with the girl firmly etched in his mind. Subsequently, he returned home, but found he could not forget the girl.
Recently, he returned to the Emerald Isle for a month long stay in the hopes of crossing paths with the woman again. Unfortunately, he doesn't know her name or anything else about her.
Perhaps, she read the story and it rang a bell. Don't know if the two will ever meet again or even if she is available, but you have to root for love. The world could use an uplifting story these days. Hope he finds her! It certainly is a romantic notion and would make a great movie, short, or mystery!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
HAPPINESS IS WRITING
I haven't been neglecting my blog. On the contrary, I have been busy working on posts for my first, paying job as a free-lance writer. No, this doesn't mean that I have given up my dream of writing a best-selling mystery. It just means that I am branching out. As soon as I get comfortable with my new position, I will be able to manage my time to include more fiction writing.
I am thrilled to say that I am writing news and opinion pieces for http://rantpolitical.com. I saw an advertisement for writers a couple of weeks ago on www.writethismoment.com. Their director of content, Chris Gamble, offered me the opportunity despite my lack of experience which I will always appreciate and remember.
Experience is difficult to get when people are reluctant to take a chance and give an unknown an opportunity. I am thankful I ran into someone who would.
I'm a little nervous about writing opinion pieces on political topics, but am doing a lot of research and reading to get comfortable with my middle of the road stance. However, I absolutely love writing news pieces.
As a freshman in college, back in the day, I can recall being so excited about the prospect of taking my first journalism course, News, Reporting, and Editing. I still recall the professor, not his name, but his brash manner. He was a rather large man and of course his new book was part of the reading material that semester. He would sit under the non-smoking sign and smoke during the whole class while spouting out journalistic do's and don'ts.
His words I remember as well and I'm enjoying putting them into practice. It is a real thrill to see your by-line in print whether it is on-line or in a newspaper and I love it that I can now say with confidence that I am a writer!
I am thrilled to say that I am writing news and opinion pieces for http://rantpolitical.com. I saw an advertisement for writers a couple of weeks ago on www.writethismoment.com. Their director of content, Chris Gamble, offered me the opportunity despite my lack of experience which I will always appreciate and remember.
Experience is difficult to get when people are reluctant to take a chance and give an unknown an opportunity. I am thankful I ran into someone who would.
I'm a little nervous about writing opinion pieces on political topics, but am doing a lot of research and reading to get comfortable with my middle of the road stance. However, I absolutely love writing news pieces.
As a freshman in college, back in the day, I can recall being so excited about the prospect of taking my first journalism course, News, Reporting, and Editing. I still recall the professor, not his name, but his brash manner. He was a rather large man and of course his new book was part of the reading material that semester. He would sit under the non-smoking sign and smoke during the whole class while spouting out journalistic do's and don'ts.
His words I remember as well and I'm enjoying putting them into practice. It is a real thrill to see your by-line in print whether it is on-line or in a newspaper and I love it that I can now say with confidence that I am a writer!
Monday, September 10, 2012
A Novel Idea
Everyone has at least one novel in them. Well, at least that is what one of my college professors said. Is it true? That depends on whether or not you have the courage or the time to put your story to the test.
Writing a novel is a huge undertaking, but if you are a writer or a writer at heart than you already have the answer. So, get started and don't let that age thing get in the way. You are never to old or too young to attempt something. If you want to write, don't let anything hold you back. All you need is a blank piece of paper or in today's techno world, a new word file.
If you have a story that you believe is a compelling one and the words and thought process to tell it, then do it. Otherwise, you will end up regretting it and life has enough regrets.
Some writers plot out their ideas first with a meticulous outline. Others wing it and dive write in. I am more in the middle. Some ideas warrant research. If you are interested in doing a period piece, than you will need to make sure your historical details are correct. Even if you are writing a mystery, you will want to make sure that the information you put in is accurate.
Whether you do that before or during the writing process is entirely up to you. I think it depends on how you write. As with most things, everyone is different and research today couldn't be any easier. You can get pretty much all of your information with the click of a mouse, but don't discount the human input.
If you are writing a mystery about a private detective, you might want to talk to you. Interviews, conducted in person, online, or by telephone, can be incredibly helpful and will bring a touch of reality to your plot which can be a selling point.
The easy part really is the writing. The tough part comes after. Trying to find someone to publish it!
Writing a novel is a huge undertaking, but if you are a writer or a writer at heart than you already have the answer. So, get started and don't let that age thing get in the way. You are never to old or too young to attempt something. If you want to write, don't let anything hold you back. All you need is a blank piece of paper or in today's techno world, a new word file.
If you have a story that you believe is a compelling one and the words and thought process to tell it, then do it. Otherwise, you will end up regretting it and life has enough regrets.
