Barbara G. Tarn's Blog, page 97

Happiness is…

Sunday Surprise

Let’s start with nuggets of writerly wisdom for a productive writing year… Double ration, shorter and sweeter! Happy New Year!!

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on

– Louis L’Amour

When I sit down at my writing desk, time seems to vanish. I think it’s a wonderful way to spend one’s life.

– Erica Jong

Get it down. Take chances, It may be bad, but the the only way you can do anything really good.

– William Faulkner

Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly in whatever is in hand.

– Henry Miller

Most people go through life using up half their energy trying to protect a dignity they never had

― Raymond Chandler

There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.

– Beatrix Potter

Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.

– Ray Bradbury

You want to be a writer? A writer is someone who writes every day – so start writing.

– Shonda Rhimes

Write what you know. Write what you want to know more about. Write what you’re afraid to write about.

– Cec Murphy

You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.

– Les Brown

You don’t find time to write. You make time.

– Nora Roberts

2015 in review

Happy New Year!

This is today’s Random Friday post (I couldn’t be more random than this, LOL!)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

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Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,800 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.

There were 231 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 119 MB. That’s about 4 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was June 7th with 79 views. The most popular post that day was Sunday Surprise.

I shall not share the rest, since it shows also things I don’t want to make public.

Excerpt of last year’s review:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,200 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

There were 165 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 103 MB. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was September 28th with 56 views. The most popular post that day was Sunday Surprise.

So, a lot less visitors this year, which I had already gathered from my stats! ;) Still wondering what you’re looking for here, but I won’t make another poll. You can always drop me a line if you want more of/less of something!

Whishing you all a Wonderful 2016!

Writer Wednesday

End of the year post and new year’s resolutions! I wrote 400K of the 500K planned, but I was slowed down by setting up the publisher’s page that I’d been postponing since the end of 2011. Anyhow, it’s up at last, even though I need to add a few more things and I still haven’t figured out how the newsletter will work. But you’ll get a newsletter in 2016! :)

I also published “only” 20 titles against the usual 25 for the reason above. Those 400K are made of 2 novels (Rajveer the Vampire and Beautiful) 4 novellas (not all published yet) and 12 short stories (same). I still want to complete the single books pages on UPB, and do a few more PODs – new editions of the Books of the Immortals and more. Starting January, I’m off to Createspace for 2-3 POD a month for at least the first 6 months of the new year! :)

So, goals for 2016: write 500K for real this time, or more fiction. Since I don’t know beforehand how long a story will be, I can’t predict how many stories it will be. One novel for sure is Kaylyn – vampires through centuries vol.2 – but then I don’t know.

I plan on more Star Minds Interregnum stories, but no new novels in the Star Minds universe. Some collections for Silvery Earth – Tales of the Northern Kingdoms and Male Lovers of Silvery Earth volume 2 (I still have to write a couple of stories for that one). And another collection of contemporary stories (3 shorts and 1 novella are currently under beta-reading evaluation).

And then I’ll improvise. Tonz of Silvery Earth stories still to tell, hopefully more shorts to submit to magazines… Gearing up for Worldcon in Helsinki (2017), it wouldn’t be too bad if I were accepted by a pro mag before then! ;)

Wishing you all a happy end of the year and see you in 2016 for another wonderful writing and reading year!

Happiness is…

Year in Reading

Since Friday was Christmas and I don’t have anything for Sunday anyway, I thought I’d do a spurious post about my reading year. I don’t think many people will wander on blogs on Christmas Day, and even today is risky, but well… wouldn’t let you 4 days without posts, LOL!

I have read 39 books (might be 40 if I manage one last title this last week of the year) including 7 manuscripts and 12 non-fiction books (which means I’m halfway through the non-fiction bundle I’ve bought in two separate bundles between end 2014 and beginning 2015).

I read also 2 anthologies/short story collections – When the lights go out and Fairy Tales Slashed. The latter I loved in spite of the bad formatting, typos and missing words everywhere, so it’s a recommended reading if you like that genre (m/m).

