You Don't Know What You Don't Know until You Know

For the last few weeks I have dutifully been reading up on novel writing, publishing and such. I also went to the Fullerton Writers Meetup which was extremely informative. I got some new books about writing from Barnes & Noble as well as the library and started reading those. Here is a list of some things I have come to understand.

1. Writers have to be responsible for their own marketing. Anne, the instructor in the beginning writers class, mentioned this as well, and it was reiterated by the workshop on marketing your writing. I was told once upon a time (or maybe I read it somewhere and now I can't even remember where) that publishers didn't like to take on new authors that had previously been published on the web through blog, fan fiction or other venues. But it seems that submitting to a publisher as an unknown and unpublished (even on the web) author is detrimental. Maybe publishers are finally realizing that e-publishing (in all its forms) can help weed out flops and focus on writers who come with a guaranteed fan base.

When Furyan's Return was blossoming in my head, I wrote and posted each chapter one at a time before the other was complete. Each time readers gave such great feedback, it motivated me to keep writing. I could use Create Space in a similar way as Fanfic.net. It would be a greater benefit if my first story was published on Create Space, sold chapter by chapter to see if there is an interest in my writing. If Create Space is the way to go, I have to complete the entire novel first and proof read it CAREFULLY before posting in installments. If readers are willing to pay, say, 99 cents a chapter, I could live with that. Of course, in this situation, I have to self-motivate to complete the story before I ever get close to posting. *sigh* But it sure feels good when readers stroke my writing ego.

2. Don't get lost in the forest for the trees. Thank you Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing. Now I understand why I can't read JRR Tolkien. I could care less about the individual leaves reflecting the sunlight in the forest. For the love of Aphrodite, just say "There was a thick forest" and move on. I will endeavor not to do this to my readers. If the setting isn't relevant to the action, mention it as briefly as possible. Perhaps the opening of a chapter would be a good place to expand on setting in terms of setting the mood. Beyond that, get down to business.

3. Writers take a backseat. Again, thanks to Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing in which he talks about writers waxing poetic serving to distract readers for the story. The action of characters and dialog serve to carry the reader through the story, so let it. This rule makes complete sense, but I really liked how Leonard put it.

4. The quality and integrity of every piece posted should be publish-worthy. Not really a NEW idea but one I have to take seriously. That means even this blog that I sometimes post to with little thought. One of my goals is to go through my fanfic and edit it again. I STILL find errors over three years later. And I've been through it, had another reader read it over. I am the worst at editing my own work because my brain "auto-corrects" what my eyes see. I know there are ways to improve my proofreading; I just need to DO them.

5. Sometimes you have to start over. Learning about the 3 act outline, checkpoints, triggers, themes, epiphanies has forced me to face the fact that I started Second Chances without any idea of where the plot was going. I had a vague idea of theme and that was about it. I need to reread the Mercy Thompson books because some of the facts are incorrect. So I'm going to pull that story with a note to readers about my plans to rewrite SC and the plans to write and publish Dangerous Beauty. I can use this existing audience to generate interest in my original idea. But I still want to finish SC. I want to redeem Ben and tell Vanessa's story because that is still important to me.

6. Don't depend on the existing fanbase. Since I have three stories under Fanfic.net, I have an existing fanbase. After looking over the stats though, it is 4-5 readers who read through to the end of story. Not an overwhelming number but a start. That is a good platform to start interest in Dangerous Beauty. I plan to post an excerpt of the first chapter at the end of the fanfic stories to generate interest. I have to see if Fanfic.net restricts self-promotion too.

Paranormal mysteries, romances and general good reads

I've revised the book list and gotten around to adding my more recent reads. All the books below are parts of series; the first book in the series is listed.

Thanks, Laura, for the additional brain fodder!

