S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 21
May 21, 2016
Off Yet Again
I'm unplugging for a couple of days to do some writing for the clients, so there will be no Just Write this weekend. See you on Monday.
May 20, 2016
The Art of Paper
Watch the delicate, beautiful and painstaking art of hand-making paper in Japan (background music):
Making of Japanese handmade paper of Kyoto Kurotani from Kuroyanagi Takashi on Vimeo.
May 19, 2016
Weekly Op
If you're up for entering a weekly writing contest, you can find some very interesting challenges over at TheProse.com here. Here's the current challenge:
"Prose Challenge of the Week #23: Write a haiku about deceit. The winner will be chosen based on a number of criteria, this includes: fire, form, and creative edge. Number of reads, bookmarks, and shares will also be taken into consideration. The winner will receive $100."
From what I see on the website you must first register and join their community to enter a challenge, but there appears to be no fees involved. Entries are posted on the website, along with the number of entries received, so you can read all your the competition before submitting your own (here are all the entries for the current challenge.) There are also challenges posted by the community as writing prompts, and most of those looked quite inspiring, so it appears you'll be hanging out with a very creative group of writers.
"Prose Challenge of the Week #23: Write a haiku about deceit. The winner will be chosen based on a number of criteria, this includes: fire, form, and creative edge. Number of reads, bookmarks, and shares will also be taken into consideration. The winner will receive $100."
From what I see on the website you must first register and join their community to enter a challenge, but there appears to be no fees involved. Entries are posted on the website, along with the number of entries received, so you can read all your the competition before submitting your own (here are all the entries for the current challenge.) There are also challenges posted by the community as writing prompts, and most of those looked quite inspiring, so it appears you'll be hanging out with a very creative group of writers.
May 18, 2016
Summer Planning
My favorite season of the year starts on June 20th, and along with family stuff I'm now planning my writing schedule. I'll finish up my latest ghost writing series project on June 30th, so that comes first. I also have a client who has me on retainer and keeps me busy year-round. I intend to continue writing the weekly installments for Twenty-One, but unless the other clients on my list ask me to work for them I will have a sizable chunk of time to use as I please. The options:
1. Write something new. Always the first thing I think of, the big shiny ooooh option. I have this character dancing in my head who wants his story written, too. I'll finally pry him out of my brain and onto the page. I could manage a new idea novella in a couple months.
2. Find some more/new clients. Always the financially wise option, although as I head into my third year of freelancing I've managed to produce steady, reliable income from the clients I already have (all of whom are pretty fabulous to work with, too.)
3. Take another step toward my first self-publishing venture. Gulp. Assuming I can stop waffling and make some production decisions, maybe.
4. Use the time to do something other than writing. Since I had my eye surgery I haven't taken any long road trips, and my guy wants to see Maine. I think that's a bit far for my first jaunt, so I'm thinking a couple days in the Tennessee mountains.
5. Hand-quilt a huge quilt top I made over the winter. Summer is the best season for my arthritis, and at the rate it's affecting my working fingers this may be the last quilt I stitch by hand.
I might go with a combination of 1 and 3, and negotiate a long weekend to do 4. Which means I can't get sick, but none of the options are musts, so if something happens I can always opt right back out of them. I might also start 5 and work on it through the fall and winter, but that depends on how well the hands are functioning. I'm also thinking about NaNoWriMo and whether or not I want to do it this year; if I do decide to jump in I'll have to start planning in August to feel ready by November.
What are your plans for the summer? Share them in comments.
May 17, 2016
Ghost Writing Op
I know some of you have asked how one breaks into ghost writing, and when I spotted this ad over at Absolute Write I thought it was worth linking to for that purpose. The guy is very upfront about what he and his company do, and while the pay isn't great this is a staff position, which probably means steady work. If you're looking for an opportunity to find out what ghost writing is all about, and experience what it's like to write on demand, this may be a good place to start.
Some suggestions when you're applying for any writer for hire position:
Be honest about your experience, and avoid padding your writing resume because a) it's wrong, b) most clients see a lot of that so they can usually spot it and c) there is nothing wrong with being a beginner -- everyone has to start somewhere. My experience actually works against me in some cases, so it's not always about how much you've published.
Writing for hire means you always bring your A game to the assignment. Don't try to be a ghost writer because you're bored or you're too lazy to go out and get a day job. Think of it this way: you're competing with writers like me for this job (and hey, maybe you are competing directly with me.)
The three most important aspects of any ghost writing job are pay, client personality, and type of project. If anything seems off with those three things, you should probably walk away from the job. I just had this happen to me last month, when I applied to a client who was offering a decent rate. Once the client contacted me he immediately cut the rate by a third. The client claimed that was what all the new hires were paid, but it was not an auspicious beginning. As we discussed the project it also became immediately clear that the client's personality did not mesh well with mine. I didn't wait for the third strike but politely withdrew my pitch.
