tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20277646844112617872024-03-05T17:41:03.856+11:00Sari Webb: Enchanted by WordsSari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-49144050072470501632012-07-05T19:29:00.000+10:002012-07-05T19:30:32.946+10:00More bombs good<span style="color: #666666;">WARNING: This is a writing update. I'm sorry if it's a little 'me-centric', but I'm hoping by blogging about my writing it might keep me more firmly on track when it comes to writing progress. Also, I might blog more consistently! Onward.</span><br />
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I can happily report that today I rewrote an entire scene and it is at least twice as awesome as it was before. That is not to say that it is now AWESOME, just that the previous iteration needed a lot of improvement.<br />
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I once wrote a blog post about <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/search?updated-max=2011-07-01T13:01:00%2B10:00&max-results=5&start=30&by-date=false" target="_blank">dropping plot bombs</a>. The basic premise is: if you feel like a scene is going nowhere, or lacking conflict/tension, there's one sure fire way to sort it out - drop in a plot bomb. Ask yourself, what's the worst that could happen right now to these characters? Be sure to throw in an evil cackle for good measure.<br />
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So before the scene went something like this: MC finds enemy soldiers (only three), kills two of them (one in cold blood) even though she's never killed anyone before, rescues girl, goes on her merry way (albeit a little depressed over killing two men).<br />
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Now: MC finds a group of around 20 soldiers holding a girl captive, she hides out until night and slips into the tent with the girl, kills two men in self defense and gets a stab wound in the side and almost strangled for her efforts, rescues girl and hightails it outta there with 18 pissed off soldiers on her tail. Will she make it?<br />
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Favourite bit today:<br /><br /><span style="color: purple;">My eyes widened as the knife sunk into my side. I fisted his shirt and dragged him closer to me, staring into his snarling face. Victory glinted in his eyes. He thought he’d won. Perhaps he had.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Either way, I was taking him with me.</span><br />
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<strong>It's exciting being able to see improvements in your story, isn't it? How's everyone else's writing going?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-81553050514421907272012-07-03T11:34:00.001+10:002012-07-05T18:40:47.237+10:00Intern lessons: Take your finger away from the send button...I've read a lot of manuscripts and written a lot of assessments since starting my internship with Entangled. I've seen the range, from great to 'did they just finish their first draft and call it done?'. The single most common thing I end up writing in those assessments is: <strong>the premise has great potential, but the execution just doesn't live up to it</strong>.<br />
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<strong>So, first intern lesson learnt: make sure you're sure, like really really sure, your MS is in tip top condition (and I don't just mean spelling mistakes) before sending it off to your dream publishing house/agent</strong>. Sometimes, when you've been working so damned hard on that story, it's easy to get impatient. If you're feeling impatient then find yourself a beta reader and use the time it takes them to read and assess your MS to take a step back and think about something else for a while. Who knows? Maybe they'll think your MS is ready too!<br />
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Mmk, I know that this intern lesson is one all my writer friends who read this already know. We follow the online writer community and educate ourselves on this stuff, right? (Surprisingly, a lot of the MSS I read with easy to fix issues come from authors who do have an online presence.) I've read a lot of agent blogs saying they wished people would make sure they were ready to submit before doing so, so it's not like it came as a surprise to me, but it is very interesting to see the trend in practice.<br />
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<strong>Have you every submitted or been tempted to submit, even though you know your MS isn't quite ready? What are your experiences with this?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-6678459857480688402012-06-02T15:09:00.001+10:002012-06-02T15:10:13.709+10:00Why do you write?Quick question for you today, writer friends: <br />
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<strong>Why do you write?</strong></div>
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Why do you do it? Where is the magic? Is it the science of the plot? Is it
falling for a character? Is it being able to create a world? Write something
that might inspire a potential writer to try their hand. </div>
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Make it less about the nuts and bolts and more about the inspiration of why
you chose writing - or writing chose you - as a passion.</div>
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Well, I know why I write, but I'm interested to know what's going on with you.<strong> What is it that grabs hold of you and pulls words from your brain to the page?</strong> </div>
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</div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-11934680802959703762012-05-05T12:56:00.001+10:002012-05-05T12:59:39.797+10:00Why I'll be back soonAs many of you know, since I've blogged <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/taking-moment.html" target="_blank">about</a> it a <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/e-is-for-energy-exhaustion.html" target="_blank">few times</a>, I'm uhh ... kinda ridiculously busy at the moment. I don't have free time. This blog post is eating into time when I <em>should</em> be editing a short story for one of my internships.<br />
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I don't have time for blogging. I don't have time for writing. I don't have time for reading (unless it's a manuscript for my other internship).<br />
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The whole reason I decided to get into publishing in the first place was because of my love of the above things. I've decided something needs to change.<br />
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The thing is, I really enjoy both of my internships, and I get a lot of really good and valuable experience from them. The one part of my life that isn't making me happy at the moment is my job. Sure, it's in a publishing company, but... that's not enough.<br />
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Here's what I knew when I decided I was going to change industries: I'd have to start at the bottom, and I'd have to do some jobs I wasn't particularly fond of in order to get to where I wanted to be. What I hoped was that, while doing the jobs I wasn't fond of, I would get some sort of development, exposure to the types of jobs I wanted to do. Growth.<br />
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I'm not currently getting any of that in my job. The experience I get from my internships I value far more than what I get from my job (I don't want to be an administrator, I want to be an editor in a trade publishing company). But I can't keep doing it all.<br />
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So I quit my job.<br />
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From the 25th of May I will no longer be a publishing assistant. I will still be an intern at Entangled reading slush and writing manuscript assessments. I will still be an intern at Aurealis editing short stories and preparing the magazine for ePub. I love both of them. I will still be a student.<br />
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I will be a writer, blogger and reader again.<br />
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I'll be back!Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-5470366589522313192012-04-14T12:30:00.002+10:002012-04-14T12:31:09.306+10:00Taking a momentSadly, I think I'm going to have to bow out of the A-Z. Dwindling posts over the last week probably clued you in to that already though. <br />
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Remember that post I did on <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/e-is-for-energy-exhaustion.html" target="_blank">energy and exhaustion</a>? Well, that list just keeps getting longer (more manuscripts, MORE assignments) and all of my spare time is being spent trying to get through everything I need to do. <br />
