M.L. Desir's Blog, page 69
February 27, 2017
The Seven Deadly Sins of Prologues—What Doesn’t Work and What Does
To Prologue or Not to Prologue?
Thou shalt not if . . . (read to find out what Kristen Lamb has to say about the subject).
We writers have a vast array of tools at our disposal to craft stories readers will love. But like any tool, it helps if we know how to use it properly. Theme is wonderful. It can keep us plunging a story’s depths for years when used correctly. Applied incorrectly? It just makes a story annoying and preachy.
Description! Love me some description! But...
February 26, 2017
Dear Writer: STOP Releasing So Many Novels!
Marvelous quote from Michael Cristiano’s post “What’s the rush for? Take your time. Be the aged cheddar of the publishing industry: digestible and dependable and a classic. Be the brie: smooth and double-creamed served with red pepper jam. Hell, be blue cheese: an acquired taste but oh-so-prolific. Just don’t be processed cheese. Got it?”
Thank you, Michael. Because with three sons (teenager and two toddlers) and a husband I have been stressing myself out in between working full-time and tryi...
February 25, 2017
Building Your World With Maps
Hallelujah! I had created a map of the world of Reath, for my “Prelude to Morning” dystopian-science-fiction hybrid (lol) and I think I need to redraw it on a bigger scale like this awesome author did! So inspiring. Thank you, Burks! Thank you!
Maps are hard. Especially for people like me who have trouble visualizing what the heck even goes on a map. My most basic map of Gexalatia, from years ago looks like this:
Awesome, right? (It’s okay to say no!)
Gexalatia has come a lon...
February 20, 2017
How to Be Taken Seriously as a Writer
Note to self: “Don’t downplay your accomplishments”! #MotivationMonday
by Kate Colby
So writing is your creative calling, your life’s purpose, your ultimate joy. Congratulations! You’re part of (in my totally unbiased opinion) one of the best groups of people in the world. You know it, I know it — and yet, your friends and family don’t.
After all, what’s so special about being a writer? Literally billions of people on the planet write every day. It’s a basic life skill, one...
February 19, 2017
Thank You to Everyone Who Helped Me Win on Cover Wars!
And the winner is . . . Charles French! Groovy, baby.
#BlackLivesMatter
This thoughtful post is almost a year old and still highly relevant.
I usually don’t like to get too political on my blog. The current state of things is such a confusing mess that even I’m not sure what my thoughts are, and there are things like our current racial division in the U.S. that makes me feel upset, confused, and generally voiceless. I’m a white girl who grew up in rural Michigan, so it sometimes feels like I just don’t have a good perspective on things. On the other h...
My Daughter Punched Out James Patterson
Heh, heh. I love this author’s sense of humor.
(image via wikimedia)
My daughter didn’t really punch out James Patterson. She punched out a life-sized cardboard figure of James Patterson. The James Patterson had been placed near the entrance of B&M Booksellers next to a table with several of Patterson’s new books (I don’t remember which books they were because he has so many of them at any given moment).
Even if my daughter doesn’t like James Patterson, it wasn’t h...
February 17, 2017
What type of Reader are you?
I’m a patient, forgiving reader. I know what it’s like for my writing to be analyzed and torn apart. And even when it’s for the better, it’s an exercise an misery. LOL. So, give me your slow beginnings and your unlikable characters! Give me your sometimes cliched plot twists. I will read it, I will bear it! This blog post has inspired me to write my own regarding what type of reader I am. Thank you!
We all read books, be them eBooks or printed. As the Indie Author commun...
February 15, 2017
DO BLACK PEOPLE REALLY DO THIS STUFF? Manga and Anime
I’m an anime and manga fanatic and enjoyed reading this.
