Tag Archives: United States

Flash Fiction Friday on Wednesday: After the lights go out

Posted on October 24, 2012 | 7 comments

If you are looking for the Spooky Halloween blog hop, click HERE

Yay!  I’m back doing five minute flash again.  I think my brain was broken for a while.

Now… I’m not going to say this is rocket science or anything, but I did write it in five minutes.

Gregg waited for the lights to go out before slipping on his black gloves.  With a deep breath, he pulled the dark hood out of his sack and slid the heavy fabric over his head.  The smell of sour sauce tingled his nose, a memory of his dinner earlier in the day.

.
He slipped from behind the car, and checked the street.  A cat chased a rabbit across the pavement, the pair disappearing beneath the neighbor’s fence.  They were his only witnesses.

.

Gregg crouched down, and hung beside a gravestone, eyeing his goal:  The impenetrable doorway at the top of the long stairs.  He slid from the gravestone, to a witch’s cauldron, inching closer.

Through the haunted house he scampered, just in time as the lights blared on.

“Gregg,” a woman’s voice called.

“Gregg, where are you?”

He pulled the scabbard from his sack, and jumped from the depths of the haunted house, screaming with glee.

“Trick or Treat!”

Oh!  Just for grins and giggles — Remember that Fluff article I wrote on Saturday?  John Holton sent me this wonderful old commercial for Fluff.  This is a little before my time, but it sure does make you hungry!

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Jon Gibbs’s Ten things I wish I knew… Final Thoughts – Thanks Jon!

Posted on September 21, 2012 | 15 comments

Here are a few quotes from Jon Gibbs that I thought were good little snippets everyone could use.

Thank you again, Jon, for your words of wisdom, and for going out of your way to help aspiring authors to Learn from your Mistakes

1.        Dealing with shyness – He is shy.  He is afraid of public appearances.  To get through it, he imagines his grandmother saying “Okay go home – you will disgrace all your ancestors but that’s fine.”  It helps him to trudge on.

2.       Figure out what works best for you and then do that a lot

3.       Write what you like, even if it seems out of date.  If you enjoy it, someone else will, too.

4.       Winning a contest (small) and putting it in your query letter makes you look like a newbie.  Major awards are okay, though.

5.       Writer’s digest may seem good, but you have to pay to submit.  Don’t pay to submit.

6.       Slush readers trash “Dark and stormy night” openers and don’t read to the next line.

7.       Jon learns more about writing listening to others critique his writing.

8.       Young Adult needs a romantic element to be marketable*

*This is what a publisher told Jon when he was selling Fur Face as YA.  However, a friend of mine was just asked by a publisher to remove the romantic element because it made them uncomfortable.  You never know.

Jon Gibbs is the author of one of my son’s favorite books:  FUR-FACE, which was nominated for a Crystal Kite Award.

Jon is an Englishman transplanted to New Jersey, USA, where he is an ‘author in residence’ at Lakehurst Elementary School.  Jon is the founding member of The New Jersey Author’s Network and FindAWritingGroup.com.

Jon blogs at jongibbs.livejournal.com

Website: www.acatofninetales.com

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Posted in Author Advice, Ten things I wish I knew

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The kid’s like a scary word genius or something, I swear. Oh, and a Review of the Hunger Games

Posted on September 13, 2012 | 24 comments

Wow.  Today the reports came back on reading levels, and the Monomaniacal Middle Grade Reviewer came in the highest in the school, reading at “above high school level”.  The kid’s ELEVEN!

Wasn’t a big surprise though.  He put The Hunger Games away in just a few days.  I downloaded the second book in the series for him, and two days later he was asking for the next one.  Huh?  Yeah, he finished it that fast, and I was still lurking in the first 100 pages of the first book.

Congrats, Dude!

Okay, on with his review of “The Hunger Games”

I cut out the end, but he gave it thirty stars out of a possible 5.

Hmmm.  Never said he was a math wiz, but he certainly liked this book. Here is the review with all his usual jovial flair.

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Jon Gibbs’s Ten things I wish I knew before I was published #9: Savor the Moment

Posted on September 7, 2012 | 18 comments

Be excited when your work gets accepted.

Allow yourself to be excited when someone says they like your novel.  Let that feeling of pride cover you for a while.  You deserve it.

Enjoy “nice” rejection letters.  Some will say they liked it but it was not a good fit for them.  Take that as a vote of confidence.  Hand written or personalized rejections mean you are doing well… they took the time to respond rather than sending out a form letter.  If they do this, they saw something of value in your work.

