tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12708907882746901192024-03-21T11:42:16.296-07:00Ink Slinger(I'VE MOVED! More info below.)Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-50084115687991310102012-06-26T13:29:00.002-07:002012-06-28T15:31:24.052-07:00<br />
This blog has moved to <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/">Cheryl Murphy Writes: Chronicles of an Ink Slinger</a>. It became too hard to mirror to this site. Lots of glitches and such.<br />
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Feedburner has been moved to the new address so current Feedburner subscribers should start receiving their emails from me again. I'm sorry they stopped coming. I hadn't realized the mirroring stopped working until the other day. Doing the clean up on it now.<br />
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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. ;)<br />
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New readers and Blogger followers, I hope you'll join me at my <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/">new home</a>. Feedburner email readers, I'm glad to have you back! I've missed you!<br />
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I will try to figure out if I can just add my Feedburner feed to the blog and maybe keep it mirroring that way. I dunno if it'll work, though.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvxCqpaZyn2IYWUbZn-CkTbxkvk9Hch87QhmMYGpFQGjwP3UoZdIr6nkJB_grEtTjtf3Hj9dnh3BgsvdHK64ESiqCnAtPWUvlmUkMMtO6oDzxcEtBoUAxOqxkULNJ6C2NXAJoj9zYxVQW/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-43415800863152631682012-02-12T23:11:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:37:42.105-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/fundraising-efforts-begin-for-ghost-rider-creator-ordered-to-pay-marvel-17000-updated-comicsalliance-comic-book-culture-news-humor-commentary-and-reviews/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Fundraising Efforts Begin for Ghost Rider Creator Ordered to Pay Marvel $17,000 [Updated] – ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews</a> </div>
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Posted: 12 Feb 2012 07:44 PM PST</div>
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<a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/02/11/ghost-rider-creator-sues-marvel-17000/">Fundraising Efforts Begin for Ghost Rider Creator Ordered to Pay Marvel $17,000 [Updated] – ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews</a>.<br />
We live in sad times when something like this happens. Please give if you can. Gary Friedrich is in desperate need of help.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-76631682300224473402012-02-10T23:32:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:38:22.137-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<li><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1270890788274690119#1">Backspace Writers Conference » Register</a> </li>
<li> <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1270890788274690119#2">RWI Magic Contest Cancelled</a> </li>
<li> <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1270890788274690119#3">Odyssey Writing Workshop</a> </li>
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/backspace-writers-conference-register/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Backspace Writers Conference » Register</a> </div>
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Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:30 PM PST</div>
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<a href="http://www.backspacewritersconference.com/register/">Backspace Writers Conference » Register</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/rwi-magic-contest-cancelled/" name="2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">RWI Magic Contest Cancelled</a> </div>
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Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:01 PM PST</div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Many of you are probably familiar with the kerfuffle over the last few days. Here’s more dialog to add to the pile.</span><br />
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Please note: our contest coordinator, Jackie, is a chapter member who graciously volunteered to collect entries and sort by category.</div>
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Hey folks, stop emailing your complaints to her! Don’t you know she doesn’t get <em>paid </em>to read them, she just does it out of the kindness of her heart? So who <em>should </em>you send your email complaining of their discrimination to since it’s not the contest coordinator? She volunteers, she shouldn’t have to wade through the backlash of their discriminatory practices, and now that you mention, you don’t get to complain at all.</div>
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*scratches head* What did they <em>think</em> would happen? I’m not sure how anyone in this day and age of viral internet activity makes a decision to discriminate and doesn’t see this coming.</div>
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We also opted not to accept YA entries.</div>
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Because that’s <em>totally </em>the same.</div>
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We do not condone discrimination against individuals of any sort.</div>
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Do they honestly expect us to believe that by excluding gay romance they weren’t excluding…</div>
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wait for it…</div>
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<em>GAYS</em>?</div>
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I suppose the next argument will be that a gay writer could enter so long as the romance ws hetero. FAIL, RWI. Epic fail.</div>
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Instead of insincere apologies, they should probably just go gentle into that good night. This half-assed apology was hardly worth the effort it took to type it. It certainly won’t win them any sympathy.</div>
via <a href="http://rwimagiccontests.wordpress.com/">RWI Magic Contest Cancelled</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/odyssey-writing-workshop/" name="3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Odyssey Writing Workshop</a> </div>
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Posted: 10 Feb 2012 09:45 AM PST</div>
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I’ve mentioned <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/podcasts-you-might-want-to-try/">this workshop before</a> and now here’s your chance to apply. Early admission deadline has already passed but regular admission deadline is April. It’s a big chunk of time but if you can go, it’s bound to be an awesome experience.<br />
<a href="http://www.sff.net/odyssey/workshop.html">Odyssey Writing Workshop</a>.<br />
via <a href="http://www.sff.net/odyssey/workshop.html">Odyssey Writing Workshop</a>.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-38482233392133741952012-02-09T23:07:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:38:53.519-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/fiction-contest-saturday-evening-post/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Fiction Contest | Saturday Evening Post</a> </div>
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Posted: 09 Feb 2012 04:53 PM PST</div>
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Contest alert!<br />