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The A-Z has motivated me to be a more regular blogger though, but I just don't think I can afford the time to post every day at the moment.<br />
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I'm going to keep trying to get around to other A-Zers blogs, and I wish you all the best of luck in getting through to the end of the month. Thanks for popping in and commenting on the posts I did write.<br />
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Keep writing!<br />
SariSari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-33192627353150098092012-04-11T17:45:00.000+10:002012-04-14T12:32:18.786+10:00The Joy of a good Idea<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8XTQlMy8iTEVPWxFOlJ1ddq4O77n1JZw_7KLYOcPQusQdDGInB2f9aBj7cuxEKwvns6_fsWsLhYnsSSxbKP1QVzhGVSVe8fool4iTCfznUGdb-jP0LGc1ksbyMjixsKyJ06XmlaFiyw/s1600/idea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8XTQlMy8iTEVPWxFOlJ1ddq4O77n1JZw_7KLYOcPQusQdDGInB2f9aBj7cuxEKwvns6_fsWsLhYnsSSxbKP1QVzhGVSVe8fool4iTCfznUGdb-jP0LGc1ksbyMjixsKyJ06XmlaFiyw/s320/idea.jpg" width="320" /></a>Umm... I fell behind again in the A-Z. Woops. Another combined post for <strong>I </strong>and <strong>J</strong>.<br />
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We writers need ideas. Well, I guess we don't, we could write about nothing, but it probably wouldn't be very fun, or JOYFUL (there you go J, you've had your say).<br />
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I've got a fair few writer friends, and one thing that I know for sure is that every writer's method, from conception to completion, is different. Some people get their ideas from dreams, others from experiences, observations or brilliant flashes of inspiration. A lot of people swear standing in the shower or doing the dishes works a treat.<br />
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My ideas seem to come from ... nowhere. I don't have a flash of inspiration and sit down to write that one idea, I just write. I have no knowledge of my world, characters, plot, conflict or anything before I start. The words come and the story, the IDEA, grows. And with the act of spilling an idea out on the page, before <em>I </em>even know what it is, comes joy.<br />
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<strong>How do you get your ideas? Have you ever written before the idea is formed? Or do you take inspiration from the outside world? </strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-88716955698808486072012-04-09T17:38:00.000+10:002012-04-09T17:38:55.724+10:00Fantasy Gives me HeroesI'm a little behind in the A-Z. I've decided not to feel guilty about that considering my last post on <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/e-is-for-energy-exhaustion.html" target="_blank">Exhaustion</a>, but I am now in catchup mode so I'm going to kill three birds with one stone.<br />
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<strong>F</strong>antasy <strong>G</strong>ives me <strong>H</strong>eroes</div>
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I am a big fantasy nut. I grew up with my older brother's cast-offs of Narnia, The Hobbit and The Northern Lights. It's always been one of my staples, what I go back to when I'm feeling the desire to get well and truly lost in a world. I love the made up creatures, worlds and magic. And I love the heroes and heroines that every fantasy story has.</div>
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I'm half-way through <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10871738-green-rider" target="_blank">Green Rider</a> by Kristen Britain at the moment, and I love Karigan; she's what a heroine should be. Strong but willing to ask for help, and not blindly walking into dangerous situations that could have been avoided with a bit more forethought.</div>
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Froi, of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10165727-froi-of-the-exiles" target="_blank">Froi of the Exiles</a> by Melina Marchetta, will do whatever needs to be done, is fiercely loyal but also fiercely intelligent. Even if he doesn't think so himself. His life didn't have heroic beginnings but kindness from others, and the loyalty those deeds generated in him, raised him above his past. He is an excellent, if unlikely, hero.</div>
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Valek, from the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60510.Poison_Study" target="_blank">Poison Study</a> series by Maria V. Snyder is not the main hero in the story but he plays his part well. Not controlling, he never tries to steal the show from Yelena, but he's there when he needs there. And he's just kind of ... awesome.<br />
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<strong>Do you have a favourite hero or heroine? </strong>Here's a some inspiration from a hero story that breaks all the rules.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EbvLisKBkjY" width="560"></iframe></div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-61308537963224004072012-04-05T15:51:00.002+10:002012-04-05T15:52:16.514+10:00E is for Energy & Exhaustion<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvUESXMslyFbzzlnSPwhLi2tHpsMm2rx-6AuuWfje9mXa8ETmEf0pX8YkEEufOMhv8i1yUWp002lv7IgUOF1QV8reAd16kjFXba7dpBnWCGC2d0nqo6dUjDQX1NJd6F4EiSfiZEBa5hk/s1600/lack+of+energy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvUESXMslyFbzzlnSPwhLi2tHpsMm2rx-6AuuWfje9mXa8ETmEf0pX8YkEEufOMhv8i1yUWp002lv7IgUOF1QV8reAd16kjFXba7dpBnWCGC2d0nqo6dUjDQX1NJd6F4EiSfiZEBa5hk/s200/lack+of+energy.jpg" width="153" /></a>On the way to work today I was complaining about being so tired all the time.</div>
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"But it's not like I go to bed late!" I said. "I just don't understand. I have no energy."</div>
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My friend, car-pooling buddy and fellow A-to-Zer <a href="http://fashionaddict-elle.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Elise</a> set me straight. "Sari, you're the busiest person I know. OF COURSE you're tired. Duh." Maybe she didn't say 'duh'. She's a bit too classy for that. But it was something along those lines.</div>
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And my response? "Oh yea." Duh.</div>
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In 2010 I was a banker and I wrote and blogged in my spare time. I was miserable. I came home every day feeling completely deflated and I was starting to hate life. BUT it was good for me because it made me really think about what I want out of life, and I realised that was not going to be found in banking. </div>
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I wanted to work with <strong>books</strong>. </div>
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Within four months of that discovery I'd moved with my (freakin awesome and supportive) boyfriend from Auckland, New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia, and enrolled in a post grad course in publishing and editing.</div>
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And now? I am ...</div>
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working full-time as a publishing assistant for Pearson, </div>
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studying part-time doing a post-grad diploma in publishing and editing with four assignments to do at the </div>
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moment, </div>
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doing an internship for Entangled Publishing reading slush and writing MS assessments (usually </div>
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a couple of MSS to read a week, sometimes more, sometimes less), </div>
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doing another internship copyediting short stories for Aurealis (an Australian sci-fi and fantasy </div>
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magazine),</div>
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aaaand somewhere in between all that finding time to read, write, blog and have a life. </div>
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Obviously some of those last few have suffered - lack of blog posts in the last while being exhibit A.</div>
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<br />I want to make it clear I'm not having a whinge. I put my hand up for all these things - possibly got a bit overenthusiastic - and I enjoy them. But it could explain why I'm feeling so exhausted all the time.</div>
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The good news is, it's Easter! And I've taken all next week off work! Yay! I can't take time off from uni assignments and internships, but at least I'll have more time to get them done, and I like reading slush anyway. It's interesting! And like Heather, the editor I intern for, says, it's like having a bookshop in your inbox. :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I still haven't figured out what bunnies have to do with Easter, <br />
