Tip of the Week- Where to get writing ideas

Where to get writing ideas? Absolutely everywhere! Hey, there is no such thing as writer's block, is there? Get your ideas from:

- reading daily newspaper
- talking to your neighbor on the plane or in the train
- TV news
- at meetings with your groups
- while browsing the Internet
- fashion mags- they show what is trendy now!
- while overhearing people's conversations in the grocery store
- blogs, blogs, blogs
- pictures and art- these often inspire great ideas
- your dreams- a big one! Keep a journal by your bed for this purpose!

And many more. So, start writing!

Cool new writing site

I just stumbled upon this new, informative writing site recently:
www.blacklilackitty.com. Don't let the name fool you, it's not about cats! They have services for writers, yearly book fairs, and many other services that a writer can use. Check them out!
Caroline

Writing tip of the week- Drawing to unblock

Sometimes, when I have a writer's block or feel overwhelmed by the writing task ahead of me, I draw. It gets the creative juices flowing again, and it effectively unblocks whatever part of you needs to write. This can be done many different ways, but what I do is simple, and it works for most folks: pick a random word from the dictionary and in five minutes, draw the meaning of it on a piece of paper. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, and you don't have to be a great artists, just pick up a marker or a pencil and draw the meaning down. It is a good way to get unstuck, so you can write again.

Here is what came out of my latest exercise when I chose the word "dream" from my dictionary. Good luck and good writing!
Caroline

Tip of the Week: Make time to write

Fellow writers and aspiring writers!
You say you don't have time to write? Not true! Here are some convenient times of your (busy) day to squeeze in your writing, supposing you hold a 9-5 job:

- get up and hour early and write a couple of pages
- lunch hour is a perfect time to scribble down a few words
- while waiting to pick up your kid from school, write some key points down for your novel
- at home, instead of checking your email or Facebook, work on your story for 30 minutes instead
- after your kids are in bed, do a writing exercise for 20 minutes
- keep a journal by your bed to write down cool ideas if one strikes in the middle of the night

See there? No reason not to write every day!
Best,
Caroline

Tip of the week

Go to your local bookstore and take your book/manuscript with you. Next, see where on the book shelf would your book be located! Imagine in your mind where the book will sit, next to which author (alphabetically) and in what genre you need to be placed. Would you be in Supernatural Romance? In Adventure SF? These decisions will often make or brake a deal with the agent, because they need to know where in the bookstore your book will be placed and whether or not it can be sold there.

About YA titles

For those of you who are currently working on a YA title- that market is big right now. Supernatural rules- vampires, werevolves, zombies, and any combination of the three. My book is a historical fiction with supernatural elements in it, and that makes it a good candidate for the YA (young adult) market. I was also told at the conference that most of the YA readers are young girls- believe it or not, boys will read middle grade literature and then skip YA titles and jump straight on to adult titles, while girls read throughout. So, young girls are the main target audience for YA, so a female protagonist helps. Some good things to keep in mind when submitting!

Back from OK Writers Conference, 2013

So, I am back from the Oklahoma writing conference! It was two full days of worskhops, seeing editors and agents, and pondering how best to present my book. The book, my historical novel for the teen market, is called "Murder of Ravens," and it is finished. It is based in the 1720 Caribbean, during the Golden Age of piracy. I've decided not to go the self-published route this time, as most of the big bookstores will not even deal with you, and there is no advance. So far, there has been some positive rejections with very nice comments from agents as to what I need to fix in the book. It was mostly the way I deliver information that needs to be worked on, my prose is good. So, I will keep trying. Several agents have told me that I am "almost there," I suppose it's just a matter of time and dilligence now.