Cate Russell-Cole's Blog, page 42
March 11, 2013
The Internet, Respect and a Fair Go for All Writers.
The last few weeks have left me feeling like I am on the crazy train. I’ve dealt with inane and unnecessary obscenities, being force-fed gay porn (don’t ask!), people who are leaving comments editing other people’s comments… yup… and that is the start! I am getting over days of migraine pain and I have really had enough.
I don’t know any blogger or writer who doesn’t work their butt off trying to churn out quality material, that includes myself. The trouble is, it doesn’t matter what you do, what your intentions or how careful you are, you get attacked. May I suggest a calming solution?
Let’s look after each other. If you do not like a status / tweet / blog post / book or web site, do what you would do in a restaurant: skip over it to something you do like. Don’t start a celebrity chef brawl. How many of you go out to dinner and then go into the kitchen to tell off the chef, as you don’t like duck? None? OK, so why do we do it to each other online, publicly, in a manner that hurts people and destroys reputations?
If you don’t like an outfit while shopping, you pass over it on the hanger and get something else. If you don’t like a book in the book shop, you put it down and browse elsewhere. The same behaviour here would bless people out of their socks! I am weary of nurturing writers through cruel reviews and judgemental attacks. If you hate it, don’t go back… or unfollow or just move onto something else. Please don’t try to force someone into your way of thinking. You would hate it being done to you.
There are billions of people on this planet; there should be multiple opinions, it makes the world a greater place. However, we struggle with being able to tolerate anyone who thinks differently. Human nature has this obsession with wanting to herd everyone into line, like sheep dogs.
Please, stifle the temptation to point out a minor editing issue, dislike of someone’s book cover / taste in music / religious views / weird blog post topic / hot issue / obsession with cute bunny photos… just let it be.
Paul McCartney’s mother, Mary, had it right. Remember this song? This is slightly out of context, but the advice still applies.
“Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Yeah there will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.”
Just let it go. You will be less stressed. You will feel good about yourself. Live and let live. It’s not worth a life of conflict where you burn your bridges and guaranteed, someone will go after your neck in return.
Cheers!
Looking for the comments?
I am getting off the crazy train for this week. All comments are off.
They wouldn’t let me put in an English version due to Apple and EMI blocks in the region, so this is subtitled in Spanish Disfrutar!
This blog post by Cate Russell-Cole is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You are free to share and adapt it.
No images on this blog may be copied, captured, or altered for your own purpose without the consent of the originating owner.
Filed under: Personal Post Tagged: blogging, encouragement, stress management, support, writer, writing
March 10, 2013
Writing Rocket Fuel: Writer’s Markets
Try these sources for find markets for your writing. The Liability terms and conditions of this blog apply. (See the Copyright page above.)
Writer’s Market: http://www.writersmarket.com
The Australian Writer’s Marketplace: http://www.awmonline.com.au
All Freelancing: http://allfreelancewriting.com/writers-markets/
Christian Writers’ Market Guide: http://www.stuartmarket.com
First Writer: http://www.firstwriter.com
2013 Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market (book): http://www.amazon.com/Novel-Short-Story-Writers-Market/dp/159963595X
Writer’s Markets for Flash Fiction: http://www.flash-fiction-world.com/writers-market.html
Filed under: Rocket Fuel Tagged: Writing Rocket Fuel
March 7, 2013
Impossible Matches: Romance Writer’s Plot Ideas
Image Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2007 All Rights Reserved. In case you think this post isn’t very romantic, this photo is part of my wedding dress and our rings.
Not everyone is a hopeless heroine who is too jaded / irrationally romantic / awkward / wounded to find a mate. Sometimes there are reasons, simply beyond your control as to why you cannot find a partner. In sociology, this is called a “marriage squeeze.” It happens when there are too many males and not enough females, or vice versa, in the maritally available population. I think the term makes a great book title.
If you are looking for ideas where you can write in a serendipitous series of events which can bring people together; or want a setting where finding a partner needs an outright miracle, the marriage squeeze phenomenon may be helpful to you.
Marriage squeezes can occur in specific ethnic groups, eg. African American Women, or in certain geographical areas: particularly if they wish to marry within their own group. It also happens if the number of births in an area are predominantly male or female, rather than balanced. Drops in a birth rate due to economic factors, Government policy to limit birth rates (think China), disease or war (menfolk are away,) also lead to a marriage squeeze; as would the ability to select the sex of a child, whether that be demanded by Government or individuals.
Midlife marriage statistics are also said to show that one in five people are unmarried, whether they wish to be or not! If divorce or death has occurred, the once married find themselves unmarried and low on future prospects. At middle age, the never married find it harder to get a mate as well, perhaps due to issues with childlessness or having emotional baggage which is off-putting for potential partners. Again, a squeeze occurs. If you want to take it further, you can consider that in retirement, men die earlier than women so late life partnerships can be squeezed out there as well.
