Amy Laurens's Blog, page 116
February 19, 2012
I apologize for not being able to dress myself
Today, to round off the unofficial series of guest posts on creativity, I've invited Krista D. Ball to the blog. Krista is an awesome writer, and we just happen to be TOC buddies in the upcoming Ride the Moon anthology, which is of course tremendously exciting. For me, anyway O:) Go check out her website for some great stories.
Most of the authors I know are incredibly talented. For example, Billie Milholland paints, writes, and does general crafty things. Susan J. Forest writes award-winning short fiction and paints beautiful landscapes.
Me? I need help matching my clothes.
When the kindergarten kids were expressively painting their cats and elephants, I was still working with basic stick figures. I've never actually moved past that stage. I managed to successfully do one splatter painting called "Artist Killed By Sniper" but it generally gets me odd looks; it's currently buried in a box.
Music? Nah, I can't carry a tune. Sew? Please. I don't even know how to use a sewing machine, let alone attach a button. I do crochet, but I can't move past the beginner patterns and even those are often too difficult for me. I used to do cross stitch, and would spend more time pulling apart the pattern than putting it together.
And, yes, I need help matching my clothes.
I have two stores that I shop at and the store people know me now. I go in and say what I need (i.e. I need an outfit to wear at a readercon). They will then go and pick me out an entire outfit: pants, shirt, sweater, scarf, jewelry, socks. The sales staff will tell me if it works or not and I buy the entire set. I then only wear that entire set together until I'm comfortable to switch it up.
I really have no idea what matches, looks good, or is in "good taste."
I've had several bosses over the years that have nitpicked at how I dress. My white socks clash with my grey pants. My brown dress hose clashes with my black shirt. My blue shirt doesn't match my dark jeans. My make up clashes with my eye colour. My hair doesn't match my face. My glasses don't match my eye colour. I can go on. I've come to realize that it really was me, not them. I have no taste.
Oh, I'm sure I am still creative. But outside of books, I'm really not sure that statement applies. So the next time you see a photo of me, remember: someone else dressed me.
According to her mother, Krista D. Ball tells lies for a living. She is the author of several short stories, novellas, and novels. Krista incorporates as much historical information into her fiction as possible, mostly to justify her B.A. in British History.
Krista enjoys all aspects of the writing and publishing world, and has been a magazine intern, co-edited four RPG books, self-published several short stories and a novella series, and has been a slush reader for a small Canadian press. She has also written a non-fiction blogging guide and is currently writing a non-fiction historical book for authors called, "What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank."
Whenever she gets annoyed, she blows something up in her fiction. Regular readers of her work have commented that she is annoyed a lot.
Most of the authors I know are incredibly talented. For example, Billie Milholland paints, writes, and does general crafty things. Susan J. Forest writes award-winning short fiction and paints beautiful landscapes.
Me? I need help matching my clothes.
When the kindergarten kids were expressively painting their cats and elephants, I was still working with basic stick figures. I've never actually moved past that stage. I managed to successfully do one splatter painting called "Artist Killed By Sniper" but it generally gets me odd looks; it's currently buried in a box.
Music? Nah, I can't carry a tune. Sew? Please. I don't even know how to use a sewing machine, let alone attach a button. I do crochet, but I can't move past the beginner patterns and even those are often too difficult for me. I used to do cross stitch, and would spend more time pulling apart the pattern than putting it together.
And, yes, I need help matching my clothes.
I have two stores that I shop at and the store people know me now. I go in and say what I need (i.e. I need an outfit to wear at a readercon). They will then go and pick me out an entire outfit: pants, shirt, sweater, scarf, jewelry, socks. The sales staff will tell me if it works or not and I buy the entire set. I then only wear that entire set together until I'm comfortable to switch it up.
I really have no idea what matches, looks good, or is in "good taste."
I've had several bosses over the years that have nitpicked at how I dress. My white socks clash with my grey pants. My brown dress hose clashes with my black shirt. My blue shirt doesn't match my dark jeans. My make up clashes with my eye colour. My hair doesn't match my face. My glasses don't match my eye colour. I can go on. I've come to realize that it really was me, not them. I have no taste.
Oh, I'm sure I am still creative. But outside of books, I'm really not sure that statement applies. So the next time you see a photo of me, remember: someone else dressed me.