Some writers plot out their ideas first with a meticulous outline. Others wing it and dive write in. I am more in the middle. Some ideas warrant research. If you are interested in doing a period piece, than you will need to make sure your historical details are correct. Even if you are writing a mystery, you will want to make sure that the information you put in is accurate.
Whether you do that before or during the writing process is entirely up to you. I think it depends on how you write. As with most things, everyone is different and research today couldn't be any easier. You can get pretty much all of your information with the click of a mouse, but don't discount the human input.
If you are writing a mystery about a private detective, you might want to talk to you. Interviews, conducted in person, online, or by telephone, can be incredibly helpful and will bring a touch of reality to your plot which can be a selling point.
The easy part really is the writing. The tough part comes after. Trying to find someone to publish it!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
THE ART OF TWEETING
As I mentioned in the previous post, if you are a writer, joining Twitter is a must whether you are just starting out or have a book to promote. It is a fantastic way to connect with other writers, gain knowledge about how to market you and your work as well as help to sell your books.
I'm not the computer guru, so it took me a bit to learn the ins and outs of Twitter. Hopefully, I can save you from that. With a few simple tips, you can be on your way.
First off, make sure that you identify yourself in your bio as a writer. It will help other writers to find you. Also, you should use your name or your pen name. This just makes it easier for other users to locate you. Them more creative your bio, the more likely you'll attract followers. If you have a website or a blog, put the link up with your bio. Hopefully, it will drag some of your followers or browsers over to take a look.
Along those lines, always provide a link, whether you are tweeting about your blog, book, or a fantastic recipe sight. In general, people do not want to have to search or type in the name of the website. They'll be more apt to take a peek at what your promoting or writing about if all they have to do is click.
If you're just getting started, you will want to search for other writers or writing sites. Believe me, there are a bunch! All you have to do is look and then click to follow. Generally, if you follow another writer, they will follow you back. However, if you are going to follow Patricia Cornwell or another famous author, do not necessarily expect a follow back.
When you do get a follower, remember that the same basic rules of manners apply on Twitter as well. Always thank a person or organization for following you and follow them back. If a person retweets one of your tweets or mentions you in a tweet, you should also respond with a thank you.
For the most part, the only people I don't follow back immediately are the ones who buy followers or who are offering to buy followers. A good general rule to follow is that if someone is asking you for money than that is a big red flag. I always take a few minutes to check out the person's blog or website too. That helps you get an idea of what they are about and the kind of books they write. This hasn't happened to me, but obviously if you are wary or offended by what you read, than thank the person for the follow and then don't follow back. If you don't follow back, the person will most likely unfollow you.
Once you've set up your sight and found some writers or other favorites to follow, you're ready to tweet. As a writer, tweets will probably come fairly easily. I love tweets that are informative, helpful to my writing, alert me to interesting blogs or sites, and the ones that are just plain funny. As in life, just remember to think before you tweet. If your going through a divorce or just broke up, you don't want to go tweeting about your ex's skanky new squeeze. Those kinds of things will come back and haunt you.
Also, if you are using Twitter for your writing than it's more professional than personal. Posting photos of yourself wearing a lampshade may not be the best thing if you are trying to attract some publishers.
Once you have built up a following, the feed can become really overwhelming and it is difficult to keep up with all of the tweets so don't try. If you get a new follower or someone mentions you in a tweet, you will get an e-mail. I set aside a certain amount of time to read the ones that I can. There's enough things to sweat in life so this shouldn't be one of them.
Finally, it is really easy to loose track of time whether you are on Twitter, Facebook, or just surfing the net. Since I'm doing a balancing act between kids, home, husband, and writing, I have limited time. I allot my time in sections so I have time to tweet, blog, check e-mails, submit, and work on stories.
There is a lot of great stuff on Twitter apart from writing. So don't forget to leave yourself a bit of time to play too!
I'm not the computer guru, so it took me a bit to learn the ins and outs of Twitter. Hopefully, I can save you from that. With a few simple tips, you can be on your way.
First off, make sure that you identify yourself in your bio as a writer. It will help other writers to find you. Also, you should use your name or your pen name. This just makes it easier for other users to locate you. Them more creative your bio, the more likely you'll attract followers. If you have a website or a blog, put the link up with your bio. Hopefully, it will drag some of your followers or browsers over to take a look.
Along those lines, always provide a link, whether you are tweeting about your blog, book, or a fantastic recipe sight. In general, people do not want to have to search or type in the name of the website. They'll be more apt to take a peek at what your promoting or writing about if all they have to do is click.
If you're just getting started, you will want to search for other writers or writing sites. Believe me, there are a bunch! All you have to do is look and then click to follow. Generally, if you follow another writer, they will follow you back. However, if you are going to follow Patricia Cornwell or another famous author, do not necessarily expect a follow back.