Image Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2007 All Rights Reserved
In different cultures, a marriage squeeze can have consequences on social standing, dowry rates, birth rates, ability to economically survive and the potential of being a shame on a family. As many cultures expect people to marry, the obvious social impact on the individual who fails to comply, can be psychologically damaging.
Think wider than your traditional storyline when you are writing and consider what other unforeseen circumstances can lead to a marriage squeeze. Impossible unions are useful plot tools to heighten drama and built reader interest.
For more detailed information please visit: Marriage Squeeze – Social Dimensions Of The Pool Of Eligibles, The Mating Gradient, Sex Ratios: Measuring The Marriage Squeeze
This article / blog post is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2013. 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.
No images on this blog may be copied, captured, or altered for your own purpose without the consent of the originating owner.
Filed under: Writing Tagged: author, birth rate, books, challenge, dowry, drama, idea, impossible, inspiration, marriage, marriage squeeze, miracle, partner, plot, plot tension, policy, romance, shortage, single, sociology, war, writer, writing
March 6, 2013
Money Will Not Define You As Successful
“Borrowed” off Facebook. It was just too apt to not use.
I’ve been thinking about this all week. I published a post the other day about editing. In response, I received a very odd comment, which is now comatose in my trash can. The comment author had liked the post, then asked me to take it down, as giving away any secret may take paid work away from them. That post wouldn’t have ever achieved that. It was one small point in a huge sea of editing knowledge.
Then I had a beautiful friend thank me for a two minute Facebook message I had sent her, trying to encourage her when she was in one of those stuck points in writing. That put my week in perspective. She was the kind of writer this blog is for. Thank you Sherrey.
I have had my share of objections, odd points of view and downright trolls over time. Generally I just block or delete them, but this one got me curious, not offended. It was just, “why? Why would you like something then object?” My instinct was, this is a publicity stunt with a twist (which seems to be in line with the approach they are taking to their blog), thus they were canned. God bless the inventor of moderation!
May I leave you with this thought: the greatest markers of success in life do not come in the form of dollars, follower numbers, book sales, word counts or sleepless nights you have put into hard work. It comes from the support and encouragement you have bought to others, the love you have given, the self-healing you’ve allowed into your life and the spiritual and emotional maturity you have grown to. When you are looking the afterlife in the eye, that is all you will be able to take with you. Eternity goes on for a very, very, very long time. Make sure allowed luggage is full of the best contents and don’t ever let any numbers: be they monetary, followers or sales, get you down. You’re worth more than that.
P.S. To the person who left me that comment. You have a widget at the base of your right hand side column which hasn’t worked, and all that is showing is the web coding. Give your blog a proper professional title, not a teaser and it will serve you well as promotion. I wish you the very best of luck.
Filed under: Personal Post Tagged: afterlife, blog, encouragement, greed, priorities, publicity, writer, writing
March 5, 2013
April Writing Events Online: NaPoWriMo and WEGO Health Activists Blogging Challenge
If you are a poet and looking for the equivalent of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), then gear up for an April start!
The initiative was started by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. As the site states, “She started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April, and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.
Easy! Just write a poem a day for the month of April. You can post them on the internet. You can hide them in a notebook. You can make up a special book just for yourself out of them. Really, all you need to do is write a poem a day for the month of April. If you choose to post your work on the internet, you can submit your website for inclusion in our online roster of participants.” Or if you don’t have a web site, you can get yourself a free blog at WordPress or Blogger and use that.
The NaPoWriMo blog is here: http://www.napowrimo.net
You can contact Maureen via email: napowrimo2010 AT gmail DOT com.
Writing about health literally can change the quality of people’s lives AND SAVE lives. Please, get on board. This is a great initiative. If I was still working the the preventative health education field, I’d be doing it!
“Health Activists are incredible communicators, always sharing great info, ideas, and support for their online community. It’s time to get extra creative! April is our Health Activist Writer’s Month and brings the official Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge (#HAWMC).
We’ve prepared 30 health-related prompts that will help you get creative on your blog, facebook page, or health community all month long. Take the challenge and do a post a day for all 30 days of April!
Sign up now and we’ll send you all 30 prompts before April starts so you can start your planning (and writing!) early. We’ll also send you 30 images you can use on your blog to show your readers that you’re participating in #HAWMC.”
In the interests of full disclosure, here is what Wego Health is all about: “WEGO Health is a different kind of social media company – our mission is to empower the top 10% of online health social media contributors to connect with each other and with healthcare companies. We call these passionate people Health Activists – they’re community leaders, bloggers, on Facebook, on Twitter, leading online forums, and usually “all of the above.
If online health communities are an unruly high school, then Health Activists are its dedicated teachers – and WEGO Health is the teacher’s lounge. We help leaders to come together, to learn from each other, and to go back to their classrooms better at their craft.