but this one is cute so I don't care.</td></tr>
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Looking forward to feeling energised and more time rich during my holiday. <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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<strong>I you so busy you're feeling drained? How do you manage your time? Do you fit everything in that's important to you, or have you had to make sacrifices?</strong></div>
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</div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-67438444776065672462012-04-04T22:09:00.000+10:002012-04-04T22:11:35.126+10:00Darkly Delightful DystopianIf you read books then you've probably been hearing about these dystopian thingies, right? Yea, that's what I thought. Here are a few that I've read and a few that I intend to read, click on the covers if you want to check them out on Goodreads.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306857-divergent" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHM3qhHKW8pvC8Nl4uszAewTjucBm936mAdhqDJQQpeobHQqLsZ-9UxrR5pZ7j0bubPb4sT6daUexxk9ug4mYPu-JgZU4dsSfWVYmPq96bIIVpu8_JD5MxwVKbab83Xmm78Bqo_DN8s4/s320/Divergent.jpg" width="211" /></a><strong>Divergent </strong>by Veronica Roth<br />
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<span id="freeTextContainer14243292804585548940"><em>In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.</em></span><br />
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Page turning. Addictive. Unputdownable. 'Nuff said?<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh842vUDL6aEPwmc84tChwbG9MSM5p_Dp1MqJR-qJLjCB3LdSddbwuKTyj3P0WCBkNJBUQq19b3qX3VpvhWAQRyt2BOb5vlG1UTwxRGoSVQ-azzhuT1j-_DTQ-pkZt_kd3SguYrVVo_rOw/s320/hunger+games.jpg" width="211" /></a><strong>The Hunger Games </strong>by Susan Collins<br />
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<span id="freeText3199144497734076423"><em>Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?<br /><br />In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.</em></span><br />
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This book really doesn't need any sort of introduction. Just don't watch the movie before reading the book, 'kay?<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEire1rn1Jncws1qGtgnIX5eKP6njCQOQ4Yq1sinIWTTflRFR5-83B34AZ8J89x6UHDg3574xiz_1d5Ky8kw08CBsCgNvwEUHQAuDpn2PZxQFo4hOqWWiLGWIuSLPM29Fbj1dxR0D_Tsrdg/s320/Wither.jpg" width="210" /></a><strong>Wither </strong>by Lauren DeStefano<br />
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<span id="freeText15090719446264518282"><em>By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. </em></span><br />
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<em>When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. </em><br />
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<em>Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?</em><br />
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Haven't read this one yet, but it's next on the MUST BUY list. And I gotta say I love the cover.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9917938-blood-red-road" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKQHuklpJeXPNmIWCZTBg_v6B9F5KmipfPl_EYIbLnyU5cwOX9rVaqgKonJZsoCCvhVvRfjf-Xg8xdCdN3wQmmZYkJWLJmER2ts2lr7XTXCghlWAJCmNy-vHg3XGbWL2f8OTSUUWdvvE/s320/Blood+Red+Road.jpg" width="211" /></a><strong>Blood Red Road </strong>by Moira Young<br />
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<em>Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back. </em><br />
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<em>Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba’s unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.</em><br />
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I have this one, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. It would be next on the TBR list if my boyfriend hadn't grabbed it off the bookshelf first! Also loving this cover, it's very striking.<br />
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Another dystopian has just sold to a publisher, and it was the first manuscript I read in my role as an intern! Pretty cool to see the inner workings of publishing.<br />
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<strong>What are your fave dystopian picks? Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-27241038423995010882012-04-03T20:00:00.000+10:002012-04-03T20:00:12.605+10:00Choice is the catalyst for story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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“You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>~ Morpheus</div>
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Choice is a catalyst. Characters who make difficult choices in order to gain something they want or need are a vital component in a good story. Whether the character's choice is good or bad, it will be the catalyst for a journey, and the character will have to live with the consequences of choice, and make many more decisions that stem from the first. Neo chose the red pill and as a result learnt the truth. He then had to choose whether to fight. Characters who want something and are strong enough to pursue it make interesting subjects!</div>
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Neo’s choice was easy. Live a lie or know the truth. How could he go on living a lie when he knew it existed? We already knew that the character Neo was portrayed to be wouldn’t be able to do that. If he’d chosen the blue pill … well, story over. <br />
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What if Neo’s choice had been made for him? What if he'd chosen the blue pill, but through forces outside his control had ended up on the adventure anyway, would he be the sort of character we’d want to follow through the whole story? If he never acted on his own decisions, but was thrust into situations of other’s making. A passive character being acted on by the rest of the world.<br />
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Your characters need to want something with enough conviction that they will make the hard choices (the red pill), and lead the reader through a story worth knowing, instead of bumbling along in the dark, steeped in passivity.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Which pill would you choose? I think I know the answer - we’re all story readers here.</b><br />
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<strong>A to Zers, I'm trying to get around to as many of you as possible, and will return the love of all who visit, but I have a 13 hour day today with a work/uni combo so probably won't be able to visit till tomorrow.</strong></div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-59960387422730576002012-04-02T20:06:00.000+10:002012-04-02T20:06:16.124+10:00Beginnings, AKA: A very unscientific look at first pages (with charts!)It's day 2 of the A-Z, and I'm not off to a flying start. I've not been feeling flash today, so I hope you'll forgive me for reposting an old post. I was going to write a post about beginnings, and luckily for me this is one of my favourite posts that I've written!<br />
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It took me quite a long time to realise the beginning of my story needed a lot of work. Then when I finally figured it out, it took me even longer to realise it needed to be scrapped and rewritten.<br />
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Afraid of making the same mistakes again, I decided to do some research. And here it is, in the hopes that someone else will find this useful too. [Edit: even after this research, I still haven't gotten my beginning to a place I'm happy with. Never mind, I'll keep trying!]<br />
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I went on Amazon and went through the first pages of thirteen books in the YA paranormal & fantasy categories. For each, I read the first page ONLY. If I wasn't hooked by then, too bad. If the book had a prologue I did the test on both the prologue and the first chapter (since I know a lot of people don't read prologues, and those that do might get turned off by the prologue before getting to the first chapter).<br />
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The three categories I had were: Setting, Character and Intrigue. I classified Intrigue as leading me to ask a question, wanting to know more. I only counted character if it was details about the main character, and it was more than just their name. <br />
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If I was on the fence about putting a book in any category, I left it off. Each book had to be clearly in each category.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-bVpAF5LfSj4RfA7rt5bKzFHjBCXjriay116tJxBFL8hWe5dIqqM_zt7JHycGmLDrngJso36MfAd40NQ0T4StddGNeC8IEsohGl2rg7zrViTyqktrcAoYp6eA3esQURghJfNZyzxrtg/s1600/S%252C+C%252C+I+Pie.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-bVpAF5LfSj4RfA7rt5bKzFHjBCXjriay116tJxBFL8hWe5dIqqM_zt7JHycGmLDrngJso36MfAd40NQ0T4StddGNeC8IEsohGl2rg7zrViTyqktrcAoYp6eA3esQURghJfNZyzxrtg/s400/S%252C+C%252C+I+Pie.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The numbers of books that fell into each category, or multiple categories.</td></tr>
