Phil Giunta's Blog, page 65
March 26, 2016
The Write Stuff is almost Write Here, Write Now!
Calling all writers! The 23rd annual Write Stuff writers conference, sponsored by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, is just two weeks away!
When: April 7-9, 2016
Where: Best Western in Bethlehem, PA
Our Keynote speaker is best-selling thriller writer, Robert Liparulo. Other presenters include Ramona DeFelice Long, Amy Deardon Kelly Simmons, Jon Gibbs, Catherine E. McLean, Suzy Kuhn, Shawn Smucker, and more! Click here to see our entire faculty.
Additionally, the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG) will launch our new anthology titled Write Here, Write Now. This is our second collection of short stories, poems, and essays written by our talented members!
I shall be at the conference on Friday night for the Meet and Greet and again on Saturday to attend sessions, help where needed, and enjoy a day with fellow wordslingers. Hard to believe it’s been a year since I was the conference chair!
Hope to see you there!
March 14, 2016
Send the Elevator Back Down
The exercise provided an opportunity to polish the speech, improving the focus and making it less frenetic as improv routines can sometime be. Truly, it’s a touch of personal history about my journey as a writer and to honor those who have mentored me, guided me, and eventually invited me to publish with them.
Send the Elevator Back Down
Phil Giunta
Comedian Steven Wright once told this joke: “When I was little, my grandfather used to make me stand in a closet for 5 minutes without moving. He said it was elevator practice.”
Today, I’d like to talk to you about elevators.
There’s a wonderful quote making its way around the internet from actor Kevin Spacey. “If you’re lucky enough to do well, it’s your responsibility to send the elevator back down.”
I began writing in the realm of fan fiction back in the late 1980s. For the uninitiated, fan fiction is generally a story based on your favorite characters from television or movies such as Captain Kirk, Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones, the list goes on. I know people who wrote fan fiction based on everything from Bonanza to Quantum Leap.
I found fan fiction to be a marvelous training ground for storytelling. Of course, I couldn’t sell these stories because they were based on copyrighted characters, but I did pass them around and the general feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
It was at about this same time, when I began attending an increasing number of science fiction conventions such as Farpoint, Shore Leave, and Balticon in Maryland and I-CON in Long Island, New York. In addition to meeting so many actors I’d grown up with, I also met many of my favorite writers such as Harlan Ellison, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Howard Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, Steven H. Wilson, and others.
There I was, holding my stack of novels and comic books eagerly waiting to get them signed and to chat with bestselling authors I never thought I would meet. Little did I know that when I was waiting in autograph lines, I was actually waiting for the elevator.
Over the years, I continued to write and to glean advice from many of the aforementioned writers who would return as regulars to Farpoint and Shore Leave. I appreciated their patience and guidance, hoping I was not making a nuisance of myself.
Of particular note was Steven H. Wilson. By the time I met him, Steve had just written a few issues of Star Trek and Warlord for DC Comics and was beginning to craft what would become his science fiction audio drama series, The Arbiter Chronicles. Like me, Steve had also started in fan fiction, but was further along the road than I was. Yet not so far that getting there seemed daunting. I wanted to be that guy.
Steven also founded Farpoint in 1993, and it was at that convention where I came in second place in a writing contest. Steven personally encouraged me to keep writing. Little did I know that the friendship we were forming was also the elevator door opening.
Flash forward to 2007 and Steve had already won both the Parsec and Mark Time audio awards for his podcasts of The Arbiter Chronicles. He had also self-published his first novel based on that series and had received an excellent review from the Library Journal.
By this time, I had moved on from fan fiction and had outlined an original paranormal mystery novel. I asked Steve for the particulars of self-publishing, as the option certainly interested me. However, the business aspects of it seemed a bit overwhelming at the time (not so much today) so I asked him if he was accepting submissions. He agreed and two years later, Testing the Prisoner was published by Firebringer Press, followed in 2013 by my second paranormal mystery, By Your Side.
By 2010, I was attending Farpoint and Shore Leave as an author guest, which I still do today. The reviews for Testing the Prisoner were outstanding and I was beginning to blog.
