Hey, gang! I wanted to jump on here and thank all of you who pitched in for my W4WS efforts this week. It was an amazing few days of excitement, and was a good reminder for me that no matter what kind of ugliness the world demonstrates, the beauty of simple kindness always overshadows it.
It also once again left me wondering what I'd done to deserve the kind of support y'all continue to show me. You're fantastic, and if I had to do this writing 'thing' tomorrow without you or not at all, I think I'd choose 'not at all'.
Enough of my sappiness--how about some news?
First, blogger-writer-publicspeaking wizard, L. Diane Wolf, gave me a shout out on her blog--for being helpful to others, no less. I was thrilled to be mentioned with some of MY sharing role rolemodels in this writing-blogging scene, but was mostly just like, "You think I'm a helpful guy? You should see my friends!" *see above sappiness* You can read it HERE. (And follow LD if you don't already--she rocks.)
Second, one of my personal author heroes, Brinda Berry, shared me on her blog, not once, but twice this week! I think Brinda is awesome, but a little crazy for talking about me on multiple days. (We're trying to INCREASE traffic by blogging, B, not frighten folks off with talk of crazy, bearded people :D)
The first post mentioned my W4WS shenanigans. The second was for her A to Z 'N' day.
She chose 'New Adult Literature' (NA). As you all know, I'm fairly crazy about the subject, so I suppose it was fitting she threw my name/work out. But honestly, it mostly just surprised (and honored) the heck out of me.
Apparently, Brinda read my little story, Blood Fugue, on a recent vacation (yes, we're ALL jealous of you now, B) and reviewed it on Goodreads. In short, she enjoyed it, and was pleased to find a New Adult story that wasn't Contemporary Romance. (Note: The Moonsongs books are definitely NOT Contemporary Romance.)
Anyway, it was fitting, because my first post as an official member of the NA Alley Blog was also this week, and I basically blogged about the EXACT same thing.
NA is evolving into so much more than some kind of sexified, sub-genre of YA, and I hope I can reflect that a little with my writing and actions.
You can read my inaugural NAAB post HERE. (And I'd love for y'all to follow me over there, too.)
FINALLY, and also on the NA front, if you're at all interested in checking out what all the fuss is about, or generally want to pick some brains about the category, tonight is the night for you!
The first ever 'NA Super-Chat' is going down, and it's a coordinated effort to bring three of the larger online NA communities together: The New Adult Authors G+ Community, The NA Lit Chat Twitter group (yes, I'm still doing that thing, too lol), and NA Alley.
It'll involve a combination of a live G+ Hangout (with yours truly on air with others) AND the usual #NALitChat Twitter chat. If you take part and follow the Twitter discussion, you'll be able to ask questions and comment to the G+ panel in real time, and we'll be responding on air.
Cool, right? You'll find all the details HERE. But basically, just be free at 9 PM EST tonight, log onto Twitter and follow the #NALitChat convo, then hop over to the New Adult Authors G+ Community. (There'll be a link up there to watch/listen to the hangout.)
Would love to 'see' you all there if you have some free time. (Quit laughing... we all remember what free time was like. *scrunches brow pondering* It was fun... oh yes, we likes it, Precious.)
~EJW~
Showing posts with label A to Z. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A to Z. Show all posts
My A-Z Plans & New(s) Adult
Winner! Winner!
My A to Z Plan... or Lack Thereof
Hey gang! April is nigh, and that means the A to Z blogfest is getting ready to explode our inboxes and web readers. It's a great bit of fun, but an extremely nuts time for those who participate.
I've decided to abstain this year as I'm very busy preparing my third Moonsongs book for launch (coming very soon!), prepping my home and family to relocate across the country in June, and adapting to some exciting new blog/writing opportunities. (More on that below...)
So what's my A-Z plan, then? To support you all, of course! Almost every blogger I follow is doing A-Z, so I'm going to spend my time commenting on and sharing your posts. As a result, this blog will be pretty quiet in April.
But you'll probably still be able to find me around the blog world...
New(s) Adult
If you've been following this blog very long, it's no secret that I'm a fan of New Adult literature. I love the idea of creating stories specifically for the 18 to 20-something crowd. It's a time in life when folks are truly just figuring out adulthood. They're actively conquering life and, sometimes, life is conquering them.
Being that age often means struggling to find a career or an identity in the professional world. It can also mean a lot of exploration in relationships with a freedom and responsibility not experienced in the teenage years.