<a href="http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/fiction-contest">Fiction Contest | Saturday Evening Post</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/forums-grrrrrrr/" name="2" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Forums. Grrrrrrr!</a> </div>
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Posted: 09 Feb 2012 08:54 AM PST</div>
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What is it about forums that make people suddenly turn incapable of common sense? Conversations inevitably turn into a complete mess of people trying to prove how much smarter they are than you (and failing miserably). There’s always that point in which you know you should have made your last comment one comment ago.<br />
I belong to several forums and I really try not to engage in the idiocy. Somehow I stumble into them anyway, mostly because I just can’t keep my big mouth shut. As I write the comment, I can sense that it’s not going to end well and I should just delete and move one. Usually I manage to listend to that feeling but sometimes it just doesn’t sink in, showing quite well that I, too, can clearly lack that common sense.<br />
It amazes me how literal a person can be when it’s only words on a screen. We already know that the lack of face to face conversation makes people bolder, willing to say things they would otherwise never say, and even feel the license to be mean, disrespectful and downright ugly. People that would typically have a decent conversation can turn one into a nightmare when it’s just written words.<br />
It’s like the whole <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/hen-pecked-critique-or-your-shit-dont-stank/">adverb</a> thing. People gloss over the words that tell you it’s not a literal translation and read only the words that call it a hard and fast rule that should be taken as gospel and if you don’t have strict adherence you shall burn in Hell in eternal agony. “Limit your adverbs” turns into “NO ADVERBS!” like you’re Faye Dunaway screaming “NO WIRE HANGERS!”<br />
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Comments ensue of how “there are no rules” and the point gets completely muddled and missed.<br />
I’m sure I missed the memo that said forums are actually writing prompt sources for fiction writers. <em>The poster writes their post, other forum members pick out a few words from it and then make up their own post with those few words which they then attribute to the OP and then argue over it.</em> If someone has a copy of that memo, I’d like it.<br />
I made a comment on editing the other day on a forum in which that very thing happened. People will find anything to argue about. This time it was actually about how there <em>are</em> hard and fast rules that absolutely should be taken as gospel and if you don’t have strict adherence you shall burn in Hell in eternal agony (I paraphrase, of course). Probably the same people that would say <em>there are no rules</em> had I been talking about something else, like say adverbs. Snarky comments ensued in reply to my comment – which of course was taken too literally as key words were glossed over. The same thing people all over the interwebs have seen since the dawn of chats and forums. If you’ve been on any forums, I’m sure it’s happened to you. Even on the build-your-own-amazing-badass-speakers-to-the-phi-ratio-audiophile forum, there are flame wars.<br />
Having better things to do than argue with people that have missed the point, I (mostly) learned to ignore them and simply not engage but others actually like to engage. As a forum member, it’s no fun reading them any more than it is being involved in them so I stop reading when a thread falls apart. Flame wars suck. And sometimes they suck you down with it.<br />
I find myself <em>not</em> reading more than reading now, though, which is sad. If I feel that way, I’m fairly certain others do too. It doesn’t leave much room for any kind of real conversation. I think I’m down to one forum where I actually enjoy going. The others feel like a chore that I’m somehow obligated to deal with because of what I do. I want to engage but it seems hopeless so I’m left with simply making an appearance to say <em>congratulations!</em> or <em>+1</em>, or some other such non-engaging-see-I-showed-up statements. I really hate that. I would prefer to enjoy being there.<br />
We believe that as unknown/unpublished writers, we need to have an online presence so we try. Established authors are lucky enough to only need their blog, Twitter, and Facebook as their online presence. I hope to get there someday.<br />
Sigh.<br />
On the plus side, the fewer forums I stick around on, the fewer distractions I have. And look, I’ve been getting better at blogging!</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-17662311734788818872012-02-06T23:17:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:39:05.123-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/where-does-a-new-writer-go-to-learn/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Where does a new writer go to learn?</a> </div>
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Posted: 06 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST</div>
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So you don’t have the money for an MFA and you probably don’t want one anyway, nor can you afford to go to cons and workshops but you just don’t understand what all these people are talking about in your crits. <em>But I thought I <strong>was</strong> writing in active voice!</em><br />
It’s okay. There’s help for that. We’ve discussed a bit about podcasts but now I want to tell you about some of the great blogs. Over the years, blogs have helped me not only understand better, but also explain better.<br />
Here are some of the blogs that have been invaluable to me:<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/www.annemini.com">Author! Author!</a> – Anne Mini, author, editor and crazy-detailed, in-depth, there’s-no-way-you-won’t-get-this, blogger of mechanics. She’s does entire series’ on subjects you really should get to know. You could spend months in her archives. Months, I tell you.<br />
<a href="http://writeitsideways.com/">write it sideways</a> – One of the first sites that I found that talked about <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/filter-words/">filter words</a>. You know, those words that you know you could do better with but you aren’t really sure why or how or what it’s called…<br />
<a href="http://evileditor.blogspot.com/">Evil Editor</a> – Because getting reamed has never been this fun.<br />
<a href="http://misssnark.blogspot.com/">Miss Snark</a> – Closed up shop in 2007 but left for all to absorb. Probably one of the first websites I ever read on writing. Still one of the best. And snarky, too.<br />
<a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/">Grammar Girl</a> – As I’ve said before, we all know why we need her.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-48138910545370705122012-02-02T23:09:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:39:23.225-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/hen-pecked-critique-or-your-shit-dont-stank/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Hen-pecked critique or, your shit don’t stank.</a> </div>
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Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST</div>
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Someone actually called a crit group getting hen-pecked. Pretty arrogant, if you ask me. There’s not much more you can say to declare your superiority. Okay, well maybe there are a few more things but this is high on the short list. If you’ve been writing for years and years, worked with editors, and you have plenty of books under your belt that have been published with a wonderful reception, then no, this probably doesn’t apply to you. But for much of the normal folk…<br />