According to her mother, Krista D. Ball tells lies for a living. She is the author of several short stories, novellas, and novels. Krista incorporates as much historical information into her fiction as possible, mostly to justify her B.A. in British History.
Krista enjoys all aspects of the writing and publishing world, and has been a magazine intern, co-edited four RPG books, self-published several short stories and a novella series, and has been a slush reader for a small Canadian press. She has also written a non-fiction blogging guide and is currently writing a non-fiction historical book for authors called, "What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank."
Whenever she gets annoyed, she blows something up in her fiction. Regular readers of her work have commented that she is annoyed a lot.
February 13, 2012
When Less is More
Less is more. I've heard some people twist this maxim to 'more is more'. Granted, that works in some situations, and the whole 'less is more' idea obviously has its limits: some food is better than no food! And some words on a page definitely give the reader the idea of the story better than no words. You can definitely have too little.
But you can also have too much. I'm referring, here, to the idea of overwriting – something which I was guilty of as an inexperienced writer for far too many years, partially because no one could tell me what they actually meant when they said I had overwritten something (not even my university creative writing lecturer!). It took a few years of practice, lots of critiquing, and the revisiting of some of my old university notes to figure out what they really meant.
Here's the thing: when I sit down to write, I often have a pretty specific idea in my head of what everything looks like – where things are in relation to each other, colours, general interaction of characters and setting, and so forth. Obviously, the entire point of writing is to try to convey that mental image to the people who will read my story, and that's what learning to write is about – learning how best to perform telepathy and transfer the image from my head to yours. Writing really is magical :)
Like all good magic, though, there's a catch: your head isn't a blank slate waiting for me to throw stuff at. Readers come to everything they read with their own perceptions, backgrounds, and associations – both for concepts and individual words. I do this activity in my creative writing class at school where I read out the description of a room and ask all the students to draw it. Of course, every drawing I get is different; some drew it from different perspectives, some interpreted my words in different ways – and of course, they all fill in the gaps differently.
Because here's the other thing: no matter how detailed I am in my description, I will always leave gaps. Something about the quality of the light, or the exact proportions of the objects, or the precise shade or tone, or the temperature, or smell, or the feel of the carpet on my feet – something will always slip through my description, and the students will always have to fill in some gaps.
The students, of course, are like readers. Reader Response Theory posits that readers derive their own meaning from texts using multiple layers as clues – the phonetic layer, where we figure out the meaning of each sound, the orthographic layer, where we figure out what sounds the squiggles on the page represent, the semantic layer where we figure out what words as a whole mean, and so on and so forth. There is always going to be some fundamental similarity of meaning that all readers will have in common – Hamlet is after all not a muffin, as my university lecturer would say – but there will also be differences (sometimes slight, sometimes significant) in the way that readers perceive a story that will mean that they have different interpretations of it.
This is a good thing! I don't know about you, but I find the most boring stories are the ones where everything is served up to me, where I don't have to exercise my imagination or engage on any meaningful level in order to get through it. Gaps are good – gaps engage the reader and give them some work to do. Of course, as I said at the beginning, some food is better than none, and you don't want to lapse into obscurity so that the reader has no clue what you're talking about – that will generally make me throw down a book just as quickly as if the writer had swamped me with every single detail. It's all about the balance: not overwriting (too few gaps) and not underwriting (too many gaps).
For me, writing is most of all about being conscious of the words you use. Maybe not in draft-mode, but at least at the final-edit stage, I have to go through and check my word usage, and make sure that every word is the best one for that moment, that it all means what I intend it to. But being a conscious writer means more than that – it also means being conscious of the gaps you leave in your work. There will always be gaps – and there should be – but they should be gaps that you have chosen.
How do you choose where to leave the gaps? Significance. Does it really matter that your protagonist is wearing a red shirt? Sometimes, yes. If, for example, he's about to be sacrificially shot so the rest of the team can get away, sure, the fact that he has a red shirt might be symbolic. Ditto if you're wanting to subtly foreshadow his part in an upcoming murder, or that he will die soon, or whatever. Or even if it's just because he's going to spill some tomato sauce on himself and it will be pretty critical to the plot that it doesn't show up. If it's just red because, then maybe not so much.
The key point is critical to the plot. Significant detail. Does it really matter if the reader misses this particular detail? If not, leave it out. The words that remain will be that much stronger, that much tighter, and the core of your meaning that much clearer if you do.
