Cate Russell-Cole's Blog, page 12

Support an Author: How to Write a Book Review ~ #saam14

To sell books, we all need reviews… as much as we sometimes dread them! One of the best ways to support any author is to write a well-crafted review. I had to do a lot of searching online to find out how. Most of the information you get off the Internet is about F.o.r.m.a.l. college-type reviews, technical journals and things that scare my hair off. So to save us all, I have “borrowed,” and slightly modified these awesome tips. They are user-friendly. So please, write a book review this week… unless you hate the book. In that case, just walk away quietly and leave the world a more peaceful place.

The source of the wisdom below is http://slashdot.org/faq/bookreviews.shtml I took out the negative parts of writing a critique, as this is support, not tear apart, month!

Did you like previous works from the same author or series?
Where and when does the story take place?
Is this book part of a series?
Is there an identifiable central conflict, or a complex of conflicts?
What is the tone and style? Is it frightening? Clinical? Amusing? Scattered?
Do you like the characters? What about them makes them believable, dynamic or static?
From whose viewpoint is the story told, and how does that affect the narrative?
Does the book remind you of others by the same author, or in the same genre?
Do any twists particularly inspire? (Don’t give away too much, of course.)
If you really have to, don’t ‘pan’ a book without specifying your context and expectations. I did ask you nicely not to though, so please, walk away…

If you can add more suggestions, please do in the comments below. Plus, as one commenter pointed out, if someone asks you to write a review, don’t say that in the review! It looks rigged.

Please do not reblog this post.

The suggestions in this blog post are Copyright Slashdot.org. Only a very small part of their entire page has been reproduced here. (It is massive.)

“Slashdot welcomes readers’ book reviews. In particular, we’re interested in reviews of books on programming, computer security, the history of technology and anything else (including Science Fiction, cyberpunk, etc.) that fits under the “News for Nerds” umbrella.”  http://slashdot.org

Filed under: Support An Author Month 2014, What's On Tagged: author, blogging, book review, books, creativity, encouragement, growth, ideas, Indie publishing, inspiration, resource, success, support, writer, writing

Fear of Failure: Survival for Writers

Fear of failure as an author, can be built into us as early as primary school. We become inflicted with what I call, “Red Pen Phobia.”

Red pen is the hated mark that comes back on school assignments screaming, “you are wrong! You didn’t make the grade. You’re not good enough. You messed up! You didn’t try hard enough.” It is also used to mark bills with “overdue!”  Red pen phobia is so serious, that when I looked through my licence stock photos for a *red pen image, I couldn’t find one. All I could find was a red pencil. Who wants to make artwork using an image that makes you feel bad?

I hear from other writers who like to write in colour to stimulate their creativity, whether in pen or as a font choice. They choose purple, blue, green, orange, pink… I can’t remember anyone ever saying they like writing in red. It is the colour of failure. Many writers I teach are over 55 years of age and have an embedded demanding, judging English teacher in their head. Some teachers used to throw chalk, or smack them over the back of their knuckles with a ruler. Others were lucky enough to have teachers who were interested in getting them to be creative; but a vast majority fit the academic model: you were judged on correctness. There was no grey, only black and white and on that you were smart or you were stupid.

In psychology class we had to try and define intelligence as an exercise. It is impossible. Too many people fit outside that tiny box academia focusses on and we, sadly, often judge ourselves on. There are people who work best through movements such as dance or art, are great manual workers, have excellent spatial skills or who have musical or people skills. They are all intelligent but may not have the academically acceptable mathematical or English skills that are supposed to define intelligence. It doesn’t mean they are stupid. Yet, we can live our whole lives with that label as we didn’t fit a narrow set of standards, rather than being encouraged to use our unique skills.

Many, many writers over time have not fit the academic model, but have been successful despite it. They may not have had the educational opportunities to try and fit into that model, or their skills may simply lie in other areas. Some writers are great story tellers, but need extra support with grammar etc. It does not mean they should stop writing as they don’t have what it takes. We need to silence our inner school teacher and reach for our goals.

