Florence Witkop's Blog, page 61
February 27, 2014
I’ve met writers whose social life revo
I’ve met writers whose social life revolves around the writing scene. They attend conferences and workshops and frequent coffee shops where other writers congregate. They love the life as much as they love writing.
I’ve done a little of that. I belong to a writers’ organization and I used to be active in it. But I discovered that belonging to any social group while living in the forest isn’t an easy task and I decided to spend my time writing instead of driving back and forth to meetings.
I miss the companionship of those other writers because the warmth of actual meetings is wonderful. But I find that the internet is an efficient and easy way to keep connected. It’s not quite the same as face-to-face meetings but it allows me to know many, many more writers all over the world than I otherwise could.
And that’s wonderful.
February 26, 2014
My first published works were written in
My first published works were written in first person, heroine’s point-of-view because I started my career writing confession stories and that’s what is required in that market. I see nothing wrong with this way of writing and was somewhat surprised to find that many publishers, many editors and many readers don’t like it.
I suspect their problem is with the writer, not the fact that the story was told in first person. Not all writers are talented and stories told in first person can be just as bad as those told from any other point of view. I also suspect that many new writers write in first person because they were told to do so in a writing class. So it may actually be true that more first person stories are poorly told than those told in other ways.
But I also know that first person can be an intense experience for the reader because they are seeing the story through the eyes of the protagonist.
I like that. I like intense.
February 25, 2014
Writing is an art. And a craft. And a bu
Writing is an art. And a craft. And a business. Sometimes keeping all those things straight is a bit of work. When to do the writing? The networking? The marketing? The book-work?
It used to be easier when a writer just wrote something, sent it off and either got it back or got a contract. That was before e-publishing took off and everything changed.
I’ve noticed that even the articles about the newest things in e-publishing usually include a caveat that what they are telling the reader could change any moment.
It’s exciting to be a part of such a changing, churning landscape. And challenging. But I don’t think I’d want any other job.
February 24, 2014
First a bit of housekeeping and an apolo
First a bit of housekeeping and an apology for the several posts yesterday. I needed to ready the blog for Wolf Legend publicity and didn’t know how to do it without posting several times. Even my WordPress for Dummies didn’t tell me. If anyone knows how to change a page or post and to check the links without publishing it, please tell me.
I like Maggie from Wanted Sharpshooter. And Charlie from Spirit Legend. And Jane from Wolf Legend. And so on. I like my main characters and would enjoy having them as friends.
Now today’s post… liking my characters.
Liking my main characters is important to me as a writer. it enables me to do a good job of portraying them and taking them through whatever obstacles come their way until they reach a good place. Perhaps that’s a hold-over from the time when I wrote Confession stories, which are all told in first person from a very deep point of view.
I can’t imagine writing about someone I don’t like. Neither can I imagine writing about murderers. How do writers who specialize in true crime do it? How can they sleep at night when their days are filled with gore and horrors that happened to someone?
I’m glad I write about nice people and I’ll continue to do so. You can always know that my heroes and heroines are decent, hard-working, moral people and they may be going through some tough times but that won’t change who they are or how they behave.
February 23, 2014
When Dreams Come True
“When Dreams Do Come True” is a quick read about a woman who has a dream while wide awake in which she… and she alone… can save a lost child. But dreams aren’t real, right? Or are they? The child is crying and asking her for help. She can’t ignore her. But if she goes with her gut, ignores common sense, and steps into the dream in order to save the child, what will happen? Will she be able to return to the real world once the child is safe? Or will she cease to exist? And what about the child’s good-looking father who is searching frantically for his daughter? What will happen if they meet?
Click here to buy from Smashwords
The Eye of the Universe
The Eye of the Universe” is a short story that explores what happens when the world will end unless two lovers agree to part forever…. and one of them decides not to abide by those terms.
Click here to buy free from Amazon
Click here to buy for free from Smashwords
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Down From The Mountain
A dystopian short story originally published in The Talking Stick by the Jackpine Writers’ Bloc about a group of condemned prisoners on their way to be executed, not for anything they did wrong but because they are carriers of a virus.
click to get free from Smashwords
click to read for .99 from Amazon
The Goldfish Pond
A fantasy short story about a boy who disappears while sailing across a goldfish pond on a ship made of an old barn door and the detective who searches for him.
Read for a pittance from Amazon
The River Boy
Short dark fantasy romance about a girl who falls in love with the prince of a river.
Click here to download free from Smashwords.
Click here to purchase from Amazon.
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Why Birds Fly
A one-page short story written in the style of Native American ‘creation’ stories, this tale tells how birds first flew.
Click here to read free from Smashwords
Click here to buy from Amazon.