$ enduring favorite

*Steamy sex scenes

+ quick read

Engrossing and Creative Reads

1. Dead Witch Walking % (The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series) by Kim Harrison. Witches, living and dead vamps, pixies, demons and lots of action. The series follows Rachel Morgan as she becomes an independent tracer for the magical community. She is joined by living vamp, Ivy, and a pixie names Jenks. Throughout the series you get drawn into the drama of Rachel's new found friends. However, she tends to digress often into soul-searching/whining periods.
2. Greywalker % (Greywalker series) by Kat Richarson. A PI dies for 2 minutes before the EMTs bring her back. But after she keeps seeing ghosts, meets vampires and other denizens of "the Grey," the space between here and the Underworld. As she becomes more experiences in traversing the Grey, the baddies threaten her more and more.
3. Moon Called % (Mercy Thompson series) by Patricia Briggs. A shapeshifting coyote automechanic who gets wrapped up with werewolves, vamps and Fae. Mercy is a down-to-earth woman who prefers grease under her fingernails to manicures yet still fights the bad guys with confidence and ingenuity.
4. Darkfever %+ (Fever series) by Karen Marie Moning. A woman's sister is killed in Ireland. When the woman travels to Dublin, she finds out that she can see the Fae and they want her dead. Meanwhile, she is trying to keep the Unseelie (Dark Fae) in their prison because, if they get out, the world as we know it will end. 
5. Grave Sight % (Harper Connelly Mysteries series) by Charlaine Harris. I prefer this to the Sookie Stackhouse series, but Harris stopped writing them after HBO signed the True Blood series. Harper Connelly survived a lighting strike as a teen and developed the ability to detect the dead and see the last moments of someone's death to determine if it was natural or murder. She and her step-brother/manager hit the road with her skills working with families and law enforcement. In the case of murder, she can't necessarily see the face of the murderer which frequently puts her in jeopardy. Good mysteries, some underlying romance and good story crafting. 
6. Fantasy Lover %* (Dark-Hunter series) by Sherrilyn Kenyon. A Greek general is bespelled in a book. He comes to life when a woman reads the inscription, but he has only a few days to make her fall in love with him or return to the book forever. Yes, the first book is cheesy and very romantic. But, the further into the series reveals an entire world of weres, vampires and Dark-Hunters lead by Acheron, an Atlantean in service to the Greek Goddess, Artemis. I highly recommend skipping the first book and reading Night Embrace, book 2, if you don't want heavy romance. Each book follows a certain couple but there are many overlapping characters that you will come to love, despise and gain deeper understanding for. Kenyon has recently started an adjunct young adult series, the Chronicles of Nick, following one of the main characters of the Dark-Hunter series.
7. Born of Night %* (The League series) by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Kenyon's sci-fi series is as cleverly and deeply written as the urban paranormal stuff. Each book follows the close family and friends of Nykyrian Quiakides, an alien half-breed, in the Ichidian Universe, a world of the sanctioned assassins of the League vs. the rogues of the Sentella. Kenyon does such a wonderful job of building the universe and relationships in her stories that you will be cheering for criminally-minded but loyal and honorable Nyk and his friends.
8. Dark Lover %* (The Blackdagger Brotherhood series) by JR Ward. I can't say enough good about the series. Despite the almost 10 books of the series, each book is fresh and adds another element to the overarching battle between the Brotherhood and their enemies, and a greater understanding of these people's mythology. The vampires live in overlapping but separate communities across the US and the Brotherhood act as enforcers and sometimes lauded as rogues by most civilians. But the truth is, the Slayers are humans turned into soulless demons by a great evil being bent on destroying the vampires. You will develop favorite characters among the Brotherhood and their friends and revile the Slayers as the aberrations they really are with Ward's careful story crafting.