If you don’t think there’s something to be learned from getting hen-pecked then you probably don’t need an editor since your shit don’t stank. Just waltz right into Penguin and tell them you want your book printed and distributed by Wednesday. They’ll do it, really.<br />
But since getting critiqued is heart-wrenching, here are some tips when you’re feeling like you’ve been picked over by vultures:<br />
Getting hen-pecked is essential to learning how to write. If you can’t figure out the little things, then you’ll never get the big things. If I have to hear one more person say they can use adverbs all they want, I’ll scream. Clearly the point is lost upon them. The idea is not to remove every single adverb from any bit of written genius. It’s to make you write better. Describe better. Make people feel your words. Flip through any book and you’ll find adverbs, they aren’t exactly stricken from the english language. They exist and it’s okay to use them every once in a while. It’s not okay to rely on them. Adverbs don’t make a person feel anything.<br />
If you’re sick of people telling you to show not tell, maybe you need to research showing vs. telling more. Maybe, just maybe, you don’t really understand the concept. It’s okay not to understand the concept. It took someone taking my work and actually rewriting it, physically showing me the difference between what I wrote and what it could be, in order for me to fully understand. You only need accept that maybe you truly don’t get it.<br />
As a writer, getting hen-pecked also teaches you how to take a critique. You learn how to think critically about your own writing when you see those marks all over the place and wonder how much of that you really need to focus on. We all know that we can pull any book off our shelf and redline the hell out of it. That didn’t stop it from getting printed or from becoming a NYT bestseller.<br />
You learn how to pick and choose which you think matter and which don’t.<br />
You learn how to look at that sea of red and ask yourself why people are focusing on hen-pecking and not the story. If people are focusing that much on hen-pecking, then maybe the story isn’t strong enough.<br /> Once you learn what you’re getting hen-pecked about and fix that in your writing, you generally stop getting hen-pecked. Just sayin’.<br />
There are so many ways to look at the value of a crit group. Instead of looking at how it’s hurting your feelings, look at how it can help you to be a better writer. Writers are a sensitive lot. We love a good fit to throw. Go ahead and feel the anger and get all pissy and throw your fit, just don’t do it publicly. Then come back to your crit and figure out what you can learn from your plucking. Odds are in favor of you becoming a much better writer and critiquer.<br />
In all of this, it’s not to say that some people aren’t very good critters. Some truly do suck. I would like to believe that they are all new because becoming a good critter takes practice and time. You get better at it as you go and become a better writer. It unfortunately doesn’t hold true for everyone. Believe me, you’ll figure out who they are and learn to ignore them.<br />
P.S. If you think getting hen-pecked in a crit group is bad, good luck with an editor. A good editor will have more to say than anyone in a crit group. And most editors don’t believe in the sandwich method.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-42839095424859327602012-01-31T23:11:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:39:53.873-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/from-pantser-to-plotter/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">From pantser to plotter</a> </div>
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Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:59 PM PST</div>
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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.<br />
I stared because I just didn’t know what to do.<br />
I decided to outline and find out where I went wrong. I can’t fix what I can’t find.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
And that’s how I fixed my WIP.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-325254294262638432012-01-26T23:14:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:40:54.620-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/podcasts-you-might-want-to-try/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Podcasts you might want to try</a> </div>
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Posted: 26 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST</div>
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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.<br />
<strong>My faves:</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.writingexcuses.com/">Writing Excuses</a> – I <em>love</em> this podcast. I basically live for Mondays.<br />
<a href="http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/nerdist-writers-panel/">Nerdist Writer’s Panel</a> – 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.<br />
<a href="http://www.sff.net/odyssey/podcasts.html">Odyssey SF/F Writing Workshop Podcasts</a> – Since the odds of going to the workshop are pretty slim for the majority of us, this is the next best thing.<br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/">Grammar Girl</a> – We all know why we need her.</span><br />
<a href="http://antonstrout.com/Once___Future_Podcast.html">The Once & Future</a> – Mostly for readers but occasionally has episodes for writers.<br />
<a href="http://isbw.murlafferty.com/">I Should Be Writing</a> – Mur Lafferty to the rescue!<br />
<a href="http://www.kmweiland.com/podcast-episodes.php">Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors</a> - Always a good tip or two to be found.<br />
<strong>Others you might be interested in but I haven’t listened to enough to put them with the above list:</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.teemorris.com/blog/">The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy</a> (no longer active)<br />
<a href="http://www.writingshow.com/">The Writing Show with Paula B.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stormwolf.com/thesecrets/podcasts/">The Secrets Podcast for Writers</a><br />
<a href="http://www.authorsaccess.com/">Authors Access</a><br />
<strong>And I also listen to some that are just great to get ideas from:</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.theparacast.com/">The Paracast</a><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.startalkradio.net/">Startalk</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.themoderndaypirates.com/pirates/category/podcasts/">Laughing Historically</a><br />
<a href="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/hsw-shows/stuff-to-blow-your-mind-podcast.htm">Stuff to Blow Your Mind</a><br />
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.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-52063110430977334322012-01-24T23:39:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:40:45.684-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/build-your-sepia-toned-dreams-with-steampunk-gear-gadgets-and-gizmos-tor-com/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Build Your Sepia-Toned Dreams with Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos | Tor.com</a> </div>
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Posted: 24 Jan 2012 11:34 AM PST</div>