In short, it's a dynamic life stage. A stage that was very meaningful to me personally, and one I think deserves some real attention from both readers and storytellers alike.
I truly believe it's not a category of literature that simply should exist, it's a category that demands to exist. (And does now!) That passion is what led me into the New Adult community online.
How I got into NA
Just under a year ago I was totally floored to find this blog of New Adult writers and enthusiast called NA Alley Blog. At the time, I had no idea there was a name for the kinds of stories I mentioned above. I just knew I was writing them, and that I wanted to read more like them.
After visiting with NAAB, an idea was hatched to start a weekly New Adult chat on Twitter. So I did.
I honestly figured it would just be me and those enthusiastic ladies from NA Alley doing all of the chatting at these things. People in publishing circles were still very uneasy with the concept of New Adult, it seemed, and considering I'd just heard of the term myself, I couldn't imagine there'd be much interest.
I was very, very wrong.
The chat was an instant hit, and thanks to the support/knowledge of the folks at NA Alley, it became a real resource for the NA community. We had authors of all kinds, readers of all kinds, editors, etc. stopping in to chat with us on a regular basis. Word of mouth spread, and within weeks we were regularly trending on the BIG Twitter lists.
Amazing!
I'm proud to say that the chat is still going strong (we'll celebrate our first birthday in July), and has grown into quite a 'thing'. I still host most Thursday nights, but have been able to tap into a network of professionals who are eager to share their expertise with New Adult writers. So you never know who'll be around!
Meanwhile, New Adult has also become quite a thing. Publishers are eagerly looking for it, big time media is starting to investigate it, and readers are snapping it up.
And I truly think it only goes up from here.
My next role in the NA movement is...
That's why I was so thrilled to apply to be, and subsequently be accepted (last week!) as an official contributor to NA Alley Blog. These are the folks who got me into NA, the people I turned to for NA answers, and now I get to be a part of that for others.
As part of NA Alley Blog I'll have a special opportunity to share my--hopefully--unique voice with a diversity of writing and reading communities. I'll do my best to bring energy, fun, and encouragement as well.
I'll be blogging about NA centric things over there on a regular basis, as well as taking part in the various activities and initiatives on that front. I'll be sharing that stuff with you all, of course, but this blog will still be my own--for better or worse. :)
I'll be busy, and it may take me a while to figure out how to mange three blogs/endeavors (I'm still running the NA Lit Chat blog). But I hope you'll stick around to see where this latest adventure takes me. Who knows, maybe you'll even join me on the NA front?
A Special Thank You
I want to publicly thank Alex Cavanaugh and P.K. Hrezo for endorsing my application. If you know them (how could you not), you know they're special people in our writing community. They're great ambassadors for what we all do and aspire to do as writers online. They operate with a class, thoughtfulness, and spirit of community that is hard to find in my 'real life' relationships, much less from people I've never met face-to-face.
It's the spirit of people like P.K. and Alex I hope I bring to the NA community, so they were naturally the first people I approached to write me notes of recommendation for the NAAB position.
Just as naturally, I suppose, they said yes. :) In the end, they are more than role models, they are people I'm proud to call friends. And I hope they would consider me the same.
~EJW~
A-Z Writer's Toolbox: Denial
A to Z Disclaimer:
Like all craftspeople, writers need to keep a bag of tricks handy. A set of tools for the job m (writing), if you will. Some of these traits or tools are obvious--like the need to have a hide as thick as a brick, for instance. Some are not. This month, I've been challenged to do a post every day of the week (excluding Sunday) that begins with a letter of the alphabet. I'm going to use this challenge to examine some of those necessary writing tools, both conventional and not. Hold on to your #2 pencil, here we go!
NOTE: I've added a page dedicated to my A to Z Writer's Toolbox posts. I figured I'd soon have a bunch of these things and it'll make it easier for you to browse any of the letters you might have missed. You can find a link to the page under the, "MORE STUFF" heading at the top of the right-hand column of this page.
D is for denial
When faced with great odds, great people routinely ignore them. Like a dog will seek out a sliver of sunlight on the floor to warm in, survivors and thrivers will find the slimmest bits of hope to cling to in times of trial. As unusual as it sounds, denial is the stuff of success and champions.