But you can also have too much. I'm referring, here, to the idea of overwriting – something which I was guilty of as an inexperienced writer for far too many years, partially because no one could tell me what they actually meant when they said I had overwritten something (not even my university creative writing lecturer!). It took a few years of practice, lots of critiquing, and the revisiting of some of my old university notes to figure out what they really meant.
Here's the thing: when I sit down to write, I often have a pretty specific idea in my head of what everything looks like – where things are in relation to each other, colours, general interaction of characters and setting, and so forth. Obviously, the entire point of writing is to try to convey that mental image to the people who will read my story, and that's what learning to write is about – learning how best to perform telepathy and transfer the image from my head to yours. Writing really is magical :)
Like all good magic, though, there's a catch: your head isn't a blank slate waiting for me to throw stuff at. Readers come to everything they read with their own perceptions, backgrounds, and associations – both for concepts and individual words. I do this activity in my creative writing class at school where I read out the description of a room and ask all the students to draw it. Of course, every drawing I get is different; some drew it from different perspectives, some interpreted my words in different ways – and of course, they all fill in the gaps differently.
Because here's the other thing: no matter how detailed I am in my description, I will always leave gaps. Something about the quality of the light, or the exact proportions of the objects, or the precise shade or tone, or the temperature, or smell, or the feel of the carpet on my feet – something will always slip through my description, and the students will always have to fill in some gaps.
The students, of course, are like readers. Reader Response Theory posits that readers derive their own meaning from texts using multiple layers as clues – the phonetic layer, where we figure out the meaning of each sound, the orthographic layer, where we figure out what sounds the squiggles on the page represent, the semantic layer where we figure out what words as a whole mean, and so on and so forth. There is always going to be some fundamental similarity of meaning that all readers will have in common – Hamlet is after all not a muffin, as my university lecturer would say – but there will also be differences (sometimes slight, sometimes significant) in the way that readers perceive a story that will mean that they have different interpretations of it.
This is a good thing! I don't know about you, but I find the most boring stories are the ones where everything is served up to me, where I don't have to exercise my imagination or engage on any meaningful level in order to get through it. Gaps are good – gaps engage the reader and give them some work to do. Of course, as I said at the beginning, some food is better than none, and you don't want to lapse into obscurity so that the reader has no clue what you're talking about – that will generally make me throw down a book just as quickly as if the writer had swamped me with every single detail. It's all about the balance: not overwriting (too few gaps) and not underwriting (too many gaps).
For me, writing is most of all about being conscious of the words you use. Maybe not in draft-mode, but at least at the final-edit stage, I have to go through and check my word usage, and make sure that every word is the best one for that moment, that it all means what I intend it to. But being a conscious writer means more than that – it also means being conscious of the gaps you leave in your work. There will always be gaps – and there should be – but they should be gaps that you have chosen.
How do you choose where to leave the gaps? Significance. Does it really matter that your protagonist is wearing a red shirt? Sometimes, yes. If, for example, he's about to be sacrificially shot so the rest of the team can get away, sure, the fact that he has a red shirt might be symbolic. Ditto if you're wanting to subtly foreshadow his part in an upcoming murder, or that he will die soon, or whatever. Or even if it's just because he's going to spill some tomato sauce on himself and it will be pretty critical to the plot that it doesn't show up. If it's just red because, then maybe not so much.
The key point is critical to the plot. Significant detail. Does it really matter if the reader misses this particular detail? If not, leave it out. The words that remain will be that much stronger, that much tighter, and the core of your meaning that much clearer if you do.
February 12, 2012
Blog Tour + Giveaways!
Hi there! Just a quick reminder that while I've been off busy spawning a minion:
...the giveaways are still active, regardless of what they might say in-post. See here and here, and please! Encourage people to enter! Share and spread the word!
Also, belatedly, I am part of a blog tour! Random Writing Rants is a week-ish long blog hop that we are actually nearly at the end of (sigh), but it's never too late to join the fun! My post, called "When Less is More", will be up HERE TOMORROW.
Check out the rest of the contributors, starting here with Chrystalla Thoma's rant about hopping :)
...the giveaways are still active, regardless of what they might say in-post. See here and here, and please! Encourage people to enter! Share and spread the word!