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How fun does this sound?<br />
<a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/01/steampunk-gears-gadgets-gizmos">Build Your Sepia-Toned Dreams with Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos | Tor.com</a>.<br />
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-67216801827349262302012-01-23T23:08:00.001-08:002012-06-28T15:40:24.201-07:00Cheryl Murphy Writes<style type="text/css">
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/ich-liebe-dich-ich-liebe-dich/" name="1" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 18px;">Ich liebe dich! Ich liebe dich!</a> </div>
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Posted: 23 Jan 2012 09:46 AM PST</div>
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/liebster-image.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-217" src="http://cherylmurphywrites.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/liebster-image.jpg?w=645" title="liebster-image" /></a><br />
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 <a href="http://santaisreal.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-blog-candy.html">Zakgirl</a>. Head over to her <a href="http://santaisreal.blogspot.com/">blog</a> and check it out!<br />
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!<br />
But now I have to pass it on. Here are the rules as I’ve shamelessly copied from Zakgirl’s blog:<br />
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After you receive this award you:</div>
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1. Post this award on your blog.<br /> 2. Thank and link to the person who gave it to you.<br /> 3. Pass it on to five bloggers who have less than 200 followers.<br /> 4. Comment on those five people’s blogs to share the good news.</div>
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My nominees are:</div>
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<a href="http://dapoppins.blogspot.com/">Dapoppins</a> was one of my very first followers (along with Zakgirl).</div>
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<a href="http://lend4health.blogspot.com/">Lend4Health</a> because of the amazing things she does for families with special needs kids that need financial assistance.</div>
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<a href="http://slaughterhousestudios.blogspot.com/">Lisa Snellings</a> 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 <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Strangestudios">shop</a>. Trust me. She has an entire author series so you might find someone you adore as much as I adore NG.</div>
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<a href="http://lovinggfcf.blogspot.com/">Chef Penny</a> has great recipes for kids on a gluten/casein free diet and those are hard to come by.</div>
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<a href="http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/">Mark Lawrence</a> 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? <img alt=";)" class="wp-smiley" src="http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif" /> </div>
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And there you have it, folks. My nominees. I hope you appreciate them as much as I do.</div>
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</div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-88330069708238906902011-11-15T23:45:00.001-08:002011-11-16T09:12:15.072-08:00What's wrong with my POV<style type="text/css">
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Posted: 15 Nov 2011 11:24 AM PST</div>
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I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately as I’ve been trying to figure out what’s broken in my wip. Yes, it’s broken and that’s another post (and believe me, it will be written). As I’ve been listening to them, I come across many I want to share.<br />
Today, while sweating it out at the gym, I listened to <a href="http://www.sff.net/odyssey/podcasts2.html">this</a> (scroll down to #41). Now, I don’t want to write a blow by blow of what <a href="http://www.gregoryfrost.com/index.html">Gregory Frost</a> said, but I want to point out something that I think gets overlooked often that he touched on very well.<br />
If you’ve ever gotten a crit wherein you’ve been told your POV isn’t working then this is definitely the podcast for you. As I’ve been working with writers with severe POV problems, I’ve been searching for a better way to explain why. Boy-howdy did I find it.<br />
Go. Listen. Come back.<br />
Now that you’ve listened, the thing he said that struck me as absolutely the most useful for new writers is to label each sentence with the leve of psychic distance it has from the reader. It must be in order. When it deviates, it must be done with a purpose. Learn how to control your POV, control your psychic distance and then you can formulate a clear purpose for your how you use your POV.<br />
I think what happens is that many times, it’s not that the writer is having a problem structuring a sentence. There is, for the most part, a clear ability to write. There is also a clear story to tell. So what’s the problem? The problem is structuring the narrative. If your POV is all over the place, it doesn’t matter how well you can write a sentence or that you have a good story to tell. You have to be able to keep your reader captivated and invested.<br />
Follow Gregory Frost’s advice. If you have people telling you there’s a problem, number those sentences. You’ll see a clear pattern or lack thereof.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-4649216931190844252011-11-15T11:29:00.001-08:002011-11-15T19:27:23.309-08:00What’s wrong with my POV?<table bgcolor="#DDDDDD" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background: #DDDDDD; width: 100%;"> <tbody>
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New post on <strong>Cheryl Murphy Writes</strong> </h2>
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<a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/210/" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none !important; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">What’s wrong with my POV?</a></h2>
<span style="color: #888888;">by <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/author/cheryllmurphy/" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; color: #888 !important; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">cheryl</a></span> </td> </tr>
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I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately as I've been trying to figure out what's broken in my wip. Yes, it's broken and that's another post (and believe me, it will be written). As I've been listening to them, I come across many I want to share.</div>
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Today, while sweating it out at the gym, I listened to <a href="http://www.sff.net/odyssey/podcasts2.html" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">this</a> (scroll down to #41). Now, I don't want to write a blow by blow of what <a href="http://www.gregoryfrost.com/index.html" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">Gregory Frost</a> said, but I want to point out something that I think gets overlooked often that he touched on very well.</div>
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If you've ever gotten a crit wherein you've been told your POV isn't working then this is definitely the podcast for you. As I've been working with writers with severe POV problems, I've been searching for a better way to explain why. Boy-howdy did I find it.</div>