"Never tell me the odds!" ~ Han Solo, The Empire Strikes Back
Why Writers Need to Burry Their Heads in the Sand:
Writing has always been a game for dreamers and explorers. History has taught us that players in those types of games don't always succeed. The Spanish explorers never found that city of gold, and most of the people who moved to California for the "Gold Rush" were poorer for their efforts.
Perhaps the most vexing question facing all writers is: Will the hours you devote to mining for creative gold yield anything but eyestrain, sore fingers and a caffeine addiction?
If you write long enough, there'll be loads of people who will try to convince you that it's an ultimately fruitless activity. A hobby to be done between more serious pursuits. After all, who would devote weeks, months and maybe even years to something that could potentially earn them not a dime? Children and crazy people, that's who.
"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt." ~ Mark Twain
And those are just the people who know nothing about publishing! The outlook isn't much rosier coming from people who've actually been there, done that. If you follow agent blogs and listen to the chatter of other writers, you know the immeasurable odds of getting the attention of professional eyes, much less their endorsement. Sadly, it seems the opportunities for traditional publishing are diminishing. Bookstores are closing, and the publishing giants are feeling the financial squeeze of a new world economy, simply struggling to find their place in the modern reading world. Increasingly, new authors are often seen as a risk, not an investment.
So why do we continue to write when logic, time and finances are against us? For me, it's because I still believe that my next word will be the profound one. That my next sentence will be the one that an entire story is built upon. That my next paragraph will be the one that no one else could craft. That my next story will be the one that people will clamor to read.
Maybe that's denial, or maybe I'm just blissfully unaware. Either way, not regularly staring down the odds has allowed me to write with more confidence and purpose. So the next time someone asks me about how difficult it is to get published, I think I'll just tell them I'm not sure and keep writing.
"I have a very highly developed sense of denial." ~ Gwyneth Paltrow
~EJW~
P.S. ~ I quoted Han Solo, Mark Twain AND Gwyneth Paltrow today ... did I mention I'm really enjoying this A-Z thing? :-)
A-Z Writer's Toolbox: Camaraderie
UPDATE:
This post made the Publishing Daily TwitterZine. Lots of great articles, be sure to check it out!
A to Z Disclaimer:
Like all craftspeople, writers need to keep a bag of tricks handy. A set of tools for the job at hand (writing), if you will. Some of these traits or tools are obvious--like the need to have a hide as thick as a brick, for instance. Some are not. This month, I've been challenged to do a post every day of the week (excluding Sunday) that begins with a letter of the alphabet. I'm going to use this challenge to examine some of those necessary writing tools, both conventional and not. Hold on to your #2 pencil, here we go!
NOTE: I've added a page dedicated to my A to Z Writer's Toolbox posts. I figured I'd soon have a bunch of these things and it'll make it easier for you to browse any of the letters you might have missed. You can find a link to the page under the, "MORE STUFF" heading at the top of the right-hand column of this page.
C is for camaraderie
Writing is a solitary business. It is a process of cajoling, teasing and forcing things that--taken individually--are nothing but shapeless vapors wafting in our minds, and forming them into a cohesive substance that can be handled by all. If a medium is a material with which an artist works to make her creations, then I might argue that writing is the only form of art with no true medium.
A painter cannot color with language. A sculptor cannot chisel memories. A composer cannot sound notes with mental images. Yet, given enough time and study, a writer can use those things to construct entire worlds. Not surprisingly, this process doesn't lend itself to teamwork.
Isaac Asimov once said, "Writing is a lonely job. Even if a writer socializes regularly, when he gets down to the real business of his life, it is he and his type writer or word processor. No one else is or can be involved in the matter."
So why am I suggesting that you can't do it alone?
Camaraderie, as defined by Webster's, is a spirit of friendly good-fellowship. Only a dog knows the joys of chasing one's own tail, and the sadness of seeing an owner walk out the door alone. Similarly, only another writer will understand how a single story can devour 4 years of your life, or how soul-destroying a simple 'no thanks' can be when it comes from THE agent.
Like a tornado needs a trailer park, we need each other, if for no other reason than to provide some form of focus to a seemingly chaotic act. Writer friends will be there to commiserate your disappointments, to celebrate your accomplishments, to cheer your progress and jeer when your writing sags. All the while, they'll be pushing you to dig deeper and to express more by saying less.
If you don't have any writer friends, make some. (I'd recommend Meetup.com or any of the popular writing community websites. Heck, you could even start a writing blog! :-) No tool will be more valuable to your writing abilities, or your sanity.
~EJW~
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