Taking Over the World

So how many would be ok with This Guy:

And This Guy:

Taking over and fixing things for us?

Yah. I'd be pretty fine with that.

Writing Exercises

Do 100 Leg lifts...

LUNGE! Feel the BURRRRNNN!

Not that type of exercise...Though those are good too. AND can help with the creativities!

In college I majored in Creative Writing. Which was good...and bad. Good because, believe it or not, I've used my creative writing skillZ many many times. I Nailed menu descriptions. I was the go-to gal when people wanted to come up with a great way to describe the new special. I was good with figuring out where descriptions on retail sites needed to be edited. Less is more people. Less is more.

*Bad because, well, yah..."So. What do you have for a degree?" "Well. I have a BA in English. Major in Creative Writing and a Minor in Anthropology. (Long story)." doesn't really get you TOO many jobs...*

Anyway.

The professor I had my last year in college was a HUGE Jack Kerouac fan, and therefore felt everything should be written in stream of consciousness. Hack. Gag. Blech. Lord Kill Me now.

So that's what I'm going to have you do now. HA!

Bear with me...

Because this does help focus you to the POV of your characters.

Sit.

Think of the setting of your story/novel/scene.

Now. Set a timer for a half hour.

Now type until the timer goes off. Simply write description. That's all. Describe your setting. Everything. All the details you can think of.

When the timer goes off, reset it then think of your main character. Now write the same description from the point of view of that character. This isn't as simple as it may sound. You have to take into consideration what your character does.

For example. My mother hates it when I come to visit...because the first thing I do is give her crap about how overwhelmingly full of unused leftovers the fridge is. And the FUN times my dad and I have arguing about how to properly cook a turkey. It seems that since I AM a professionally trained chef he would just bow to my expertise...

Do you see what I'm getting at? Try to see things how your character would see them. And ONLY how your character would see them. Write the same description from their point of view. In their voice.

It's a challenge.

But a good one. And you may discover new things about your main character!

Or your setting...

What to Doooooooooo?

What does one do when one isn't allowed to sit at a computer and write?

Or watch Tv?

Or Read?

I mean really...you can only go for so many inspiring nature walks.

And you can only make so many Amazing Cakes!

Yah....I had nothing to do with this...

Luckily I stumbled upon these marvelous things called "podcasts".

Yes. I know they've been around since like the early 90's. But I always felt they were kinda like college radio gone rogue, so I never really got into them. 

So very wrong I was.

First of all I was led to THIS amazing place of AMAZINGNESS!

Welcome to Night Vale

Go. Listen. That's all I'm going to say.

And then I got to thinking that, Huh. There's Probably podcasts concerning writing that I could be listening to! I'm BRILLIANT!

Then I learned how bad I am at searching for Podcasts. Newbie that I am. I could never quite figure out how to download them...so I would find the page. But then I couldn't find the Podcast...so I'd wander away.

I finally figured it out though, which entirely depends on the type of player you have or how you're streaming it. I, of course, managed to choose the way that requires you to type in the address of the podcast, longhand, rather then just be able to link to an rss feed. *tweak* YAY! Anyway...Long story short. 

My absolutely favorite one is one called Writing Excuses. It's fifteen minutes long, hysterical, packed full of useful information and one of the hosts is Brandon Sanderson!

There are several more that I've found...but then I found THIS blog post...

HUGELY HELPFUL BLOG POST FOR PODCASTS! (You can find Writing Excuses here...)

Which had 3 of the podcasts I had picked out. Like I said....I'm BRILLIANT! 

How does everyone feel about Podcasts? Are there any podcasts that you want to recommend? Any that you have found particularly helpful or fun?

A.D.D And Book Covers

For the past probably 2 months now I've been struggling with migraines/cluster headaches and getting my medications balanced out. Which sounds WAY more fun then it is...

Consequently, doctors orders... no more then 2 hours a day on the computer.

It's hell.

Writing is on 'hold'. Sure, I'm thinking out my story line, writing some long hand notes. But for the most part...gack! It's been interesting to say the least.

However. You do get to spend time THINKING when you're not allowed near 'tech'. So this weeks posts will be Randomosity, Stuff and Things from Inside Alicia's Brain!

Run. Run now.

One of the things I was thinking about was Book Covers.

Which started with an innocent conversation with Marcy about what her book cover might look like and how much input she has on that.

Color me naive, but I feel that writers should have more say in how the cover of their book looks. I mean, really. People shop with their eyes first...then they flip the book over (or open it up) and read the blurb, THEN they buy it. But if the cover doesn't grab you. You're screwed.

I'm still not sure how I feel about self-publishing, but those that do at least have the ability to create their own covers. Good or Bad. A quick search, for those that don't have the ability to do art all on your own computer *cough*me*cough*...shook this, um, interesting website loose.

Self Pub Book Covers

Part of my Brain went..."OMG! That's BRILLIANT!" Then the other part went..."So THAT'S where the publishers get those book covers! Ah HA!"  Sigh.

Then. On the other end of the spectrum we have, one of my favorite authors showing us how her publisher, Orbit Books puts together a book cover. Now, granted. I know less then nothing about this sort of computer program...but when I saw this I thought, "Huh. If it's that easy [for the people who work with these programs every day] WHY can't authors have more say in what goes on their covers?"




I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's always been interesting to me that writers are so passive (or that's what it seems to me anyway) about their covers. Like they get published and then go, OH well! Oh hey! At least I got published! Oh, Are they putting a cat licking it's butt on the cover? Well...I like cats! Lots of people like cats! There's a cat on page 98 in my book so it ties in! Huzzah!

I admit. I am FAR far far (especially now that I can only write for a hour or two a week) from my publishing dream...but maybe it's time for a revolution! Time for writers to take back their covers! Time for writers to say to the publishers, NO! No more heaving bosoms! It's a Sci-Fi/Ninja/Thriller! Not a romance you twit!

Also. Check out this HYSTERICAL blog.  A Reader of Fictions. She does AMAZEBALLS snarks of covers. Which are hysterical. I already said that. But seriously. She also makes some really good points...in case you have anything to do with designing your own cover. Things to keep in mind.

What do you think about the book covers out there? Do you long for the old style, hand drawn art of yore? (Pick up any Anne McCaffery book on your shelf...) Or do you prefer the new style computer clip art? Also, how involved to YOU want to be in your cover design? 

Writing Quirks

Well. Ok then. New Plan!


I have a different question.

What are your writing quirks?

I don't mean your physical writing quirks. Though, if you are only able to write sitting at your desk dressed in a pink tutu and a football jersey...yah. I wanna know about that.

I'm talking about your typing quirks. Have you noticed any? And now that I'm asking, have you noticed any that are now going to drive you batty?  Bwahahah!

I was innocently typing along in my wip the other day and I noticed I do this thing.

You know how you have a running narrative in your head of what you're trying *desperately* to keep up with with as you're typing...but then sometimes you change your mind. Or sometimes you hit a snag.

In my head I'll have  "With a soft click his face swung open revealing a complex working of gears and springs. Working quickly and with practiced strokes, he pressed a combination of small latches and buttons hidden within his face." ... and then it's like my brain splits in two. I wanted two completely different things to happen. So I hit space. As you would. And stopped. Thinking.

Then when I decided how to continue, I backed up, DELETED the space. Hit space again and continued on. As though that space was suddenly no good! BAD SPACE!

Now that I know I do this, I notice I do it all the time. with commas, with words, but most often with the space that would start the beginning of a new sentence!

So! Do any of you have quirky writing habits?

Or am I all alone?

*sniff*