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Go. Listen. Come back.</div>
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Now that you've listened, the thing he said that struck me as absolutely the most useful for new writers is to label each sentence with the leve of psychic distance it has from the reader. It must be in order. When it deviates, it must be done with a purpose. Learn how to control your POV, control your psychic distance and then you can formulate a clear purpose for your how you use your POV.</div>
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I think what happens is that many times, it's not that the writer is having a problem structuring a sentence. There is, for the most part, a clear ability to write. There is also a clear story to tell. So what's the problem? The problem is structuring the narrative. If your POV is all over the place, it doesn't matter how well you can write a sentence or that you have a good story to tell. You have to be able to keep your reader captivated and invested.</div>
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Follow Gregory Frost's advice. If you have people telling you there's a problem, number those sentences. You'll see a clear pattern or lack thereof.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/author/cheryllmurphy/" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">cheryl</a></strong> | November 15, 2011 at 11:24 am | Categories: <a href="http://cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com/?cat=2939115" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">Mechanics of Writing</a> | URL: <a href="http://wp.me/p1Kla6-3o" style="color: #0088cc; color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none; text-decoration: underline;">http://wp.me/p1Kla6-3o</a> </div>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=cherylmurphywrites.wordpress.com&blog=25820774&post=210&subd=cherylmurphywrites&ref=&email=1&email_o=wpcom" width="1" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-20155545142976398762011-08-18T10:46:00.000-07:002011-08-18T10:46:05.225-07:00BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS, AND MORE!: Want To Know Who The World's Highest-Paid Authors Are?<a href="http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/2011/08/want-to-know-who-worlds-highest-paid.html">BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS, AND MORE!: Want To Know Who The World's Highest-Paid Authors Are?</a>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-34838303748834449712011-07-21T10:20:00.000-07:002011-08-04T15:16:17.679-07:00Lessons I've learned being in a crit groupMy IRL crit group just voted on a name. We are now called The Mightier Thing. In honor of such a glorious, epic and celebratory occasion of Naming, I have some gems I've learned for you. Maybe you'll think they are gems, too.<br />
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Not in any particular order.<br />
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1. Just because you don't like a writing genre, style, POV, etc. doesn't mean you can't recognize good or bad writing. If you can't give someone a decent crit because you don't like the POV, then maybe you need to do some more work on your own writing. I'm so not a fan of erotica; I can't even tell you what makes good erotica or bad erotica. But one of the best crit partners I had for about a year wrote nothing but erotica. I can tell you if the story works, if it's passive or if (blush) it did it's job. I can easily crit based on the writing alone. The only thing that would be missing is whether or not I would pick it up in the first place or if I got into the story. If it's a genre (or whatever) I only feel <i>meh</i> about, it's not likely going to change but I'm not going to let that get in my way. If it does change, then you can bet I'll mention that bit.<br />
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2. Not everyone makes a good crit partner. When people first start out, they feel like they need someone, anyone. Not true. Pick your partners wisely.<br />
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3. They are great for motivation. We all have lives with jobs, kids, etc. and sometimes we don't feel like writing. Crit groups are great for making that happen anyway.<br />
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4. Revenge crits: completely immature.<br />
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5. Sandwich method sucks. You don't need it in regular crit group where everyone knows each other and doesn't need anyone trying desperately to find something good about something that sucks. Personally, I don't think the sandwich method is all that helpful - people focus on the problems anyway. You can't take things personally in any artform. Might as well learn that <b>now</b>.<br />
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6. Know whose crits to ignore (hopefully this person is not in your IRL crit group. If so, you have bigger problems).<br />
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7. Know whose crits to really take to heart and think about even when you disagree. You might find that they aren't so far off the mark.<br />
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8. Don't crit a 7000 word piece/chapter when you started repeating your comments 1500 words in. Just stop. All continuing will do is frustrate you and really make the writer feel bad. Tell them you're repeating yourself. Give the writer a chance to fix those issues throughout and crit again when you can focus on other things and maybe even get to the actual story.<br />
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9. I know I said I don't like the sandwich method. That doesn't mean you shouldn't mention what's good, especially when you really like something.<br />
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10. Writing is not just a clever turn of phrase. I've met a few writers that can really come up with some great lines. But the rest...<br />
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11. Don't waste my time. Don't have your entire MS ready for crit and then just start subbing one chapter after another without fixing problems from previous crits that need to be applied to all chapters. See #8. Fix it before sending something else.<br />
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12. Some people just don't learn. It's a sad realization to come to because the critter feels guilty. Don't feel bad for not critting this unteachable person. If this person is in your IRL group, uh oh, your group is in trouble and now the real issue is finding a nice way to relieve this person of his/her membership.<br />
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13. Your writing is not as good as you think it is. It can always be better. Someone is guaranteed to not like it. No matter how perfect and polished you've made it, there will be comments. Just always remember #6 and #7.<br />
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14. Even though your writing is not as good as you think it is, it doesn't mean it sucks. You might actually be a fantastic writer. I can still find flaws in the Great Works. That doesn't mean it isn't perfect the way it is and that you need to fall into the bottom of a bottle. You can still be great and be confident in your work. Just don't be an asshole.<br />
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15. Don't be an asshole.<br />
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16. Be okay with someone telling you you're being an asshole when you are.<br />