I was now in the elevator and let me tell you, it was nice and shiny in there.
In June of 2012, I received an email from the aforementioned Bob Greenberger, who is a fantastic SF writer in addition to his long tenure as an editor at DC Comics. Along with another comics veteran Paul Kupperberg and fellow award-winning writer Aaron Rosenberg, Bob had co-created a new fantasy series called ReDeus. Deus is, of course, Latin for God. Slap the “Re” in front of it and it becomes a bit of a pun as in “Again God”. The series ponders what would happen if all of the ancient mythological gods returned to Earth in the 21st century. It was to be published by Crazy 8 Press, a small press formed by Bob, Aaron, Michael Jan Friedman, Peter David, Glenn Hauman, and Howard Weinstein.
Bob was reaching out to other Shore Leave writer guests to see if they would be interested in contributing a story to their first anthology. What an honor! I eagerly accepted, knowing very little about mythology. Bob then sent the series bible with a story deadline of about two weeks. Yikes! They wanted to debut the book at the upcoming Shore Leave convention in August.
The elevator was going up…and fast! I remember researching and writing furiously until 2AM and even writing while on a Saturday conference call for my day job. I work full time in IT. Another technician and I had to migrate a physical server to a virtual machine. If you’re not a tech geek, don’t worry about it. The point is that it became a 12-hour ordeal. When it was the other tech’s turn to take over for a few hours, I wrote like a maniac. I finally finished and submitted the piece on my birthday, July 1.
Two days later, it was accepted with minor revisions. Not only was I published in the first volume, Divine Tales, I returned for the second, Beyond Borders—where all stories take place outside of the USA. I was invited back for the third volume, Native Lands (stories of Native American gods), but was overwhelmed with recording the audio for By Your Side and planning my upcoming wedding. I politely declined, avoiding the risk of promising a story, then failing to deliver.
It was during this time when I decided to pitch an idea to Steve Wilson. I know several wonderful writers who came up in fan fiction and had moved onto crafting original fiction. Some were submitting to magazines but getting nowhere. I knew their work was outstanding and I wanted to find a way to showcase them. I asked Steve if I could submit a collection of their original genre stories with an eye toward publication. Steve agreed, as long as I edited. He and I also tossed in a few of our own tales.
At Shore Leave in 2014, we launched Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity, an anthology of SF, fantasy, and paranormal fiction. Through this book, we brought about five new authors to the public eye and showcased the wonderful work of an Allentown artist.
What a joy it was for me to see these writers at their first launch, signing books and engaging with readers. I had just barely started my own elevator ride when I was holding the door open for others to take the journey with me (thank you, Steve!). In three months, we’re launching a second volume, Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity, and possibly a third in 2018.
If you’re lucky enough to find success and you know talented, burgeoning artists, give them a chance to blossom by sending the elevator back down. If you’re just beginning your career, as I am, attend conferences and library events. Network with those further along the road, and learn as much as you can about your craft.
You never know what can happen simply by waiting for the elevator.
March 10, 2016
Three Quick Ways to Support Your Favorite Writers – Without Spending a Dime
In an age where the gates to publishing have been thrown open, or possibly ripped from their hinges, discoverability for new writers is extremely challenging. According to statistics I’ve quickly researched online, there are approximately 300,000 new books published per year in the United States alone.¹
That’s a daunting number to new writers, especially those publishing through small presses or taking the DIY route. I envision writers standing shoulder-to-shoulder, pressed against one another, all holding their latest book over their heads hoping to be recognized by the reading community. A cacophony of voices, each one drowned by the other 299,999. Even the best writers can become discouraged and quit after a time. It has happened.
How do we stand out? Recommendations from readers are one significant way. We appreciate the fact that you spend your hard-earned money on our books. The best of us want to provide you with the highest quality reading experience, and if we succeed, we hope that you’ll spread the word through one or more methods, such as…
Leaving a review and rating on book sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc. Ratings and reviews are important to any writer’s career, but they are critical to burgeoning writers. A high number of reviews–especially positive ones–typically generate increased sales and lead to new opportunities.