9. Covet * (Fallen Angel series) by JR Ward. This series is in its infancy but I like it so far. It takes places in the same universe as the Blackdagger Brotherhood but follows Jim Heron, former special forces military man turned into the symbol for Good. As an angel, he and his buddies are given the charge saving souls to win the battle between Good and Evil once and for all. Each story follows Jim and his helpers in trying to sway a human towards making the right choices and falling on the side of Good. Some battles will be won, some will be lost. Jim has up to seven chances to save humanity from an eternity of pain and suffering. No pressure, Jim.
10. Kiss of Midnight %* (The Midnight Breed series) by Lara Adrian. Very similar to the Blackdagger Brotherhood series. In this case, the vampires are the offspring of a race of aliens that crashed to earth centuries ago. The offspring fought their sires in order to save humans from their savage nature, the same savage nature that the Breed males struggle to keep in check. Some psychically skilled human women can cross-breed with the Breed males. These women are marked with a crescent and tear birthmark and prized as a Breedmate. Each book follows one member of the the Order, the secret and highly trained collection of Breed men who hunt down Rogues preying on humans, as they find and bond with their Breedmates. At the same time, the Order is the only thing that stands between humans and a maniacal Breed male with a secret weapon. 
11. Storm Front % (Dresden files series) by Jim Butcher. Another favorite which we own the entire set of. Harry Dresden is a real honest to god wizard and PI who gets involved in cases involving vampires, werewolves, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and all kinds of fun stuff. Good mysteries.
12. Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera series) by Jim Butcher. Butcher's homage to JRR Tolkein's epic saga. A fantasy world were people command the elements of fire, earth, air, metal, water and wood. 
13. Daywalker (Dark Days series) by Jocelynn Drake. A vampire enforcer, Mira, becomes the hunted when a human with some special powers tracks her down. The Fae-like naturi want to use Mira to return to the human world. As the story develops, Mira and the human hunter, Danaus, have to trust each other to stop the naturi. 
14. Kitty and the Midnight Hour %+ (Kitty Norville ) by Carrie Vaughn. Kitty Norville did not want to be turned into a werewolf but she learns that she has to find her way whether she wanted it or not. Until she turns her late night radio show at the local station into a talk show about the 'things that go bump in the night.' She becomes an overnight sensation.. and the target of an assassin who wants to silence her for revealing the night creatures existence to the rest of the world. A bit whiny at times, but an exciting ride where you get introduced to creatures besides weres and the characters you do get introduced developed more depth. 
15. Halfway to the Grave %+ (Night Huntress series) by Jeaniene Frost. I started reading this series at book 2 or 3. Start at book 1 and it makes more sense. It is one of my more favorite series. Cat, the Red Reaper, Crawfield is a dhampire... half-human, half-vampire. Influenced by her mother's hatred of vampires, Cat decides to execute the undead one leech at a time... until she meets Bones. Forced to leave Bones or see him killed, Cat disappears from his life to head a secret government agency bent on policing the undead. The relationship between Cat and Bones is tortured and goes through many ups and downs through various books, but it's poignant at some points as Cat has to come to turns with deep-seeded beliefs and internal criticism. Books further in the series focus on side characters from the early books.
16. On the Edge + (The Edge series) by Ilona Andrews. I have only read book 1 so far but it's a great and original premise. The Edge is the physical place between the Broken (where no magic exists, in this case a small town in Georgia) and the Weird (a place of strong, sometimes dangerous, magic and with almost a feudal hierarchy). Rose meets Declan who brings with him strange happenings and threatens the simple life Rose has established with her two brothers. Fighting to keep things normal in her dysfunctional home, Rose has to turn to Declan for help from an evil that came from the Weird and is stalking her and her loved ones in the Edge. This looks a promising series. 
