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 thankful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thankful. Show all posts
A Writer Has A Lot To Be Thankful For
I wanted to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. Simple. But then the coffee hit my brain and I thought what do I--as a writer--have to be thankful for? Yeah, this could take a minute...
I published my first work this year. (Just a couple of months ago, in fact.) The nature of the story makes it something I'm not certain would've seen the light of day a few years ago. It's short, but long (a novelette, which is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella); it's written for/in a category that doesn't exist in some publishing circles (NA); and it's speculative (it crosses over a few genres--paranormal, horror, etc.). Basically, there isn't a shoebox to shove it in.
THANKFULLY, in this day and age I can build my own shoeboxes, and I'm certainly trying. I don't need permission to write and share things, just the desire to do it.
Writing can be a lonely business. It's difficult to share things after you've created them, and all but impossible to do so as you're creating them. We're those solitary kids in the sandbox, building fragile structures that are always grander in our minds. Try to ask us what we're up to, and we might just shush you and say, "Not so loud! It could fall over any second, and I want see how much I can build before it all goes away."
THANKFULLY, I'm never truly alone. I've met so many other writers online. People who do what I do, and struggle with the things I struggle with. Most of them are quick with an encouraging word when I need picking up, and heap inspiration into my world with the click of a mouse button. They're my homies--my peeps--and most days, they're all the company I need.
When I tell people I write fiction, a typical response is, "Man, I wish I could do that." My typical response is, "That's funny, because that's exactly how I got started. I wanted to do it." It goes deeper than that, sure, but the idea is a simple one: You must start before you can finish.
I'm THANKFUL every day that I started. Frustration bleeds out my ears at times, sure. Yes, feelings of inadequacy nip at my heels with every success, and damn near swallow me whole with the setbacks. But I'd never know the euphoria of seeing the view from the summit--a finished project--had I not endured the climb.
I've been to Jupiter, and it wasn't all that. I've killed a werewolf--and it was awesome! I saved the world three times last year. Impossible? For most, but not for me...
Writing means you have no boundaries. If it can be considered, it can be done. Good guys can be bad, bad guys can be good, and kids can save the adults. That's the true beauty of creating with words, and I'm THANKFUL for the freedom.
Those are just a few of a long list of things that crossed my mind this morning. What's on your 'thankful writer' list?
Hope you all have the happiest of Thanksgivings, and looking forward to finishing out the year on the other side amongst my many dear blog friends!
~EJW~
 |
| Photo courtesy of Pep Talk Polly, WANA Commons |
THANKFULLY, in this day and age I can build my own shoeboxes, and I'm certainly trying. I don't need permission to write and share things, just the desire to do it.
Writing can be a lonely business. It's difficult to share things after you've created them, and all but impossible to do so as you're creating them. We're those solitary kids in the sandbox, building fragile structures that are always grander in our minds. Try to ask us what we're up to, and we might just shush you and say, "Not so loud! It could fall over any second, and I want see how much I can build before it all goes away."
THANKFULLY, I'm never truly alone. I've met so many other writers online. People who do what I do, and struggle with the things I struggle with. Most of them are quick with an encouraging word when I need picking up, and heap inspiration into my world with the click of a mouse button. They're my homies--my peeps--and most days, they're all the company I need.
When I tell people I write fiction, a typical response is, "Man, I wish I could do that." My typical response is, "That's funny, because that's exactly how I got started. I wanted to do it." It goes deeper than that, sure, but the idea is a simple one: You must start before you can finish.
I'm THANKFUL every day that I started. Frustration bleeds out my ears at times, sure. Yes, feelings of inadequacy nip at my heels with every success, and damn near swallow me whole with the setbacks. But I'd never know the euphoria of seeing the view from the summit--a finished project--had I not endured the climb.
I've been to Jupiter, and it wasn't all that. I've killed a werewolf--and it was awesome! I saved the world three times last year. Impossible? For most, but not for me...
Writing means you have no boundaries. If it can be considered, it can be done. Good guys can be bad, bad guys can be good, and kids can save the adults. That's the true beauty of creating with words, and I'm THANKFUL for the freedom.
Those are just a few of a long list of things that crossed my mind this morning. What's on your 'thankful writer' list?
Hope you all have the happiest of Thanksgivings, and looking forward to finishing out the year on the other side amongst my many dear blog friends!
~EJW~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
FEED ME
Posts
All Comments