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Based on this pie chart, Setting is the most common component of first pages. 88% of the pages I surveyed had details about setting. Usually they set up the MC's 'normal world', whether it was a fantasy setting or the real world. Kristen Lamb has a good post on why you want to <a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/in-the-beginning-part-one-normal-world/">start with the normal world</a>, if you're interested.<br />
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Intrigue was the second most common at 56% and Character last with 37%. I think it's interesting that 44% of the pages didn't have Intrigue.<br />
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I also gave each book a rating out of five based on my 'Desire to Read On'. <br />
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Before I go on, I'd just like to say that these ratings in no way reflect how good the book is. It's only based on the first page and how badly I needed to turn to the second page to know what happens next. It's also, obviously, very subjective. Some pages I gave a five for that others may have given a two, and vice verse. Also, I didn't count words, so some books (if there chapter headings took up most of the page) had fewer words to capture me in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwQRvlkUqNDH4XRW8pid6fHiTiA40YsdgZMvv7PQf00AoXhA4fBGBwedyI4mDLSZn3K9TpVdFm2mNu8heQXtfdTpJFKcQynhwNPAUV51GbcoerBWh78y5pHdOBuMLEnAuMl2kGm_-FcU/s1600/S%252C+C%252C+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwQRvlkUqNDH4XRW8pid6fHiTiA40YsdgZMvv7PQf00AoXhA4fBGBwedyI4mDLSZn3K9TpVdFm2mNu8heQXtfdTpJFKcQynhwNPAUV51GbcoerBWh78y5pHdOBuMLEnAuMl2kGm_-FcU/s400/S%252C+C%252C+I.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Clearly, for me, Intrigue is the most important factor in getting me to read on. Which brings me back to the pie chart, 44% didn't have Intrigue!<br />
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Lets have a look at what groupings of these elements made me want to read on the most:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdz9SaFoNbXuvaNbXnDrCBwp-a8j9Jp_D42O836Q3v_BCAKQIgFVKkErmRcmoITJz5xKJVU-2CfDKevFZMYXN7V0rgIhrakDnWiuzcZo4vTqdh9nj-UJPbh0LvvhZOl_cCVJh4nBbdmY/s1600/S%252C+C%252C+I+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdz9SaFoNbXuvaNbXnDrCBwp-a8j9Jp_D42O836Q3v_BCAKQIgFVKkErmRcmoITJz5xKJVU-2CfDKevFZMYXN7V0rgIhrakDnWiuzcZo4vTqdh9nj-UJPbh0LvvhZOl_cCVJh4nBbdmY/s400/S%252C+C%252C+I+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Because the sample size was so small here, it's probably best not to draw conclusions from the data, but as I've already said, this is a <strong>very unscientific </strong>study, so I'm going to anyway. <br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Intrigue is the single most important thing to have on your first page. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Probably also in your first sentence.</span></strong><br />
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The differences between Character and Setting are marginal, but carrying on the unscientificness (it's a word) I'm going to say that Character is second, and Setting last (the most common element in first pages).<br />
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I'll break it down one more time, in the interests of transparency, and so you can disagree with me about various pages if you would like:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy9hkqWeNG_q-GT-DcHI6_P1tC7VUWHyDplrVrcGCSGrr6YIyQXif3-BMlvlsTqsIQCilDrtfUDMMXaKUQWYfTJuAPxHf9UTtwv0LLBWd3Q9lMjoVcjPYvcGSqu0ZyO_VdKSTmmmAyDc/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="482" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy9hkqWeNG_q-GT-DcHI6_P1tC7VUWHyDplrVrcGCSGrr6YIyQXif3-BMlvlsTqsIQCilDrtfUDMMXaKUQWYfTJuAPxHf9UTtwv0LLBWd3Q9lMjoVcjPYvcGSqu0ZyO_VdKSTmmmAyDc/s640/Untitled.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">* Fallen does have a prologue but I was unable to get the first page from Amazon. Also, when I made this chart I think I must have meant to make that a percentage, Ie Eon got 5/5 Desire to Read On, or 100%.</td></tr>
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<strong>So, what do you think? Agree with my very unscientific study? Disagree? Have anything else to add?</strong><br />
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If you enjoyed this, check out <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/very-unscientific-look-at-first-pages_08.html" target="_blank">part two</a>, where I break down the first page details, and what about each page lead to them getting a higher or lower 'Desire to Read' score.<br />
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Again, sorry I'm being so lame on only DAY 2 of the A-Z. I promise I will post fresh content tomorrow. For now though, sleep. Thank you everyone for stopping by!Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-35862653502825280272012-04-01T21:47:00.000+10:002012-04-01T21:50:21.176+10:00A is for apples ... and other things<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oieNRm9fHUidkDTFJSgQo4pScUc6fiY6s7prmbmS91rGMykJ2Zf8rB8iapPIokbBCbdb2Mu63CqoZBmQzqoes7I6qYC8M2Zmmk-tnPEmqBvfy_9S2HOCOkBBC2YZogewzV9r6YfeZx0/s1600/an_apple_with_the_letter_a_written_on_it_0071-0907-2807-5207_SMU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oieNRm9fHUidkDTFJSgQo4pScUc6fiY6s7prmbmS91rGMykJ2Zf8rB8iapPIokbBCbdb2Mu63CqoZBmQzqoes7I6qYC8M2Zmmk-tnPEmqBvfy_9S2HOCOkBBC2YZogewzV9r6YfeZx0/s200/an_apple_with_the_letter_a_written_on_it_0071-0907-2807-5207_SMU.jpg" width="200" /></a>Oh wow. Did I really sign up for this? I think I'm getting dangerously close to that very annoying line: biting off more than I can chew.<br />
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Well, anywho, onwards and upwards, and to the business of the day: the letter A. Or, more specifically, something that starts with A that will be fun to write about (and hopefully read about). Do you know how hard it is to think of a word that starts with a specific letter when you absolutely have to? Hard! I mean, I came up with a few ideas: apples (crunchy are best, nuff said), Argentina (I don't really know anything about it, but I would like to), aphrodisiac (...). <br />
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I settled on ... <strong>audience</strong>. The people you write for (other than yourself). I could have talked about the audience you write stories for, and was going to, but instead I decided to focus on blogging audience, since we've just started a month long blogging bonanza.<br />
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Who do you write for? This is a question I've struggled with a few times, over the life of my blog, and I think it's shown from time to time. Am I writing this blog for myself? Other writers? Readers? What is my goal? Do I want to impart knowledge (I don't have a whole lot of this, so perhaps not the best strategy)? Commiserate? Share amazing finds (book related of course)? Build my platform for the one day dream of getting published? <br />
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There are so many directions this blog could go in, and all I really know is that I want it to be about the things I am passionate about: reading, writing and books. I think I'm going to use this month to figure out the future of the blog, try and solidify a goal, and then keep trucking.<br />
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<strong>Do you know who your blogging audience is? Is it who you intended, or have you gone off track? What are your thoughts on this?</strong><br />
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PS. I also toyed with adamantium as my letter A, but then realised I had nothing to say about it and would only have chosen the topic because I wanted to include a picture of Hugh Jackman in all his Wolverine glory, which I'm going to do anyway.Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-37866808732627653462012-03-31T12:31:00.001+11:002012-03-31T12:40:20.336+11:00What's in a name?So, some of you may have noticed that I completely overhauled my blog layout and changed the name not so very long ago. At the time I was very over the existing layout and name, and just wanted a change! The problem was, I was in a hurry to do it and now I'm not so happy with the changes. I still think they're better than what I had before, but I think I can do better. <br />
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Part of the problem is that I made the blog layout myself and, while it was fun to do, it does look a little amateurish.<br />
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So, I'm going to overhaul again, but this time I'm going to take my time and make sure I get it right. I want something I can live with for a long time.<br />
