Sandy Deutscher Green's Blog, page 12

“The Fierce Merry Dance” of Writing: An Interview with Writer/Editor Magda Knight

Magda Knight

Magda Knight is the Co-Founding Editor of Mookychick.co.uk, an alternative lifestyle webzine and community. She writes YA and speculative fiction, her work has featured in a number of anthologies and publications including Mythology High and 2000AD, and she has been longlisted for the Mslexia YA Novel competition twice. When she grows up she would like to be a sword or a bear.

 

Do you have a favorite place to write?

I like to write in peace and quiet, surrounded by nature, at a desk that isn’t mine. That’s why I write best in hired holiday cottages. I save up for a few months, then just go!

What do you love most about writing?

The fierce, merry dance of it. The highs and lows between “this is amazing” and “no, seriously, what were you thinking?” I love both the joyful terror of writing something new and the precision surgery of editing. I love deleting 10,000 weak, wilted words and not thinking it too many. I love wondering if a much-loved character should live or die. I love coming up with Plan C.

What is the hardest and easiest part of the writing process for you?

The hardest part for me is the bit before the writing. The “Hmm, I haven’t quite started yet, I’ll start really soon”. Yeah, sure, lady. We’ve all heard that one before. The easiest part is the writing itself. Nothing in writing is as hard as breaking the promise that you were going to create today.

What five words best sum up your personality? 

Delicious tooth and claw muffin.

Other than writing, what else do you love to do?

I am the Co-Founding Editor of http://www.mookychick.co.uk, an alternative lifestyle webzine and community for young women which has been going strong since 2005. Our members met online and they are now going to university together. It’s such a wonderful, joyful and supportive place! A true Kingdom.

Describe your perfect day.

 My perfect days involve… Opportunity. Surprise. Something new that I’ve never seen, heard or thought before. All of us thrive on something new with meaning. Either lazy, hazy days filled with sunshine… or electric days lit up by the spark of Something New. Those are my perfect days.

Do you have a writing schedule?

I am a soldier who sleeps when required, not when the body demands it. Writing doesn’t tell me what to do. I tell writing what to do.

What I love best is writing a novel in a week. Thanks to my patented method, I’ve successfully written first drafts in a week three times now and I wonder if it works for other people too. Sadly, I don’t think it’s a superpower. It’s something we can all achieve!

8. What are your past, current, and/or next projects?

After finishing my Seal Girl / Geek Girl / Glee Girl ‘Mythology High’ trilogy for the lovely Buzz Books, I have just put the finishing touches to House of Sighs, a YA psychological locked-room mystery set in an orphanage. My next novel is a cross between David Bowie’s Labyrinth and Cloverfield. Or it might be a creepy little number called Bandwagoneer.

Where can we reach you? (Twitter, Facebook, website, blog, etc.)

http://www.mookychick.co.uk

http://magdaknight.com

@magdaknight @mookychick (Twitter)

Thanks, Magda, for this quick writing pas de deux!

Filed under: Authors, Books, Interviews, Photos, Writing Tagged: author interviews, Buzz Books, Geek Girl, Glee Girl, Magda Knight, Mookychick, Mythology High trilogy, Seal Girl

Twofer Tuesday – Laborious Quotes

“The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.” - Albert Camus 

and

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Filed under: Holidays, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: Albert Camus, labor, labor quotes, Martin Luther King Jr., Sisyphus

On a Box with a Fox: An Interview with Poet and Editor Robert Lee Brewer

Robert Lee Brewer

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor for the Writer’s Digest Writing Community. He edits books, manages websites, creates electronic newsletters, crafts blog posts, writes magazine articles, participates in online education, and speaks nationally on writing and publishing topics. As a poet, Robert was named Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere in 2010, has been a featured reader at several poetry events around the country, and is the author of Solving the World’s Problems(Press 53). 

1. Do you have a favorite place to write?

I don’t have a specific spot, because I like to write everywhere. I used to write a lot from behind the wheel without incident, but the whole texting and driving campaign has had me re-think that strategy. Now, I usually just dictate into my phone and transcribe later. But no, I write indoors and outdoors; on a box, with a fox.

2. What do you love most about writing?

That’s a good question. I’m not sure what it is that I love most about writing, but I can’t imagine my world without it. For the creation part, maybe it’s the whole cleansing of my mind—it’s almost like all these words and images just spill out. My family knows how my brain works, because I’ll just break into non-sense songs spontaneously. It’s how I’m wired.

For the re-creation (or revision) part, I guess it might be the challenge of uncovering what the poem is about—sometimes I have no clue when the words spill out. Also, I learn a lot about myself—sounds corny, but it’s true.

3. What is the hardest and easiest part of the writing process for you?

It used to be that I considered the composition part easiest and revision part hardest. That’s when I was still learning the craft—something you never really abandon—but eventually I realized poems are never “finished.” And I also learned to think of revision as re-creation. That is, revision is not just editing; it’s a creative act in and of itself.