So you can take the red pen in two ways:

1. A rod of correction, signal of danger or symbol of fear ;

or

2. Look at it as a colour of passion, fire and energy! Those are positive qualities of writers who love their craft.

Grab your red pens, stick them in a drawer if they deter you, but don’t let them stand in your way! Write for yourself and the joy it brings you first. Edit later; hire a professional editor if you are not confident… but don’t let those red pens stop your dreams. The only thing that will mark you as a failure is never having tried.

 

This article / blog post is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2014. All rights are reserved Internationally. You may not reproduce it in any form, in part of whole, without Cate’s prior written permission. That includes usage in forms such as print, audio and digital imaging including pdf, jpg, png etc. A fee may be requested for re-using her work if it is for a commercial venture. 

*The red pencil image is commercially licenced to Cate Russell-Cole. Please do not reuse it. It can be purchased from Scrapgirls.com as part of the DEB_Stationary and Art Bits collection designed by Durin Eberhart.

Link sharing and Pinterest pins are most welcome as long as Cate is the attributed Author.

Filed under: Author First Aid Tagged: challenge, creativity, critic, criticism, encouragement, failure, growth, inspiration, intelligence, problem solving, school, self esteem, self-confidence, success, support, teacher, thinking, writer, writing

Fear of Failure: Survival for Writers ~ #saam14

Fear of failure as an author, can be built into us as early as primary school. We become inflicted with what I call, “Red Pen Phobia.”

Red pen is the hated mark that comes back on school assignments screaming, “you are wrong! You didn’t make the grade. You’re not good enough. You messed up! You didn’t try hard enough.” It is also used to mark bills with “overdue!”  Red pen phobia is so serious, that when I looked through my licence stock photos for a *red pen image, I couldn’t find one. All I could find was a red pencil. Who wants to make artwork using an image that makes you feel bad?

I hear from other writers who like to write in colour to stimulate their creativity, whether in pen or as a font choice. They choose purple, blue, green, orange, pink… I can’t remember anyone ever saying they like writing in red. It is the colour of failure. Many writers I teach are over 55 years of age and have an embedded demanding, judging English teacher in their head. Some teachers used to throw chalk, or smack them over the back of their knuckles with a ruler. Others were lucky enough to have teachers who were interested in getting them to be creative; but a vast majority fit the academic model: you were judged on correctness. There was no grey, only black and white and on that you were smart or you were stupid.

In psychology class we had to try and define intelligence as an exercise. It is impossible. Too many people fit outside that tiny box academia focusses on and we, sadly, often judge ourselves on. There are people who work best through movements such as dance or art, are great manual workers, have excellent spatial skills or who have musical or people skills. They are all intelligent but may not have the academically acceptable mathematical or English skills that are supposed to define intelligence. It doesn’t mean they are stupid. Yet, we can live our whole lives with that label as we didn’t fit a narrow set of standards, rather than being encouraged to use our unique skills.

Many, many writers over time have not fit the academic model, but have been successful despite it. They may not have had the educational opportunities to try and fit into that model, or their skills may simply lie in other areas. Some writers are great story tellers, but need extra support with grammar etc. It does not mean they should stop writing as they don’t have what it takes. We need to silence our inner school teacher and reach for our goals.

So you can take the red pen in two ways:

1. A rod of correction, signal of danger or symbol of fear ;

or

2. Look at it as a colour of passion, fire and energy! Those are positive qualities of writers who love their craft.

Grab your red pens, stick them in a drawer if they deter you, but don’t let them stand in your way! Write for yourself and the joy it brings you first. Edit later; hire a professional editor if you are not confident… but don’t let those red pens stop your dreams. The only thing that will mark you as a failure is never having tried.

 

This article / blog post is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2014. All rights are reserved Internationally. You may not reproduce it in any form, in part of whole, without Cate’s prior written permission. That includes usage in forms such as print, audio and digital imaging including pdf, jpg, png etc. A fee may be requested for re-using her work if it is for a commercial venture. 

*The red pencil image is commercially licenced to Cate Russell-Cole. Please do not reuse it. It can be purchased from Scrapgirls.com as part of the DEB_Stationary and Art Bits collection designed by Durin Eberhart.

Link sharing and Pinterest pins are most welcome as long as Cate is the attributed Author.

