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#WritingLife, #WritingAdvice Taking a moment to remind everyone that there are lots of *different* kinds of writing and they all "count" if they move forward your project. You don't always have to try to "write a bad first draft" to get started. You can . . .
If you're really stuck, make a bullet-point list of every single point you'd like to make, go get some lunch, and come back and organize those into "clumps" of things that "seem to go together" and then spend some time figuring out why. You can . . .
Write memos on the key concepts you will be using in your draft. I got lots of push back on one concept when I sent out grant proposals -- so I now have a 4-page single-spaced memo on what I mean when I use that term. In a draft, that will be 3-4 good sentences. You can . . .
š§µWRITING ADVICE Thread of threadsš§µ
1. TEN TIPS FOR NEW AUTHORS
#writingtips #WritingCommunity #authorscommunity
1. TEN TIPS FOR NEW AUTHORS
#writingtips #WritingCommunity #authorscommunity
Finally wrote my 200th blog post. Sure it may seem small but it's been a battle and perseverance has been my only soldier. Here's my blogging story:
In 2016, I took up blogging, back then it was simply a "make money through affiliate marketing" scheme. I struggled to write and wrote anything that came to mind, I was an avid researcher and my niche was wide. I was doing fashion, health, tech, and more.
As time went by I switched a lot, there was a time my sole focus was tech then another on fashion. Eventually, I started to lose steam.
I had written 30 articles and wondered why I wasn't making money. I spent a whole year not writing anything until I got paid.
I had written 30 articles and wondered why I wasn't making money. I spent a whole year not writing anything until I got paid.
ā HOW TO PITCH A STORY ā
Hey, brilliant writers! I shared this in a couple of virtual events last week. This is how I pitch a story to producers, and you can use it to pitch to agents or editors, too.
#WritingCommunity #screenwriting #MondayMotivation #WritersofTwitter
Hey, brilliant writers! I shared this in a couple of virtual events last week. This is how I pitch a story to producers, and you can use it to pitch to agents or editors, too.
#WritingCommunity #screenwriting #MondayMotivation #WritersofTwitter
Remember, the person you're pitching your story to may have to pitch it to someone else! A literary agent will pitch it to editors. A book editor may pitch it to execs or sales reps. A producer may pitch it to investors. So keep it simple!
#HowToPitch #amwriting #writinglife
#HowToPitch #amwriting #writinglife
1. Unless time is a real constraint, take just a minute for small talk before launching into your pitch. Establish some rapport.
#HowToPitch #publishing #screenwriting
#HowToPitch #publishing #screenwriting
#MondayMorningMailbag Q: How do you deal with bad reviews and all the other negativity that comes with being an author?
A: Being an author is very, very hard, and publishing is often a tough, soul-crushing business. 1/ #authors #authorlife #writinglife #books #publishing
A: Being an author is very, very hard, and publishing is often a tough, soul-crushing business. 1/ #authors #authorlife #writinglife #books #publishing
No matter whether you are indie or traditionally published, so many bad things can happen to you as an author ā terrible covers, low sales, books/series being misnumbered, books being taken off sale for no reason, accounts being frozen . . . The list goes on and on and on. 2/
Plus, everyone is going to have an opinion about EVERY LITTLE THING in your book ā good, bad, and ugly ā whether they have actually read your book or not.
Y'all wouldnāt believe some of the comments Iāve gotten over the years, including the following:
3/ #authors #authorlife
Y'all wouldnāt believe some of the comments Iāve gotten over the years, including the following:
3/ #authors #authorlife
I am 16, writing about how my hands hurt.
I am 20; a doctor dismisses me as "too young" to have chronic pain.
I am 26: sharp stabs pierce my forearms, and I drop things. Coworkers call me clumsy.
I am 32; doc says I wear wrist braces "too often."
I am today, defeated.
#tinytruth
I am 20; a doctor dismisses me as "too young" to have chronic pain.
I am 26: sharp stabs pierce my forearms, and I drop things. Coworkers call me clumsy.
I am 32; doc says I wear wrist braces "too often."
I am today, defeated.
#tinytruth
This tinytruth was inspired by:
At 26, I had to stop keeping handwritten journals.
I grieve this loss.
I miss the feel, the texture,
the press of pen to page.
I miss selecting a unique notebook to represent "this chapter" of my life.
I grieve this loss.
I miss the feel, the texture,
the press of pen to page.
I miss selecting a unique notebook to represent "this chapter" of my life.
Iām never going to ābeā anything in the writing world but got a lovely DM yesterday from someone in a long distance relationship whose bf read him The Lodger over video call and he loved it. #WritingCommunity #writinglife #books #gayfiction #queerlit 
And The Lodger is so old (published 2002) that @OfficialSteps have come back into fashion since it was written. (Songs by Steps feature a lotā¦).
The Lodger is my most successful book. Sold 3,000 copies, finalist in the @LambdaLiterary awards, number 1 on Gay and Lesbian Amazon chart. So if anyone tells you life isnāt downhillā¦ #WritingCommunity #gayfiction #queerlit
Saw someone w/a fiction revising Q elsewhere and thought I'd answer it here bc I'm clearly not going to get any 'real' work done on a release day, lolsob ;)
So -- How Cassie Edited 400k of Fiction Last Year, here we go!