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In the meantime <strong>I could really use YOUR help. Pretty please?</strong><br />
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I have a list of names I'm toying with, and I'd love to get your opinions on them in the poll below (and in the comments). As you can see, they're all based around a *ahem* healthy obsession with books.<br />
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Also, if you had your blog designed by someone who you think did an amazing job, I'd love to hear about them!<br />
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<strong>Can't wait to hear what you all think, and thank you in advance.</strong><br />
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Sari</div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-73933407035614890582012-03-28T10:22:00.001+11:002012-03-28T10:26:08.519+11:00Lucky 7<div style="font-size: 12pt;">
Yay, I've been tagged in the lucky 7 meme! Thanks, <a href="http://maggiehallwrites.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Maggie</a>. :) <br />
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The rules are: <br />
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1. Go to page 77 of your current MS <br />
2. Go to line 7 <br />
3. Copy down the next seven lines as they're written--no cheating! <br />
4. Tag 7 other writers <br />
5. Let them know<br />
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So, it turns out my seven lines are a little boring... sorry 'bout that. You should go read Maggie's if you want some actiony awesomeness!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Far off in the forest of stone came the soft dripping of water. To my right the cave wall arced around in a near perfect half circle, and dotting the wall were hundreds of tunnels.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They spread out like spokes on a tyre; some only large enough for a mouse, others would fit ten men walking abreast with ease. Many ventured straight into the rock, while others veered steeply down, or rose sharply. I knew that even with supplies to survive and light to see by I would never be able to find my way out alone. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This place was never designed for escape.</span></span></div>
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Now as to the nominations, I'm going to cheat a little and nominate everyone who reads this post! Please let me know if you do participate as I'd love to read everyone else's entries.<br />
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<strong>Now go forth, and post!</strong></div>
Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-50536834094396857272012-03-24T15:11:00.002+11:002012-03-24T15:12:53.993+11:00Asking Amazon to listenHi everyone, today I'm going to post something from my friend <a href="http://sarahbillington.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Billington</a>, who can say this much better than myself:<br />
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As you know, independent authors put a lot of time and energy into our writing and we are so thankful for the opportunity Amazon provides for us to earn a living doing what we love. Except a lot of that living is stripped from us through bank charges for processing international cheques.<br />
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I was excited to receive my first two cheques recently, smallfry compared to some authors, one was for $17, the other for $56. Except my bank charges $25 to bank a single cheque. <br />
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For my $17 cheque, I will be paying THEM to bank it for me. If I choose not to cash in my royalties on that $17 cheque, it makes it nothing but a pretty piece of paper. A piece of paper that represents about 51 readers.<br />
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Of my $73 in royalties, $50 would go toward bank fees, leaving me with $23US (not that I can actually deposit the $17 cheque at all). BEFORE currency conversion to Australian dollars.<br />
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I am just one example. Other banks charge $40 to process international cheques. I have heard of another author whose country of residence will not process US cheques so they have to GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY to deposit royalties.<br />
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Smashwords pays authors via PayPal so it can't be too hard for Amazon to do so, or update Amazon Payments so that international users can be paid that way as well.<br />
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It would also save Amazon money on international postage of cheques. Win-win, right?<br />
I know and believe that Amazon cares about its authors and this step would help us all across the globe.</div>
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If you are interested in Sarah's message and would like to support the cause, please visit her petition <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-pay-international-authors-via-amazon-paymentspaypalbank-account" target="_blank">here.</a> And feel free to spread the word!<br />
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<strong>What are your thoughts in this? Do you think Amazon can be convinced to change? Do you think it's necessary? Are you a self-published author having a similar problem?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-51077313604033165132012-03-14T09:47:00.000+11:002012-03-14T09:51:34.996+11:00The e-book pricing conundrum. How much are they worth?<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the biggest debates happening in the book world these days is: how much is an e-book worth? And what is that worth based on? How do we balance the reader’s loss in utility from not being able to touch or see or smell their book (all important if you’re a book lover) against authors’ income and publishers’ revenues? People still need to make money. If they’re not making money they’re not going to keep making books. </div>
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I come at this issue from two different perspectives: the reader, and the writer who also works in publishing. So far, I’m finding it very hard to merge these two perspectives. (Dual personalities of a writer’s brain come forth.)</div>
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<strong>The reader:</strong></div>
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When you buy a traditionally published e-book you’re often paying close to the same price as you would for the p-book version. As a reader of both e- and p-books, I have an issue with this. I prefer p-books. I like to feel them. The smell of them. To look at them on my bookshelf even after I’ve finished reading them. If I have a choice, and the price is similar, I’m going for the p-book every time. </div>
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E-books, for me, are about convenience and cost saving. Add in the fact that, according to publishing consultant David Amerland, when you spend money on an e-book you’re not actually purchasing the book, only access to the book, why should I spend the same amount as I would to purchase, and own, a p-book?</div>
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<strong>The writer and publishing industry employee:</strong></div>
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A lot of readers think the way I do about the costs of e-books. What they don’t realise is that, for a traditional publisher, there is very little difference between the cost of creating an e-book or p-book. Sure, e-books don’t have printing costs, but they do still have editing, design, marketing, author fees and a whole host of other costs associated with them. You might be surprised to know that the printing cost associated with a single book is usually only around a couple of dollars.</div>
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So the question is: how do the big publishers compete when consumers aren’t willing to pay what the publisher needs to survive? Throw in the likes of Amazon, who willingly forces the price point of e-books down so they can sell more Kindles and put competitors out of business (predatory pricing), and you’ve got the publishers in a sticky situation.</div>
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The only people meeting the market’s price expectations are self-publishers, who are able to sell their books at very low prices because they have almost no overheads. The market is happy (yay)! The publishers are not. Although whether the market is truly happy could be questionable. There are a lot of self-pubd works out there that wouldn’t know a second draft if it bit them in the bum, but that’s a post for another day.</div>
