Courtney Wendleton's Blog, page 28

Writers: Getting a little more exposure.

Zoe Ambler - Author

In my last post, I made mention of a few website that I post my various stories, other than just here on the blog.

Its great to help build a following and fan base to broaden your readers, and, in some cases, gain the attention of agents and publishers.

To help you in this, I’m going to provide you a listing, links and my personal takes on each site.

Jukepop: http://www.jukepop.com/

Jukepop is called a site for ‘Serials’. You post chapters, and they can be voted upon. You can make a little money, and you can even get some investors that you share your eventual profits with.

Personally, I just post there for the exposure. The posting process is a little difficult and time consuming, and then anything you post must be approved. ‘A Walk Amongst the Dead’ still has not been approved, and I can only assume because…

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This is What Failure Will Teach You

A Writer's Path

by Meg Dowell

Have you ever tried something and failed miserably? It’s not fun. Sometimes you do whatever you can to avoid it, but it still hits you hard. And it hurts. A lot.

Everyone fails, or will fail, or is afraid of failing. Myself included.

To be completely honest (I will go more in-depth about this in this week’s newsletter, going out later today – subscribe so you don’t miss it!), there are a handful of projects I’m working on right now that I’m terrified to admit might not succeed. I am a completist. The idea of not being able to finish something scares me. But here’s the thing about failure: if you never fail, you’ll never really succeed, either.

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To Kill a Villain

The Dystopian Nation of City-State

What criteria do you keep when deciding whether a villain deserves to die? Is it “just cuz?” You know, he’s the bad guy? Der! Or is there more to it?

Kaisy and I were discussing this today.

My criteria:

Basically, if the villain is irredeemable, has done truly evil acts, and acts and thinks in a sophisticated manner, they probably deserve to die.

Example: if they have some kind of master plan that involves the genocide of an indigenous tribe in order to steal their resources. That mastermind should die.

If he’s a soldier in the mastermind’s army who is a dupe and “just following orders” maybe not.

But it is a complex issue, because you might like your villain so much that you don’t want them to die.

So then there is this argument: do you keep them alive in order to have them make another appearance? Or do…

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How to Use Different Methods of Time Travel in Fiction

A Writer's Path

by Stephanie O’Brien

If one of your characters is a time traveller, there are several factors you have to account for to make sure the story stays plausible and to avoid holes in your continuity or character motivation.

Time travel also creates a variety of opportunities for character drama and an unusual set of dilemmas for the protagonist.

In this article, I’ll explore three different models of time travel, as well as ways to use these models to improve or complicate your story, things to watch out for, and ways to avoid common problems associated with time travel.

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Busy Little Bee

Zoe Ambler - Author

So, I’ve been quite busy lately.

I have taken a collection of short stories that arent not in my normal horror genre and have been posting them to the following sites:

Niume

Wattpad

Medium

Jukepop

Tablo

Bublish

Upliterate

Scriggler

Authors.me

They are a collection of 8 short stories, most of them previously featured here on this blog. They are about human emotions, pain, loss, crime, etc… no spookiness, no vampires, no zombies and werewolves.

I am planning to compile my horror genre stories and do the same, as well as a little cache of Genesis and Addison stories that have not seen the light of day with the exception of A Walk Amongt the Dead.

If you are a member of any of the sites listed above, please look up my stories and like or upvote them! Leave comments! Feed back makes me feeel good.

Now, on the a little…

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Writers Can Help Themselves Get Lucky

A Writer's Path

by Allison Maruska

Don’t worry, this post is still approved for general audiences. Though if you’re looking for the more adult definition, this is the interwebs. Just don’t be gone too long, because that might not help your career advancement.

Anyway.

This post is about writers who make it, the ones who find the magical combination of timing and the right eyes and whatever else it takes to make it – you know, the writers who get lucky.

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#FindingSanta: First Book Blurb and Cover Reveal

The title of Santa Claus is held by one person for a hundred years, passed down from father to son or son-in-law, before he moves on to become Father Time. Candy is the only child of the current Claus family. Her father is in his last year as Good Ol’ Saint Nick and has to find the next Santa before New Year’s Eve or hell will come to Earth.

With the help of Jessiy and Steelwell, members of the Legends’ Survival Squad, she sets out to find a man worthy of taking over. Along the way she meets three potential candidates but everything goes wrong from the minute she hears of her task.

As the days pass and her prospects look bleak, she begins to doubt herself and the magic of Christmas. Will she be able to restore her faith and save the world?

Release Date: Deceomber 23rd, 2016

#BookReview: Loki (Highland Clan Series Book 1) by Keira Montclair 4/5 Stars

Loved it, but about halfway through I began to lose interest. It just seemed like the book should have been split into two but kept going, which is why it took me so long to get through it. Still worth a good read.

Smoking Cigarette, Is God Against it?

Poetgeneral

Someone once asked me if for a Second I thought smoking cigarette, God is against it? He said, he watched a pastor being asked on Tv the same question. however, they had wanted him to prove or justify his answers with scriptures but he floundered. Howbeit, supposing someone comes to you to tell you, “man of God”, I smoke a lot and I want to stop and be saved what will you tell the person who happens to be in need of scriptures to know whether what he or she is doing is right or wrong and whether it is against God or not.

Here was my answer… I am not sure I can get a scripture that vividly says that God is against smoking however, I can tell you Gods mind on the subject.

Firstly, I asked him… what is written on the cigarette? Isn’t it written on the…

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Why Authors Need to Be as Accessible as Possible

A Writer's Path

by Katie McCoach

As an author today, you know that every reader is valuable. You love your readers; you want to keep the ones who are loyal and reach new ones. That’s what promotion and growing a business is all about – reaching new consumers.

That’s why it’s so important for authors to be as accessible to readers as possible.The easier a reader can find you and buy your books, the easier it will be to reach wider audiences.

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