17. Touch the Dark % (Cassandra Palmer series) by Karen Chance. These books starts with action and don't let go throughout the book. Cassie Palmer is a powerful clairvoyant who is in hiding from her former vampire master. The vamps and others fight over her in order to have access to her considerable powers, especially when she inherits the ability to move through time and change events. Meanwhile, she is romantically pursued by the powerful vamp Mircea who claims he came protect her.
18. Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, dhampir, series) by Karen Chance. An adjunct series to the Cassandra Palmer series. Dorina Basarab is the daughter of Mircea. As a dhampir, she is outcast among the vampires but gives in when her father asks her to help contain or execute the mad and dangerous Dracula, her uncle. She has to use all her mercenary and magical skills to keep herself and her unwanted partner, Louis-Cesar, alive while taking down Vlad.
19. A Quick Bite %* (The Argeneau Vampires series) by Lynsay Sands. A new series for me but a long standing one with over a dozen books. It follows a family of vampires and their friends. In this series, vampires prefer to be called immortals and hare made so by nanos that feed off of the body's blood to repair injury to the body from sun damage to mortal injuries on a human. Each other stories follows one of the immortals as he or she finds a life partner, the one being whose mind they cannot read. Sometimes the life partner is mortal and has to decide whether to be turned, others are immortals as well. 
20. Magic Bites (Kate Daniels series) by Ilona Andrews. This is an urban paranormal series based in Atlanta, Georgia, were tech and magic do not mix. A cataclysmic event has caused magic to fluctuate, knocking out technology like phones and cars. Sometimes the tech springs to life and those with magic struggle. Kate Daniels is a mercenary with magical abilities who gets drawn into were and vampire politics when she tries to find out who killed her guardian. A little anti-climatic at the end, but an interesting premise and read.
21. Beyond the Night %* (Envy series) by Joss Ware. Another interesting series. A huge cataclysm has changed the face of earth forever. A few survivors pull together in the town of Envy (N.V. or Las Vegas) while resisting the power of the Strangers, a group of humans who are now powerful and immortal. Four men who'd survived the apocalypse by being is stasis for 50 years in a cave, have special abilities that help the resistance against the Strangers and help fight of gangas, zombies who seem to be controlled by the Strangers.
22. Blood Brothers %* (Sign of Seven Trilogy) by Nora Roberts. One of Nora Roberts paranormal series. Three boys with different backgrounds are drawn into a metaphysical battle when they are young. One day every 7 years, their down goes crazy, people set fire to the school, attack each other and sometimes kill others or themselves for no good reason. With the help of three woman new to town, the men and woman join up to fight all ancient evil that wants to take over them as well as their town. Each has a special psychic ability to help in the battle and the men and women pair up to strengthen those skills.
23. Morrigan's Circle %* (The Circle Trilogy) by Nora Roberts. Another paranormal series from Roberts. This one bridges the modern world of New York and Ireland as well as the mythical land of Geall. Morrigan's legend says that six people will team up to stop an ancient vampire named Lilith from taking over the world with her blood-sucking children. Each of the books follows a pair in the group who develop a romance despite conflicting natures, danger and self-doubts until the final confrontation with Lilith and her army. Roberts always provides a good read but this is one of my favorites from her.
24. Shapechanger's Song (Chronicles of the Cheysuli Omnibus 1) by Jennifer Roberson. If you like JRR Tolkien and epic sagas, this one is riveting the whole way through (8 books worth). This is a very complex world with the human-like Homana and shape-changing Cheysuli. The two cultures are similar to how the early English settlers invaded the land and then marginalized the Native Americans. The books follow the reconciliation of the cultures through allegiances and marriages and how they must band together to fight a growing threat. But in order to banish the threat of evil from the land, Homanans and Cheysuli may have to embrace their long-time enemy.

