Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 143

Looking for a reliable writer, editor or reader?

My MiG critique partner, Carmella VanVleet, is looking for work. I've known Carmella for a couple of years now, and we've also hung out in person.

Carmella has had many books and short pieces for young people published, and I've always found her critique comments extremely useful. She's responsible, accurate and fun.

I strongly recommend her services.

You can find out more about Carmella at:

http://www.carmellavanvleet.com/Resume.html

Elizabeth C. Bunce on world-building and novel prep

I've always been interested in reading about other writers' work habits, so I was delighted to see that Cheryl Klein had posted a review with Elizabeth C. Bunce, the author of CURSE AS DARK AS GOLD (which I loved) and STARCROSSED (ooo, must get this).

Elizabeth says that CURSE took three years of "painstaking craft and research" and then six months of revision after the sale. For another book, LIAR's MOON, she did a ton of plotting, outlining and prep before she wrote a single word...and then wrote a solid first draft in just over three months.

Here's Cheryl Klein's full interview with Elizabeth Bunce.

NaNoWriMo Song from Errol Elumir

A brilliant NaNoWriMo song by my friend Errol. From Errol:

I like to do an intro video for Nanowrimo. For 2010, I did a parody of the song Good Ol' A Capella because I was too lazy to write my own song.

You can learn more about Errol and his creative projects at:

http://www.elumir.com/

Blog Highlight: Beyond The Margins

Beyond The Margins is a group blog for a group of writers who met, taught, and workshopped through Grub Street, a nonprofit creative writing center in Boston. "We have published novels, short fiction, poetry, newspaper and magazine articles, and our backgrounds and careers run the gamut from social work and medicine to journalism, law, graphic design, and metalwork."

Check out BTM for some great writing tips as well as insider publishing info.

We debunk the myths of freelance writing, deliver book reviews and interviews with authors and editors and agents, and take humorous looks at the craft, the industry and ourselves.

Today's post: To Blog Or Not To Blog: Authors Online (hey, and I'm mentioned in it! :-))

URL: http://beyondthemargins.com

Finding More Time To Write, Quickie Tip: Learn How To Say NO

Though I've gotten better over the years, I still struggle with this one word. Seems (at first, at least) much easier to say yes. I'm talking about the small favors that people ask you to do, the ones that you're sure will only take a few minutes of your time. The most insidious: the favors that you know would be fun to do, or the ones that are almost work-related.

Be wary of saying yes to too many of these. Inevitably, they'll add up until WHOA, suddenly you find yourself spending more time on these quickie favors for other people than you are on your own work.

Stay focused on your goals. Prioritize.

Learn how to say no politely but firmly without feeling guilty.

To clarify (because I'm already anticipating at least one person piping up and righteously saying that she's GLAD to want to say yes to those asking for help): I'm not saying you should ALWAYS say no...just be selective and be realistic. And be able to say no when you need to.

New comic on Writer Unboxed: Obsessive Compulsive Editing Support Group

Just posted a new comic over on Writer Unboxed.

Business Insider profiled me in an article!

Hey, check out this Business Insider article: "10 Ways People Are Using The iPad To Create Content, Not Just Consume It." Heh.

Banned Book Week, Cheryl Rainfield's challenge, & #SpeakLoudly

It's Banned Book Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. 

Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Cheryl Rainfield (author of SCARS) made a great post recently about Banned Book Week and issued a challenge:

It's Banned Book Week: Speak Up and Pick Up A Good Book!

I hope you’ll consider buying (or borrowing) and reading some of these banned books–and sharing them with others. I hope, too, that you’ll speak out about book banning–write a post about it, share your thoughts on FaceBook or Twitter.

As Cheryl pointed out recently on her blog, you might be surprised at some of the books on the ALA's list of Top 100 Banned Books list (past decade): Harry Potter, for instance. But it's true.

I'm going to go through this list and make a point of reading as many of these banned books as I can.

I feel very lucky to have grown up in an area where books were never banned, but some children aren't as lucky. I'm also naive enough to still be shocked by the depth of ignorance shown by adults in modern-day society, like when an associate professor condemns books like Laurie Halse Anderson's brilliant SPEAK as "soft core pornography."

You can follow the #SpeakLoudly discussion on Twitter.

Find out more about Cheryl Rainfield and her book SCARS at http://www.cherylrainfield.com/.

 

Happy Punctuation Day!



My post about time management, creative productivity, managing multiple projects

For those interested, I have a new post up on the MiG Writers site:

Time Management, Creative Productivity and Multitasking