Filed under: Author First Aid, Support An Author Month 2014 Tagged: challenge, creativity, critic, criticism, encouragement, failure, growth, inspiration, intelligence, problem solving, school, self esteem, self-confidence, success, support, teacher, thinking, writer, writing

Support an Author Month: Love a Blogger! ~ #saam14

This month is Support an Author Month here on CommuniCATE. The aim is to spread the love… It’s a time to put away competition and give each other a hand onwards and upwards! We are stronger as a unified community.

Most posts this month will be geared towards that goal, with call to action posts every Friday.

This week, your call to action is to visit a favourite blog; locate a post that inspired you and leave a comment saying, “This is my favourite post or blog. Thank you!” Be sure to Tweet, Facebook or share it on G+ so the author knows you’ve spread the word.

#bestpostever or #bestblogever

You are also welcome to leave a link in the comments here and recommend a blog, if not a specific post.

Cheers everyone!

Filed under: Support An Author Month 2014, What's On Tagged: author, blog, blogging, books, creativity, encouragement, growth, ideas, Indie publishing, inspiration, resource, success, support, Support an Author Month, task, thank, writer, writing

Irish Clan Name #Competition to Celebrate Beltane

Base image: Flames, by Katie Valerio

Not being a Wiccan or Neopagan, I don’t celebrate Beltane in the traditional manner, but as our winter is starting to settle in here in Australia, it’s comforting to be reminded that in the north, it is moving into summer. It makes me feel warmer.

I need an old Irish Clan name for The Chronicles of Mirchar, so I am asking for suggestions. I’ve had a short break from migraine pain and have been writing furiously to make up lost time. My head is full of character conflicts, planetary orbits, horse tack, armour and weaponry, so a helping hand with this simple, but important detail, is welcome. Gaelic spellings are very welcome, as long as you can tell me the Anglicisation.

The winner will receive pdf copies of both my writer’s handbooks, Creating and Resolving Conflict in Fiction and Building Emotionally Realistic Characters. I will send download links by email, so please ensure you put your email address into the comments as the form allows. I promise I won’t misuse it or publish it.

Any suggestion is welcome (except Murphy… not Murphy again!)

Erin Go Bragh!

Competition closes May 7th.

First Draft Progress, The Chronicles of Mirchar

The counter is available free and in a variety of colours from this site.

 

Filed under: What's On Tagged: Beltane Competiton, The Chronicles of Mirchar

The Day I Kicked Thor’s Butt ~ #Writing Sense on Complex Plots

Have you ever fallen in love with a movie, then had it’s writers break your heart? I picked up “Thor: The Dark World” a few months ago and started swooning over the images of Asgard. I had been looking for location ideas for my novel and Asgard’s sets nailed it. I haven’t been able to find anything comparable, anywhere.

I also got caught up in the storyline. It had seemingly well-developed characters, science meeting magic, great special effects: and yes, I could have done without the needless violence, silly costumes (a Norse goddess in Roman battledress, ancient pre-history beings in spaceships etc.) but, on the whole, it wasn’t too bad for a money spinner. So I did what was suggested and bought the first movie in the series, so I understood the background. (There are no spoilers in this post for either movie.)

Dear Lord have mercy!

It destroyed it. They had not even painted the wood in one set twice, so the grain was showing through on something that was supposed to be made of gold.

Close up, Frigga’s hand is on a badly painted prop.

OK, Marvel is out to make money. They produce hyper-active blockbusters and a great deal of merchandise for a quick buck. None of the Norse Eddas get any story details to match in a cohesive manner, so Marvel could very well do what they pleased. Fair call. A modern twist on a very old tale. BUT…

… War obsessed, arrogant, rebellious, loud-mouthed, egocentric gods do not turn into fully reformed, sweethearts in under forty-eight hours. Seriously! I can suspend some disbelief in the name of good entertainment, but that one point, that is why I write books with promos which state: “don’t take shortcuts which result in hollow characters, fake plot lines and with short cuts to “happily ever after” endings. Your audience will gag. You will never get a second chance to win them back.

