Natasha Deen's Blog, page 59

The Writer’s Experience…

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.

She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.

"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."

A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As...

Youth Open Mic Series Goes Monthly

Are you a youth? Do you like to write? Do you like to listen to words that are awesomely placed together into an amazing piece of writing? Then this is the place for you! The success and enthusiasm for the Summer Youth Open Mic Series is rolling forward into the fall: YOURS (Youth Of Untitled Reading Series)

A reading & workshop series for youth (ages 12-19) at Untitled Bookshop, where you can come and read your work and write new words! Hooray. You can read anything you like, there will...

#AT2012 Donation

Writers, you'll be SSSOOO happy: Serenity Software has donated a copy of their Editor program! This is a GREAT resource to help you clean up your prose. For more information (or to download a trial version), head to: http://www.serenity-software.com/

Quotes to Live By

"If at first you don't succeed; call it version 1.0"

True and true, especially as I truck through my latest manuscript...

Things I Probably Shouldn’t Do:

Dial a phone number while walking down the stairs…

1) Because it’s not my house and I don’t have muscle memory of the steps and thus, can’t rely on anything but eyesight when using the stairs

2) Because the phone will cover my vision and instead of seeing there are TWO steps left to go, I’ll think there are only one

3) I will overstep

4) My foot will slide and I will crash to earth with all the force of an avalanche pounding to the ground

5) My mother will see this from the corner of her eye...

Time Travel?

I'm visiting my family and was in the basement, looking for my stuff when I saw...a table stand? A coffee table? It's the darndest thing--I know this item of furniture, have distinct memories of polishing/dusting it, but for the life of me I can't remember WHAT it was used for...maybe it was a TV stand? I don't know...

It's a bit like the writing some days. I come across notes with half-written sentences, sometimes it's just a word, and I can't remember what it's for...

Writing notes to yoursel...

W-7 Help for Non-US Authors Published in the US

To my fellow foreign authors,

ACK!

When TWRP sent out the notice, I did a sweet fainting goat impression. Then I ate lots of chocolate. Then I did some research.

Here's what I've found and I'm passing on so you, my fellow foreign authors, will not dance with a diabetic coma as I've just done. :P

I went through the instructions and here's what I have (we'll go through it box by box). Now, here's my disclaimer. I don't have ALL the information, but this is what I have for now. If, in your trav...

Inspiration Vs. Perspiration

Matchbox 20 took over one of the channels on Sirius to do a play-by-play of their new album.  The thing most interesting to me was the story behind either the first or second track (I can’t remember now). but Rob Thomas said that when they came together to get the album finished, they found it was important to set challenges or the work would never get done.

So, with the 1st or 2nd track, they chose a chord/chord progression and lay down the challenge of writing a song built around it…I...

Things I Think About…

Was watching a trailer for the new Alex Cross movie and Tyler Perry was playing the lead role…it reminded me of an interview I’d seen with him on Oprah. He talked about his first foray into the arts, how he’d sunk his life savings into a play, spent all his money and no one showed up (or I think it was 10 people in a 200 person auditorium).

He talked about being devastated, living in his car, feeling like a complete failure—so much so, he seriously contemplated suicide.  Perry didn’t kil...

More #AT2012 Donation!

Big thanks to the Young Alberta Book Society for donating a copy of Tololwa M. Mollel's picture book "Subira, Subira": When Tatu finds she can do nothing to improve her little brother's hateful behavior and make him happy again, she goes to an old spirit woman for help. The spirit woman tells Tatu that to cure Maulidi, she must pluck three whiskers from a lion! Armed only with a song, Tatu steals out into the moonlit night to undertake her impossible task…http//tololwamollel.com/ind...