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Here’s a quote from author Stuart Neville that I think sums up the writers' perspective: </div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"I'm amazed that people are that cheap. Do they think a year of my life is worth less than $9.99? Do they really believe that 10 to 12 hours of entertainment isn't worth the equivalent cost of two or three coffees, or less than two beers?"</span></div>
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<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What are your thoughts on the e-book pricing conundrum? Do you have no problem paying close to the same price for an e-book as you would for a p-book, despite the perceived loss of worth? Or will you only buy self-pubd e-books and continue to buy p-books from the traditional publishers? I’m interested to hear where everyone else stands on this issue!</span> </strong></div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-71949717494348879652012-02-24T23:27:00.002+11:002012-02-24T23:33:34.486+11:00To rewrite or not to rewrite?That is the question.<br />
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I was reading an MS from the slushpile today, and getting very frustrated with the opening paragraphs. My frustration was for many reasons, but one of them was the way the MC was introduced to new concepts.<br />
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The MC was starting in a state of ignorance, as are many MCs in YA fantasy, and is found by people who know more than her whose job it is to educate her. And herein lies my problem. It's not interesting to read about an MC being lectured in what they don't know. It's passive. The MC is not actively seeking this information, she didn't even know it was out there. It just fell into her lap. She was even ignorant about her ignorance so there was no reason for her to go actively searching for an answer. And ... I was not terribly entertained. The end result? I stopped reading after about four chapters. (I would have stopped earlier but I'm still nervous as a new intern about not giving MSS enough of a chance.)<br />
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My story, to a certain extent, suffers from a similar problem, and it's taken me til now, pinpointing it in this story, to realise it's what's causing me grief with mine. I've rewritten my first 40-60 pages or so about four times now. Each times it's gotten marginally better but I'm never fully happy with it and now I know why: my MC is ignorant, and, rather than not taking no for an answer when her seniors refuse to give information, she accepts her ignorance and waits for it to fall into her lap.<br />
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The thing is, her ignorance is so important to the story (but not ignorance of her ignorance - she knows there are things she doesn't know and this is imporatant). So, the solution as I see it is to remove the sources of information that are handed to her and make her go out and get it. And that means ... well ... basically a rewrite, probably from start to finish.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh857X46P343bIH_ylna1IuBQOi7HA36pQCNWupoqUAmBVZKM4qbIF5pbWIet-4dlBnfoJh8LwN9e-5ACtab7iy-qImjrejCqaxnkt25LUgKV3jcQGRjunHAKwkAKoo5IcWxD4mEHUVf8U/s1600/eep128456873158281250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh857X46P343bIH_ylna1IuBQOi7HA36pQCNWupoqUAmBVZKM4qbIF5pbWIet-4dlBnfoJh8LwN9e-5ACtab7iy-qImjrejCqaxnkt25LUgKV3jcQGRjunHAKwkAKoo5IcWxD4mEHUVf8U/s320/eep128456873158281250.jpg" width="320" /></a>If I can find time around two internships, full time work and part time uni.<br />
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Eep.<br />
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<strong>Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Have you found ways to make your current set-up work with minimal rewriting, or did you have to do a complete overhaul? If the latter please just lie to me and tell me it was easy peasy! Kidding, I really do want to know about your experiences and your words of wisdom.</strong><br />
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PS. Please excuse me if I'm making little to no sense. It's late, and I'm tired, and I've just had an unepiphany that looks like it's going to equal oodles of work.Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-22184127615082919742012-02-18T16:16:00.001+11:002012-02-18T16:18:03.546+11:00When 'The End' leaves you feeling unsettled ...Today I finished reading a book. I started it last night, put it down at an hour I'm never quite sure if it should be described as early or late, picked it back up the moment I woke this morning and didn't put it down until I finished it.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zyvBLTxZVIPGoAp3ZsitGMEmzTVjGccq-SS26fCDlhPne5rNsDpUZD04_BiJ8YnxFpu4WSQbGxGIsPDKe0nPffopIP5iVz9vHXCpQ9d3AX2dTtoKWe5vyefbOvSWjbwJtmzNwa9tbAY/s1600/Scorpio+Races.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zyvBLTxZVIPGoAp3ZsitGMEmzTVjGccq-SS26fCDlhPne5rNsDpUZD04_BiJ8YnxFpu4WSQbGxGIsPDKe0nPffopIP5iVz9vHXCpQ9d3AX2dTtoKWe5vyefbOvSWjbwJtmzNwa9tbAY/s200/Scorpio+Races.jpg" width="130" /></a><br />
The book? <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11210739-the-scorpio-races" target="_blank">The Scorpio Races</a> by Maggie Stiefvater. I <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/261566040" target="_blank">reviewed</a> it on Goodreads. I don't usually but I felt like I had to with this one. And even then I didn't know what to say!<br />
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I just ... how do you put that feeling into words, when you've just finished a book that was so good, that you were so immersed in, and then it ends? I've just spent several long (or short, depending on how you look at it) hours with these characters, and I'm not ready to let them go yet. I want more time.<br />
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Now I'm wandering from room to room, like me cat when she's looking for someone to feed her, and I just can't settle. Everything I do loses its appeal so quickly, because I want back into that world. I think that maybe I should just start another book, to keep that feeling at bay, but then I can't stand the idea of starting another book when I've just read one that was so amazing.<br />
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<strong>Do you know this feeling? The one you only get after reading a book you really connected with? How do you get past it? Or am I maybe just a bit coocoo?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-62232726619150129212012-02-08T11:49:00.000+11:002012-02-09T19:05:28.315+11:00Hearing voices, characters talking to each other that isIt's day two of the <a href="http://livetowrite1.blogspot.com.au/p/im-hearing-voices-blogfest.html?showComment=1328256434511" target="_blank">I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest</a>, and today two of my characters are going to introduce each other.<br />
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<a href="http://livetowrite1.blogspot.com/p/im-hearing-voices-blogfest.html" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="I’m Hearing Voices" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z415/cothran13/Voices2-2.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: Sila! Get over here. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Sila</strong>: What?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: We’re supposed to introduce each other, remember?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Sila</strong>: I remember. I just never agreed to do this. You have fun with that, but I’ve got other things to do. Like keeping her-brilliance-the-princess-our-humble-saviour-and-oh-so-amazing-at-everything’s arse out of trouble.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: If you don’t help I’m not busting you out of trouble the next time you do something to piss off the Guardian.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Sila</strong>: Fine. This is Alad. He likes to be a smart-ass-know-it-all-goody-two-shoes. He’s been fighting for the Kaardrivaal since he was 14, and he’s ok with a sword. But I can still beat him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: You’ve beat me twice, and you got lucky both times. And you know I’m much better than ‘ok’ with a sword. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Sila</strong>: Whatever. And he’s got a thing for her-amazing-highness the princess.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: I don’t. Stop making up crap. And stop being a bitch. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">This is Sila. She’s obviously got issues, as you can tell…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Sila</strong>: Shut up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: … She’s cousin to Princess Danshian, and isn’t too happy about it. She thinks she’s more capable than everyone else, and would prefer to do things her way because she’s convinced that no one else can do anything right.