I researched where it all went wrong for Marvel and the consensus was poor character development. Marvel places the emphasis on plot. There must be many mysterious lose ends which create a “wow” effect when they are tied up; the pace must be so fast there is no time; violence is golden; and character motivation is irrelevant, as people will automatically assume that the good guys just plain work for good, and the bad for bad. Thus no further information is needed. The bad guys always turn good, so problem solved. (Not!) They need a reason to change or keep putting themselves at risk.

Have you experienced that point where your story takes off on it’s own path, as the psyche and needs of your protagonist, force their way through? That is how it is supposed to be. Character personality, weaknesses and strengths, motivation, needs and conflicts drive story: not clever, complicated plots!

Had Marvel found a fast way to show that Thor had worked with Jane as a human, for say, a month, I would have bought the change. If only they had flashed up overlaid text saying “One month later…” and cut into showing him doing some menial job with pleasure. That is solid. How hard is that? (I am only picking on one element here, there are a few which are just dreadfully done.)

Consider this:

If you have someone who just lost a significant other: they will take time to grieve, not be over it completely in the next chapter with no emotional residue. Research the grief process and weave it in.
Warriors who fight frequently, or for long periods DO suffer shellshock, post traumatic post syndrome and anxiety disorders; or they become hard and nasty loners. Weave it in.
People don’t just snap out of major shocks (for example, a change in the way they thought the world was, or the shock of attack, accident etc.) Understand how shock works and weave it in.

That is what I wrote the book for, to stop us from writing like Marvel. The book is cheap and available on Amazon or as pdf from my site. Please use it and save your readership from throwing their iPad across the room in disgust.

P.S. I still love Asgard. Oh and by the way, if you have ever wondered why they have joined so many super heroes together in the Avengers, it’s because Marvel owns the rights and can do whatsoever it wants. Those super heroes that don’t get included, are not owned by Marvel. It all comes down to money, not story. You’re not surprised either, are you?

All images are the property of Marvel, the Internet is awash with them.

This article / blog post is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2014. All rights are reserved Internationally. You may not reproduce it in any form, in part of whole, without Cate’s prior written permission. That includes usage in forms such as print, audio and digital imaging including pdf, jpg, png etc. A fee may be requested for re-using her work if it is for a commercial venture. 

Link sharing and Pinterest pins are most welcome as long as Cate is the attributed Author.

Filed under: Character and Plot Construction Tagged: "happily ever after" endings, anxiety, Asgard, Character personality, complicated plots, Eddas, fake plot lines, grief, hollow characters, Marvel, motivation, needs and conflicts, post traumatic anxiety disorder, shellshock, shock, short cuts, Thor: The Dark World, weaknesses and strengths

Bloglovin: Bloggers Rights Are Being Violated

Update: I should have titled this post, “Bloglovin, using your hard work to push their ads.” That is what they are doing.

Bloglovin, without owners permission, is mass syndicating posts. Until you embed their code on your site as an ad, you cannot claim ownership of your blog.  This is a rights and security issue which is scaring bloggers. Anyone with basic password hacking skills can claim my blog as their own.

While they are within the law to a certain extent, there are still major intellectual property issues here for us, especially those of us who use our blogs to promote our books. Does anyone have the right to just access our work, simply because RSS feeds exist? Mine has been removed now, which may adversely affect my traffic.

Bloggers, check Bloglovin for your blog, claim it back and raise hell in complaints! This is wrong. They told me they won’t remove blogs, but on pressing them further, they did comply.

“Hi,…
Bloglovin is meant to be a service where you can follow any blog with a public RSS-feed, so we don’t remove blogs.  However, if you want we can hide your blog from our leaderboard, but people will still be able to follow the blog on Bloglovin if it has a public RSS. You can make your RSS private or turn it off. For further instructions on how to do this please contact whoever is responsible for the technical issues of your blog for further assistance.


I am sorry you have such negative feelings about our service. I want to make it clear that we have the claiming procedure to prevent any false claims. Neither are you forced to claim the blog if you do not want to. You do not have to use Bloglovin at all if you do not wish to do so.

We do not claim any of the content as our own and we guarantee you get the correct data traffic.