I’ve had readers tell me that they are not good at writing and thus, are reticent about leaving reviews. Even one line would be adequate. On Goodreads, a reader recently left a four-star rating for my first novel, Testing the Prisoner. His review: “That was one hell of a read. Very intense.” That’s all you need! If you’re investing a day or a week to read a book, why not go the extra two minutes to voice your opinion, even if briefly?
Sharing the love on social media. For example, if you are friends with some or all of your favorite writers on Facebook, or you follow their author pages, you probably click LIKE to many of their updates and announcements about new releases. Why not take the extra few seconds to also SHARE their posts? Perhaps add a comment such as, “Enjoy this writer’s books. Highly recommend!” Ditto for Twitter, Google+, and other social media sites.
Spreading the word. Word of mouth still remains the best of all recommendations. If there are avid readers among your friends or family, mention your favorite writers’ books. If you happen to notice that the writer is holding a book signing or a library talk, boost the signal even if you can’t attend.
Speaking for myself, I deeply appreciate your support of small press and independent writers.
As a new writer myself, I occasionally give away free books to other writers, book reviewers, Goodreads giveaways, charity auctions, etc. I will be thrilled to send a free copy of my latest
release, Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity, to a random commenter here on my blog. This is an anthology of SF, fantasy, and paranormal stories written mostly by emerging fiction writers and edited by yours truly. Click here to read more about it.
The second volume, Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity, will be released in July 2016.
Thank you!
References:
¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_published_per_country_per_year and http://www.worldometers.info/books/
March 3, 2016
Write Here, Write Now!
The book will premiere at the Write Stuff writers conference , April 7-9, 2016 in Bethlehem, PA. It will be available initially in paperback, then Kindle a few weeks after.
February 27, 2016
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Chuck Wendig and Kristen Lamb eviscerate Huffington Post for exploiting contributors. Kathryn Craft encourages writers to consider how much they’re willing to give away.
Eric Wecks ponders a better info dump while Chris Winkle guides us from concept to story and Larry Brooks leads us even further to story structure. Jane Friedman explains the purpose of author websites, and Konrath dissects Lee Child regarding Amazon’s brick and mortar bookstores.
All that, and a little more. Enjoy!
***Please note that this will likely be the last installment of About This Writing Stuff for at least six months as I have become far too busy. My publisher and I are releasing a new anthology in July, I have a novella coming out after that, and I am writing the first draft of a science fiction novel.
Additionally, I need to pass two more Microsoft exams to achieve my MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert). I work in the IT field and–as with writing and most other areas of life–continuing education is critical to success and longevity.***
Scream It Until Their Ears Bleed: Pay the Fucking Writers by Chuck Wendig
Shame on You AOL/Huffington! NO More Literary Booty Calls by Kristen Lamb
How Much Will You Give Away? by Kathryn Craft
Info Dumps Aren’t Evil by Eric Wecks
Lee Child on Amazon’s Real-Life Bookshops-and Why We Should Be Worried by Lee Child
Fisking Lee Child by Joe Konrath
How to Turn You Concept into a Story by Chris Winkle
Let’s Address a Common Misunderstanding About Author Websites by Jane Friedman
A Kinder, Gentler Perspective on Story Structure by Larry Brooks
Visiting the Oldest Bookstore in America–and its Resident Ghost by Gregory Lee Sullivan
Coming Soon: The “Write Stuff” Writers Conference in Bethlehem, PA!
February 18, 2016
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Rachel Thompson offers sage advice on book marketing while K.M. Weiland and Jami Gold talk story structure. Gwendolyn Kiste gives us the low down on how to properly share your Amazon links.
Mary Carroll Moore provides wonderful tips on using sensory details to engage readers’ emotions. For a little fun, comic-book industry veteran Paul Kupperberg delves into the novelizations of A-list superheroes…and B-listers, too!