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Sila</strong>: I’m out of here.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Alad</strong>: Now she’s gone, I don’t mind saying I like Sila. She’s a good person, she’s just afraid of getting close to people. Her parents were murdered when she was four. I feel sorry for her, really.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Anyway, thanks for coming round. Catch you all later.</span></div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-2392618983695115352012-02-07T09:21:00.000+11:002012-02-08T08:35:08.381+11:00Characters on the couch: JeranThe first post of the <a href="http://livetowrite1.blogspot.com.au/p/im-hearing-voices-blogfest.html?showComment=1328256434511" target="_blank">I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAp0YXUg-SNQ07lqiNPdaj4zEU1qDiK6BpyRaWz-X-emFDBYl1qteasZ6jZ-03EvO8hNpIW63kZyTtD2FIJQIJllpC2VUnYQeI16C4LgrOcgVi1Jf21_pTLtNMoFap3ggoRjrhF1PBqLM/s1600/1159045_f260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAp0YXUg-SNQ07lqiNPdaj4zEU1qDiK6BpyRaWz-X-emFDBYl1qteasZ6jZ-03EvO8hNpIW63kZyTtD2FIJQIJllpC2VUnYQeI16C4LgrOcgVi1Jf21_pTLtNMoFap3ggoRjrhF1PBqLM/s1600/1159045_f260.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Jeran! Welcome to my couch. I have a few questions for you so let’s start with what your biggest vulnerability is and do others know this or is it a secret?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: [He isn’t saying anything. Only sitting and staring at me. Have you ever had a staring contest with a dog that looks like a wolf before? Yea … you don’t win. Oh! Is that shiny thing below his lip tooth?! I think it might be time to move on.]</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Never mind. Participation not necessary. Heh ... So ahh, what do people believe about you that is false?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: That I’m a dog.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Care to elaborate?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: [There’s that tooth again. And did I just imagine that, or did he just growl?] No.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: My, what big teeth you have. Next question, what would your best friend say is your fatal flaw and why?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: He wouldn’t say anything. He’s dead.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Errr … ok. Umm … how ‘bout your dad?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: [Oh boy. This is not going well. He definitely growled this time.] My desire to have nothing to do with the family business. He’d kill me if he could find me, so I guess you could say it is indeed a fatal flaw.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Ok, the next question is … [I read the rest of the question under my breath: What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?] … we’ll just skip this one shall we?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: Loyalty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: What?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: I heard you. If he was alive, he’d say loyalty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Oh, great. I can really see why he’d say that. So, what do you want most in the world?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: I want to be healed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: You’re sick?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: [Piercing stare.]</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Oh … ah, never mind. Do you know how far you'll go to to be healed?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: I’m going to bring the princess here. If it causes my father a few problems along the way, then so be it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: I see. I’m not sure antagonising him is such a good idea if you’re so sure he’s out to kill you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: Is this interview over? I have places to be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Me</strong>: Sure! Thanks for your time. [Ugh … that nervous laugh was not good. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere you’re not supposed to show fear when facing a dog.]</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Jeran</strong>: [He’s already gone.]</span></div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-38892991471283144612012-02-03T19:37:00.000+11:002012-02-04T12:54:55.963+11:00Feb blogfests and comps I heartHey there writer friends!<br />
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This is just a quick post to let you know about some fun and exciting blogfests and comps I've come across and am participating, and I thought you might like to know about them too! (I've come across these from a few different sources, but one I've just discovered is Sharon's blog <a href="http://sharonbayliss.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">The Blue Word</a>. She does a monthly post on blogfests and comps in the writing realm.)<br />
<a href="http://eleusinianmysteriesofreading.blogspot.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z20/mssammydean/February.gif" width="200" /></a><br />
There's the <a href="http://eleusinianmysteriesofreading.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/valentines-blog-event-it-begins-today.html" target="_blank">Valentines Blog Event</a> being hosted by Brodie at <a href="http://eleusinianmysteriesofreading.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/valentines-blog-event-it-begins-today.html" target="_blank">Eleusinian Mysteries</a> and Lisa from <a href="http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me</a>. It's a month long event with all sorts of fun games and AMAZING book prizes. Seriously. Check them out.<br />
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<a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Operation Awesome</a> is hosting their monthly <a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/february-mystery-agent-details.html" target="_blank">Mystery Agent contest</a>. I don't think I'm going to enter this one because I'm not quite ready, but hey, there's always next month! </div>
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The <a href="http://livetowrite1.blogspot.com.au/p/im-hearing-voices-blogfest.html?showComment=1328256434511" target="_blank">I'm Hearing Voices blogfest</a>, hosted by Angela at <a href="http://livetowrite1.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Live to Write</a> and Cassie at <a href="http://readingwritingandlovinit.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Reading, Writing and Loving It</a>, is a great character study done in three parts. A very good way to get to know your characters a little better (especially the elusive ones that don't like to talk to you) and there are also some great prizes on offer.<center><a href="http://livetowrite1.blogspot.com/p/im-hearing-voices-blogfest.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="I’m Hearing Voices" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z415/cothran13/Voices2-2.jpg" /></a></center><br />
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And of course there's the <a href="http://fictiontoolbox.blogspot.com.au/p/featured.html" target="_blank">Get Fired Up blogfest</a>, which I've already talked about <a href="http://sariwebb.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/paying-it-forward-blogger-love.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Don't forget, if you're a new blogger in need of a little guidance, I (and all the others who have signed up for this blogfest) are always happy to help.</div>
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<strong>Have you found any awesome comps or blogfests this month? I'd love to hear about them. Will you be participating in any of these?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-50496354464227241442012-02-03T13:47:00.000+11:002012-02-04T12:55:44.190+11:00Clichés and anatomical impossibilities<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
How many times have you read the line ‘her jaw dropped to the floor’, or ‘my stomach sank’ or ‘her eyes were as blue as the ocean’? A fair few? More?</div>
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Yea, me too. It’s gotten to the point where I do an involuntary eye-roll when I read one of those lines. According to a quick Google search only 1 in 6 people (in America) have blue eyes. Even that statistic sounds a bit high to me. I very rarely notice people with blue eyes. Not the Alexis Bledel kind anyway.</div>
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Is the character a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavian? Ok, forgiven. Dark-haired, olive-skinned, blue-eyed beauty? Why? Is it because she lives in a dystopian world where a certain type of blue eyes mean she has a genetic abnormality brought on by genetic experiments? Ok, I can dig that. </div>