Best regards,
Linda Kristoffersson, Bloglovin’ ”     support@bloglovin.com

My counter argument to them: “Thank you for your reply. You may wish to consider intellectual property and the legal ramifications of your stance. You may see RSS feeds as being public property, but many of us don’t.  I object to your practices and there is NO reason why you cannot remove or ban a feed. If it was child pornography, you could be forced to do that by law. The explanation given here holds no credibility.”

The internal link to support: http://help.bloglovin.com/knowledgebase/articles/214416-i-m-unable-to-claim-my-blog

 

Filed under: What's On Tagged: blog, Bloglovin, scam

Beware of Bloglovin: Forcing Ads and Possible Content Theft

No! >> Follow my blog with Bloglovin << This post is necessary as bloglovin, without my permission, is syndicating my posts and until I place this code in, anyone with basic password hacking skills can claim my blog as their own.

That is not the issue, the issue is the forced advertising to get my blog back and the audacity of that service to take my content in the first place. This isn’t promotional help (not with 3 followers), it is a violation of my rights as a blog owner.

And I thought it was just Klout who had that kind of insidious nerve.

Bloggers, check Bloglovin for your blog, claim it back and raise hell in complaints! This is wrong. They have just told me they won’t remove blogs.

“Hi,…
Bloglovin is meant to be a service where you can follow any blog with a public RSS-feed, so we don’t remove blogs.  However, if you want we can hide your blog from our leaderboard, but people will still be able to follow the blog on Bloglovin if it has a public RSS. You can make your RSS private or turn it off. For further instructions on how to do this please contact whoever is responsible for the technical issues of your blog for further assistance.


I am sorry you have such negative feelings about our service. I want to make it clear that we have the claiming procedure to prevent any false claims. Neither are you forced to claim the blog if you do not want to. You do not have to use Bloglovin at all if you do not wish to do so.

We do not claim any of the content as our own and we guarantee you get the correct data traffic.

Best regards,
Linda Kristoffersson, Bloglovin’ ”     support@bloglovin.com

My counter argument to them: “Thank you for your reply. You may wish to consider intellectual property and the legal ramifications of your stance. You may see RSS feeds as being public property, but many of us don’t.  I object to your practices and there is NO reason why you cannot remove or ban a feed. If it was child pornography, you could be forced to do that by law. The explanation given here holds no credibility.”

The internal link to support: http://help.bloglovin.com/knowledgebase/articles/214416-i-m-unable-to-claim-my-blog

Filed under: What's On Tagged: blog, Bloglovin, scam

Beware of Bloglovin: Forcing Ads and Content Theft

No! >> Follow my blog with Bloglovin << This post is necessary as bloglovin, without my permission, is syndicating my posts and until I place this code in, anyone with basic password hacking skills can claim my blog as their own.

That is not the issue, the issue is the forced advertising to get my blog back and the audacity of that service to take my content in the first place. This isn’t promotional help (not with 3 followers), it is a violation of my rights as a blog owner.

And I thought it was just Klout who had that kind of evil nerve.

Bloggers, check Bloglovin for your blog, claim it back and raise hell in complaints! This is wrong.

Filed under: What's On Tagged: blog, Bloglovin

Support An Author Month ~ #saam14

Support an Author Month 2014 starts May 1st. This is the month to link arms with fellow authors and promote, recognise and support each other. Global economy induced sales slumps like these, provide us with time we can use to boost each other’s spirits, build our skills and write for when the markets come back up. Make new friends, help a pal out of a rut, do a good deed. It will bounce back to you.

CommuniCATE Resources for Writers has posts planned which cover:

- Self-esteem issues authors face and how we can overcome them.

- A quick reference to marketing terms used online that we all need to utilise.

- Tips on how you can support author friends in a quick, easy and practical manner.

- Surviving stress through social networking.

- Combatting creative depression.

- Links to other resources such as social media groups online, promotional opportunities, Indie publishing practicalities and more.

Get on board with your own blog and feel free to use the logo and #saam14 tag.

 

P.S. my health has taken yet another dive, hopefully a short-term abberation, so comments on some posts, including this one, will be switched off. I enjoy talking to you, but just can’t handle the computer screen.

 

Filed under: Support An Author Month 2014, What's On Tagged: author, Indie Author, Support An Author Month 2014