Don't take jobs you will hate because you like the money. There are terrific clients offering very decent rates, but if what they want you to write makes your stomach turn, you should move on. There are plenty of other fish in the ghost writer sea, and you should always at least like what you do, or you're not going to want to do it for long.
Some suggestions when you're applying for any writer for hire position:
Be honest about your experience, and avoid padding your writing resume because a) it's wrong, b) most clients see a lot of that so they can usually spot it and c) there is nothing wrong with being a beginner -- everyone has to start somewhere. My experience actually works against me in some cases, so it's not always about how much you've published.
Writing for hire means you always bring your A game to the assignment. Don't try to be a ghost writer because you're bored or you're too lazy to go out and get a day job. Think of it this way: you're competing with writers like me for this job (and hey, maybe you are competing directly with me.)
The three most important aspects of any ghost writing job are pay, client personality, and type of project. If anything seems off with those three things, you should probably walk away from the job. I just had this happen to me last month, when I applied to a client who was offering a decent rate. Once the client contacted me he immediately cut the rate by a third. The client claimed that was what all the new hires were paid, but it was not an auspicious beginning. As we discussed the project it also became immediately clear that the client's personality did not mesh well with mine. I didn't wait for the third strike but politely withdrew my pitch.
Don't take jobs you will hate because you like the money. There are terrific clients offering very decent rates, but if what they want you to write makes your stomach turn, you should move on. There are plenty of other fish in the ghost writer sea, and you should always at least like what you do, or you're not going to want to do it for long.
May 16, 2016
Eye of the Storyteller
I'm not done lecturing you all about getting out in the world with a camera to hunt down some inspiration. Photographs are amazing wells of story ideas and solutions to your writing problems, but it's also about looking at everything with a storyteller's eye.
Three examples:
[image error]
I took this pic because I like taking pictures of old buildings; they're more attractive to me than modern/new/hip structures. I also liked the circular brick pattern, which may or may not have once been a window.
Let's say it was, and look at it as a storytelling opportunity. The first thing I noticed is that brick inside the circle window is much more modern than what was used to build the structure. That shows a stretch of time between the creation of this place, and a very strange renovation.
So why did they brick up the window? What was inside? Were they trying to keep something in (a monster), or keep something out (sunlight)? What happens if those bricks are removed by say, the new owner, who has decided to renovate the old place?
Walking around an old church, I happened to look down to see this patchwork of old porcelain tiles. I snapped a pic just because they were pretty.
Now switch to your storyteller's eye. The tiles are pretty, but they're also in a definite pattern. The plainer blue tiles look like buttons, too. What if they aren't just tiles?
Four people walk around this church, and as they're in a huddle talking about the next sight to see they inadvertently stand on the four plain blue tiles. What happens next? How does it relate to the old church? Does it change those four people -- or are they transported to another place?
During our road trip we stopped at a little country diner to have breakfast, and I saw this quirky old family tree photo collage on the wall behind our table. I don't really know why I took a photo of it. Maybe just because it was in a diner.
Let's take a closer look at one section of it:
Two photos are missing. Perhaps the person who made the collage never managed to find pics of Moses and Harriet. But then why tag the empty spaces? What happened to those pictures? What about the two pics between the spaces? Why does Caroline look so smug (and more like a guy in drag than a lady?) What reason does Silas have to look so menacing? Or is he afraid?
Imagine you're a waitress closing up the diner for the night, and you just noticed those pictures are missing -- and two people who look exactly like Caroline and Silas are sitting at a table and looking at you like you're a menu. What happens next?
If I want to answer my questions about my pictures in interesting ways, I write a story. I think there is something in that old building with the bricked-in window, and the new owner renovating the place is about to set it free for the first time in two centuries. My four tourists at the church do accidentally stand on those four blue tiles, and will be transported to the time the church was being built. As for Caroline and Silas, they do corner my waitress in the diner for their own dark purposes -- at least until Moses and Harriet, her great-great-grandparents, show up.
So get that camera and get out there to take some shots. Look at your pictures later with your storyteller's eye, ask questions, and use your imagination to answer them. That's all there is to it.
Three examples:
[image error]
I took this pic because I like taking pictures of old buildings; they're more attractive to me than modern/new/hip structures. I also liked the circular brick pattern, which may or may not have once been a window.
Let's say it was, and look at it as a storytelling opportunity. The first thing I noticed is that brick inside the circle window is much more modern than what was used to build the structure. That shows a stretch of time between the creation of this place, and a very strange renovation.