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Is it … just ‘cause? If you chose option C, cue eye-roll. She’s much more likely to have brown eyes. Or hazel. And what’s wrong with those colours? And for the record, green eyes are even less likely. Only 1-2% of people (according to that same Google search) have ‘eyes the colour of jade’.</div>
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If you’re aware of the improbability of your character having blue eyes, green (grey, violet, red) eyes, and you decide they still need to have that eye colour (I hope it’s for a good reason and not just ‘cause) then please, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">please </i>come up with a way to describe them other than ‘sea green/blue’ or ‘eyes like sparkling sapphires/jade’. The first word to pop into your head is probably there because you’ve the descriptions a million times before. Put it away, and try for another.</div>
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<em>Those eyes, so blue I felt as though I were staring into a fathomless pool, so deep and wide that I could swim forever.</em></div>
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So now we’ve got the eyes sorted, I would just like to point out that it is not actually possible for a jaw to drop much further than, well, anywhere past your face. Once upon a time, I’m sure the image of someone’s jaw dropping to the floor was new and fresh (but so were all clichés) and told the reader perfectly how stunned the character was. (Or it was a perfectly gruesome description of a decaying zombie.) Now, not so much.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsdOwoDgc8uTLl0KpRXOoF2dJyTJt1fXEh39aL5oeyeutTmOqaCs-pkUn8F9J1aIho7nO4C5MOGvHIqHjmOsO9ZE8T14CE6ZpGtPTFDZ54ngg-X4e8B9mZ8yei1U14AeaF8cfMjd5fEU/s1600/J1NFCAVV15ZRCA0O7AJQCA10U7FFCAPDSW8OCA4R0XAECAA156URCANYWHBFCA36IZY0CAJX0RTGCAYQ59KLCAWDOCY0CAQNX3PQCA29QZVACA2D2K88CAWWFCEMCA5J6M01CA7TLNO1CA4BM81SCAWMZP6M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsdOwoDgc8uTLl0KpRXOoF2dJyTJt1fXEh39aL5oeyeutTmOqaCs-pkUn8F9J1aIho7nO4C5MOGvHIqHjmOsO9ZE8T14CE6ZpGtPTFDZ54ngg-X4e8B9mZ8yei1U14AeaF8cfMjd5fEU/s1600/J1NFCAVV15ZRCA0O7AJQCA10U7FFCAPDSW8OCA4R0XAECAA156URCANYWHBFCA36IZY0CAJX0RTGCAYQ59KLCAWDOCY0CAQNX3PQCA29QZVACA2D2K88CAWWFCEMCA5J6M01CA7TLNO1CA4BM81SCAWMZP6M.jpg" /></a>Is your character’s jaw dropping to the floor because they’re stunned by something they’ve seen or heard? How else would they be affected? Would a jolt run through them from the surprise? Would their breathing speed up? Goosebumps? Eyes widening? Shaking? Muscles tensing? </div>
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There are so many different physical and emotional responses to any situation your character might face, and there is never any need to use a clichéd line. The thesaurus is your friend (much like Google). If you’re feeling stuck, maybe try to imagining yourself in your characters shoes. How would you feel?</div>
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<strong>How ‘bout you? Does clichéd writing grind your gears? What are your tips for avoiding overdone wording?</strong></div>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-9064264922456663842012-01-27T22:40:00.000+11:002012-02-03T19:36:05.466+11:00Paying it forward blogger loveOne thing I love about the writing community is that we're always willing to help each other out. I've had this proven to me multiple times when I haven't been able to figure something out with my writing, or my blog, or just life in general, and my writing friends have always come to the rescue. I hope that I've been able to repay the favour on occasion.<br />
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<a href="http://fictiontoolbox.blogspot.com/p/featured.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOza5DG_jOw0UqVEAobIx1X-D6mkx9pzVoIJzQ0zyN0HCPs5tq7Q0Lp3qm475R7HVqbLfHzcGIimRbpSa7i395b1YadAel1QZOpXJvzlLyb2cipHtp6afBK93hd-tBGJdjOHEZmSMrGY/s200/firedup.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Melissa, over at <a href="http://fictiontoolbox.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Fiction Toolbox</a>, has come up with a great idea for paying it forward in the writers-who-blog world. We were all new here once upon a time, right? And how much easier did the writing community make things when you weren't really sure what you were doing? Or did you go it alone at first and wish you had someone to mentor you through those first few weeks or months of your blog?<br />
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In the <a href="http://fictiontoolbox.blogspot.com/p/featured.html" target="_blank">Get Fired Up blogfest</a> established bloggers lend a hand to newby bloggers. It can be in any way shape or form, so if you feel inclined to share some hard earned wisdom go check it out.<br />
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<strong>If you're a new blogger and need any tips or direction on anything blogging related, please let me know in the comments. I'm here to help and I'm sure so are a lot of my blog readers.</strong><br />
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In other news, you may have noticed things look a little different around here! I thought it was past time for a new look. What do ya think?Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-22074960449238322052012-01-20T18:36:00.000+11:002012-01-20T18:37:35.121+11:00Song of the momentIf you need something to get you into the writing mood, or if you just want to hear something awesome, watch the below vids. I don't know how big Matt Corby is outside of Australia, but trust me when I say, you want to watch these!<br />
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And this is Matt doing a cover of The Black Keys 'Loneyly Boy':<br />
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Girls ... are you in love?Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2027764684411261787.post-31438258939472451332012-01-19T22:01:00.000+11:002012-01-19T22:08:42.337+11:00A recipe for bad dialogue<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6p2VZd75rUbzBjp6k2wPxtS5AdrxI-ypBZ5k6Y5_N2Bqjwc5PKO1ABU2pSMiN_IKPIFAZZO4FQeGtuoFyhG0FnNIKWLDHrWyH4y7WjkjFm4RONbC6pTjZDnxp70Mgl24YCCTTLDojWrQ/s1600/lisa_simpson_playing_sax.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6p2VZd75rUbzBjp6k2wPxtS5AdrxI-ypBZ5k6Y5_N2Bqjwc5PKO1ABU2pSMiN_IKPIFAZZO4FQeGtuoFyhG0FnNIKWLDHrWyH4y7WjkjFm4RONbC6pTjZDnxp70Mgl24YCCTTLDojWrQ/s1600/lisa_simpson_playing_sax.gif" /></a><strong>Bart Simpson</strong>: Hey Lisa, how was your day at Springfield Elementary School today? Did you play your saxophone in music lessons with Dewey Largo, Springfield Elementary School's music teacher?<br />
<strong>Lisa Simpson:</strong> Why yes I did, Bart. Thank you for asking. How did you know?<br />
<strong>Bart Simpson: </strong>Because that's what you do at the start of every episode, of course.<br />
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Ok, it's obvious I'm not going to get a job any time soon as a Simpson's script writer, and I'm not entirely convinced this is the best way to illustrate the point I want to make but it's the best I could come up with on short notice without quoting from a book.<br />
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What is wrong with this bit of horrid dialogue (other than the obvious)? Could it possibly be that Bart has included a lot of information that isn't necessary because Lisa is already very familiar with it? In other words, is Bart's dialogue completely unrealistic because really he'd say something more like, 'Hey Lis, how's school today? Did you get kicked out of sax class again?' (We're just pretending for a moment that Bart is a nice brother and he'd actually care how Lisa's day is.)<br />
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All the other information, the names, the places - the specifics - is not necessary. At least in the context of those two having a conversation. Lisa already knows what school Bart is talking about because she goes there. She knows who her music teacher is. She knows where her music teacher teaches. The only reason a writer would write a piece of dialogue with so much unnecessary information is because they are trying to inform the reader.<br />
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I'm here to say ... don't do that. Seriously. Don't. Unless you're trying to make your reader cringe.<br />
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Dialogue for the sake of imparting information to the reader, and not because it would be a natural conversation for the characters to have, is a great way to create stilted scenes. It doesn't feel real, and for good reason. It's a dialogue info-dump, and it's just as bad as the non-dialogue kind.<br />
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<strong>Do you notice the dialogue info-dump? Does it make you cringe? What other tips do you have for avoiding stilted dialogue?</strong>Sari Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157780034728554529noreply@blogger.com8