Full-disclosure: WEGO Health funds its support for the Health Activist community through transparent, community- vetted advertising and sponsorships from health companies: research, content development, education, events, conferences, distribution programs, ad networks and more. We believe a solid business model helps us to provide an enduring, self-sustaining home for Health Activists.”
Filed under: Writing Tagged: activist, blogging, challenge, education, health, Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Writing Month, poetry, WEGO Health, writer, writing
March 4, 2013
The Best Kept Editing Secret
In 2000 I published a memoir writing course. It has been revised four times and edited by three trained editors: two at University level. I have put countless hours of work into perfecting it, but guess what? If you read through, you will still find very small typos hidden in it like Easter Eggs. That drives me to screaming point!
It’s not just me. Since I’ve switched to e-books, I am finding frequent mistakes in books from best selling authors, distributed through traditional publishing houses. One mistake was of a unrelated sexual nature and the spell checker, or editor, should have easily picked it up. It looks like the editing monsters are tormenting more souls than mine!
So why does this happen? Let me tell you the secret. When I researched “Unleashing Your Creative Spirit,” I delved into theories on memory and how it functions. Your brain is the busiest organ in your body. It runs your internal organs, all your movements, your memory, computes stimuli from your five senses, logs time, drives your subconscious thinking processes and deals with what you are doing now: reading. At the same time, it makes sure you aren’t hot / cold / hungry / thirsty / tired / in pain, or about to be run over by a bus! It has to compute what is around you, plus predict what to expect next.
That is a massive workload to achieve all at once! So the brain, being smart, has brilliant means of conserving energy. It’s actually very eco-friendly, but that’s sometimes to a writer’s detriment.
Have you ever been to a friend’s place and said, “You’ve repainted,” just to have them look at you strangely and tell you they did if five years ago? Of course, it will be the home of that friend you visit fairly frequently. It’s a common faux pas. We all go to familiar places and say, “I never noticed that before.” It happens because in order to save the energy it takes to log all the details, your brain does a quick scan and just takes in what is the most important. For what it considers to be familiar or non-essential details, it relies on memory, or blocks stimuli out.
How does this work with editing? When you have read the same paragraph ten times, it becomes too familiar. The brain automatically decides that you don’t need to re-log all that, so mistakes go unnoticed. You’ve seen those emails where you can still read sentences, even though the letters in the middle of the words are mixed up? They work because a familiar pattern is identified and you auto-fill the rest.
So, how do we overcome this? Make your work look new! When I started blogging, I discovered that I would pick up mistakes in WordPress’ preview mode that I couldn’t see in the writing window. In preview, the font size differed and words were in different spots on the page. If you’re working in a word processor, you can try for the same effect by changing fonts, changing margin widths, altering text color, or opening the document in a totally different word processor.
The other lifesaver I use is to put my work aside, wait 48 hours then edit again. That gives my brain a chance to re-set.
So don’t beat yourself up over the occasional small typo. We all make them. Do everything you can to prevent the slip-ups from happening and remember: it’s all because you’re just too efficient!
Please click on the book cover to order. You’re also welcome visit Cate’s website for full book details and to read sample pages.
This article / blog post is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2013. 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.
No images on this blog may be copied, captured, or altered for your own purpose without the consent of the originating owner.
Filed under: Writing Tagged: blogging, books, challenge, cognitive function, editing, failure, filtering, goals, growth, Indie publishing, mistakes, problem solving, psychology, resource, support, thinking, writer, writing
March 3, 2013
Writing Rocket Fuel: Writing Groups Directories
Looking for fellow writers you can talk to face to face?
If you are in the United States, try this list: http://tinyurl.com/8qujd7e
United Kingdom: http://www.nawg.co.uk/writing-groups/
If you are in Australia, I’d recommend an open search on Google. The directories are divided by State, many states have Centres or organisations rather than group listings.
Filed under: Rocket Fuel Tagged: Writing Rocket Fuel
March 2, 2013
Write Like A Dog
I'm a weather wimp. Growing up in sunny California, then spending most of my adult life in the heat of Nevada, I whimper like a pup when the seasons change and the cold settles in. This week I decided to butch up this former beach bunny and commit to my morning hikes, regardless of the temperature (which I check obsessively on my phone).
This is a motivating post by Cyd Madsen, a great friend and an inspiring writer. Enjoy.
February 28, 2013
Bomb-Proofing Your Writer’s Ego
Way, way back in the olden days, when I was new to the Internet, I enrolled in a pilot writing course. I remember very little about it, but the basic idea was to take an animal you related to; find a god or goddess who represented that animal and then there were a few months of writing exercises. It was a great idea.
I love cats. Here you can see our two beautiful boys, Monet and Picasso. I went to the University library and read up on the Egyptian goddess Bast, or Bastet. Bast is the goddess who is half woman, half cat. She is the reason why cats were revered in Egypt.