Also, belatedly, I am part of a blog tour! Random Writing Rants is a week-ish long blog hop that we are actually nearly at the end of (sigh), but it's never too late to join the fun! My post, called "When Less is More", will be up HERE TOMORROW.
Check out the rest of the contributors, starting here with Chrystalla Thoma's rant about hopping :)
9 Febr: A. Merc Rustad – On Voice
10 Febr: Marie Dees – Building a Novel from Nothing
11 Febr: Krista D. Ball – Avoiding the Heroine Stupid Juice
12 Febr: Marion Sipe – Rant on Stereotypes, Cliches and Tropes
13 Febr: Ada Hoffmann – On Blundering
14 Febr: Amy Laurens – When Less is More
February 5, 2012
Guest Post: How To Break A Fairy Tale
**See end for contest details**
Today I'd like to welcome Emily Casey, author of the newly-released The Fairy Tale Trap. Round of applause, if you please! In Emily's own words, she writes "everything from fairy tales to zombies, from middle grade to young adult. I write what's exciting to me and just hope someone else out there likes it." Sounds like a good philosophy to me :o)
Check out the other stops on Emily's blog tour here.
Thanks Amy, for letting me visit. I understand the need to let others take over for a bit, especially during pregnancy and soon after. That actually has something to do with what I'm blogging about today: how pregnancy led me to my new hobby: breaking fairy tales.
My main character, Ivy Thorn, was born on my blog. I was suffering from pregnancy brain at the time and didn't feel like I could write long fiction, so I let Ivy tear apart a few fairy tales.
Of course, Ivy had to put her own spin on things. She's not the type to sit back and let the fairy tale run its course. The thing I'm most proud of was when (in an early blog draft, not The Fairy Tale Trap) Ivy found herself stuck in the story: Snow White. She suggested that instead of going to all that trouble to kill Snow White, the queen should just use a spell to make Snow White ugly. It just made more sense!
We've heard the stories so many times that we just accept them. But what would happen if Cinderella refused to be a doormat? What would happen if someone broke a spell, but it didn't work out the way they thought it would? The question I asked in The Fairy Tale Trap was: What if Beast wasn't the gentle, civil prince on the inside? What if he was just as wild and terrible as he looked?
Ivy (who seems to have a personality of her own) asks different questions. Instead of "what if" questions, she usually just raises a defiant eyebrow and does something she's not supposed to.
The thing is, breaking fairy tales is like eating potato chips. I can't stop at one! There are so many fairy tales out there, and so many ways for Ivy to mess them up.
So here's to wreaking havoc with the charming tales we grew up with! May everything blow up in your characters' faces, and hopefully they'll make you laugh every now and then.
Want to know if The Fairy Tale Trap might be for you? Check out what Emily has to say on the matter, read the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, and watch the book trailer below :)
Find out more about Emily and her books on her website. You can also stalk her on Facebook or Twitter, and see her profile on Goodreads.
**CONTEST**
Finally, if you'd like the chance to win your very own e-copy (multiple formats available) of The Fairy Tale Trap, all you have to do is leave a comment below letting us know 1) what YOUR favourite fairy tale is and 2) who you've told about Emily's awesome book (and yes, if you're really struggling, your cat can count).
You can leave an email address if you like BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO. I'll hunt down the winner once they're chosen >:) Winner will be chosen by random draw on February 20, so you have two weeks to spread the word!
Bonus: If anyone can guess MY favourite fairy tale, I'll write a fractured version of it JUST FOR YOU, and YOU get to name the main character :) No novels, though - this will be a long short story ;) And obviously, you'll get a free copy when I'm done :D
Today I'd like to welcome Emily Casey, author of the newly-released The Fairy Tale Trap. Round of applause, if you please! In Emily's own words, she writes "everything from fairy tales to zombies, from middle grade to young adult. I write what's exciting to me and just hope someone else out there likes it." Sounds like a good philosophy to me :o)Check out the other stops on Emily's blog tour here.
Thanks Amy, for letting me visit. I understand the need to let others take over for a bit, especially during pregnancy and soon after. That actually has something to do with what I'm blogging about today: how pregnancy led me to my new hobby: breaking fairy tales.
My main character, Ivy Thorn, was born on my blog. I was suffering from pregnancy brain at the time and didn't feel like I could write long fiction, so I let Ivy tear apart a few fairy tales.
Of course, Ivy had to put her own spin on things. She's not the type to sit back and let the fairy tale run its course. The thing I'm most proud of was when (in an early blog draft, not The Fairy Tale Trap) Ivy found herself stuck in the story: Snow White. She suggested that instead of going to all that trouble to kill Snow White, the queen should just use a spell to make Snow White ugly. It just made more sense!
We've heard the stories so many times that we just accept them. But what would happen if Cinderella refused to be a doormat? What would happen if someone broke a spell, but it didn't work out the way they thought it would? The question I asked in The Fairy Tale Trap was: What if Beast wasn't the gentle, civil prince on the inside? What if he was just as wild and terrible as he looked?
Ivy (who seems to have a personality of her own) asks different questions. Instead of "what if" questions, she usually just raises a defiant eyebrow and does something she's not supposed to.
The thing is, breaking fairy tales is like eating potato chips. I can't stop at one! There are so many fairy tales out there, and so many ways for Ivy to mess them up.
So here's to wreaking havoc with the charming tales we grew up with! May everything blow up in your characters' faces, and hopefully they'll make you laugh every now and then.
Want to know if The Fairy Tale Trap might be for you? Check out what Emily has to say on the matter, read the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, and watch the book trailer below :)
Find out more about Emily and her books on her website. You can also stalk her on Facebook or Twitter, and see her profile on Goodreads.
**CONTEST**
Finally, if you'd like the chance to win your very own e-copy (multiple formats available) of The Fairy Tale Trap, all you have to do is leave a comment below letting us know 1) what YOUR favourite fairy tale is and 2) who you've told about Emily's awesome book (and yes, if you're really struggling, your cat can count).
You can leave an email address if you like BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO. I'll hunt down the winner once they're chosen >:) Winner will be chosen by random draw on February 20, so you have two weeks to spread the word!
Bonus: If anyone can guess MY favourite fairy tale, I'll write a fractured version of it JUST FOR YOU, and YOU get to name the main character :) No novels, though - this will be a long short story ;) And obviously, you'll get a free copy when I'm done :D
January 29, 2012
Guest Post: Late-Night Creativity
Followers,
Tonight I interrupt your usual inkfever update to bring you trivial musings of a more sinister nature. Well actually, I have just been permitted to guest blog whilst Amy is hatching her young. That may not sound too sinister, but who knows? If followers are lost as a result of this blog, it may be. For me.
I dabble at song-writing. And silver-smithing, saxophone, hiking, staying up past 10pm, cooking edible food... the list goes on. Song-writing is the most unintentional activity on that list. I suffer from late-night creativity. Whilst there appears to be no cure for this, mitigating therapy includes keeping pens, paper, torches and my mobile phone (for voice recording) next to my bed just in case. So far, I think writing in my sleep can be categorised as follows:
- Music I have clearly stolen from something heard earlier that day
- Music that sounded great when I was tired
- Music that makes no sense whatsoever (or is illegible)
- Music that I actually like the next morning
The first category is what I dread most. Luckily for me, I am now usually writing in the fourth category.
My other most productive places for writing are in the shower or driving long distance in the car. Neither are what I would call convenient.
I have tried making myself write when I feel like it. This has not been successful. It usually sounds forced or loses its voice within a couple of lines. I just don't have life-experience to draw inspiration from. I live a happily sheltered life. I still get ideas from bad moods, and especially from emotive books, but somehow being distracted is the key to letting it all play out.
My favourite song (at the moment) is 'Moth to the Flame' - featuring themes from 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall', nonsense talk from my cousin about Leonardo DiCaprio's character and the general story of a girl's infatuation with a man who is no good.
I hope you like it.
'Moth to the Flame'
Copyright Rebecca Stohr 2011
A tragic star dawns on the horizon, captivating the heart of a girl. An altogether, beautiful disaster.
A charming man is always forgiven, blinding better judgement again.
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
Moth to the flame
Moth to the flame
Little moth, what are you trying to do?
Give it up, it's been far too long
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
You cannot save that soul who needs redemption.
Perhaps it's true, you've lost all your senses. Crawling back when he calls for you.
He's not repentant, just a lonely people user.
Only a fool is jealous of God, for all the time you spend praying for him.