Sexy and Steamy Reads

1. Full Moon Rising *+ (Riley Jensen Guardian series) by Keri Arthur. A dhampyre (half vampire, half werewolf) and her brother are working for the agency that polices the non-human citizens in Australia. 
2. Blue Moon *+ (Nightcreature series) by Lori Handeland. A secret government agency is trying to track down and kill werewolves but it turns out that not all werewolves are bad people.
3. Any Given Doomsday *+ (The Phoenix Chronicles series) by Lori Handeland. In a race against time, a psychic is given the responsibility for saving the world from vampires and other nasties.
4. Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mystery series) by Charlaine Harris. Sookie Stackhouse is a telepath in small town Louisiana  shortly after the "Great Reveal" when vampires make themselves know to humanity. She becomes embroiled with vampire, shifter, were and faerie politics.
5. Pleasure Unbound %* (Demonica series ) by Larissa Ione. An instant favorite. The author explains that her idea came from watching the TV series Angel and wondering what if the demons had their own doctors, hospital and world parallel to the human one. The books follow siblings who are Seminus, or sex, demons, their struggles with the Aegis, the human group that hunts and kills all demons, and their own rogue brother bent on revenge. The first book follows Eiodolon, Seminus demon, doctor and founder of Underworld General Hospital, and Tayla, a human woman working for Aegis. Tayla has to come to terms with the fact that not all demons are bad and need killing while at the same time falling for the head demon himself. Each Seminus sibling has a unique gift that makes relationships difficult and they have to find ways to win love and keep it close without killing it. 
6. A Hunger Like No Other *+ (Immortals After Dark series) by Kresley Cole. A clever twist on mythology and myth. In this series, all mythological creatures (werewolves, vampires, Fae) as well as gods and goddesses combine into the Lore, the magical world that exists alongside humans. In the first book, half-vampire, half-valkyrie Emmaline encounters Lachlain, clan leader for the Lycae (werewolves) after Lachlain has been held for centuries in perpetual torture for centuries by a demented vampire. But with Emma as his one and only mate, Lachlain has to reconcile his hatred of vampires with his need for Emma. Each story follows one of the valkyrie sisters and various Lore males.
7. Guilty Pleasures * (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, series) by Laurell K. Hamilton. The earlier books in the series are the better ones, in my opinion; and there are like 20 books in the series now. They have consistent plots and more substance than the middle ones that start with a story and devolve int o sex and vampire politics. Anita Blake's world is a world where vampires and weres are out and zombie raising is an occupation. Anita Blake is the first real necromancer in over a hundred years. She raises zombies for a living and attracts the attention of Jean-Claude, the vampire Master of St. Louise, and eventually becomes his human servant. Each story follows Anita coming to terms with the new phases of her life and powers. Be aware - there is orgiastic sex and graphic details of oral sex. Not a bad thing, just a warning.
8. A Kiss of Shadows * (Meredith Gentry series) by Laurell K. Hamilton. I like this series better than Anita Blake, but it is new and doesn't have as many books yet. Meredith Gentry is the first American fairy princess, hiding in LA after an assimilation attempt from her aunt, the Dark Queen. The series follows Merry's discovery by the Unseelie, her subsequent welcoming back into the fold and her struggle for survival in the cutthroat political atmosphere of the Fae. 
9. Second Sight * (The Arcane Society series) by Amanda Quick/Jayne Anne Krentz. This series bounces between the origin of the Arcane Society in Victorian England and modern day around the USA. The Arcane Society was developed to coordinate and catalog psychic abilities. Over time, the Jones & Jones investigation agency is developed as an independent off-shoot of the Arcane Society. The books focus on men and women of different psychic abilities as they investigate crimes and conspiracies. 

Funny and Quick Reads

1. Undead and Unwed *+ (Queen Besty series) by MaryJanice Davidson. A modern blond shoe-aholic becomes queen of the dead. It follows her reluctance to lead her people, an uneasy truce with the werewolves and the discovery of her half-sister, the daughter of Satan. Despite her bubble-headedness, Betsy has to learn to lead the vamps or face horrific future.
2. Fish out of Water + (Fred the Mermaid series) by MaryJanice Davidson. A half human, half mermaid marine biologist who is allergic to seafood and gets seasick has to help her mer-people. It's a cute and fluffy series that tries to bring in some political turmoil among the mer-people.
3. Hello, Gorgeous! *+ (The Gorgeous Series) by MaryJanice Davidson. About an organization of super secret spies, 2 of which have nanobots in them that make them super-human.

From Laura Holst:

Cheyenne McCray (Urban Fantasy Fairies)

Melanie Jackson (Urban Fantasy Mythic)

Angela Knight (Urban Fantasy Romance, Arthurian Vampires)

Spider and Jean Robinson (StarDance Trilogy)

Marjorie M. Liu (Urban Fantasy, Shapeshifters)

Vicki Pettersson (Signs of the Zodiac)

Andre Norton (Witch World)

Mercedes Lackey (Valdemar and Diane Tregarde)

C.T. Adams (Urban Shapeshifters)

Vicious Circle (Persephone Alcmedi, Book 1)

Getting Your Writing Published for Free

The May Fullerton Writers Meetup topic, “Making your writing pay. Multi-channel marketing for today’s writer” was especially timely and interesting. As I take creative writing courses and focus on my goal of becoming a published author, I’m learning much from people who are in the industry. Some of it has dampened my spirit but not completely burst my bubble. I’m getting better informed and revising my plans but not abandoning hope altogether.

The focus of this meetup get-together was how to use existing systems to establish a platform for your writing and then market to it. Teresa Truijillo led the discussion. She has been in the printing and publishing industry for thirty years and works with writers to polish their writing and find their niche. According to her, there are 15,000 organizations that will pay for submissions. That means there is a market out there; it’s a matter of working your way into them.