Now Bast had a war-like attitude when necessary, but overall, she was a lovely goddess. She was associated with protection, family and many a good party was held in her honour, with a lot of wine.
Now please remember, I was using the resources of a University library, not Wikipedia. Thus I presumed I got the correct facts. Some of these things aren’t easy to track without much more extensive research than I was doing. In ancient history, gods came and went and meanings changed. Bast later became known as Ailuros in Greek mythology, so god (excuse pun) only knows what facts were right and wrong, but it all led to a rather nasty incident.
This is Bast. She started it! Not me!
One of the texts referred to another lion-like goddess named Sekhmet. Sekhmet was introduced in that book as the negative alter-ego of Bast. If you were on her right side, she was a doctor-blessing healer. Get on her wrong side and there would be nothing left of you for any doctor to try and heal! She had, shall we say, some anger management issues. (Don’t blame me, blame the archaeologists who piece all this stuff together.) Re-reading a little now, it appears they were two very closely related goddesses with a lot of similarities, so I got it at least, partly right!
I wrote my second assignment, which was to report on the research of your god/goddess and whoa did I cop some hate mail! I couldn’t believe it. I reported the facts without judgement or any opinion, then I was fiercely attacked by multiple people and left stunned and amazed! I nearly would up in the Nile wearing concrete boots!
This is Sekhmet and I am grateful she didn’t step in and finish it! That would have been curtains for me…
The issue was, even in 1997, Bast was still being worshipped. The fact that she could still have followers would never have occurred to me in a trillion years! It could still be the case today. There were temples devoted to her in the United States, where people were lighting green candles in her honour.
No, they weren’t crazy. Some of the temple members were made up of intelligent people, with high powered careers that take above average IQ scores; hard work and a lot of common sense and ambition to achieve… including lawyers and they were now mad at me. Calling someone’s goddess “the lady of pestilence” was apparently, a very bad move. Apologies were not being gracefully accepted.
The point of all this is, as a writer, you will never make everyone happy. It is a fact you just have to accept. I, like you, dread and fear negative book reviews, but I know, they will come. We often want others to accept us and love our work as much as we do. We don’t cope well with being misunderstood, disliked and picked apart. When we have worked long and hard on a project, it hurts. One way to counteract that hurt is to try and accept, you just cannot make every reader happy. Don’t even try! Don’t believe it is ever going to be possible. Not everyone will see things your way and some people, out of their own insecurities, cope by making themselves feel superior to someone else. Thus, welcome to the horror of the bad review, but please, don’t take it to heart.
Honestly, it’s 2012 and do you believe that a half cat, half woman can still make your life better? (Good on you if you do, I have no problem with that.) If you, personally, think that belief is wrong, it’s not a big stretch to believe that bad feedback and negative reviews can simply be a wildly differing opinion too. They don’t mean you are a lousy writer and it’s time to give up! Reader’s opinions are based on the way they choose to see the world and we’re not all the same.
So hang in there and keep writing! Oh and the next time you light a green candle, remember that lovely cat lady and have a glass of wine in her honour.
This tongue in cheek, but completely true post, is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2012. Bast and Sekhmet are Copyright the Ancient Egyptians, or themselves… you decide. I’m staying out of it!
All rights are reserved Internationally. You may not reproduce this article / post 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: Writing Tagged: alter-ego, author, bad reviews, Bast, challenge, conflict, criticism, Egypt, fear, fiction, goals, Indie publishing, inspiration, passion, reviews, Sekhmet, self esteem, self protection, success, writer, writing
February 26, 2013
Guest Post on CommuniCATE and Encourage Other Writers
One of my goals for 2013 is to give other writers encouragement and a voice. Every month I am welcoming two guest posts from other writers, about what they have learnt from the writing / creative process.
You are most welcome to discreetly promote your books or courses. Links will be added for your blog, web site and social media profiles; and an author biography will be added. These are in addition to your word count which is 700 words maximum. I can add images, to your posts, or you can include suggested images yourself.
Please no erotica, excessively controversial or political content, or stomach turning violence or horror! Sorry, I have a mixed audience… no discrimination is intended.
I will reserve the right to edit and reject any offers, though that will be in collaboration with you. At no stage will I publish anything we’re not both happy with.
Please note that your posts may not be published for several months. I will contact you with a final submission date and date of publication. I work at least three months ahead and some guest slots are taken already.
I will expect you to actively promote that post when it goes live: that is in your best interests not just mine. If no reciprocation occurs, your post will be removed.
If you are interested, please email me at katiecrcole(at sign)gmail(dot)com or leave a comment below. Please leave an email address where it asks you to, or I cannot find you. Your email address will remain private and won’t be abused or misused in any manner.
Filed under: Guest Post