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17. Study your craft. Read a lot. Analyze bits of what you read and why you love it or hate it.<br />
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18. You can't get rid of every <i>was</i>, nor should you. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try.<br />
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19. Redlines are better than vague comments that don't actually mean anything. "This bothered me" is not a crit, it's an opinion. Support your opinion or keep it to yourself because I can't do anything with it.<br />
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20. We all know "show, don't tell." This applies to crits as well. For me, I found the easiest way to learn was to have someone show me how to fix a sentence. When I first started writing, I would get these comments like "passive" or "show" and I understood what it meant, I was just unclear on the how-to-do-that part. Until one kind crit partner redlined an entire chapter for me and <i>showed</i> me what to do. Bam. I got it. It was that simple for me once I could see it go from passive to active or telling to showing, etc.<br />
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21. Be aware of the difference between rewriting and showing you an example of what someone is talking about. I've literally had to use really dumb cliches and make shit up because someone felt that any example I gave on how to make something work better for me was "rewriting." It's an annoying argument to have.<br />
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22. Sometimes comments really are rewriting. Also annoying.<br />
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23. Read what you are critting as a reader first. Then go back and look at it as a writer. The first impression as a reader is the most important and will prevent you from asking really stupid questions in the first two paragraphs. Questions like: "Where are they?" "What color is it?" "Why is she so angry?" "Who is this person?" "Is this person important?" Really. It's just ridiculous. You can't answer those questions in two paragraphs anyway and if you do it's called an <i>info dump</i>. Critting hard and critting stupid are two different things. Don't crit desperate to point out every perceivable flaw. Use some common sense.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">*UPDATE: I can't believe it but I actually have another one to add. Thanks to one of my IRL crit partners, I might add. Sometimes I really do think he's trying to kill me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br /></span><br />
24. Remember the previous chapters. If you can't, either reread or at least just go back and check something before you make a comment that is clearly answered in a previous chapter. Don't make someone tell you to go back and reread then get back to you. Or don't comment on it at all if you don't want to do that because now the comment is useless. It might have worked, it might not have. But now the person you're critting will not know, at least not from you.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">*</span><br />
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I think I'll probably update this as I go. I'm sure there's more to learn and plenty I've already forgotten because it's just a part of how I am now.<br />
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Feel free to add your lessons in the comments.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvxCqpaZyn2IYWUbZn-CkTbxkvk9Hch87QhmMYGpFQGjwP3UoZdIr6nkJB_grEtTjtf3Hj9dnh3BgsvdHK64ESiqCnAtPWUvlmUkMMtO6oDzxcEtBoUAxOqxkULNJ6C2NXAJoj9zYxVQW/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-71365500888335544552011-07-17T09:50:00.000-07:002011-07-17T09:50:11.279-07:00Thrillerfest notes from Janet ReidJanet Reid posted <a href="http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2011/07/forget-your-weaknesses-attack-your.html">notes</a> taken from Thrillerfest on different ways thrillers can be driven. Good stuff.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvxCqpaZyn2IYWUbZn-CkTbxkvk9Hch87QhmMYGpFQGjwP3UoZdIr6nkJB_grEtTjtf3Hj9dnh3BgsvdHK64ESiqCnAtPWUvlmUkMMtO6oDzxcEtBoUAxOqxkULNJ6C2NXAJoj9zYxVQW/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-91101406411444690462011-07-16T10:21:00.000-07:002011-07-16T10:21:45.851-07:00The First Zombie-Proof House - All That Is Interesting<div>Best house eva!</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://all-that-is-interesting.com/post/4956385434/the-first-zombie-proof-house">The First Zombie-Proof House - All That Is Interesting</a><br /><br /><p><img class="centered" alt="post signature" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvxCqpaZyn2IYWUbZn-CkTbxkvk9Hch87QhmMYGpFQGjwP3UoZdIr6nkJB_grEtTjtf3Hj9dnh3BgsvdHK64ESiqCnAtPWUvlmUkMMtO6oDzxcEtBoUAxOqxkULNJ6C2NXAJoj9zYxVQW/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" /></p>Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-61129603557135964912011-06-19T13:48:00.000-07:002011-06-19T13:48:38.546-07:00Guess How Much I Love You cake<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr6vyOhYC9xfH88xuOV3nM-b9FuTtfQ1X03TiLEfwS1pH1NK2NUd9kuS-tsB8rIk0exuX6CITkqgNrQOJv84hr4FTgeJl4vb-0YY-Fwp4JVI6XNCBSrYHg2CD_TEFahy4c1iWFZx-jgk/s1600/IMG_20110619_123455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr6vyOhYC9xfH88xuOV3nM-b9FuTtfQ1X03TiLEfwS1pH1NK2NUd9kuS-tsB8rIk0exuX6CITkqgNrQOJv84hr4FTgeJl4vb-0YY-Fwp4JVI6XNCBSrYHg2CD_TEFahy4c1iWFZx-jgk/s200/IMG_20110619_123455.jpg" width="150" /></a>Happy Father's Day! Of course, the cake I made for my husband is based on a book.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvxCqpaZyn2IYWUbZn-CkTbxkvk9Hch87QhmMYGpFQGjwP3UoZdIr6nkJB_grEtTjtf3Hj9dnh3BgsvdHK64ESiqCnAtPWUvlmUkMMtO6oDzxcEtBoUAxOqxkULNJ6C2NXAJoj9zYxVQW/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-79791336029105839812011-06-11T14:35:00.000-07:002011-06-11T14:43:27.506-07:00Kodak - you suck! Playsport ZX5So this is waaay OT but I thought I'd post it because, well, I'm bitter and that's just how I roll. I have to tell the world what shit Kodak support actually is in case someone decides to buy something of theirs.<br />
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Here's one of my videos and how it recorded. Mind you, it doesn't do this on all of them and when it's working properly, the video is actually quite nice. I think I had 2 videos out of a lot that had this problem. The big pisser is that it was my favorite one and it's shit. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone can tell me how to fix it.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pEaumLuNtR4" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Anyway, I was pissed. So I went to their support pages and found <a href="http://support.en.kodak.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/40618/kw/audio%20video%20sync/selected/true">this</a>.<br />
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Oh my God. At first, I was simply amazed. And then I saw the updated date. 5/26/2011! Mac hasn't had a control panel since OS9. Pfffft. So I thought I'd try the <a href="http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/chat/index.jhtml?pq-locale=en_US">chat</a>. Available daily. Cool.<br />