It’s important for writer’s today to create their own fanbase or market before gaining the interest of a publishing house. Each book on the market only sells around 3500 copies and authors make a (small) percentage of the sale price. Thus, selling one book is not a way to get rich quick. The more prolific writers and best-selling authors make money over time, as a function of the collective percentage gained through sales.

Once you use some of the frees tools, you can create a writing resume in anticipation of submitting a manuscript to a publisher. The most successful way to do that is to break down and contact a literary agent once your manuscript has been edited and proofread. That means hiring an copy editor for the best results. Teresa plans to make hiring an agent the topic of next month’s meetup. However, she did make it clear that a reputable agent will not charge you except for postage and copying.

Here are some free ways to promote your writing and get paid before hiring that agent and making the rounds to publishing houses. If you have other suggestions, please add them.

CreateSpace - CreateSpace from Amazon.com allows you self-publish by uploading articles, chapters of books or complete books for free. The public can download these items for a fee you set. Earn money from royalties without having to pound the pavement or send out proposals. https://www.createspace.com/

Pubit! Barnes and Noble offers it’s own version of e-publishing which distributes directly to the Nook market. http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home

Smashwords! Another free e-publishing and distribution platform. Authors control all areas from sampling to pricing. Smashwords changes constantly with user feedback. http://www.smashwords.com/about

A few others or do your own Google search for “free-publishing”:
Lulu.com
HiddenCave
EServer for arts and humanities articles, free of charge

Exercise: Why and Why Not to Write

Open a new document and title it I Want to Write Because . . . . Set your timer for three minutes. During that time, I want you to write down as many reasons as you can that describe why you want to write. Maybe it makes you feel good. Maybe you like giving limericks to people in birthday cards. Maybe it creates a sense of history for you. List all of the reasons you can think of in three minutes.

For the second part of this first exercise, you will consider the negative side of the question. On the same document, drop down and add a new heading called I Don't Want to Write Because . . . .

Give yourself three minutes to write down every reason that you don't want to write. Perhaps you're too busy. Maybe sometimes you're embarrassed by what you write. Put down as many reasons as you can. Set your timer, and do it now.

These contrasting lists can help you discover how you may be stopping yourself. Reflect on the reasons that you do and do not want to write. Are they valid? Are you stuck with them? How much choice do you have? Where do these thoughts and feelings come from? Is there a sum or conclusion that comes out of combining the two lists?

1. I Want to Write… I want to write because it makes me feel good. I love coming up with new expressions, being a word smith, creating contrasts people haven’t thought of before and coming up with characters and plots that are intriguing. I like the positive feedback, the feeling that people are getting something from what I write. But I would write even without people reading. I need a creative outlet and I let this shut down for so long I forgot how much more complete I am when I am creating, writing, talking to others with similar ideas, sharing ideas, feeding the creative mind. Once I start doing it, I want more, want to write more, want to network more, chat with more people, read and share back and forth. it feeds into itself. The more we do, the more we want to. In some ways I want to write because I feel personal pride when I do. It’s embarrassing also sometimes that I feel as strongly as I do. But that is for next assignment.

2. I Don’t Want to Write... I don’t want to write because I am embarrassed of people reading my stuff. What if they don’t like it, what if they think I suck? I also am afraid of being redundant, coming up with the same old stuff, no new ideas and all that. I would be happy with an old idea, new twist. I am afraid to have people read my writing and make judgements on me personally. Writing is very personal, it exposes what you believe inside. I don’t like to expose myself. I hate being affected by people’s criticisms and keep catching myself doing that. I don’t want to write because it is too personal, even the fictional stuff. There are elements of me in all the characters, in all the scenes, pieces doled out and put on display. For people to pick that apart if disturbing and frightening.

3. Conclusions... Both responses are based on how others react, others’ feelings about what I write. As Howard Roark says, “Either you believe in something or you don’t – you can’t have it both ways and be honest with yourself.” So the question is - Do I believe I am a writer? Not a good writer, just a writer.

