Ruth Nestvold's Blog, page 36

Some hard truths about writer’s block

Chuck Wendig posted a great article on writer’s block today, “Writer’s block might be…” If you haven’t read it yet, I thoroughly recommend it — as long as you don’t mind his regular use of four-letter words, that is. :)

This problem that “writer’s block might be” particularly struck home with me:

Doubt In What You’re Writing

Problem: This thing you’re working on just ain’t working. It’s not writer’s block. It’s the material. Something wonky is hiding in the various gears and dongles of your wo...

10 of Literature’s Greatest Comeback Books

Ruth Nestvold:

This is a message I need right now — and I might not be the only one. :)

Originally posted on Flavorwire:

Though Tom Wolfe’s last novel, 2004′s

I Am Charlotte Simmons

, fell flat for many readers and reviewers — Michiko Kakutani

called it

“disappointingly empty” — some critics are heralding his new effort,

Back to Blood

, which hit bookstores this week, as his comeback book. Only time will tell, of course, but the idea got us thinking about a few other important books that have pul...

Returning to #WIPpet Wednesday — and A Wasted Land

I’ve missed a few posts, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. For those who didn’t see my report, I was at the most recent Villa Diodati workshop in southern Spain. It was the perfect thing to do after finishing the big translation to recharge my writing batteries. In the week since I flew back, I’ve returned to a wonderfully regular writing routine of at least 500 new words a day. Eventually I will probably want to aim for more, but right now, I just want to ease myself back into th...

Apple, Amazon and the uncertain future of the book startup

Ruth Nestvold:

Interesting overview of the present state of the traditional and ebook market.

Originally posted on Gigaom:

Over the past few years, I’ve encountered countless startups that claim they are going to disrupt or revolutionize book publishing.

I once thought we might see one of those take off. Today, I’m not so sure. Book-related startups face a particularly tough path forward. Here are a few reasons why.

When Amazon is the chief disruptor, the odds are stacked against you

Any company t...

Villa Diodati 12

Last week, I got back from the most recent Villa Diodati workshop, this time in southern Spain on the Costa del Sol.

It. Was. Amazing.

We were in a big, beautiful vacation home a 10 minutes walk from the ocean. The sun didn’t stop shining, except for one morning when it took a while for the haze to burn off. I added a day on the front and the back before the other workshop participants arrived and after they left, and I thoroughly enjoyed the amazing writing venue.

We talked.

We ate.

We drank...

How To Increase Piracy

Ruth Nestvold:

Some great comments by David Gaughran on DRM and piracy.

Originally posted on David Gaughran:

I’m working on the 2

nd

edition of

Let’s Get Digital

this month and I thought it might be fun to share some of the ideas I’m sketching out. The following excerpt is part of the chapter on piracy (about a third of it, if you’re counting).

There’s more details on Digital 2 (and other releases) at the end of this post, but let me open with a disclaimer: authors are entitled to take whatever a...

Translation finished! And once again my writing brain is working. :)

I finished the Big Translation Project today, woo hoo! Of course, it once again took longer than I expected: not only had I forgotten about the Acknowledgments and the Historical Note, I underestimated how much research I would have to do for the history, to find out what the common German terms were for various events, battles, and historical figures. It was fun, though, and I learned a lot I hadn’t known before. Take the Massacre of Verden, for example — fascinating stuff!

The translated boo...

Progress on various fronts, Spain workshop, and more Recontact for #WIPpet Wednesday

In the last week, my progress has once again mostly been on the translation, but I have good news — I’m done with the novel proper! All I still have to translate is the glossary and the list of characters. I’m hoping I can get that done tonight. Yay!

My writing progress has been limited to getting this revision pass of Recontact finished, a novella I wrote with Jay Lake. This round of editing too is done, although the novella is not. Next week, I’m off to southern Spain for the next Villa Dio...

#WIPpet Wednesday: An excerpt from Recontact and the first attempt at a cover

In the last week, I’ve switched from editing Island of Glass to Recontact, the SF novella I wrote with Jay Lake that I’ve mentioned before. So today, I would like to share an excerpt from that again. I’ve uploaded the first 9,000+ words to be critiqued at the next Villa Diodati workshop, but just in case anyone is so blown away that they want to read more, I intend to upload the complete novella as well. Not that I think it’s going to happen, but who knows, I might get lucky. *g*

Given some o...

The first rose of the year

Just to show you how weird the weather has been this year, when we were in the garden yesterday, I saw that the first rose had already bloomed:

Arthur Bell in my garden

Once upon a day, I used to spend the first couple of weeks in May in North Carolina for a big three letter company, testing translations of computer programs. While there, one of the places I always visited was the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University. The roses there were invariably several weeks ahead of those in German...