4. What five words best sum up your personality? 

Relaxed worrier, proactive procrastinator, contradiction.

5. Other than writing, what else do you love to do?

I love spending time with my family. Often, we go on walks at parks and try to get out of the house and experience things. If we had the means, we’d probably always be on the road.

Also, I love sports. Running, basketball, football, disc golf, or whatever else. 

6. Describe your perfect day.

I have those often, and they usually begin and end with cuddling my wife and talking about whatever.

7. Do you have a writing schedule?

There’s no set in stone schedule. My life is way too crazy for that at the moment (did I mention I have five kids spread across two states?). But if I don’t write every day—at least a little—then it’s pretty close to that. I know some women who say they feel naked without their purses; I feel that way about pen and paper. If I don’t have paper and pen, I feel uncomfortable.

8. What are your past, current, and/or next projects?

I’m currently in the process of promoting my new poetry collection, Solving the World’s Problems. The official release date is September 1. It’s my first full-length collection—so it’s extra special. 

This time of year, I’m also promoting my new Market Books: Writer’s Market, Writer’s Market Deluxe Edition, Poet’s Market, and the inaugural edition of Guide to Self-Publishing. It’s been a busy year.

With those five books off my plate, I’ve begun submitting individual poems again. My writing style has changed a bit after re-imagining Solving the World’s Problems with the assistance of my talented editor Tom Lombardo. So I’m eager to see how these new poems fare.

I’m also looking forward to spending more time on my author website. It’s taken me years to get something up there. Hopefully, it doesn’t take as long to turn it into a special online destination.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Robert! Best of luck with your new poetry collection.

Find out more about Robert here:

Website: http://www.robertleebrewer.com 

Blogs: http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com, http://writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides, http://blog.writersmarket.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertleebrewer

Facebook: http://facebook.com/robertleebrewer

Filed under: Authors, Books, Interviews, Photos, Poetry, Writing Tagged: chapbooks, editor, Guide to Self-Publishing, interviews, Poet's Market, Poetry, Robert Lee Brewer, Solving the World's Problems, Writer's Market, Writer's Market Deluxe Edition, writers

Twofer Tuesday – Popcorn Quotes

“The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.” - W. C. Fields 

and

“Of course life is bizarre, the more bizarre it gets, the more interesting it is. The only way to approach it is to make yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show.” – David Gerrold

Filed under: Food, Photos, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: David Gerrold, movies, pancakes, popcorn, quotes, shows, W.C. Fields

Make a Splash with Writing Prompts

Don’t let the end of summer have you thinking more about shoveling snow than playing in surf. Keep the thoughts of warm weather active with these wet writing prompts for children or those who write for them:

1. Write a story or poem about an umbrella, a huge puddle and a flying car.

2. Your main character has an okapi for a pet and lives in a rain forest. Write about how he deals with how the okapi is afraid of getting wet.

3. Start your story/poem with: “She thought the candy wrapper said chocolate, but when she started growing fins, she knew something was terribly wrong.”

4. List ten things you’d find at an aquarium, then write a story/poem that includes them all and set it in an attic.

That should keep you swimming along for awhile!

Filed under: Writing, Writing Prompts Tagged: opaki, poetry writing prompts, writing prompts, writing prompts for children

Twofer Tuesday – Start Your Day With Breakfast…Quotes

 

“I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time’. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.” - Steven Wright 

and

“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

- Lewis Carroll 

 

Filed under: Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: breakfast, Breakfast quotes, impossible things, Lewis Carroll, quotes, Renaissance, Steven Wright

Twofer Tuesday – Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Quotes

I’m a tea drinker, but I wanted to share these great coffee quotes.

“In Seattle you haven’t had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it’s running.” ~ Jeff Bezos

and

“I believe humans get a lot done, not because we’re smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.” ~ Flash Rosenberg

Filed under: Tea, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: coffee quotes, Flash Rosenberg, Jeff Bezos, sewing machines, tea, waking up

Two for Tuesday – Summer Quotes

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”  ~ James Dent

and

“In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer quite the other way

I have to go to bed by day.”

 ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Filed under: Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: James Dent, lawn mower, Robert Louis Stevenson, summer quotes

Purple Car of the Weekend Goes Mini

I found this truck cleaning out the basement to make room for some furniture:

Filed under: Purple Car of the Weekend Tagged: collectible trucks, Penjoy Purple truck, purple, purple car, Purple Car of the Weekend

Two for Tuesday – A Way to Come and Go: Quotes About Doors

We replaced an old, inefficient french door with a sliding glass door bringing lots of light and a nice view into the family room. It inspired these quotes:

“I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.” – Elayne Boosler 

and

“Close some doors today. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they lead you nowhere.” ― Paulo Coelho

 

Filed under: Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: door quotations, doors, Elayne Boosler, humor, patio door, Paulo Coelho, sliding glass door