When you do get a follower, remember that the same basic rules of manners apply on Twitter as well. Always thank a person or organization for following you and follow them back. If a person retweets one of your tweets or mentions you in a tweet, you should also respond with a thank you.
For the most part, the only people I don't follow back immediately are the ones who buy followers or who are offering to buy followers. A good general rule to follow is that if someone is asking you for money than that is a big red flag. I always take a few minutes to check out the person's blog or website too. That helps you get an idea of what they are about and the kind of books they write. This hasn't happened to me, but obviously if you are wary or offended by what you read, than thank the person for the follow and then don't follow back. If you don't follow back, the person will most likely unfollow you.
Once you've set up your sight and found some writers or other favorites to follow, you're ready to tweet. As a writer, tweets will probably come fairly easily. I love tweets that are informative, helpful to my writing, alert me to interesting blogs or sites, and the ones that are just plain funny. As in life, just remember to think before you tweet. If your going through a divorce or just broke up, you don't want to go tweeting about your ex's skanky new squeeze. Those kinds of things will come back and haunt you.
Also, if you are using Twitter for your writing than it's more professional than personal. Posting photos of yourself wearing a lampshade may not be the best thing if you are trying to attract some publishers.
Once you have built up a following, the feed can become really overwhelming and it is difficult to keep up with all of the tweets so don't try. If you get a new follower or someone mentions you in a tweet, you will get an e-mail. I set aside a certain amount of time to read the ones that I can. There's enough things to sweat in life so this shouldn't be one of them.
Finally, it is really easy to loose track of time whether you are on Twitter, Facebook, or just surfing the net. Since I'm doing a balancing act between kids, home, husband, and writing, I have limited time. I allot my time in sections so I have time to tweet, blog, check e-mails, submit, and work on stories.
There is a lot of great stuff on Twitter apart from writing. So don't forget to leave yourself a bit of time to play too!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
WRITING SOCIAL
I confess to being a novice when it comes to navigating today's social networking highways. However, if you are a writer, it is definitely a must. When I finally made a Facebook page last spring, my sister commented that it was about time. She was right though I'm still grasping the concept of Facebook and how it can expand my readership. Since constructing my author page in July, I only have thirty something likes. Not exactly making a lot of waves, but it's a work in progress.
Twitter, on the other hand, has been a bit more successful. Joining the writing community on Twitter has been incredibly helpful. Irish author, Derek Hudson, gave me a simple piece of advice, follow other authors and hopefully they will follow you back.
This has led me to some great blogs, great books as well as writing opportunities. Twitter is where I read a tweet from Grit City Publications about writing blog post. They accepted one of my ideas and two weeks ago my post, The Write File premiered. Can't tell you how exciting it is to see your byline in print!
Twitter also led me to http://writethismoment.com which is a website that lists diverse paying opportunities for writers. They are based in the United Kingdom, but the jobs and publishers who are looking for authors are worldwide. The list is updated weekly and is easy to access. There is a fee, eight pounds for three months and twenty-four for a year, but it's money well spent.
I started with a three month membership and ended up getting it for a year when my trial period was up. The site has led me to publishers who may be interested in Secrets, Lies, and Trash, anthologies looking for short stories, travel writing jobs, as well as sites looking for bloggers. I highly recommend it if you are a free-lancer. It saves so much time. I check in one place every Monday instead of scouring multiple sites or purchasing various Writer's Markets.
Whether you are self-publishing or with a traditional publishing house, getting social is an important way to spread the work about your writing. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Pininterest are just a few of the places you can promote your work online.
Up next: The Art of Tweeting
Twitter, on the other hand, has been a bit more successful. Joining the writing community on Twitter has been incredibly helpful. Irish author, Derek Hudson, gave me a simple piece of advice, follow other authors and hopefully they will follow you back.
This has led me to some great blogs, great books as well as writing opportunities. Twitter is where I read a tweet from Grit City Publications about writing blog post. They accepted one of my ideas and two weeks ago my post, The Write File premiered. Can't tell you how exciting it is to see your byline in print!
Twitter also led me to http://writethismoment.com which is a website that lists diverse paying opportunities for writers. They are based in the United Kingdom, but the jobs and publishers who are looking for authors are worldwide. The list is updated weekly and is easy to access. There is a fee, eight pounds for three months and twenty-four for a year, but it's money well spent.
I started with a three month membership and ended up getting it for a year when my trial period was up. The site has led me to publishers who may be interested in Secrets, Lies, and Trash, anthologies looking for short stories, travel writing jobs, as well as sites looking for bloggers. I highly recommend it if you are a free-lancer. It saves so much time. I check in one place every Monday instead of scouring multiple sites or purchasing various Writer's Markets.
Whether you are self-publishing or with a traditional publishing house, getting social is an important way to spread the work about your writing. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Pininterest are just a few of the places you can promote your work online.
Up next: The Art of Tweeting
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