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
Moth to the flame
Moth to the flame
Little moth, what are you trying to do?
Give it up, it's been far too long
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
You cannot save that soul who needs redemption.
I think I'm talking reason to you honey. Wo-oe. And still, you always say
"O-o-oh let me away from here - I will be his cure.
I will fall to the arms of love so I may be there when he stumbles"
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
Moth to the flame
Moth to the flame...
No idea where my musical journey is headed from here. An amazing friend bought me some studio time for my birthday. That should be enough to produce a couple of demo tracks. Alternatively, I will have to plan for many long showers, road-trips and late nights =D
Bec
Tonight I interrupt your usual inkfever update to bring you trivial musings of a more sinister nature. Well actually, I have just been permitted to guest blog whilst Amy is hatching her young. That may not sound too sinister, but who knows? If followers are lost as a result of this blog, it may be. For me.
I dabble at song-writing. And silver-smithing, saxophone, hiking, staying up past 10pm, cooking edible food... the list goes on. Song-writing is the most unintentional activity on that list. I suffer from late-night creativity. Whilst there appears to be no cure for this, mitigating therapy includes keeping pens, paper, torches and my mobile phone (for voice recording) next to my bed just in case. So far, I think writing in my sleep can be categorised as follows:
- Music I have clearly stolen from something heard earlier that day
- Music that sounded great when I was tired
- Music that makes no sense whatsoever (or is illegible)
- Music that I actually like the next morning
The first category is what I dread most. Luckily for me, I am now usually writing in the fourth category.
My other most productive places for writing are in the shower or driving long distance in the car. Neither are what I would call convenient.
I have tried making myself write when I feel like it. This has not been successful. It usually sounds forced or loses its voice within a couple of lines. I just don't have life-experience to draw inspiration from. I live a happily sheltered life. I still get ideas from bad moods, and especially from emotive books, but somehow being distracted is the key to letting it all play out.
My favourite song (at the moment) is 'Moth to the Flame' - featuring themes from 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall', nonsense talk from my cousin about Leonardo DiCaprio's character and the general story of a girl's infatuation with a man who is no good.
I hope you like it.
'Moth to the Flame'
Copyright Rebecca Stohr 2011
A tragic star dawns on the horizon, captivating the heart of a girl. An altogether, beautiful disaster.
A charming man is always forgiven, blinding better judgement again.
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
Moth to the flame
Moth to the flame
Little moth, what are you trying to do?
Give it up, it's been far too long
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
You cannot save that soul who needs redemption.
Perhaps it's true, you've lost all your senses. Crawling back when he calls for you.
He's not repentant, just a lonely people user.
Only a fool is jealous of God, for all the time you spend praying for him.
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
Moth to the flame
Moth to the flame
Little moth, what are you trying to do?
Give it up, it's been far too long
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
You cannot save that soul who needs redemption.
I think I'm talking reason to you honey. Wo-oe. And still, you always say
"O-o-oh let me away from here - I will be his cure.
I will fall to the arms of love so I may be there when he stumbles"
You say it like you mean it, but girl I'm pretty sure
Moth to the flame
Moth to the flame...
No idea where my musical journey is headed from here. An amazing friend bought me some studio time for my birthday. That should be enough to produce a couple of demo tracks. Alternatively, I will have to plan for many long showers, road-trips and late nights =D
Bec
January 22, 2012
Guest Post: Creativity
Today I'd like to introduce you all to my friend Clare! Clare is an Australian graphic designer and illustrator with a passion for making puppets (and they are awesome puppets, too). Samples of her work can be found at www.clarebarnes.com.
First off, let me say that I am not a writer.
Well that is not entirely true. I mean, obviously I can write, but writing in and of itself is not the core of what I do.
So you might well be wondering how I came to be following and writing a guest post on an authors blog…
Well let me explain.
In the last few years as I have been studying graphic design, I have come to recognise that as a creative professional, it is incredibly important that I not only explore my own creative field, but that I also develop a habit of exploring the creative fields outside of my own.
Whilst this can be a time consuming exercise (and a wonderful tool for procrastination) I have found that exploring other fields enriches my understanding of the world around me and inspires me in ways that I would miss out on if I restricted my field of vision solely to that of graphic design.
The main reason for this is that most people are just plain inspiring. I am continually amazed by the countless ideas, techniques, stories, experience etc that people all over the world develop and share on a regular basis.