1x
So -- How Cassie Edited 400k of Fiction Last Year, here we go!
1x
First off, I'm not going to lie, it helps if you've been doing this forever (I'm like 23 years in) so yeah, experience is a magic of it's own.
But if my experience can help you, all the better, the world needs more great books!
2x
But if my experience can help you, all the better, the world needs more great books!
2x
Assuming you've gotten to the end of your book, the #1 thing ppl tell you to do is 'wait' before heading back in, which yes, totally works...but it does cost you time.
Another hack for getting around that is to switch up the way you view/feel your book....
3x
Another hack for getting around that is to switch up the way you view/feel your book....
3x
Notion:
Sentient moving castle that spends it time going to ruins and investigating what happened to the castle that used to be there.
Then exacting justice magical castle style. (?)
Naturally adopts a rag tag band of adventurers along the way, thinks of them as naughty kittens.
Sentient moving castle that spends it time going to ruins and investigating what happened to the castle that used to be there.
Then exacting justice magical castle style. (?)
Naturally adopts a rag tag band of adventurers along the way, thinks of them as naughty kittens.
"Damn it Alexander how many times! Don't bring your dead things inside"
"Sowwy Mrs Castle"
"You can keep your dead in the cemetery like all the other squishies"
"But..."
"No necromancy indoors young man!"
I have decided it's a Mammy castle and anything that's not also made of
"Sowwy Mrs Castle"
"You can keep your dead in the cemetery like all the other squishies"
"But..."
"No necromancy indoors young man!"
I have decided it's a Mammy castle and anything that's not also made of
rocks is a "Squishie"
No one is allowed inside two of the towers as she uses them like hands or feet.
Oh!
-
The siege of some such castle: 14 tickety boo
-
Siege towers rumble towards a castle as ballistae and catapults smash rocks against it's walls.
A squad of burly soldiers
No one is allowed inside two of the towers as she uses them like hands or feet.
Oh!
-
The siege of some such castle: 14 tickety boo
-
Siege towers rumble towards a castle as ballistae and catapults smash rocks against it's walls.
A squad of burly soldiers
Splurged on amazing new writing socks from COS and a writing residency at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony. Happy new year! #writinglife #socks #HappyNewYear2020
@cosstores @DorlandArts
@cosstores @DorlandArts
In photo, books to inspire & organize: Keep Going @austinkleon, The One Thing @the1thingbook, Brain Rules for Aging Well @BrainRulesBooks, Authentic Gravitas @DrRebeccaNewton, Super Thinking @yegg. On bedside table: Playing Big @tarasophia, Nine Lies about Work @littleplatoons.
In photo, books: The Emotional Craft of Fiction @DonMaass, The First Cell @the_first_cell, Tge Body Keeps the Score @BesselvdKolk, Iāve heard the Vultures Singing by Lucia Perillo, The Best American Essays 2019 @BestAmEssays. At bedside: The Undying by Anne Boyer.
RESOURCES FOR WRITERS: a list of organisations, opportunities & support, which you really ought to have on your writerly radar, and which I wish had been on my own radar earlier in my career. Hope you find them useful. #thread #amwriting #writer
If you're a writer, join @Soc_of_Authors. They're great advocates for writers' rights, & offer PDF guides on working as a writer, specific advice on contracts etc for members & discounts on books! They also offer grants for work in progress & run annual awards.
@Soc_of_Authors Anyone in the arts should be aware of @ace_national (or @CreativeScots / @Arts_Wales_ / @ArtsCouncilNI, depending where you're based). They support writers through fundings opportunities - for individuals & organisations.
Confession time: For the past seven years, I have been writing and publishing using a male heteronym. Now my/his first book is available! You know you want to read it... unsolicitedpress.com/blog/press-relā¦
Of course, I've also been publishing under my own name. The heteronym, Elosham Vog, is a fully-formed character with his own interests and writing style. He's also part of a grand experiment related to gender and publishing.
Each time I submit to a journal or press, so does Elosham, from his own email and submittable accounts. I try to make our emails sound different, but I'm only one human...so it's surprising how different our reception/replies can be.
Day 2. Still pre-conference. I must confess that while taking notes today, I sincerely wondered to myself: how will I condense this much information in a way that its essence is not lost? So much was said; so much needs to be done. Oya grab your seat. @LagosStudies #lsa2019
The first panel was the Gender and Academy II. Panelists were Yetunde Zaid, Lynn Schler, Bamidele Wale-Oshinowo, Oyeronke Oyewunmi, Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome (@mojubaolu) and Taibat Lawanson (@TaibatLawanson) The first question shows that mentorship comes in various forms.
Who was your first mentor?:
"My first mentor was my Ph.D. supervisor. He was good @ treating students equally&that gave everyone a sense of confidence when starting out with their career. It distilled any competition that we might have&developed a sense of community.ā Schler
"My first mentor was my Ph.D. supervisor. He was good @ treating students equally&that gave everyone a sense of confidence when starting out with their career. It distilled any competition that we might have&developed a sense of community.ā Schler
