In Which I Link

A few quick links this week from a few great sites!

Reading & Revising - I Believe in Story
http://www.ibelieveinstory.com/2014/05/reading-revising.html

Locations and Ideas - Heroines with Hearts
http://heroineswithhearts.blogspot.ca/2014/05/locations-and-ideas.html

... okay, so I was trying to link to a post titled "Do I Have Writing Talent?" from Writer Unboxed (www.writerunboxed.com), but for whatever reason, it isn't working.

Quote #24 - Maya Angelou

"We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans--because we can."
- Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Random #9

Why is revising so difficult? I know it has to be done, but once the first draft is complete, there is such an amazing feeling of completeness. Edits feel like slogging through a swamp. Is it just me?

Links!

Here are a few links I've collected recently. Hope you find something helpful.

10 Ways to Sneak Extra Reading Time - Book Riot
http://bookriot.com/2014/05/06/10-ways-sneak-extra-reading-time/

5 Steps to Handling Query Rejections - I Believe In Story
http://www.ibelieveinstory.com/2014/04/5-steps-to-handling-query-rejections.html

5 Websites for Writing Inspiration - I Believe In Story
http://www.ibelieveinstory.com/2014/04/5-websites-for-writing-inspiration.html

Quote #23 - William Shakespeare

     "All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It

Random #8

Is it okay to let a work in progress wither a little? Not die, just put to the side, so that time and energy can be focused on a more pressing item?

I'm behind on a schedule I set for myself for a novel. I fell behind when real life got very tumultuous. I've been trying to catch up. However, in doing so, I haven't finished the edits for my non-fiction, which I expected to have done a while ago. Do I just let the novel lie for a while as I finish my non-fiction and work to catch up later? I think that's what I'll do. What would you do?

Thanks for listening. 

Quote #22 - Virginia Woolf

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.
- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Quote #21 - William Blake

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
- William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

The Fiction Writer's Handbook

This post has been sitting in my drafts for ages.  I don't know why I didn't get around to finishing it.  I guess I just wasn't sure what to say. I didn't know what to expect when I won The Fiction Writer's Handbook from Goodreads.  I was very excited. There's a forward by Christopher Moore, followed by some interested instructions for how to use this book. The Fiction Writer's Handbook isn't necessarily a book you're going to read from start to finish. Though Moore and author Shelly Lowenkopf do recommend that you read the whole book. It's structured more like a reference book, but after reading several entries, I can see what they mean.

I thought that I'd try to read the book from the beginning, but it didn't feel right.  My next thought was to begin my journey through the book with an entry that had already jumped out at me.  I started with Agenda. Agenda referenced 18 more entries.  With that kind of start, I figure by the time I was done, I would have read the whole book or at least close to it.  I started with the first reference term, Character, read it, then instead of going back to the next term mentioned in Agenda, I went to Narrative, the first term referenced in Character.  So many terms are referenced in each entry that after a while, I knew I couldn't keep reading it like this.

In the end, I'm treating it like a reference book.  If I want to know something or am stuck somewhere, I can pick it up. I can also pick it up and browse a few terms if I'm feeling stuck. Moore's introduction was definitely worth the read.  I think one day I might read it from beginning to end.  The descriptions of each term are in depth and interesting.  I keep it nearby when writing as I think it is helpful.  To read it like I would another book, I just can't do it.  If you are a writer or interested in writing, however, I do think this is a great book to have in your reference collection.  

I Added A Page About My Works In Progress

I decided I ought to include a page on my Works In Progress.  It's right up there, between Who Am I? and Currently Reading (by the way, I'm currently reading Generation X).  On the page, I give a brief description of the three main items I currently working on.  The first is my short story collection, then my non-fiction, and finally my page-a-day novel, to which I am severely behind.  I'm also trying desperately to get the non-fiction done.  Hopefully, things go well.

Quote #20 - Mark Twain

"Don't part with your illusions.  When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." - Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson