M.L. Desir's Blog, page 73
April 28, 2016
Creative Resistance: Why SOBSF Con is good for the “Conscious” Community
Wish I could make it to this event! Well, hopefully next year?[image error]
The Black Arts Movement was the artistic branch of the Black Power movement. It was started in Harlem by writer and activist Imamu Amiri Baraka. Time magazine describes the Black Arts Movement as the “single most controversial movement in the history of African-American literature– possibly in American literature as a whole.”
Both inherently and overtly political in content, the Black Arts Movement was the on...
How to Make Boring Story Parts Exciting
Image by DonkeyHotey/Flickr CC
This is another guest post by blogger and copywriter Alex Limberg. If you have followed my blog in the last couple of months, you have probably come across him, namely because the Stockholm’s Syndrome sets in faster when you drug the candy .
Once again, I’m going to gently nudge you into the direction of his free ebook about “44 Key Questions” to test your story; it will help you make your scenes tight and compelling and detect any story...
Writing Career Stuck? Sales Mired? How to Get Your MOJO Back!
Well worth the read![image error]
Last time we all commiserated about feeling stuck.Lately, it’s been really bizarre. I’ve been at this writing thing since long before self-pub, but recently the feeling of author despondency seems to be heavy…everywhere. Maybe it’s the vastness of the internet, the fact that all the old ways and old rules are gone. Sales are stuck. We are stuck. We have this general feeling of anxiety and I do feel it’s worse now than ever.
So no, you were NOT imagini...
March 30, 2016
Polish Your Manuscript!
Molli Nickell, The Query Wizard, invites writers to celebrate spring as they polish their manuscripts and submission documents (query, synopsis, first pages) until they glow in the dark.
The quest to become published took some major left and right turns this past year with the advent of email delivered query submission letters that include synopsis and sample pages.
In the old days~
Prior to 2014, your query was sent via snail mail and accompanied by a SASE (self-addressed-stamped-envelope)....
March 14, 2016
Monday Minute: Keeping an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog
Great blogging tip for those who need a little more organization and focus. :)
I don’t usually post about blogging advice on here but since it falls in the realm of creative writing, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about editorial calendars. I’m no expert but I’ve learned that having an editorial calendar is key to keeping your blog organized and on track.
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March 11, 2016
AFRICA SINGS!
BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS
I have been in love with the beauty, joy, sorrow, and enchantment that is African music.
From the ethereal lyrics ofEneida Marta, the power and upbeat of Angelique Kidjo, to the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti that describes his fusion of West African musicwith Black American music, tobenga, chimuringa, gnawa, the iscathamiya made by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, griot, the mbalax Senegalese (Wolof) percussion music modernized by Youssou N’Dour, marabi, mb...
March 9, 2016
March Media Madness: Down and Dirty
The days of authors languishing away behind their keyboard, clack-clack-clacking away on their latest story or poem are what one could call the good, old days. Of course, in those good, old days you could end up like Edgar Allan Poe – wandering the streets of your city delirious and distressed, then dying shortly after. Or you could share a similar fate to Emily Dickinson, a reclusive writer, who didn’t become popular until after her dea...
March 2, 2016
March Media Madness: Meet the Author
Looking forward to my second go at my local library’s Author Showcase!
So, to get hyped for this wonderful event I’m getting to know the local authors and showcasing them on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MoniqueDesirsOfficialAuthorPage/ — please like!
and this very blog. :)
My discussion with Peter made me think of story time with my three-year-old son who loves when I show him the pictures. The illustrations in Edward Marshall’s Fox on Wheels are delightfully humorous and add so...
February 29, 2016
Want to Be a Successful Writer? Ten Ways to GO PRO!
Well, I certainly feel inspired! “Come on”, I tell myself, “You’re exclusively nursing your new baby, cooking, cleaning, picking up oldest kiddo from track practice, and still working on promoting your first published book, “Forbidden” AS WELL AS writing other books! Congratulations, lady. Keep it up!” *Twitch, twitch* Heh. :)
We have done a lot of talking about FREE! in the past couple of months. And I will continue to boycott Huffington Post , because I believe they’re...
February 28, 2016
How to Start Your Own Book Publishing Business
Groovy, baby. Groovy. :)
Savvy Writers & e-Books online
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Where to find all these publishing business information – including lots of links:
95% of all authors have to do the marketing for their books– even if they are the “lucky” ones who found a major, traditional publisher. Only celebrities and star-authors, such as James Patterson or Danielle Steel get publicity from their publishers. The question for authors is now: Why should they sell their manuscripts for a pittance to publishing...