Another reason for exploring outside my own area of expertise is that I am constantly reminded of how many different ways people can view the same sorts of topics, and that problems can be solved from more then one angle. If I am able to remember this, then I become more understanding of other peoples perspectives, and if my own solution for something isn't working I can try solving it from an angle I may not have thought of if I had not been exploring.
For example, I have discovered that some of the world and character building techniques that are used when writing, can also be used to generate ideas for illustrations.
By giving my mind access to all this information I am allowing my imagination to be sparked by concepts that it may not normally come across. And whilst not all of the information that I find will be immediately useful, I know my brain is able to store bits away in boxes and on shelves, in readiness for when I need it.
Here is one simple way to think about it: 
As creative people we are like the little box. As we explore new or different areas, we collect information and inspiring ideas and store it away. Then, the next time that we need some of it, our brain is able to pull bits from here and there and somehow combines information in ways we might never have thought of otherwise to create an Awesome Idea.
Pretty cool huh?
So next time you are stumped for ideas, how about going exploring? You never know exactly what you'll find….
January 19, 2012
Prizes! Contests! BOOKS!
Hurrah! I love announcements like this :o)
So I know I just had a couple of contests, but I found some awesome books recently and needed a good excuse to give them away, and you guys provided me with the perfect opportunity: the blog has hit 100 followers :o) You guys are awesome. I'm really not sure why most of you follow me; I'm rarely coherent, frequently random, and I'm not entirely convinced that anything I say here is of the slightest use, but nonetheless, there are a whole CENTURY of you that approve well enough to let your little avatar be displayed in the box over there --->
THANK YOU.
Thank you, also, to the exact-number-indeterminate of you that follow through other methods, like feedreaders, or who click through from CC, twitter, or facebook. Seriously: you guys rock. I quite literally would not be here on this blog without you, because really, what would be the point? I talk to myself enough in my own head, I don't need a blog to acheive that :D
SO. Contest #1.
To say thank you for being awesome and tolerating my weirdness, I will be giving away to one lucky winner their choice of the following:
Danyelle Leafty's debut Catspell (ebook pdf version)
Kiersten White's debut Paranormalcy (trade paperback)
Brenna Yovanoff's debut The Replacement (trade paperback)
Michelle Davidson Argyle's short story anthology True Colors: And Other Short Stories (e-version, multiple formats available)
And randomly, John Steinbeck's The Pearl (mass market paperback - Popular Penguins series)
To enter, you must be following me somewhere (either the blog via the sidebar gadget, me on twitter, or my facebook page) and leave a comment in the, er, comments. Just say you want to enter and which prize you'd like; I'll extricate the private details from the winner privately ;) :D
And now, Contest #2!
I recently review Divergent and raved about the awesomeness that it is. It is, in fact, SO awesome, that I bought a second copy ESPECIALLY so I could share the awesomeness with someone else. Because truly, it is awesome. So, to enter for your chance to win Divergent, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. It's delivered right to your inbox's door once every second month (or so) by the carrier bats, and has an article, a book or blog review, a contest (yes, THAT'S RIGHT, you could WIN A BOOK EVERY SECOND MONTH! *dies of the squee*) and more of the fun and random stuff you'd expect from me. Because, you know, I live to bring the random into your life. #mottos #likegrottos #onlylesswet
So! Contests! Hurrah! Spread the word (or, you know, not, if you want to increase your chances of winning??) and join the love! HURRAH.
Remember, for Contest #1, leave a comment below saying where/how you follow my crazy ramblings.
For Contest #2, sign up for the newsletter. If you're already subscribed to the newsletter, you're entered by default ;)
BOTH CONTESTS will close on February 2 when I will draw the winners at random. I'll announce the winners asap - I'm planning to announce on Feb 2, but I reserve the right to extend that a little should the minion not have appeared by then (which he jolly well better have OR ELSE).
Yay! Contests!
So I know I just had a couple of contests, but I found some awesome books recently and needed a good excuse to give them away, and you guys provided me with the perfect opportunity: the blog has hit 100 followers :o) You guys are awesome. I'm really not sure why most of you follow me; I'm rarely coherent, frequently random, and I'm not entirely convinced that anything I say here is of the slightest use, but nonetheless, there are a whole CENTURY of you that approve well enough to let your little avatar be displayed in the box over there --->
THANK YOU.
