INK SLINGER HAS MOVED

This blog has moved to Cheryl Murphy Writes: Chronicles of an Ink Slinger. It became too hard to mirror to this site. Lots of glitches and such. I don't do much to maintain this site anymore so if you're wondering why things might look a bit wonky, that would be it.

If you've navigated here and discovered this dead blog, using the "Subscribe via email" feature in the sidebar will subscribe you to the new site feed, so that's a plus. ;)

An RSS feed of the new site is embedded below.

I hope you'll join me at my new home!

RSS Feed of the new site: Cheryl Murphy Writes: Chronicles of an Ink Slinger

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Cheryl Murphy Writes



Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:59 PM PST
A few months back my WIP broke. Yes, it broke. I wrote myself into a big black corner and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it. I lost motivation and even though I’d force myself to sit in the chair, I’d end up on Facebook after staring at the screen for awhile.
I stared because I just didn’t know what to do.
I decided to outline and find out where I went wrong. I can’t fix what I can’t find.
I sat down with some of my writing group and came up with ideas that I needed to fill in those big blanks. I outlined my subplots and character arcs. I got irritated when I had something else to do besides write – which is often when you have a family. Yes, feel sorry for them, they deserve it.
Catharsis. It felt so good to finally be doing some work and OMG did it work. I don’t think I’ll ever be a pantser again. I’ve taken a page from the TV writing rooms – plot the hell out of it so you can hand your outline to anyone to write. I won’t be handing it off to anyone but I’ve learned that if I take the time to outline and plot my story out, then the writing comes a lot easier.
At the rate I’m moving now, I expect I’ll be done in a couple months. I also expect that with practice, I’ll only get faster.
And that’s how I fixed my WIP.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Cheryl Murphy Writes



Posted: 26 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST
I mentioned before how I’ve been listening to a bunch of podcasts. Lists seem to be loved by all so I thought I’d give you my current list of must-listen podcasts for writers. Some are still active, some aren’t but are worth listening to anyway.
My faves:
Writing Excuses – I love this podcast. I basically live for Mondays.
Nerdist Writer’s Panel – TV writers. I haven’t written any scripts but probably will and I’m a TV geek. Living in L.A. also leaves me with no other choice but to eventually write some spec scripts or they’ll kick me out.
Odyssey SF/F Writing Workshop Podcasts – Since the odds of going to the workshop are pretty slim for the majority of us, this is the next best thing.
Grammar Girl – We all know why we need her.
The Once & Future – Mostly for readers but occasionally has episodes for writers.
I Should Be Writing – Mur Lafferty to the rescue!
Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors - Always a good tip or two to be found.
Others you might be interested in but I haven’t listened to enough to put them with the above list:
The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy (no longer active)
The Writing Show with Paula B.
The Secrets Podcast for Writers
Authors Access
And I also listen to some that are just great to get ideas from:
The Paracast
Startalk
Laughing Historically
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
If you have any you’d like to add, feel free to comment. I’d love to find some new ones to add to my lists.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cheryl Murphy Writes



Monday, January 23, 2012

Cheryl Murphy Writes



Posted: 23 Jan 2012 09:46 AM PST

For those of you reading this blog from the old Blogger location and for those that just didn’t know, I got nominated for a Liebster by Zakgirl. Head over to her blog and check it out!
Getting nominated was rather sweet as I don’t blog much and I have so few followers that I was quite flattered to even be noticed on the interwebs. I’m glad to know that what little I do blog about is sometimes valuable to others. Thanks, Zakgirl!
But now I have to pass it on. Here are the rules as I’ve shamelessly copied from Zakgirl’s blog:
After you receive this award you:
1. Post this award on your blog.
2. Thank and link to the person who gave it to you.
3. Pass it on to five bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
4. Comment on those five people’s blogs to share the good news.
My nominees are:
Dapoppins was one of my very first followers (along with Zakgirl).
Lend4Health because of the amazing things she does for families with special needs kids that need financial assistance.
Lisa Snellings makes awesome art. And she loves Neil Gaiman. Can’t beat that with a stick. One of these days I’m going to buy one of the NG pieces. Since I’m not much of a chotchky person, I want to buy a bigger piece and well, that’s spendy. Or maybe a painting. Eventually I’ll be able to. I might just get a smaller one just to have a visual reminder that I need to save up for a big one, though. You really need to check her out and don’t forget her shop. Trust me. She has an entire author series so you might find someone you adore as much as I adore NG.
Chef Penny has great recipes for kids on a gluten/casein free diet and those are hard to come by.
Mark Lawrence simply deserves it. He’s a fantastic writer and I’m thrilled for his success. Although I bet he has way more followers than the 36 listed. Technicalities, right Mark? ;)
And there you have it, folks. My nominees. I hope you appreciate them as much as I do.