Today’s writing quote comes from William Faulkner…
Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
What’s in a Name?
May 29, 2012 at 1:00 am (Writing)
Tags: how to pick a character's name, naming your fiction characters, Writing, writing life
Last week I realized some of the names I’ve picked for my characters aren’t correct for the time period (1800′s) of my historical fiction. So, I’ve had to do some rethinking and lots of research to fix my earlier mistakes.
This got me to thinking…
How do you pick your character’s names? Do you look for the origin of the name? Do you search for deeper meanings of the name to match your character’s attributes?
Contest News and Links to Share
May 22, 2012 at 8:23 am (Writing)
Tags: how to pitch a novel, how to tune a guitar, how to write a query, plot structure, Worst first contest
Busy day here at the Corbett household so I don’t have time for a regular post. So here’s some links to enjoy!
FYI: One of the reasons I’m so busy is because I’m getting ready for the Second Annual “Worst First” contest I’m holding next month. I’ve got an author lined up as the judge, and a stack of great prizes from that author’s publisher. So get your worst ready!
Random Links…
Click HERE for an interesting article on editing needs for self-published books
Click HERE for the best post on Story Structure I’ve ever seen. Seriously, you’ve got to check this one out!
Click HERE to learn how to write a selling query or pitch in four easy steps.
And finally, since my daughter got a guitar for her birthday and we now use this site all the time, click HERE for how to tune a guitar.
Quote from the Corbett Kids
May 18, 2012 at 6:26 am (Funny Stuff)
Tags: funny things kids say, twins, willing to accept things you cannot change, Writing, writing life, you get what you get so don't throw a fit
Today’s quote is about life, and comes from the Corbett kids. They rattle off this phrase (sometimes cheerfully, sometimes not) when life throws them something unexpected, or something they don’t like.
Right now it’s usually reserved for when Mommy serves something for dinner they hate, but I hope they’ll carry this attitude into adulthood–along with the willingness to change what they don’t like instead of sulking or getting mad about it.
(Works best if said in a sing-song manner since it rhymes)
“You get what you get, so don’t throw a fit.”
Writing Cartoon!
May 11, 2012 at 1:00 am (Funny Stuff)
Tags: comparing your writing to others, four stages of writing, funny writing cartoon, never give up, thinking your writing is bad, thinking your writing is good, Writing, writing life
Here’s a cartoon from Debbie Ohi for you to enjoy. It’s so true!
Blog Award
May 8, 2012 at 1:00 am (Writing)
Tags: Artemis Grey, Castle, Diane Lynn Tibert, donating to locks of love, Florence Fois, Jay Elle Tee, locks of love, Tori Mcrae, versatile blogger award, willamette writers conference, Worst first contest, Write Now
My blog has been given a Versatile Blogger Award…twice.
The first blogger awarded me this well over a month ago, and because I have no organization skills and procrastinated for far too long sadly I have lost their blog address and contact info. So, if it was you, PLEASE let me know and I’ll post your name and a link to your blog ASAP.
The second blogger who gave me this award is Jay Elle Tee, or JLT, or otherwise known as Jay. Confused? Click HERE for the full lowdown on the name 
and who Jay is, and the fantastic blog he writes called Write Now.
The basics of the award are as follows…I have to tell you seven things about myself. Here goes!
1. I can’t stand salt and pepper shakers that are shaped like ANYTHING other than salt and pepper shakers. Seriously, I’m not looking to hoist a cutesy ceramic cat or chicken into the air, turn it upside down and wait for salt/pepper to fall out. Yes, it’s a pet peeve, but it’s all mine
2. I’ve donated my hair to Locks of Love three times, and one of the times I was featured on the local news for my donations. Recently, my daughter donated for the first time and she proudly displays the certificate on our fridge.
3. I am attending Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, Oregon this August. I could only afford to attend for one day, but I still plan on making the most of it.
4. I’m holding the 2nd annual “Worst First” contest next month, and yet again I found a published author silly enough to be involved in the nonsense I come up with to judge the contest. I’ll let you know more details soon, but for now just know that I’m looking at a STACK of prizes the author’s publisher mailed out to me to giveaway.
5. I am a long time watcher of the television show, Castle. So much so that I have the show’s poster on the back of the bedroom door. Yeah, cuz I’m all high school like that
6. I broke the blade on our lawn mower by running it over the metal lid that covers the water access turn on for the house. To this day, I’ve never told my husband the entire story, because as I tell him, “You don’t want to know why I did something so stupid.”
7. Because of this day, not only do I not get mad when my son sticks his tongue out at me, I highly encourage him to do so.
Here’s some more specifics about the Versatile Blogger award. If you are nominated you need to do the following…
- Thank the person who gave you this award.
- Include a link to their blog.
- Next, select blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
- Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
- Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.
So, I nominate the following blogs for this award…
3. Artemis Grey
4. Tori Mcrae
5. PDP (I won’t put up a link here, but he knows who he is )
The “You Don’t Suck” File
May 1, 2012 at 1:00 am (Funny Stuff, Writing)
Tags: Heart of the West Contest, Literary Rejections on Display, rejection file, writing rejection, You Don't Suck file
I’m going to recycle an old post today because I’m a complete and utter slacker I’ve got a busy week ahead. I hope you enjoy this one…it’s one of my favorites . ******************************************************************
Rejection.
Every writer fears it. Every published author knows it intimately. Most writers/authors even keep these rejections all together in a file folder or a box.
To combat the overwhelming feeling of Look at all these people who think you’re a horrible writer. You should just give up NOW! that occurs when opening my rejection file, I’ve created a “I Don’t Suck” file.
What is an “I Don’t Suck” file?
It’s antivenom to the sting of rejection.
Mine is a file folder stuffed (well, not stuffed, but it does have some weight to it) with positive things people–especially other writers–have said about my writing.
Why do writers need an ”I Don’t Suck” file?
Simple. When you are mired in despair, or looking at a fresh rejection, or thinking about giving up, you can pull out this file you’ve created for just such an occasion, open it up, and read all the good things people have said about your work.
In mine, I have various critiques of my first paragraphs, pages, chapters, and even the whole thing, encouraging email exchanges from published authors, and several of the comments from the “My Novel” section on my blog.
Most recently, I opened it to insert the judges feedback from the first writing contest I ever entered (The Heart of the West RWA contest…my score was 194 out of 200, which is cool, but the judge’s comments were worth their weight in gold for my writing self-esteem–especially since two of them were published authors.).
Why bother creating such a file?
Because rejection, if you let it, can lead you down the path of Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe I’m wasting my time. (Insert your favorite “mired in despair” comment here).
Cure the sting and make a “I Don’t Suck” file of your own.
And finally, can rejection ever be funny?
Yep.
Literary Rejections on Display. Funny letters, funnier comments, and by reading other writer’s rejections you’ll know you’re not alone.
10 Funniest Rejection Letters. Actual rejection letters from Mad Magazine, Disney Productions, and many more. Hilarious!
