Saturday, April 10, 2010

Loving the Internet

Oh, my, I have discovered so many excellent writing blogs in the past few weeks that I'm going to have to follow Jon Paul's example and start a weekly Link Love feature.

By the way, can I just say, that I love your name?  "Jon Paul." It's like my favorite Star Trek Captain, Jean Luc.  Only you have more hair.  And you fly in an atmosphere.  And how cool is it that you are a really manly man who also writes and is reading Twilight? I just had to say that you are like the most awesome dude ever.  My regards to the Drill Sargent.  Your Fiction Writer's Battle Plan over at Where Sky Meets Ground is awesome.

Thank you, Jon Paul, for your service to our country.

Next up is Sierra Godfrey who was brave enough to put up her own checklist of writing problems.  They are eerily like mine.  For example, having characters smile too often.  Check it out, and also look at some of the other great content on her website.  Where does she find time to do it?

From Sierra's blog I found the link to Anne R. Allen's post titled Seeking Zoticus Weatherwax: Tips for Naming Fictional Characters Apparently, I didn't really have to create my own fictional language to name my characters. Too late.

Bane of Anubis has an absolutely hysterical You-Tube video of a British kid reading Twilight out loud. While being hilarious, it also highlights some of the things we should not do when writing.  My apologies to Stephanie Meyer.  Anyone (including myself) who thinks we can write a better book, better hurry up and prove it.

Roni at Fiction Groupie has an excellent post up about Point of View Advantages and Pitfalls.  Very timely stuff, as I am revising right now and I actually started culling some of the errors she mentioned out of the chapter I am currently working on immediately after reading her post.

Also, check out her Tuesday and Thursday Beta Club posts, where you can critique or be critiqued. Excellent feedback going on there. My excerpt is up in May sometime.

For fun, drop by Come In Character for this weekend's First Line Challenge writing prompt.  You can respond as yourself, or as one of your characters.

And if you enjoyed the First Page Blogfest, check out the Last Line Blogfest coming on May 1st.

That's it for today.  Lots of good stuff happening out there. Why didn't I find these blogs two years ago, when I was struggling so much with just finding the courage and will to write?  I got so discouraged hanging out at agent blogs, where all you hear is that your stuff's not good enough and the publishing industry is dying and you might as well just curl up in the corner with a bag of chocolate chips and forget it.

Oh, oh!  I almost forgot... you won't believe this.  Last weekend, after I had that post up about boiling your story down to a short pitch, I actually met someone who owns a small movie production company who wanted to know what my story was about and if I had a screenplay he could see.  Now, I don't think he was serious, and even if he was I don't think I would give it to him without researching his company and having an agent and all that, but I was thrilled to be able to tell him what my book was about.  It felt good.  It felt professional.

8 comments:

  1. Wow Christine! Thanks for the link love and the very very kind words!

    I am so with you on the value of being a member of this internet writing community. Like you, I have sometimes found intestinal fortitude hard to come by, so all the sharing and lessons learned is a huge encouragement.

    As for writing a better book than Stephenie Meyer, I'm on it!

    Thanks again.

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  2. You're welcome, Jon Paul, and I truly cannot thank you enough for your service.

    I am also buttering you up (just a little) to ask if you would consider being a beta reader for me when my revisions are done. I need military guy perspective on my Rangers and soldiers. Even though it's fantasy and set in a medieval-type world, I want to be sure I'm not making stupid errors in my fight and battle scenes. So, your feedback would be appreciated.

    Bane has been helpful, too, in looking over some of the chapters. He's an Army brat, I think.

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  3. link love. great. i'll have to check some of these out. as far as why didn't you find these blogs when you were first starting, i feel the same way. i wrote my first book virtually alone, until i met Kristal and then you.

    glad i was there for you when you were struggling with whatever draft you were on. but i'm also glad you've found all these blogging friends to encourage you now.

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  4. Michelle, you were my first and best blogging friend. You are the only person who has read an entire draft of The Golden Gryphon, including those scenes that will (ahem!) NEVER be published!

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  5. Thanks for the link love. What a great idea. I'm going to have to introduce myself around.

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  6. Thanks for the mention, Christine! That's very kind. As for when I find the time to do it...talking about writing flows out of me and there's no stopping it. And I schedule lots of posts in advance!

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  7. I have to agree; I'm falling in love with the internet. At least, the blogging community. I don't know how I got through the first drafts without this wonderful world.

    What a wonderful experience; having a movie producer ask for the script. Says a lot about your story concept. Kudos!

    And thanks for the links. I missed a couple of those postings.

    ..........dhole

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  8. Thanks, Donna. But I just have to clarify that the guy I met isn't a movie producer. He owns a small production company that mainly makes commercials. He asked for the script before he knew what it was about, and didn't really listen to my explanation. I think he was just fishing for projects. But it still felt good to be able to tell him without hesitating.

    To be honest, I don't even know for sure that he even is who he says he is. He could have just been trying to impress me. He's my dad's next door neighbor.

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I apologize for the word verification. I hate it, but the spammers made me do it.