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I get <a href="https://chat.kodak.com/system/LiveCustomerServlet.egain?eglvcmd=CustEntry&entryPointName=DCDChat&eglvepid=1005&departmentid=999&eglvpartid=1&referer=interstitial&eglvrefname=">this</a>. I'm sensing a pattern. They get new products out and provide zero support, I guess. Fine. At this point I'm kind of checking out where all of this goes. I actually download Firefox 3.6, replacing my 4.0 (I didn't mind since I use Chrome, anyway) and try to chat. That was really insane. I waited for a while and then I wondered if anyone was even there. And then I started having a one-sided conversation. I took a <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6UBOp3Ja1xUAhNQf6cHuC_UrDJKnhXqTYd6ZKDMrrAIXgOBVEtT67HryM6ww5X4Rt6VHvs0-AO5rORZ8wNGLnC58aQ=s512">screen shot</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/6UBOp3Ja1xUAhNQf6cHuC_UrDJKnhXqTYd6ZKDMrrAIXgOBVEtT67HryM6ww5X4Rt6VHvs0-AO5rORZ8wNGLnC58aQ=s512" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/6UBOp3Ja1xUAhNQf6cHuC_UrDJKnhXqTYd6ZKDMrrAIXgOBVEtT67HryM6ww5X4Rt6VHvs0-AO5rORZ8wNGLnC58aQ=s512" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm pretty sure that if you click it, it'll be readable. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">(Update: not so much. I included a link if you really want to read it.)</span> I didn't even get anyone to say, "please continue to wait." If you look on there, you'll see I entered the chat at 1:07 and took the pic at 1:54. I'm pretty sure there wasn't anyone there manning the chat room. Daily must mean something else in Kodak speak.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, that was my adventure today. Now that I'm all super annoyed, I must get on my treadmill so that I can burn the excess annoyance from my body and then sit for a writing session in which I write 5k words.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or not.</div><br />
<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvxCqpaZyn2IYWUbZn-CkTbxkvk9Hch87QhmMYGpFQGjwP3UoZdIr6nkJB_grEtTjtf3Hj9dnh3BgsvdHK64ESiqCnAtPWUvlmUkMMtO6oDzxcEtBoUAxOqxkULNJ6C2NXAJoj9zYxVQW/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-4942236159565897772011-06-05T11:24:00.000-07:002011-06-05T11:38:39.628-07:00WSJ and Darkness Too Visible #YASavesOMG. I just logged into Twitter to find a flurry of #YASaves tweets. Not knowing what all the hubub was about, I <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html">clicked</a>. Dear lord. It seems every time I make a post, something very similar is going on in the world around me of which I'm completely unaware.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://networkequipment.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Book-censorship.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://networkequipment.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Book-censorship.gif" width="180" /></a><br />
I hate that. Especially since my last post could easily be construed as being supportive of the WSJ attitude. Let me clarify that it absolutely is not. I think it's awesome that hard topics are explored. The dark doesn't bother me, nor should it be avoided. And the WSJ's idea that this is something totally new is crazy. It's not. Incest, death, violence, suicide, etc., are themes in many books older than I am.<br />
<br />
WSJ really made me wish I hadn't even posted that blog yesterday because now I feel like I have to take it all back.<br />
<br />
I don't think it's necessary to have gratuitous sex and language but that doesn't mean that I don't think there is a place for sex and language in YA. I very much do. I think that how it is handled is what separates it as a genre. Sometimes it does require a bit more grit than normal. But for the most part, it can be done superbly without those things. I just like the idea of knowing what I'm getting. Otherwise I really don't see a need to separate them. Most adults are reading YA and most kids are reading fiction.<br />
<br />
I think back to Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book in which there were many complaints about the f-bomb in a book that was being marketed by some as MG. His response to that was that it was never meant to be MG. Just because it is about a kid doesn't mean it is for a kid. And that's kind of were I stand on the matter. It's not that I object to the actual content or that kids are reading it.<br />
<br />
And let's just clear this up right now: appropriateness is going to vary by age, family views and the like. Sex is not appropriate for a a 7 year old to be reading. No one is arguing that.<br />
<br />
Kids are going to read what they are going to read unless parents are involved and controlling their decisions (good luck with that, by the way - that rarely works out well). My parents never monitored what I read and I thank them for it because it allowed me to discover what <i>I</i> like and what <i>I</i> enjoy reading, not what <i>they </i>wanted me to read. I read because I loved to read. And I read everything I could get my hands on and went on way more adventures than should be legal.<br />
<br />
It didn't change who I was or what I did. I was still me and decisions I made, I made on my own, not because a movie, a video game or a book made me think it was cool. If a kid is really like their parents, it'll show. Their preferences will be toward the books the parents want them reading anyway. I knew when I was fourteen that my parents and I had very different views on life. It hasn't changed. Give kids more credit. Kids aren't stupid, stop treating them like they are and using them as an excuse to remove all things adults find unpleasant or unfit for human consumption.<br />
<br />
Let's face it, that's really what it boils down to, getting rid of things a group of people find distasteful. They don't just want to get rid of it with kids, that's just the excuse for right now. If that were to ever be successful it would eventually move on to adults.<br />
<br />
I do tend to believe that we do have more violence today than we did, say a hundred years ago. But I don't think it has to do with games, books, music or movies. I won't get into what I think is the real problem here but suffice it to say, it isn't the fucking books people read.<br />
<br />
It's a lame excuse to say a book might trigger a relapse. Basically what that says is that no one, ever, should discuss these pathologies, as Mrs. Gurdon likes to call them. No movies, no talk shows, no nothing. Because hey, they might trigger relapse.<br />
<br />
We should be sensitive to others. But we also can't skirt issues.Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-68708201509141373852011-06-04T13:59:00.001-07:002011-06-04T14:01:17.665-07:00What happened to genres?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Molengo; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">There was a time when I could count on genres to mean something. What happened to that? It used to be I could be I could pick up a YA book and find little to no obscenities and definitely no sex. Plenty of emotion but sex, if it happened at all, happened behind closed doors.<br />
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Today, not so much. It seems like language and sex are no longer avoided and this makes me sad. I've always felt comforted knowing that if I wanted a tamer book, I could just pick up some YA and be a happy reader. If I wanted something more adult, I knew where to go for that.<br />
<br />
What happened to the separation? What happened to knowing that hey, the book might be about a kid but it's not YA so it's geared for adults?<br />
<br />
Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm having a hard time with the whole concept of changing times.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Molengo; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><img alt="post signature" class="centered" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m5TiBrxYE1Q/TeqYuD-i4YI/AAAAAAAAAHY/QnQI2_L94kE/s128/skullsignatureB%252526Wsepiahandcolored.png" />Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-370209516952007392011-05-17T20:55:00.000-07:002011-06-05T09:46:56.901-07:00Procrastination station<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU3woSHosn15RvQr6oVngZRMRDTDPEMQO06MCC6HvOqsGoBI6YZxFd0iJMEFvfBT5zJEcMdCS5_Swr-q1j372pjdBI0kvBNvS1pYfw5dtuqd9uXpz_i8ZqcpIvxOR-RRPjrZJ61MVtig/s1600/procrastinate_thumbnail.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU3woSHosn15RvQr6oVngZRMRDTDPEMQO06MCC6HvOqsGoBI6YZxFd0iJMEFvfBT5zJEcMdCS5_Swr-q1j372pjdBI0kvBNvS1pYfw5dtuqd9uXpz_i8ZqcpIvxOR-RRPjrZJ61MVtig/s1600/procrastinate_thumbnail.gif" /></a></div>This is me. I'm procrastinating so much. I have a lot of semi-legit excuses. But a big one is going to be running out in about 2 weeks.<br />
<br />
I'm actually glad for that because well, I'd really like to write again but it seems like now, when I do have the time, I'd rather do something like relax and watch a TV show since my DVR is getting backed up because I'm too busy to watch TV. I think I've developed bad habits since undertaking my semi-legit excuses (husband out of the country for 6 months, kids and their activities, house, labor intensive graphic design class-yanno, that kind of stuff) where I just give in and do whatever else it is I'm thinking about because my time is so limited right now.<br />
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I've never understood how people can just write for 2 hours a day. I get it now. Sometimes life just demands that you write for those 2 hours and those 2 hours only whether you want to or not because it's not getting done any other way. And they become much more productive.<br />
<br />
I think I get it.<br />
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Now I must get to disciplining myself to be strict about how I write. That'll be interesting. Every time I do sit down to write, I look around and see the dishes aren't done or the house is a wreck and all this work has to get done sometime and I'll get more done if I just do it now so I can write after and so on and so on and it all just amounts to a bunch of <i>not writing</i>.<br />
<br />
So scheduling my time to write seems like a good idea to me. I just need to figure out what time I have - and that isn't easy either.<br />
<br />
Suggestions?Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-66047389385689289302011-05-14T23:59:00.000-07:002011-06-01T21:49:19.902-07:00Crits, comparisons and Twilight<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0fk-BudQfUgeuAFAwUKvStjKbz8_wmlArKmpkQGqkXSQ2u4BxiKAvEDyUxrSbDcQxmIRwHH76oJn5tP7ddkwzryOKoOsGTOUlVbP1dBEXhwCt09B8shy4fQsgyl3D14jUNNRXgTHVYw/s1600/banging+head.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0fk-BudQfUgeuAFAwUKvStjKbz8_wmlArKmpkQGqkXSQ2u4BxiKAvEDyUxrSbDcQxmIRwHH76oJn5tP7ddkwzryOKoOsGTOUlVbP1dBEXhwCt09B8shy4fQsgyl3D14jUNNRXgTHVYw/s1600/banging+head.jpeg" /></a><br />
You know what really annoys me? Having a critter say they are reminded of Twilight just because there are certain commonalities. Like dark hair. Or family. Or a bit of a romance. It's incredibly annoying, as if no one ever had characters like Bella or Edward before. It's like saying Romeo and Juliet is just like Twilight.<br />
<br />
When the story is clearly not the same story, is it necessary to try to plug it into Twilight? Can no one ever have dark haired, tortured characters ever again? Can no one ever touch the same themes again?<br />
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Grrr.<br />
<br />
Seriously.<br />
<br />
Sorry. I just saw a crit (not one for me - although I've gotten it and I've seen it said to several other people when their wips weren't anything like Twilight, either) and it's really annoying. The critter generally loses a lot of credibility with me when that happens because there are millions and millions of books out there. Not everything is Twilight because there are teens falling in love. There were books similar to Twilight before Twilight and there likely will be after.<br />
<br />
Read the fucking story. Crit the story. Before you say it, please think really hard about it - is it <i>really</i> like Twilight?<br />
<br />
There will always be characters that remind you of other characters. There are only so many personality types. And there will always be books that remind you of other books. We wouldn't have genres if that weren't the case. It would all just be called fiction.<br />
<br />
Get over the Twilight comparisons unless it actually means something. If everything reminds you of Twilight, you need to read more books.<br />
<br />
No offense to Mrs. Meyer intended.<br />
<br />
P.S.<br />
Mine isn't even about teens, vampires or anything else close to the themes of Twilight. Why?Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-73065154656384930662011-05-13T15:49:00.001-07:002011-05-17T21:08:33.430-07:00Now a card carrying member!<div class="mobile-photo">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeOVZOWVrdtEjYb_z4oy2cr_qltVBTq-ymYCJcbewjKgm3mP6pe-Bn11VhUXaQyj4Ccs8R7qnH9C8vCD0A_f_Qw3uGikuMFb3esN98SeGS4QG9EFRK8bJKPpWCdxzzX-PYTi-okK3Xow/s1600/shot_1305322754103-780967.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606336696953370738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeOVZOWVrdtEjYb_z4oy2cr_qltVBTq-ymYCJcbewjKgm3mP6pe-Bn11VhUXaQyj4Ccs8R7qnH9C8vCD0A_f_Qw3uGikuMFb3esN98SeGS4QG9EFRK8bJKPpWCdxzzX-PYTi-okK3Xow/s320/shot_1305322754103-780967.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Just got my evil library card. Get your very own card at <a href="http://evilreads.com/">evilreads.com</a> <br />
Sent from my EVO - these are not the typos you're looking for...Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-21478094743188180312011-05-06T18:16:00.000-07:002011-05-06T18:19:31.282-07:00Free Comic Book Day 10th anniversary!This is just too awesome not to share. For those that are unaware, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iZezgG-irj0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
To find out if there is a participating store in your area, click <a href="http://freecomicbookday.com/index.asp">here</a> and plug in your zip.<br />
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Can't wait to hit it up.Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1270890788274690119.post-31922456425254479882011-04-08T19:51:00.000-07:002011-04-08T19:51:14.872-07:00Multiple projects rock.I always thought people were crazy to have more than one wip going at a time. I'm discovering the error of my thinking.<br />
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I'm having trouble finishing my wip. It's not that I don't care about the story or that I can't write it or that I've lost it. I just got bored with it because I already know it. I don't know if that happens to other people and I honestly didn't know it would happen to me. But it did. Color me shocked.<br />
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One of my crit partners decided to run a prompt. I wanted to do something in first person (which I don't like so much) and I wanted to explore a morally ambiguous character. I never planned on it being anything more than an exercise so I picked something easy to work morally ambiguous into. Vampires. Lo and behold, it wouldn't stop. So it looks like I have a new wip.<br />
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It's working out well. I get bored with one, I move to the other. I'm liking this so far.<br />
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Does anyone else get bored? What do you do about that? And how do you feel about multiple wips?Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333902683981665134noreply@blogger.com2