At the moment I am having a crisis of employment, you could say. My boss is retiring at the end of July, the Dean is planning on making changes to the International side which I work for. He has been planning that forever though, so who knows if it will happen. I’m not adverse to being moved around but what usually happens in you are just told “This in your new station and job. Enjoy” without warning or explanation. That is what happened to me last time and I knew something was up but no one would say anything to me. That’s what chaps my hide the most. I know things changes, an organization changes. But don’t treat me like a blind child.

I started to look at this job as a means to an end... It would bring income while I honed my writer’s craft. Taking this class and talking to classmates as well as talking to another writer friend online about how she is pursuing journalism online as a career, I don’t know how much I need this job, especially for the headache it is sometimes dealing with personalities and internal politics. I mean, it really bothers me that two of the highest level execs are screwing around and everyone pretends it’s not happening. There is something morally wrong with that.

Anyway, now I am feeling restless. I’ve been thinking of a plan to do more writing and maybe get paid for it. I’m not sure about getting paid to blog and all that, but I like editing and have seen some jobs on Craig’s list and Freelance Writing Jobs that would allow me to do that and make a little side money. So here is what I was thinking:

1. Clean up my fan fiction for grammar, typos and facts. I still have errors after reading parts over. I really do suck at editing my own stuff. But I want to use the info on my writing resume and I can’t apply for a copy editing job and have mistakes all over my writing!

2. Revise my resume for writing, list all writing, paid or non.

3. Scope Craig’s list and Freelance Writing Jobs for copy editing, editing jobs. Go for about $3 per 100 words.

4. Use the income from these jobs to pay for additional online classes.

Lesson 11 - Interview questions

Copy the 20 sentences below into a document called My Interview Questions. Take time to write thoughtful answers to each question as if you need to help me capture the essential reality of who you are so that I can depict you accurately. Pretend that you and I are face to face, speaking to each other.

1. How would you describe yourself in three sentences?
I’ve had to think about this as I write profiles for a blog, a book review, etc. Nothing ever seems just right.

I’m a 39 wife and mother to two great step children. I’m a writer and enjoy networking with others of like minds.

2. What have you done that you are proud of?
I wrote a fan fiction that I am sill enormously proud of. I still reread it and make changes and corrections to it. It’s given me the power to get back into writing. I’m proud that I waited to marry a man I could love and respect and would let me be myself but be partner too.

3. Do you have any bad habits?
Lots of them! Most especially procrastination and a tendency towards reclusiveness.

4. How do you feel about the way you look?
I honestly don’t like the way I look. I’m too heavy, not toned, have always battled acne even at my age. I’m unconcerned about clothes and shoes (to the dismay of my husband and mother-in-law).

5. What kind of work do you do?
I work in an office now, 8-5. Most of what I do uses my organizational skills, my ability to project into the future, communication skills. Some of it is repetitive while other parts are always changing.

6. How do you feel about your parents?
Lots of mixed feelings on this end. Only within the last few years have my father and I gotten a long. It’s like once I got married, we finally had something in common. My mom I have a lot of guilt over. We were estranged for a long time and I hadn’t realized what a resource she was in my life. Now she is terminally ill and we have reconciled but there is some of me that can’t go back to the way things were before the estrangement. Especially now that I will lose her permanently.

7. How do you feel about each of your siblings?
Again, mixed feelings. My sister is 10 years older than I am and moved out of the house when I was 6. We didn’t get to know each other until we were adults. She’s made a lot of choices in her life that I wouldn’t have made and I get tired of listening to her place blame for those choices on others.

8. What's your attitude toward money?
Like money but hate bills. It’s been especially hard since I changed jobs and lost about $800 a month income. My husband and I are both bad about budgeting and seem to never get around to it. That shows both our attitudes.

9. Tell me about your childhood in one paragraph.
I have a really hard time remembering my childhood most of the time and what I remember, isn’t pretty. Running away from home for a few hours when I was about 8, trying to commit suicide on the playground, my mother chasing my sister with a butcher knife... There are some vague happy memories especially after my mother got sober and after my parents divorced; going for a driving vacation along the 101 highway with mom and her friend, a birthday at Magic Mountain, another at Disneyland . By then I was starting to be a teenager though, so not quite a child.

10. What's your philosophy of life?
Live life by your own rules. As long as you don’t hurt others, do what you will.

11. How do you like to spend your free time?
Reading mostly, that’s part of the repulsiveness. Spending time with friends, hiking, writing, watching TV, spending time with my husband.

12. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

1. To get my novel published and have positive feedback about it.

2. To live life without fear

3. To be my own person and react less to criticisms even well-meaning ones.

13. What kinds of people do you dislike?
Intolerant people. I like to say I can’t tolerate intolerance.

14. What do you do when you're upset?
Shut down. Usually I get really quiet. It’s when I journal most. It’s taken me a lot of work to voice when I am upset to my husband.

15. Who are your heroes?
Those people who live/d their life without asking for permission or forgiveness... Malcolm X, Howard Rourke from the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, religious/spiritual folks whose words resonate with me - Morpheus Ravenna, Orion Foxwood, Caroline Myss, T. Thorn Coyle.

16. What are some of your favorite expressions?
“Some mornings it’s not worth chewing through the straps.” Emo Williams (I think)
“Well-behaved women rarely make history.” Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

17. What is a common posture for you when you sit?
Slumped over the keyboard. :)

18. What is your attitude when you meet new people?
It depends. If I am in situation where I know some people, I can be open and smiling. At work and in situations where I don’t know anyone, I am pretty wary. Because I am Wiccan, I sometimes have to be careful around new people and censor myself more.

19. What distinguishing habits of speech do you have?
I use the vocabulary I know. I use words like “incongruous” not to show I I know big words, but because that in the precise word for my meaning. It means not harmonious. “Mismatched” doesn’t convey quite the same idea.

20. How do you feel when socializing?
Awkward. I don’t like people easily. I have been told I am stand-offish. I think I am more easy going online. Again, because my spiritual and religious practice takes up a large part of my thoughts, time and energy, it’s important to me and if someone is going to bash me for it, I don’t need to know them. Not to say that all my friends are pagan. I have Christian friends and we get along well. We may even talk religion, but I accept I am not going to change their opinions, and they won’t change mine. But to me, it’s stimulating to share ideas and learn more about what’s important to each other that way.

Lesson 10 - Questions about my progress

Share some thoughts about how your piece is coming. Here are some questions to get you thinking. Read other students' submissions and offer helpful comments.

Did you have trouble getting started?

No. For this story I started with the beginning like you mentioned in this lesson. It was one sentence that started the rest - I was born in pain. The character developed from that, trying to think the being and context that sentence fit. The rest of the imagery came to me. While taking this class, the plot has emerged. I had a vague idea and thought that through writing it would emerge.

What problems are you having?

Having the time to download what is in my brain! I have a scattering of scenes I want to write out, but the majority of the story is still unwritten. I’m not sure if that is a problem. As I start writing it all out, the other pieces may come to me. That’s my experience from the past.

Have you made any interesting connections? (If this question confuses you, see Lesson 6, Chapter 3.)

I was thinking about using the rebirth imagery but not sure yet.

Has putting more time into your writing helped?

Yes, it has made me appreciate that I need to do a little every day. Some days that just means I think through things and never have time to sit at a computer or jot on a notepad. I have bought myself a writing journal that I add tidbits too. That has helped.

How do you feel now that you're writing a short creative piece?

Motivated, jazzed. I wish there were more hours in the day and my energy level was always high. Some people only need 4 hours of sleep... I am not one of them.

Lesson 9 Motivation exercise

1. Pick a goal from your ideal future book chapters.

2. Imagine that the terms of your life have radically changed.

3. Make a list of steps you need to achieve your goal in the next 12 months.

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This is a really good exercise. It reminds me of when I was teaching business writing and made my students create employment portfolios. These sophomore and junior students thought that they would graduate and magically get a job paying $50,000/year, buy a house with a white picket fence and drive a BMW. When I asked them “How do you plan to get there?” they look dumbfounded. Like by virtue of the fact that they went to college and they were who they were, a company would come crawling to offer them a job. Yea, right. You and every other recent graduate who is wet behind the ears is exactly what the biggest name, largest paying companies want to hire.

So we would set that pipe-dream as a goal and then backtrack with the question “Who do you get from where you are now to there?” and then they realized there was more work involved on their part. Of course, I didn’t even think about applying this concept to my writing. Duh! LOL