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
This is Why Your Books Aren’t Selling: 4 Ways To Improve Now and These Are the Reasons Most Authors Fail at Book Marketing by Rachel Thompson
Indie Bookstores are Back with a Passion by Francis X. Clines
How Writers Ruin Their Amazon Links by Gwendolyn Kiste
Using Ebooks to Understand Story Structure by Jami Gold
Planting Sensory Details-What to Use, When to Use It-for Emotional Impact in Your Writing by Mary Carroll Moore
Your Book’s Inciting Event: It’s Not What You Think It Is and How to Study Plot and Character in Your Favorite Stories: 5 Easy Steps by K.M. Weiland
How to Overcome Procrastination and Finish Writing Your Book _ Part Two by Jan Yager
Is Self-Publishing Coming of Age in the Digital World? by Dougal Shaw
Capes, Cowls, & Costumes 4: Stars and Second Stringers by Paul Kupperberg
February 12, 2016
Book Review: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
Secretary General Stormgren of the United Nations finds himself in a unique position as ambassador to the Overlords, a group of enigmatic–and seemingly omniscient–alien beings whose ships have hovered over Earth’s major cities since their sudden arrival five years before.
Stormgren is regularly flown to one of the vessels to meet with Karellan, the apparent leader of the Overlords. However, Karellan conducts each encounter from behind a one-way mirror and thwarts Stormgren’s attempts to catch a glimpse of him.
It is not for another fifty years before Karellan reveals himself to the human race. During that time and shortly after, the Overlords bring peace and prosperity to the planet, ushering in a golden age for mankind, but also a stagnation in science, art, and general cultural development.
Over time, most of the Earth’s population becomes complacent and docile, as there is no longer a need to work for a living or struggle to make ends meet. However, a small colony forms on a remote island called New Athens with the purpose of maintaining independence from the Overlords and continuing the pursuit of art and culture.
It is around this time when the children of man begin to manifest extraordinary and frightening mental abilities. What does this development mean for the future of Earth, if indeed there is one?
What is the ultimate objective of the Overlords and are they, in fact, serving an even more powerful master?
Childhood’s End has become one of my all-time favorite science fiction novels. One of the golden age masters, Clarke adroitly covers a century of humanity’s relationship with the Overlords without losing momentum.
As with most films that find their genesis in a novel, the contrast between Clarke’s vision and SyFy’s lackluster mini-series are evident. SPOILER ALERT, but some examples include:
Stormgren (Mike Vogel) remains through far more of the series than he did the novel and dies of a slow, debilitating illness caused by his repeated flights from Earth’s surface to Karellan’s ship. This did not occur in the book.
The scientist character of Milo Rodricks (Osy Ikhile), who stows away aboard an Overlord ship to become the only human to see their world, was named Jan Rodricks in the novel and did not actually step foot on the Overlord’s home planet, but rather, one of their moons.
In the book, Jan had no girlfriend. Thus, the scene in the mini-series where the Overlords return Milo/Jan to Earth after his 80-year expedition and present him with the levitating, preserved corpse of his girlfriend was new for the film and utterly pointless to the story.
The ultra-religious character of Peretta (Yael Stone) did not exist in the novel, nor did anyone fire a gun at Karellan (brilliantly portrayed by Charles Dance). The fact that the SyFy film decided to focus rather heavily on the destruction of religion was a departure from Clarke’s novel, which devoted hardly a page to this.
The mini-series attempted to condense a century into six hours, all the while adding unnecessary characters and subplots and failing to clarify the main plot. Still, kudos to the SyFy channel for attempting to return to its roots. Childhood’s End was a refreshing and intelligent change from such tripe as Sharknado, various reality shows, and WWE wrestling (which has been thankfully moved to USA).
February 11, 2016
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Kristen Lamb wants all artists–especially burgeoning writers–to be PAID for their work instead of being promised “exposure” by those who would take advantage.
A.S. Winchester would like to remind us that writing is hard work while Jan Yager and James Scott Bell offer advice on how get the job done. Conversely, Jordan Dane explores roadblocks to progress. Are you ever “too old” to start writing? Keith Cronin doesn’t think so!
Questions about branding? Joe Moore has some answers. Want to run a Goodreads giveaway? Let Cynthia help. Robyn LaRue begins a series on depicting accurate crime scenes and Jo Eberhardt believes in supporting characters.