I had also bought 2 bundles of SFF with the non-fiction bundles, and I think I’m halfway through those too. I’m still trudging through a Campbell Anthology (I think from 2014), and I’m skipping all the novel excerpts! :(

I did not finish a couple of books (one non-fiction and one fiction) – the first because I don’t have that problem so I’d rather read other stuff before getting to that topic and the second because it really didn’t drag me in.

Of those almost-40 books, only 5 were paper books… (and the manuscripts were printed, of course, I just can’t read on a computer screen). I prefer reading non-fiction for research purposes on paper, but if it’s books on writing, my Kindle is just fine! ;)

Now, the recommended FICTION reading list by Barb!

A walk across the Sun (contemporary story set all over the world – India, Europe, US…)

Ivory (science fiction)

Alien Influences (you can guess from the title – SF)

and the above Fairy Tales Slashed. For the NON-FICTION (all books on writing)

The pursuit of Perfection: and How it Harms Writers

Million $ Productivity

The Write Attitude

Now for next year I hope to read 50 books, if possible 30 fiction and 20 non-fiction (I still have some of those bundle books and I need to study business and publishing in Italy, I already have one book I bought last year, I really should start it, LOL!).

That might take down my TBR list a little, and then I can tackle the Smashwords wishlist or the Goodreads want-to-read list! :) Happy reading!

 

Writer Wednesday

Wrapping up projects and making a priority list for the new year. Kinda unhappy with the latest writing, probably because critical voice has arrived – it had never bothered me before, but since I’ve started trying to learn new stuff, it showed up. Meh.

New year I’ll have to learn to ignore it. Keep writing the way I always did, I’m sure that what I learned will slip through even when I don’t think about it.

I still don’t outline much, but I know at least one story is a total miss and didn’t convey at all what I was trying to say, so I’ll redraft it before the end of the year. Critical voice shows up more when I think about the story and try to add that meat that gives depth. It still feels forced to me.

Must be because I’m tired, it’s the end of the year and I have written almost 400K! ;) If you have problem with critical voice and outlines, check Dean’s post and don’t forget to follow the chapters of Heilein’s Rules. No other writerly links for now…

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Hanukah or whatever you celebrate – if you celebrate! Me, I’m just going to my writing cave for 3 days except for the compulsory Christmas lunch at Mom… looking forward to that (the writing cave, not the lunch, LOL)! :D

Happiness is…

and finally updating the Holiday wishes! :D I’ve been using the 2009 version for too long! ;)

Sunday Surprise

And it’s another guest! His book just went live! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Bobby Treat!

Where do you live and write from?

I live in Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin.

Why do you write?

I write because I have to. If we didn’t feel an inner need for it, it’s really too much work for too little money for the vast majority of writers.

When did you start writing?

I was 17 years old, I think, and the very first character is still there today. He faded to the background and became a mysterious, shadowy figure over the years, but he’s still there!

What genre(s) do you write?

I’m not completely sure! Is erotic mystery romance space opera a genre? I go where the characters demand I go. I hope that doesn’t leave readers confused in the end, but it may keep them guessing for twenty chapters!

What does your writing routine consist of?

I’m not a “routine” kind of guy. Most days I go to a fried chicken place and spend four to eight hours reading, writing, web surfing, and chatting with the help — but my most productive solid writing hours tend to be midnight to four A.M., lying on my back with a Macbook Air on my stomach. Sometimes I write 3,000 words in the middle of a single night, but other times it takes me two weeks to write that much.

What do you feel are your strengths as a writer? How have you developed these qualities?

I know more English vocabulary than I allow myself to use. There’s no need using $40 words nobody knows, right? I’m good at grammar and punctuation, and I know when to break the rules. I believe in character and story, not rules or genre stereotypes. How did I get that way? I don’t know! In a nutshell? I have no idea! I did win spelling bees in elementary school, and I browsed dictionaries when I was in junior high. I cut my reading teeth on comic books, the Black Stallion , Call of the Wild , David Copperfield, and lots of science fiction.

Where do you find your inspiration? Do you put yourself in your stories?

