Beth Overmyer's Blog: The Blog of Beth Overmyer, page 20

Deadly Sins of Writing/Working

Today is the first day of National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo.) I talked about it a bit last week. Writers around the world sign up to write at least 50,000 words during the month of November—at least, that’s how it started. I’m not sure what it’s evolved to since its inception back in the late 90s. The prize is bragging rights about a) having finished a novel and b) having finished a novel in thirty days or fewer. Whew!

As someone who has attempted NaNoWriMo many time but has never crosse...

7 Ways to Love a WriMo

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2017, pre-NaNo madness!

 

Next week starts the annual tradition of NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short.) You may ask what this nonsensical word means. Or maybe you know someone who is busily stocking up on caffeine, and you are wondering what’s up with them.

Well, let me give a quick definition of the writerly madness that takes place every November:

Starting at 12:00 am on November 1st, millions of writers around the world embark upon the journey of writing a 50,000-word novel in thirty days or fewer. These quirky folk are cal...1,

9 Things Writers Fear

Ever wonder what your favorite author fears? What your writer friend dreads? Wonder no more. Here is a spoooooky list of frights that could stop the heart of almost any wordsmith.

Deadlines

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. – Douglas Adams

It has the word “dead” in it for a reason (dun dun DUUUUN!), but if a writer wants to get anything done, a deadline needs to be set. This year I set a deadline of Halloween to finish draft one of a novel, and I ended up finishing in June. Huh...

Book Ending Types

Question of the day:

“What is your favorite type of book ending?”

Well, let’s take a look at the four main ones.

There are sad endings, where things don’t work out for the characters. Evil wins, things are still bleak, the conflict might be resolved but the reader is left thinking, “What?! That’s IT?” They might feel cheated, used, lied to. Besides A Game of Thrones (Oh, Ned!), one book that somewhat makes me think of this type of ending is The Maltese Falcon, a book which I hated through and...

Books vs. Their Movies

Just for fun, here are my hot takes on different books versus the movies based on them. I was surprised at how many movies I actually preferred (how every slightly) to their source materials (sorry, Jane Austen!) Anyway, here we go!

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Holes the book vs. Holes the movie:

The book is a fun read with interesting characters and a solid plot. The movie is the same, but takes it up a notch with the storytelling (imo.) The MOVIE wins round I.

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Pride and Prejudice the book vs. Pride and Prejudice th...

Hobby Help!

I’ve been thinking lately that I need a hobby. For the longest time, I was calling writing my anything but what it is (my job), but I’ve come to the realization that it’s not exactly a pastime. Therefore…I am hobby-less *insert sad face here*

All work and no play would make Beth a dull writer. And I don’t want to be a dull writer producing dull books. Plus, isn’t there some unspoken rule that writers are supposed to live full lives? Seek adventure where they will? Yes, I realize that there ar...

Research for Fantasy Writing

Research can be a dirty word to some writers; while others spend so much time doing it, they forget to do what they first set out to do: write. You would think writing a fantasy novel would require zero research. Well, if that is anyone’s assumption, they would be resoundingly WRONG.

The Goblets Immortal is set in a fantastical world, which resembles a mash-up of a late Medieval and Georgian England. The main thing I had to do research on? Words. You would not believe how many different expre...

How to Help Your OCD Writer Friend

I have OCD. No, not in that cutesy “Oh, she’s so organized!” sort of way. I mean, if you took one look at my desk, you would know this. (Don’t look at my desk, please. Disaster area. This is where the OCD organizers go to lose hope.) I’m a perfectionist, granted, but I’m also an all-or-nothing sort of person. Read: If I can’t get everything looking perfect, I don’t bother. But I digress.

My type of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) revolves around germs—and that’s simplifying it—and rituals...

Things I Like About Autumn

In all the seasons, there is something to be enjoyed. Summer means no school (yay–for the kids at least.) There are picnics and beach trips and swimming. Spring is the time of renewal, of rain and beautiful growth and pastels. Winter brings Christmas and the New Year, plus sledding and ice-skating and hunkering down until it’s over (the introvert in me rejoices.) But there is something special about autumn. It’s the tail to spring’s head: everything is winding down, getting ready to sleep, bu...

9 Reasons for Libraries

Some people believe that the public library is obsolete, or at least headed in that direction. They see it as a waste of tax dollars, because, frankly, they don’t need it, so no one must. Can’t people just buy an e-book or paperback from Amazon?

[image error] Random but obligatory Mr. Crabby shot, just ’cause

Here is a list of some reasons why I believe the local public library is a boon to society:

9. Not everyone can afford an e-book or paper copy.

Libraries are a free resource that allows those with a l...