Thank you, also, to the exact-number-indeterminate of you that follow through other methods, like feedreaders, or who click through from CC, twitter, or facebook. Seriously: you guys rock. I quite literally would not be here on this blog without you, because really, what would be the point? I talk to myself enough in my own head, I don't need a blog to acheive that :D
SO. Contest #1.
To say thank you for being awesome and tolerating my weirdness, I will be giving away to one lucky winner their choice of the following:
Danyelle Leafty's debut Catspell (ebook pdf version)
Kiersten White's debut Paranormalcy (trade paperback)
Brenna Yovanoff's debut The Replacement (trade paperback)
Michelle Davidson Argyle's short story anthology True Colors: And Other Short Stories (e-version, multiple formats available)
And randomly, John Steinbeck's The Pearl (mass market paperback - Popular Penguins series)
To enter, you must be following me somewhere (either the blog via the sidebar gadget, me on twitter, or my facebook page) and leave a comment in the, er, comments. Just say you want to enter and which prize you'd like; I'll extricate the private details from the winner privately ;) :D
And now, Contest #2!
I recently review Divergent and raved about the awesomeness that it is. It is, in fact, SO awesome, that I bought a second copy ESPECIALLY so I could share the awesomeness with someone else. Because truly, it is awesome. So, to enter for your chance to win Divergent, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. It's delivered right to your inbox's door once every second month (or so) by the carrier bats, and has an article, a book or blog review, a contest (yes, THAT'S RIGHT, you could WIN A BOOK EVERY SECOND MONTH! *dies of the squee*) and more of the fun and random stuff you'd expect from me. Because, you know, I live to bring the random into your life. #mottos #likegrottos #onlylesswet
So! Contests! Hurrah! Spread the word (or, you know, not, if you want to increase your chances of winning??) and join the love! HURRAH.
Remember, for Contest #1, leave a comment below saying where/how you follow my crazy ramblings.
For Contest #2, sign up for the newsletter. If you're already subscribed to the newsletter, you're entered by default ;)
BOTH CONTESTS will close on February 2 when I will draw the winners at random. I'll announce the winners asap - I'm planning to announce on Feb 2, but I reserve the right to extend that a little should the minion not have appeared by then (which he jolly well better have OR ELSE).
Yay! Contests!
January 17, 2012
Time to Stand
Literally, first of all, because the minion has decided that I ought to be banned from sitting, and makes a fuss in my ribcage whenever I do. But I also mean the figurative stand, as in 'taking a...'. Against what?
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) (that link is to Wikipedia, which will, in about 2 hours, be going dark for the duration of its January 18 as a mark of protest). Those of you that trawl the interwebs might have come across this already, and a large percentage of my readership will have dismissed it as 'a US law that doesn't apply to us'. Unfortunately, because a lot of the large companies that own major internet sites (think Google, Facebook, etc) are based in the US, this DOES affect us. All of us.
Here is a good summary of what the fuss is all about. It's already nearly the end of the 18th here in Aus, so I am, as usual, late to the party; hence, I'm not blacking out the blog. A lot of you read via feed readers anyway, so probably wouldn't even notice that the blog had gone dark for a day (especially with my REALLY REGULAR posting schedule). So I'm doing what I consider to be more important: spreading the word.
ETA: Something us international peeps CAN do: Petitions here and here. Look for the 'Not in the US' links.
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) (that link is to Wikipedia, which will, in about 2 hours, be going dark for the duration of its January 18 as a mark of protest). Those of you that trawl the interwebs might have come across this already, and a large percentage of my readership will have dismissed it as 'a US law that doesn't apply to us'. Unfortunately, because a lot of the large companies that own major internet sites (think Google, Facebook, etc) are based in the US, this DOES affect us. All of us.
Here is a good summary of what the fuss is all about. It's already nearly the end of the 18th here in Aus, so I am, as usual, late to the party; hence, I'm not blacking out the blog. A lot of you read via feed readers anyway, so probably wouldn't even notice that the blog had gone dark for a day (especially with my REALLY REGULAR posting schedule). So I'm doing what I consider to be more important: spreading the word.
ETA: Something us international peeps CAN do: Petitions here and here. Look for the 'Not in the US' links.