I’m still inspired by the science fiction I read growing up, especially E. E. (Doc) Smith’s Lensman Series , Robert Silverberg’s To Live Again , Clifford D. Simak’s Time is the Simplest Thing , Tanith Lee’s Birthgrave , Gordon R. Dickson’s Childe Cycle , Roger Zelazny’s This Immortal and Lord of Light , and Isaac Asimov’s The Gods Themselves .

HOWEVER, I want to write a more grown up and modernized version of some of that. Doc Smith was mired in the sexism of his time (but a friendly sort; he was no misogynist). Asimov avoided romance at all costs, and almost all science fiction avoided sex in the 50s and 60s. Silverberg’s To Live Again is a notable exception, but that was 1969. There are still many science fiction writers who can’t write about personal relationships. I’m working to avoid those limits.

Outliner or improviser? Fast or slow writer?

I am the second one, what writers like to call a “pantser”. That, the lack of a routine, and waiting for characters to tell me what they want tend to make me a slow writer.

Tell us about your latest book (add link if published)

The Fire Within is that “erotic mystery romance space opera” I mentioned before. You can read a full description at the link.

Indie publishing or traditional publishing – and why?

It would be nice to make more money and think less about marketing (traditional publishing), but I have no patience for endlessly searching for agents, fielding dozens of rejections, and all that. Self-publishing is easier, faster, and I don’t have to convince anyone but the reader. Now, if I can just get a few readers!

Any other projects in the pipeline?

The sequel ( Kell of the Deep Space Corps Book 2) is The Dragon Within . I have it written, but it needs rewrites due to changes in the first book. That will take me a bit of time, but it will get done!

What is your goal as a writer and what are you doing to achieve it?

My only goals are (1) to have fun doing it and (2) to find a few readers of a like mind. There may not be millions, but I know there are a few. Here’s to finding them!

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

A friend recently told me to put it out there; no more waiting to make it perfect. That’s good advice if you can follow it.

____________________________

Where to find him:

Goodreads

And to the series website

The book on Goodreads

 

 

Random Friday

Total randomness brings back the 20th century in this last month of the year. I’ve been reminded of former muses too much lately! And not only because I meant to put them in Da Strip…

strip incomplete to be colored and adjusted…

And by the way, today is a … last movie I’ve seen is World War Z! The favorite is probably still Interview with the vampire… ;)

First a Google Alert on Muse K showed the grown-up daughter of a former muse who for some reason uses her mother’s name… but whatever! ;)

Then I rewatched Total Eclipse (which, by the way, mentions… muses and how to celebrate them) and Basketball Diaries. Last movie I’ve seen is Django Unchained, and Inception before that.

There’s the immortal boys of 1964 who haven’t changed much – although one I have sorta lost track of, since the last movie I saw is You, me and Dupree (2006), but I recently rewatched Beautiful Girls (1996) for some inspiration.

The other I follow on Facebook, got his solo album and I know they’re both as immortal and unchangeable as Muse K! ;)

And then trying to remind myself what the 1980s muses looked like, I stumbled upon the man from whom I stole my pen name… boy, he still looks good! Pity that the second best voice of the 80s (after Morten Harkett of A-ha) has moved on to other things.

And that both Wikipedia and mispell his first name. Should I post the “ID sheet” he filled with his own hand in the 1980s for an Italian magazine? ;)

Can you believe he was the inspiration for Gaurishankar, whom Daniele calls… with his real name, even though I wrote Technological Angel years after he was famous as the singer of a pop band (and in fact Gaurishankar looks like the guy in the video of Home is where the heart is, LOL)?

Anyhow, he’s a composer and filmmaker and he even won a BAFTA, so I’ll have to get meself a DVD or two in January! ;)

And speaking of movies and the 1980s… I was 15 when The Empire Strikes Back came out, and I saw it in theaters before Star Wars (that came back into theaters after the second movie came out). I love the original trilogy.

Will I see the sequels? No more than I watched the 4th Indiana Jones. Nope. Sorry. I’d rather remember Han Solo and Indiana Jones in their thirties… ;) Have a great weekend!