So why did they brick up the window? What was inside? Were they trying to keep something in (a monster), or keep something out (sunlight)? What happens if those bricks are removed by say, the new owner, who has decided to renovate the old place?
Walking around an old church, I happened to look down to see this patchwork of old porcelain tiles. I snapped a pic just because they were pretty.
Now switch to your storyteller's eye. The tiles are pretty, but they're also in a definite pattern. The plainer blue tiles look like buttons, too. What if they aren't just tiles?
Four people walk around this church, and as they're in a huddle talking about the next sight to see they inadvertently stand on the four plain blue tiles. What happens next? How does it relate to the old church? Does it change those four people -- or are they transported to another place?
During our road trip we stopped at a little country diner to have breakfast, and I saw this quirky old family tree photo collage on the wall behind our table. I don't really know why I took a photo of it. Maybe just because it was in a diner.
Let's take a closer look at one section of it:
Two photos are missing. Perhaps the person who made the collage never managed to find pics of Moses and Harriet. But then why tag the empty spaces? What happened to those pictures? What about the two pics between the spaces? Why does Caroline look so smug (and more like a guy in drag than a lady?) What reason does Silas have to look so menacing? Or is he afraid?
Imagine you're a waitress closing up the diner for the night, and you just noticed those pictures are missing -- and two people who look exactly like Caroline and Silas are sitting at a table and looking at you like you're a menu. What happens next?
If I want to answer my questions about my pictures in interesting ways, I write a story. I think there is something in that old building with the bricked-in window, and the new owner renovating the place is about to set it free for the first time in two centuries. My four tourists at the church do accidentally stand on those four blue tiles, and will be transported to the time the church was being built. As for Caroline and Silas, they do corner my waitress in the diner for their own dark purposes -- at least until Moses and Harriet, her great-great-grandparents, show up.
So get that camera and get out there to take some shots. Look at your pictures later with your storyteller's eye, ask questions, and use your imagination to answer them. That's all there is to it.
May 15, 2016
Just Write
Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.
My link: More on Twenty-One (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 96.
For more details on Just Write, click here to go to the original post.
Image credit: My kid. :)
May 14, 2016
Off to Catch Up
I'm taking off today to catch up on some work. See you tomorrow.
May 13, 2016
The Count
If only my writing instruments were this cute (narration, background music):
Pencilvanya from Studio Tinto on Vimeo.
May 12, 2016
Sub Op
I spotted this open call over in Absolute Write's Paying Markets forum:
"Short Shorts: A Summer 2016 Flash Fiction Contest is open to all new, emerging, and established writers.
GUIDELINES
We seek flash fiction of 500 words or less.
Winning entries will contribute to our upcoming “Outsiders” theme highlighting the unique struggles, circumstances, and journeys that set individuals apart from others.
Multiple entries, simultaneous submissions, and previously published works permitted. (More details on submissions page.)
Up to three works may be included in each entry.
Accepting entries between May 1, 2016 - September 20, 2016
Grand Prize winning entry and Runners Up to be announced on or before October 20, 2016.
GRAND PRIZE
$250 and publication in the 2016 print issue of From the Depths plus Featured Author Interview to accompany published work.
RUNNERS UP
All entries eligible for publication in the 2016 issue of From the Depths.
Contributors to be paid $20 for each published story plus online Featured Author Interview.
SUBMISSIONS
All entries accepted via Submittable. https://hauntedwaterspress.submittabl...
$10 reading fee per entry.
Thank you. We look forward to reading your work.
P.S. Don't miss our free reading period for fiction & poetry open through May 31, 2016! Submit today!"
"Short Shorts: A Summer 2016 Flash Fiction Contest is open to all new, emerging, and established writers.
GUIDELINES
We seek flash fiction of 500 words or less.
Winning entries will contribute to our upcoming “Outsiders” theme highlighting the unique struggles, circumstances, and journeys that set individuals apart from others.
Multiple entries, simultaneous submissions, and previously published works permitted. (More details on submissions page.)
Up to three works may be included in each entry.
Accepting entries between May 1, 2016 - September 20, 2016
Grand Prize winning entry and Runners Up to be announced on or before October 20, 2016.
GRAND PRIZE
$250 and publication in the 2016 print issue of From the Depths plus Featured Author Interview to accompany published work.
RUNNERS UP
All entries eligible for publication in the 2016 issue of From the Depths.
Contributors to be paid $20 for each published story plus online Featured Author Interview.
SUBMISSIONS
All entries accepted via Submittable. https://hauntedwaterspress.submittabl...
$10 reading fee per entry.
Thank you. We look forward to reading your work.
P.S. Don't miss our free reading period for fiction & poetry open through May 31, 2016! Submit today!"
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