All that, and a little more. Enjoy!
A Culture Addicted to FREE–How FREE is Poisoning the Internet and Killing the Creatives by Kristen Lamb
Writers Are Not Lazy! by A.S. Winchester
How to Overcome Your Procrastination and Finish Writing Your Book – Part One by Jan Yager
My Top 12 Most Common Obstacles a Writer Faces by Jordan Dane
What’s Your Brand? by Joe Moore
The Ten Events of the Highly Successful Writer by James Scott Bell
Crime Scenes for Writers: Introduction by Robyn LaRue
Filling the Silence by Donald Maass
Too Late to Start Writing? by Keith Cronin
Culture Shock: A Window to World-Building by Gaëtane Burkolter
Writing Supporting Characters that Matter by Jo Eberhardt
Five Tips for Running a Giveaway on Goodreads by Cynthia
Please note that this weekly collection might be placed on hiatus yet again compliments of an overwhelming workload both at my day job and, happily, in my writing life. If this occurs, it will only last perhaps a month.
I am working with my publisher, Firebringer Press, to release volume two of our Middle of Eternity anthology series by July. The first volume, Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity was released in 2014.
Further, my paranormal mystery novella, Like Mother, Like Daughters will be released in both ebook and audio formats later this year. The audio will be recorded by yours truly so I expect that shall cause another blogging hiatus down the line.
However, I promise it shall not be a yearlong absence as in 2015. I do enjoy culling these articles from the interwebs and presenting them to you in the hope that you find them as educational and enlightening as I.
February 4, 2016
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, my publisher and writer pal, Steven H. Wilson, is interviewed by fellow podcaster James DeRuvo about copyright violations and the CBS lawsuit against Star Trek: Axanar.
Over at Mythcreants, Chris Winkle provides his POV on viewpoint characters. Writer Beware’s Victoria Strauss examines the Author Guild’s recent efforts to improve publishing contracts for authors, and on Writer Unboxed, Steven James encourages us to abandon strict adherence to outlines and write organically. In the Kill Zone, Larry Brooks dismisses the plotting vs. pantsing debate in favor of using the process that works best for you.
On the technical side, we get some tips on Ebook formatting and importing files into Scrivener while Chris Musgrave reviews popular writing software.
Finally, in light of the upcoming Suicide Squad film from DC Comics, Bob Greenberger discusses the recent reprinting of the 1980s comic book series, which he edited, and his contribution to a character’s backstory.
All that, and a little more. Enjoy!
doddleTALKS TECH: Steven H. Wilson and the Axanar Copyright Debate via James DeRuvo at doddleNews
What’s Out There For Me? Part One by Chris Musgrave
Importing Files Into Your Scrivener Project by Gwen Hernandez
How to Pick the Best Ebook Format by Daniel Berkowitz
Dirty Little Secrets About the Story Development Process by Larry Brooks
How to Abandon Your Outline to Improve Your Story by Steven James
The Fair Contract Initiative by Victoria Strauss
Choosing Viewpoint Characters by Chris Winkle
I Appear to Have Been Reprinted by Bob Greenberger
Amazon Considers Opening Hundreds of Bookstores by Leena Rao
Three Brilliant Publishers Doing Things Differently by Matt Goolding
February 3, 2016
The Write Stuff Writers Conference is Nearly Upon Us!
Calling all writers! Registration for the 2016 Write Stuff writers conference opens in one week. The conference will be held April 7-9, 2016 at the Best Western in Bethlehem, PA .
Keynote speaker is best-selling thriller writer, Robert Liparulo. Other presenters include Ramona DeFelice Long, Kelly Simmons, Jon Gibbs, Catherine E. McLean, Shawn Smucker, and more. Agents and editors will be on hand to hear your story pitches (available by appointment). Click the link below for information about our sessions, check the conference schedule, and read about our presenters.
I shall be there on Friday night for the Meet and Greet and again on Saturday to attend sessions, help where needed, and enjoy a day with fellow wordslingers. I cannot believe it’s been nearly a year since I was the conference chair!