Rejection is inevitable.  It can make you sad.  When you get a little victory, remember to celebrate.  I recommend chocolate.  It always works for me!

Note:  The above are Jon Gibb’s main speaking points, with my rambling opinions attached.

Jon Gibbs is the author of one of my son’s favorite books:  FUR-FACE, which was nominated for a Crystal Kite Award.

Jon is an Englishman transplanted to New Jersey, USA, where he is an ‘author in residence’ at Lakehurst Elementary School.  Jon is the founding member of The New Jersey Author’s Network and FindAWritingGroup.com.

Jon blogs at jongibbs.livejournal.com

Website: www.acatofninetales.com

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The Big Announcement! Writing to a Deadline AGAIN #4 The Big Announcement!

Posted on September 1, 2012 | 47 comments

I am so excited to announce that I’ve just signed a contract with Still Moments Publishing to have my story Connect the Dots included in their 2012 Christmas Anthology.

This is totally unbelievable.  In January, I posted a big boisterous banner proclaiming that I WOULD BE PUBLISHED by the end of 2012.  It was quite a lofty goal for me, and now I will have two stories coming out this year.

I’m giddy with glee.

Hey, Canada.  Look South.  See that big bright light down in the USA?  That’s me smiling!

Oh, guys.  This is just so dern cool.  You have no idea.

Click here to see my query blurb and promo page for Connect the Dots.  Yeah, No explosions.  I was a good girl for Christmas.

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Posted in Road to Publication, Writing to a Deadline

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Jon Gibbs’s Ten things I wish I knew before I was published #8: Write what you know

Posted on August 31, 2012 | 20 comments

Write what you know / write what they know.

Look around to see who has just published a book in your genre that is doing well NOW. This will show you what the market is currently handling. If a story is in a magazine, it is good. They had to go through the same submission process you have. Look at what they did. How does it differ from yours? How is it the same?

I’ve been trying to take this advice. I look at novels published by a publishing house I am interested in, and many times I shake my head. It’s hard.

Since I submitted to an anthology recently, I decided to read one (I’ve never read an anthology before). I was surprised. The stories were more like excerpts than stand-alone stories, and two of them ended in a way that actually made me mad. (No ending)

Was I going to write my short like that? No way!

Also, people have noted lack of emotion in my characters. So I look for emotion in recently published work, and Dang it I can’t find any! I mean, I get an idea of how they feel, and I think I am doing the same thing. Ugh. I just don’t know sometimes.

It’s really hard to read something and translate it into your own work… But when I do read something I like, I highlight it for reference later. I do try to learn from anything good that I read. But I learn even more from the bad stuff I read 🙂

Note: The above are Jon Gibb’s main speaking points, with my rambling opinions attached.

Jon Gibbs is the author of one of my son’s favorite books: FUR-FACE, which was nominated for a Crystal Kite Award.

Jon is an Englishman transplanted to New Jersey, USA, where he is an ‘author in residence’ at Lakehurst Elementary School. Jon is the founding member of The New Jersey Author’s Network and FindAWritingGroup.com.

Jon blogs at jongibbs.livejournal.com

Website: www.acatofninetales.com

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Posted in Author Advice, Biggest Mistakes New Writers Make, General Writing Tips, Ten things I wish I knew

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Anyone interested in critiquing my first page live?

Posted on August 25, 2012 | 16 comments

Sorry for posting two times in one day, but I just found out that the first page of my WIP novel Fire in the Woods will be featured Sunday Night on Writer’s Chatroom for live critique.  **GACK**

I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m not sure what to expect.  I think my first page will pop up on the screen, people will be able to read it, and then BAM they get the chance to start ripping away.

Nervous?  Maybe a little.  It sounds like a neat opportunity to have multiple critiques on the most important page of my novel, though.

Want to check it out?  Tune in Sunday at 7:00 Eastern.  My first page will be the sixth work featured.

Here are the details:

WHEN?

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Eastern USA Time…..7 PM

Not sure what time that is wherever in the world you are?  http://www.worldtimeserver.com

WHERE?

The Writers Chatroom at:  http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm

Scroll down to the Java box. It may take a moment to load. Type in the name you wish to be known by, and click Login. No password needed.

See you there!

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Jon Gibbs’s Ten things I wish I knew before I was published #7: The Dreaded Excusitis

Posted on August 24, 2012 | 14 comments

Beware Excusitis, or Failure Disease.

“I would have been published, but…”

“I would have finished my novel but…”

Avoid people who are negative, because you may get caught up in it.  You know that negative guy in your writer’s group who thinks the whole industry is out to get them?  The one who self-published a book of haikus about his cat’s hair balls?  Can we get rid of that guy?

Focus on what you want… your goals, and don’t let anyone drag you away from them.  Surround yourself with positive people who will be there to pick you up when you fall.

Remember: the gut wrenching stab of a rejection letter is nature’s way of telling you that you are still in the running.  By in the running, I mean that you still care.  You still want to succeed.  The people who don’t give up are the ones who are the most successful.

Also, if you get rejections, don’t always think “it’s not me, it must be them”.  Remember to change your query or manuscript to get the best results.  If you are using the same query you wrote a year ago, maybe it is your query?  Maybe your synopsis is really poor?  Think that over.  Maybe you can make a small change that will fix everything.

For instance, Jon Gibbs was sending Fur Face to YA publishers.  After a long time, one of them was nice enough to tell him “This is really good, but it’s not YA.  It’s middle grade.”  Jon had no idea.  He submitted to a MG publisher, and Abracadabra!  Publication.  Sometimes you just need to change your thinking a bit.

Note:  The above are Jon Gibb’s main speaking points, with my rambling opinions attached.

Jon Gibbs is the author of one of my son’s favorite books:  FUR-FACE, which was nominated for a Crystal Kite Award.

Jon is an Englishman transplanted to New Jersey, USA, where he is an ‘author in residence’ at Lakehurst Elementary School.  Jon is the founding member of The New Jersey Author’s Network and FindAWritingGroup.com.

Jon blogs at jongibbs.livejournal.com

Website: www.acatofninetales.com

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Jon Gibbs’s Ten things I wish I knew before I was published #6: Belay that Opinion, Captain.

Posted on August 17, 2012 | 7 comments

Your writing is not as god or as bad as you think. If you think you are the best author out there, you probably aren’t. If you are sure you stink, you probably don’t. (At least maybe not as bad as you think)

You are probably somewhere in-between.  Even published authors are not the greatest writers ever.  They just came up with something that resonated with someone.

If you love what you do, move forward with it.  If you are good, someone will stand up and take notice.

Note:  The above are Jon Gibb’s main speaking points, with my rambling opinions attached.

Jon Gibbs is the author of one of my son’s favorite books:  FUR-FACE, which was nominated for a Crystal Kite Award.

Jon is an Englishman transplanted to New Jersey, USA, where he is an ‘author in residence’ at Lakehurst Elementary School.  Jon is the founding member of The New Jersey Author’s Network and FindAWritingGroup.com.

Jon blogs at jongibbs.livejournal.com

Website: www.acatofninetales.com

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I am Such a Stinking Idiot. I Swear!

Posted on August 15, 2012 | 60 comments

I’ve submitted two works in hopes of publication.  Last Winter Red was accepted, and will be published in December.  Yay!  But what was the other one?

The first writing I ever submitted was early this year.  It was a 2,000 word short-story for a magazine.

This magazine is very well-respected, and takes submissions until the end of January.  They choose the best out of the submissions to publish at different times during the year.

Their requirements were very clear.  It needed to be about a dog, the dog could not talk, and it had to be polished and ready for publication.

Hello, let me introduce myself.

I am an idiot

Well, heck, I had a story about a dog!  I ran it through some betas, worked it until I wanted to spit, and submitted it.

I never heard back from them.  Not a squeak.  And I can’t even say they didn’t get it, because I have a tracking number.  They got it.

I guess it’s okay that they didn’t respond.  They said they would only notify those who were chosen.

Anyway… I stewed over it for a while.  Why wasn’t mine good enough?

I read the magazine, and my story beginning might not have been a fit for their readers, but the ending sure was.  A story is a journey, right?  I just figured my beginning may have been the problem, and moved on.

A few months ago, my writers group announced that they would be publishing an anthology, and asked all members to consider submitting.  I thought about this 2,000 word story.  The chances that I would send it out to any other magazine were slim.

Soo….. I opened up my final submitted version, and gave it a read for the first time in four months.

My eyes widened after reading the second line.  No!  It can’t be!  I scanned back to the beginning, and started over.

Yes.  It can be.  Right there …  In the second stinking line.

A TYPO.

How the heck many times did I proofread this?  How many betas did I go through?  How much time expended?

A Typo.  Not just a typo.  A BIG BLARING TYPO!  So much for “Polished and ready for publication”.

Hello, let me introduce myself.  I am an idiot.  They probably never even read past the second line.

Yep, it’s me.  I am an idiot. Feel free to smack me. Ugh!

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Posted in Biggest Mistakes New Writers Make, General Writing Tips

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